Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek secured a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after defeating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova within just 59 minutes. Her maiden Olympic medal also happened to be Poland’s first Olympic medal in tennis and a dream come true for the Swiatek family.
The victory came after the World No.1 surprisingly lost her semifinal match to China’s Zheng Qinwen, two months after the Polish tennis star lifted her third consecutive French Open title in the same city. However, the heartbreaking loss did not deprive her of taking an Olympic bronze medal home.
Iga’s bronze medal victory came thirty-six years after her father, Tomasz Swiatek competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where he participated as a rower but was unable to win a medal for his country. With her victory, therefore, Iga fulfilled the family’s decades-old dream.
Tomasz competed in the men’s quadruple sculls in 1988, reached the quarterfinals, and finished seventh, thus losing out on a medal at the prestigious Games. However, determined to bring one home, winning an Olympic medal was probably one of the most precious dreams harbored by his 23-year-old tennis star. Talking about the feeling after her Bronze medal victory, she said (via “Hindustan Times”):
“I have never felt anything like that, not even in the Grand Slams, so it wasn’t easy. Having a medal is a dream come true.”
Iga Swiatek’s Olympic dream
Iga Swiatek has had an impressive run over the last couple of years and the WTA World No.1 has grown into a dominating presence in the circuit. However, she is not the first person from her family to occupy a significant position within the international sporting arena, as her family’s association with the Olympics goes way back to the 1980s.
Iga’s father, Tomasz represented his country at the 1988 Seoul Olympics as a rower but lost the chance to win a medal. However, he instilled the dream of an Olympic medal in his daughter who followed her father’s footsteps and pursued a career in sports.
Knowing that Iga was scared of water, the father-daughter duo invested in tennis as a career for the four-time French Open champion, but the dream of an Olympic medal did not get lost amidst the competitive spree of Grand Slams and WTA titles.
This way, clinching a medal for her country at the Summer Games was something that was always on Iga’s goals. Speaking about the same after her bronze medal victory, she said (via Australian Open):
“It’s amazing. Honestly me and my sister were raised in this spirit that the Olympics are the most important tournament. That’s why it wasn’t the easiest tournament,” Swiatek said.
Her dad being able to witness their joint dream come true was the icing on the cake according to the 23-year-old.
“I’m happy (my Dad) was here to see it. This is for sure a great place for me to be and play. I’m happy that besides Roland Garros titles, I could add another success to it,” she added.
This was Iga’s second shot at an Olympic medal, as the Warsaw native first competed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics three years ago where she faced an early exit after losing to Spain’s Paula Badosa 6-3, 7-6 (4) in the second round.
Heartbroken after the said defeat, the then-World No.8 took a while to regain her composure on the court before she could talk about the match. She said (via Tennis.com):
“We are also human. Competing at the highest level every week is not easy. Tennis is such a frustrating sport at times, but of course there is nothing to complain about,” Swiatek said.
Despite the early exit at the Tokyo Olympics, she added a couple of titles to her name and acquired the World No.1 ranking before vying for Olympic glory in the French capital this year.
Iga’s rollercoaster run at the 2024 Paris Olympics
The Pole started her run at the Summer Games this year with comfortable victories over Romania’s Irina Carmelia Begu and France’s Dianne Perry, followed by a third-round win over China’s Xiyu Wang to reach the quarterfinals.
Swiatek faced tough competition from Danielle Collins in the quarterfinals before the latter retired and handed the match 6-1, 2-6, 4-1. However, just as Swiatek seemed to be inching closer to her Olympic gold, a semifinal loss to China’s Zheng Qinwen 6-2, 7-5 left her heartbroken.
Nevertheless, Swaitek got another shot at an Olympic medal as she faced and got the better of Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in the bronze medal match.
Speaking about living her dream and the rollercoaster of emotions that the Summer Games had been for her this year, Swiatek took to social media to share her thoughts about the same:
“After a couple of days, I feel ready to sum up this chapter… Joy, happiness, sadness, disappointment, satisfaction, hunger for more, pride and so many other emotions, thoughts… I’m still figuring it out, and I feel how valuable this experience was to me,” she wrote.
“Maybe in the future, I will assess two weeks with a bigger picture and better perspective, but I already see a lot. First of all, how much progress I’ve made since Tokyo. How much I can do, how many opportunities I have to become a better player and human,” Swiatek added.
Swiatek’s semifinal opponent Zheng Qinwen went on to become the eventual champion and the Polish tennis star also expressed gratitude for sharing the podium with her and silver medalist, Donna Vekic and congratulated them.