An absolute disaster for Poland
With only six athletes and two boats we have reached a historical low in our rowing history. Last time we had this small team in... 1968 with only three athletes (but with only 26 athletes in total possible, so the quotient is very similar in 2024). In the 21st century we always had 20 or nearly 20 athletes qualified, so 6 this olympic cycle is a total disaster.
According to the Polish Ministry of Sport, 2024 the Rowing Federation was awarded 14,7M PLN for the targeted preparations to the olympic start (https://www.gov.pl/attachment/af98eca0-deee-41a5-9764-26038d879f58, "Polski Związek Towarzystw Wioślarskich"), which was the 3rd most financed Polish sport federation (after the athletics and canoeing federations - which are both expected to deliver medals in Paris). Even though historically the Polish Rowing Federation was a good performer, something cracked since the last Olympics.
The last two years were very sad time for Polish rowing fans. Let us hope it is just a temporary backlash.