Ten sailors will represent Poland in eight sailing classes at this summer's Olympic Games in Paris. The regatta will take place in Marseille between July 28 and August 8. Two University of Gdańsk students are among the representatives: Aleksandra Melzacka (psychology student), competing in the 49erFX class, and Michał Krasodomski (management student), competing in the ILCA 7 class.

Karolina Żuk-Wieczorkiewicz: - First of all, congratulations on your qualification for the Olympic Games in Paris.

Michał Krasodomski: - Thank you.

- You have a lot of sporting successes to your credit at a very young age, such as the gold medal at the European Championships and bronze at the World Championships under 17, the European championships in the under-19 age category, and many others. How did your adventure with sailing start?

- When I was four years old, my dad, who was very fond of sailing, took me to a training session in Gdynia. My brother (who is four years older) was also sailing at the time, so it was only natural that I followed in his footsteps. It was my dad who initiated this passion in me.

- You could say it's a family passion, then?

- Yes, my dad, my brother, and I all sail. My brother is also currently sailing in the sailing league in a four-man boat. So it runs in our family. In fact, I can't remember a time when I wasn't sailing.

- When did you start thinking about a sporting career? Did that also come out naturally?

- Quite naturally. I spent a total of nine years at a sports school - from the fourth year of primary school, through middle school and up to the end of secondary school. I had a good environment for sports there, if only through a very high number of P.E. classes (even daily). I also played on the basketball team. Basketball was the ‘default’ sport at school, so I played it together with sailing until about 14-15, when I decided to focus on one sport. When did I start taking it professionally? It's hard for me to say. Basically, I've always trained, tried not to let go of any preparation, went to training camps whenever I could, combined all these activities. So you could say that this professional approach came naturally.

- What does the preparation for a competition look like?

- In sailing, it looks quite unusual. Unlike other sports - which you can actually train anywhere in the world as long as you have the conditions for it: a hall or a pitch - for sailing, we need a body of water. Ideally, of course, it should be warm rather than cold. We don't spend much time in Poland in winter. We train mainly in Spain and Portugal, sometimes in Italy or France. We stay in southern Europe, where the boats, bikes and our luggage ‘leave’ in September - and don't return until April. We only fly to the groupings with hand luggage. These ‘days on the water’ are usually held in blocks of about ten days. We often combine them with regattas. In addition, we train with people from all over the world who are also in Portugal, Spain or other places at the time. Before the regatta that secured my qualification for the Olympic Games, which took place at the end of April, I was on one seventy-day trip without returning home. I trained in a total of eleven locations, moving from one place to the next all the time, so it was quite a sacrifice altogether.

- Such a marathon?

- A marathon that was just completed with a regatta in France. At that time I was also in Mallorca for a long time, where there was the European Cup, then the World Cup, then I trained in Italy at Garda... I really like Lake Garda, it's one of my favourite places to train. That's where I was just before I left for France, also to get into a good mood, a good ‘mood’ before the most important event. I finally made it to France for the Last Chance Regatta in Hyeres, where the battle to qualify for the Olympic Games took place. That's more or less how it goes. Very little time is spent in Poland. But we also have competitions here - for example, in May I competed in the Polish Sailing Association Cup in Krynica Morska. So we also train in Poland, but if you want to train at the level of international competition, you have to go to southern Europe.

- I guess it is a big challenge to combine such trips with other responsibilities – like with your studies.

- It is a very big challenge. You have to get used to this lifestyle. For many people, it probably wouldn't be easy. I'm constantly living out of suitcases, I never really unpack my bags completely. Either I leave them somewhere because I'm going back there straight away, or I come back with a bag but can't unpack it and put things in the wardrobe because I have to pack again immediately. A lot of people would get tired of that. However, I'm such a character that I think I also kind of like to be constantly on the go, with a lot on my mind and not a lot of time. Then I feel I'm more organised and somehow it works out better. If I had too much free time, I'd probably put off too many things and end up doing less. So I think this pace of life suits me.

- So you could say that you have found your place in life.

- A bit like that.

- Olympic qualification in your case was not immediately obvious. PAS was selected when Sweden withdrew from the ILCA 7 class, so how did you react when you found out you were going to the Games?

- It was extremely good news: tremendous happiness, joy - but it also didn't fully and immediately get to me. I was in uncertainty for a month, because I already had information that there was such a chance that Sweden would give up its place, but it was not confirmed. We were waiting for the official confirmation and invitation, this wait was very prolonged. It is probably only at the start that it quite gets to me what is going on. Before the preliminaries and the Games, I didn't expect that there was a good chance of qualifying. Admittedly, I was doing my own thing and hoping that if I did make it, then great, it would be a cool surprise for everyone and there would be something to be happy about, but I had actually been training for the last few years with the Los Angeles Games in mind. That was my goal. I didn't anticipate participating in the Paris Games. On the other hand, good preparation turned out to be better than I expected, and my progression in a short time was enough to gain qualification. Admittedly, it was from fourth place, not third, where three were eligible, so I got in as the first reserve. It turned out to be enough.

- What are your predictions for the Paris Games?

- There will be 43 competitors in my class. As far as I can tell, I will be the second youngest of all those competing in my class. Most of the athletes are around the age of 30, so I didn't think I had much of a chance of getting in: people with a lot more experience usually go to the Games. It certainly won't be easy. I'm definitely aiming as high as possible. I also think that being the ‘underdog’, the black horse that no one expects, I might turn out to be just the person to stir things up a bit. I don't feel like I'm a competitor that anyone demands to fight for a medal or to take some top position, so I have relatively little pressure compared to the rest of the participants. I've also heard that the Games usually have their own rules and different things happen at them. So it's not always like the World Cup competitions that everyone is already familiar with. The Games take place once every four years, there is a lot of pressure, a lot of expectations, and the future career of many athletes depends on how they perform. No one puts a lot of pressure on me and I think this can bear fruit. A good mental attitude also has a big influence on the result. We will see what happens. I am of a good mind.

- What do you find most challenging about the competition? You mentioned the psychological side, the attitude, dealing with stress.

- I think the technical preparation, physical preparation, is at a very high level with everyone. Everyone is very well prepared physically, everyone trains, everyone goes to the gym, trains on bikes, sails a lot and so on. I think it's the psychological side of it that can make up for a lot. Someone can get very stressed, they can't quite cope with something, and that psychological side gives you the biggest scope to outperform other athletes. I think that's a big part of the sport.

- What advice would you give to people who are thinking about sailing and a sailing sports career?

- It's a great adventure and a wonderful sport, strongly connected to nature. We are constantly on the water, enjoying the sun. I really like the fact that it's so natural, there are no motors, no sports halls, and it's all so calming. You just want to live more. Maybe it's the sun that has that effect on us: all the sailors are always smiling, so I recommend everyone to try it. I may be biased, but in my opinion, it is a unique sport and it is definitely worth it.

- I hope that the lack of pressure will turn to your advantage. Thank you for the interview and good luck at the Olympics!