Natalia Kaczmarek: An Olympic bronze medal for Polish 400m sensation

Polish 400m runner Natalia Kaczmarek performed exceptionally at the Paris 2024 Olympics, winning a bronze medal for Poland in an extremely close race.

Kaczmarek's third-place finish is all the more admirable considering the winner, Marileidy Paulino, from the Dominican Republic, took gold in an Olympic record time. Kaczmarek finished less than a second behind Paulino, with Salwa Eid Naser taking silver, per BBC Sport.

Kaczmarek showed her good form in the semi-finals, winning hers without having to expend too much energy.

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Her time of 49.98 was one of the best performances in the heat stage of the 400m, but is some way off her best time of 48.90, recorded just prior to the Games on July 20, 2024.

The Pole was hoping for a gold medal in Paris but came up just short. Still, her performances so far this year were amongst the best in the world, so let's take a look at the lead-up to her famous bronze medal!

Born in Drezdenko in January 1998, Kaczmarek has become one of the most famous Polish athletes on the international stage.

Not only are her athletic results outstanding, but they're also incredibly consistent. Since 2020 she has been on the podium at all the most important competitions.

Kaczmarek's leap in quality began at the 2020 Olympic Games in Japan.

The Polish athlete left Japan with Olympic gold in the mixed 4x400 and silver in the women's 4x400.

Since then, not a single year has passed without the athlete adding another medal to her track record.

In 2021, she finished third in the women's 4x400 relay at the European Indoor Championships in Torun, Poland.

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A year later, she again won the bronze medal at the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, also in the women's 4×400 meter relay, as covered by World Athletics.

Also in 2022, at the European Championships in Munich, Kaczmarek won two silver medals: in the women's 400m and the 4x400 m relay.

In 2023, at the European Games in Chorzów in Poland, Kaczmarek again took silver but this time in the mixed disciplines 400 m and 4x400 m.

Kaczmarek's sporting accomplishments, coupled with her athletic physique, has seen her become the face of several high-profile brands.

The Polish star has contracts with companies such as New Balance, Olimp Sport Nutrition and the Aorlen Group.

Despite not winning a second Olympic gold, Kaczmarek still performed exceptionally, needing a record-breaking win to beat her!

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