Rising US sprint star Sam Blaskowski seeks to switch allegiance to Poland

Aug 24, 2026 | Society

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A rising US track star has declared his intention to represent Poland, the country of his ancestors. Sam Blaskowski’s personal-best 100 metres sprint time of 9.89 seconds is more than a tenth of a second faster than the current Polish national record.

“I plan to make Poland the finest sprinting nation in the world. I want to win medals for Poland,” the 23-year-old told Polish broadcaster TVP Sport.

Blaskowski says that two of his ancestors, Franciszek and Julian, left Poland in 1905, at a time when the country was still partitioned between Germany, Austria and Russia.

“My last name is Polish. But for a long time, I didn’t understand that these were my roots. Everything changed recently, because my parents and I talked a lot about our roots,” he explained to TVP Sport.

He was contacted by Piotr Maruszewski, coach of the Polish sprint team, after clocking a time of 9.89 seconds in May, which is the joint-ninth-best run by anyone in the world this year. The Polish 100m record is still held by Marian Woronin, who ran 10.00 in 1984.

Maruszewski has since been persuading and helping Blaskowski to apply for citizenship, including hiring lawyers to obtain documents proving the sprinter’s heritage.

Under Polish law, people who have a Polish parent, grandparent or great-grandparent who was born in or lived in Poland after January 1920 are themselves regarded as holding Polish citizenship.

That means Blaskowski’s ancestry may not be enough to qualify. However, it could be enough to convince Poland’s president, Karol Nawrocki, who has discretion to grant citizenship to anyone he wishes.

Last year, Nawrocki granted citizenship to Vladimir Semirunniy, a speed skater who fled from Russia to Poland. Semirunniy now represents the Polish national team, including at this year’s Winter Olympics, where he won a silver medal.

 

Given that Blaskowski last represented the United States as a junior over four years ago, he is not subject to World Athletics’ mandatory waiting period for athletes transferring national allegiance.

At yesterday’s Silesia Diamond League meeting in Chorzów, Poland’s biggest annual athletics event, Blaskowski told Citius Mag that he expects to be able to represent Poland at next year’s World Championships in Beijing.

“I want to inspire the next generation… to make an impact on people around me, and I think the best way to do that is to go and represent Poland,” he told TVP Sport at the same event.

“Not only do I have heritage there, but people [in Poland] are very aware of your talent and they give so much appreciation for our sport, and I think it’s a great place.”

He added that he and his parents plan to visit their ancestors’ hometown of Sompolno in central Poland on Monday before he again competes in Szczecin on Wednesday.

 

In Chorzów, Blaskowski came fifth in his semi-final against some of the world’s sprinters, just ahead of European champion Romell Glave. Poland’s current top male sprinter, Dominik Kopeć, finished ninth and last in 10.32.

The final was won by Jamaica’s Oblique Seville in 9.83 seconds, ahead of another American with a Polish surname, Kenneth Bednarek, who was adopted as a child by a woman with Polish heritage.

“The love and support I received from Poland today were truly incredible,” Bednarek wrote on social media after competing at the same event two years ago. “I’m thrilled to have run here for the first time and can’t wait to return with my mom, who has Polish roots.”

 

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Blaskowski would not be the first sprinter to switch allegiance to Poland. Belarusian runner Krystsina Tsimanouskaya received Polish citizenship in 2022, having been granted a humanitarian visa the previous year after the Tokyo Olympics.

This month, high jumper Maria Żodzik, another Belarusian who was granted Polish citizenship in 2024, won silver at the European Championships, adding to another silver at last year’s World Championships.

At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Poland’s athletes disappointed, finishing with just one bronze medal in track and field events and  one gold and ten medals overall, the country’s worst result since 1956.

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: YouTube/Citius Mag (screenshot)

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