An incredible end for the Poles. The Danes couldn't get their act together. "We've had enough of you."

For the first time, Denmark fell dangerously behind us after the 11th heat, when Kowalski unexpectedly finished third, even losing to Britain's Hagon. The score was 26:24 for Denmark.

Two points may not seem like much, but when two countries are so far behind, it's a significant gap. However, our team arduously fought back. They won four consecutive heats, giving Poland a two-point lead at 36-34.

In the 16th heat, Bartłomiej Kowalski suffered a tragedy. The third-place Pole suffered a defect. It was almost as if we had lost three individual heats to Denmark. Denmark retook the lead, 37-36, with four heats remaining. There was no margin for error. But Poland showed class. The last four heats were our four victories! The Danes didn't lose points to the others, but they couldn't keep up with us. We made up four points and won 48-45.

The U24 European Championship was held for the first time in this age category. The championship is essentially a continuation of the U19 European Championship, which ran from 2008 to 2012. Then the age was raised to 21. The championship continued in this format until 2020. The 2021-2024 seasons will be the U23 European Championship. Finally, this year's edition is the U24 edition.

Poland's record in this competition is impressive. In the 18th edition, we won 15 times. Denmark, Sweden, and Russia each won once. The last time we weren't on the top step of the podium was in 2018, when... Denmark triumphed. Denmark generally has a complex about Poland. Their achievements include 12 (sic!) second-place finishes.

RESULTS

1. Poland 48 pts.: Bartłomiej Kowalski 9 (2, 3, 1, d, 3); Jakub Miśkowiak 13 (3, 1, 3, 3, 3); Damian Ratajczak 12 (1, 3, 2, 3, 3); Wiktor Przyjemski 14 (3, 3, 2, 3, 3); Jakub Krawczyk NS.

2. Denmark 45 points: Villads Nagel 12 (2, 2, 3, 3, 2); Bastian Pedersen 10 (1, 2, 3, 2, 2); Jonas Knudsen 8 (2, 2, 2, -, 2); Mikkel Andersen 13 (3, 3, 3, 2, 2); Benjamin Basso 2 (2).

3. Great Britain 23 pts; Leon Flint 7 (2, 1, 1, 2, 1); Sam Hagon 5 (0, 1, 2, 1, 1); Luke Harrison 2 (-, -, -, 1, 1); Daniel Thompson 7 (3, 2, 1, 1, 0); Jake Mulford 2 (1, 1, 0).

4. France 4 points: Mathias Tresarrieu 4 (1, 0, 1, 1, 1); Tino Bouin 0 (0, 0, 0, d, 0); Theo Ugoni 0 (0, 0, 0, 0, 0); Antoine Desserprix 0 (0, -, 0, -, 0); Noah Urda 0 (0, 0).

Judged by: Tomas Topinka (Czech Republic)

Viewers: 500.

Run after run

1. Thompson, Kowalski, Pedersen, Desserprix (2:1:3:0)

2. Miśkowiak, Nagel, Mulford, Ugoni (5:3:4:0)

3. Przyjemski, Knudsen, Tresarrieu, Hagon (8:5:4:1)

4. Andersen, Flint, Ratajczak, Bouin (9:8:6:1)

5. Andersen, Thompson, Miśkowiak, Tresarrieu (10:11:8:1)

6. Kowalski, Knudsen, Mulford, Bouin (13:13:9:1)

7. Ratajczak, Nagel, Hagon, Urda (16:15:10:1)

8. Przyjemski, Pedersen, Flint, Ugoni (19:17:11:1)

9. Nagel, Przyjemski, Thompson, Bouin (21:20:12:1)

10. Pedersen, Ratajczak, Tresarrieu, Mulford (23:23:12:2)

11. Andersen, Hagon, Kowalski, Ugoni (24:26:14:2)

12. Miśkowiak, Knudsen, Flint, Desserprix (27:28:15:2)

13. Przyjemski, Andersen, Harrison, Urda (30:30:16:2)

14. Ratajczak, Basso, Thompson, Ugoni (33:32:17:2)

15. Miśkowiak, Pedersen, Hagon, Bouin (d) (36:34:18:2)

16. Nagel, Flint, Tresarrieu, Kowalski (d) (36:37:20:3)

17. Kowalski, Knudsen, Harrison, Bouin (39:39:21:3)

18. Ratajczak, Pedersen, Hagon, Ugoni (42:41:22:3)

19. Miśkowiak, Nagel, Flint, Desserprix (45:43:23:3)

20. Przyjemski, Andersen, Tresarrieu, Thompson (48:45:23:4)

In ascending brackets: Poland, Denmark, Great Britain, France