Polish national ski jumping team in the 2012–13 season represented Poland in international ski jumping competitions during the 2012 summer season and the 2012–13 winter season.
In the Summer Grand Prix, the team took 4th place in the team classification, and Polish ski jumpers reached the podium three times (these were Maciej Kot and Dawid Kubacki). In the top 10 of the general classification were Kot (5th) and Kubacki (8th). In the Summer Continental Cup, Poles finished on the podium three times, and Kubacki was ranked 8th in the general classification.
In the World Cup, Polish athletes achieved seven podium finishes in individual competitions (including three victories – two by Kamil Stoch and one by Piotr Żyła) and two podiums in team competitions. In the Nations Cup general classification, Poland was 5th, and the highest-ranked individual athlete was Stoch, who finished 3rd. 10 Polish representatives scored points, setting a national record in the World Cup. Of these, three were ranked in the top 20. Meanwhile, two of them were among the top 10 ski flyers of the season.
The team won two medals at the World Ski Championships in Predazzo – a gold in the individual large hill competition, won by Kamil Stoch, and a bronze in the men's team competition.
In the Continental Cup, Polish representatives placed in the top 3 eight times, achieved by Klemens Murańka, Jan Ziobro, Stefan Hula, and Krzysztof Biegun.
Team Composition
On 24 April 2012, the team was divided into two squads: the Olympic (A) team and the youth (B) team, further split into five smaller groups with assigned coaches.
The first group of the A team included Kamil Stoch, Piotr Żyła, Maciej Kot, and Krzysztof Miętus, coached by Łukasz Kruczek. The second group, under Zbigniew Klimowski, comprised Stefan Hula and Dawid Kubacki. The third group, trained by Piotr Fijas in Poland, included Jan Ziobro, , Jakub Kot, and Łukasz Rutkowski. Additionally, served as Kruczek's assistant, Łukasz Gębala as physiotherapist, and Kacper Skrobot as serviceman. Other staff included physician Aleksander Winiarski, biomechanist Piotr Krężałek, psychologist Kamil Wódka, motor skills consultant Michał Wilk, and coach .
Kruczek noted that despite the new subgroup system, training would follow a similar approach to previous seasons.
The first youth team group, coached by Robert Mateja, included Aleksander Zniszczoł, Klemens Murańka, , and Tomasz Byrt. The second group, under , consisted of , Krzysztof Biegun, Szymon Szostok, and Grzegorz Miętus. assisted Mateja, and Adam Małysz served as a consultant for both teams.
president Apoloniusz Tajner emphasized the focus on individualized training. All groups had secured training resources, with differences in travel per diem and equipment access. Strong performances could lead to group reassignments.
At the start of the summer season, Tomasz Byrt was removed from the youth team and suspended for failing to follow the training plan and leaving consultations without permission.
Summer season On 20 May, the first training camp of the A team for the season began in Kołobrzeg. This was followed by training on the Skalite ski jumping hills in Szczyrk, which lasted until 9 June, where suits of a new cut were tested for the first time. The next camp took place from 18 to 24 June in Szczyrk and Wisła – daily training was held on the facilities in both towns (the normal hill in Szczyrk and the large hill in Wisła), with the exception of Piotr Żyła, who trained only on Malinka. During this period, the junior team trained in Zakopane.
Before the season, the International Ski Federation introduced new rules. These included new regulations regarding suits – they were required to be more form-fitting than before. Additionally, coaches gained the option to change the inrun length for their athlete in exchange for a points penalty.
Summer Grand Prix
The 2012 FIS Ski Jumping Grand Prix began in Wisła on the Malinka ski jumping hill. 10 Polish jumpers competed in the individual event qualifications, with Kamil Stoch and Piotr Żyła pre-qualified. Dawid Kubacki won the qualifications with a 122-meter jump, and 8 Polish jumpers advanced to the main event, with Klemens Murańka and Rafał Śliż failing to qualify.
On 20 July 2012, the team event in Wisła was limited to one round due to a lighting failure. The Polish team, consisting of Żyła, Stoch, Kubacki, and Kot, finished 2nd, 1.2 points behind Slovenia, with Kot achieving the best individual score. The next day, in the individual event, Kot led after the first round with a 128-meter jump, 7.2 points ahead of Simon Ammann. Stoch was 3rd with the same distance. Kot won his first Summer Grand Prix event with a 123-meter second jump, while Stoch dropped to 7th. Other Poles in the top 20 included , Kubacki, Żyła, and Krzysztof Biegun, with , Aleksander Zniszczoł, Marcin Bachleda, and Krzysztof Miętus failing to advance to the second round. Poland took the lead in the team standings.
The next competition of the series was held in Courchevel. The best result was achieved by Kubacki, who, after two jumps of 122.5 m, finished in 5th place. Kot was 7th, maintaining his position as the leader of the LGP. Żyła finished 15th, while Kłusek, after a poor second-round jump, took the last point-scoring position. Krzysztof Miętus did not score any points. Kubacki moved up to 8th place in the overall standings. Poland, which did not participate in the mixed team event, dropped from 1st to 3rd place in the team classification, behind Germany and Japan.
On 19 August in Hinterzarten, Poland competed with the same lineup. Kubacki delivered the best-rated jump in the trial round. After the first competition round, the highest-ranked Polish jumper was Kubacki in 5th place, following a jump of 98.5 m. Ultimately, after the second attempt of 103.5 m, he finished 6th. Żyła was 7th, and Kot 11th. Miętus and Kłusek placed in the 40s. Kot lost his position as leader to Andreas Wank and dropped to 3rd place in the overall standings. After the competition, the team headed to training in Ramsau am Dachstein.
In the first competition in Hakuba, on 25 August, Kubacki once again proved the best among the Poles. After the first round he was in 13th place, but the second-longest jump of the contest (129.5 m) allowed him to finish 5th. Kłusek was 14th, Miętus 23rd, while Biegun and Zniszczoł did not score points. In the second competition, a day later, problematic weather conditions prevailed. Kubacki took 3rd place on the podium after jumps of 113 m and 127 m, despite being only 11th at the halfway point of the contest. Other Poles who scored points were Kłusek (for 8th place) and Zniszczoł (for 14th). After the competitions in Japan, which ended the first period of the season, Kubacki advanced to 4th place in the overall standings, just 6 points behind 3rd -placed Reruhi Shimizu. Maciej Kot dropped to 9th place.
For the competitions in Almaty at the Sunkar International Ski Jumping Complex, only two Polish jumpers were sent. On the first day of competition, Kłusek finished 18th, while Żyła, who had been 4th after a 130 m jump, was disqualified in the final round for an irregular suit. In the second, single-round contest, only Żyła scored points, placing 20th.
Six Polish ski jumpers were entered for the events in Hinzenbach, but Kłusek failed to pass the qualification round. Maciej Kot claimed victory once again, also leading after the first round. He jumped 87.5 m and 88.5 m. Stoch took 9th place, while Kubacki finished 19th. Żyła and Zniszczoł did not advance to the second round. In the overall standings, Kot advanced to 6th place, overtaking, among others, Kubacki.
The final round was held in Klingenthal. After the first round of competition, Kot was placed 4th, thanks to a 133 m jump. He maintained this position after reaching 130 m in the final round, thereby securing 5th place in the overall standings of the series. Stoch (11th) and Żyła (27th) also scored points. Kłusek and Kubacki were classified in the 40s, while Zniszczoł did not qualify for the main competition.
Overall standings Source:
Place Athlete Appearances Points 5. Maciej Kot 5 310 8. Dawid Kubacki 7 218 25. Kamil Stoch 3 89 26. 8 84 26. Piotr Żyła 7 84 58. Aleksander Zniszczoł 4 18 67. Krzysztof Biegun 3 11 72. Krzysztof Miętus 5 8
Summer Continental Cup The 2012 Summer Continental Cup season began at the turn of June and July with two competitions in Stams, Austria. In the opening contest, Dawid Kubacki took 2nd place, having been ranked 8th after the first round. He recorded jumps of 103.5 m and 110 m, finishing 1.3 points behind the winner, Mackenzie Boyd-Clowes. Jan Ziobro and Marcin Bachleda also scored points, while five other Poles competed as well. The following day, Kubacki again reached the podium, this time in 3rd place. After the first round he was 11th with a jump of 106 m, but in the second round he flew 113 m, the longest jump of the entire competition. This allowed him to take the lead in the overall standings. Bachleda and Biegun also scored points. During these events, Polish athletes were disqualified three times for irregular suits.
During the first competition in Kranj on 7 July, the best-ranked Pole was Kłusek. His jumps of 107 m and 106 m gave him 5th place in the contest. Biegun finished 12th, which was his best result in the Continental Cup to that point. Bachleda, Kubacki, and Zniszczoł also scored points. For Dawid Kubacki, a relatively low 23rd place meant losing his lead in the overall Continental Cup standings. In this event, Szymon Szostok made his debut in competitions of this rank outside Poland, but he did not score points. In the second competition in the Slovenian town, the highest-placed Pole was once again Kłusek, who took 15th place after jumps of 107 m and 96 m. Zniszczoł also scored points, while Kubacki was disqualified due to an irregular suit. Compared to the standings after the round in Stams, Kubacki dropped from 1st to 5th place in the overall ranking.
On 14 and 15 July, Continental Cup events were held in Krasnaya Polyana on the ski jumps that later hosted competitions during the 2014 Winter Olympics. In the first contest, four Poles scored points. The best among them was Kubacki, who finished 8th with jumps of 134 m and 126 m; also advancing to the final round were Miętus, Kłusek, and Ziobro. On the second day, Kubacki reached the podium for the third time in that edition, initially finishing 5th (126 m and 130.5 m), but after the disqualification of Vassiliev and Hrgota he was promoted to 3rd place. Zniszczoł, Kłusek, and Miętus were classified in the 30s. In the overall standings, compared to the situation after the Kranj competitions, Kubacki moved up one place – he was 4th with a total of 240 points.
On 11 August, in the first competition in Kuopio, only one Pole – Szymon Szostok – failed to score points. Grzegorz Miętus, after jumps of 115.5 m in the first round and two metres farther in the second, finished in 8th place. Making his first start that summer, Stefan Hula placed 12th, followed by Biegun in 13th, Ziobro in 19th, Zniszczoł in 22nd, and Zapotoczny in 23rd. For the latter, these were his first points of that summer. In the second competition, the best among the Polish jumpers was Biegun, who, after attempts of 120 m and 116 m, took 8th place. Four other Poles also scored points. Zapotoczny was 7th after the first round (122 m), but with a second jump of only 106 m, he dropped to 24th in the final standings.