9 Mistrzostwa Polski w pływaniu na wodach otwartych 2021

In northeastern Poland lies Lake Oleckie Wielkie, where open water swimmers compete over distances up to ten kilometers. Held in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, this national championship in long-distance open water swimming—officially contested as Mistrzostwa Polski w pływaniu długodystansowym na wodach otwartych—serves as the premier title competition across Poland's inland lakes. The event is organized by the Polski Związek Pływacki, gathering the country's dedicated endurance athletes to contest national podiums. The summer championship takes place at the turn of July and August, when conditions in the lake settle into the prime window for distance swimming. Competitors gather along the shores of the town of Olecko, setting off directly from the waterfront into the open freshwater basin.

Staged across a full racing weekend, the event draws swimmers into a sheltered arena where tactical drafting, navigation around turns, and steady rhythm determine the titles. Athletes choose among four distinct race distances structured to test varying degrees of endurance. The program features a 2,500-meter event that welcomes emerging open water racers and sprinters transitioning to inland courses. Middle-distance competitors tackle the 5,000-meter and 7,500-meter courses, which demand a calculated pace and composure in dense race packs over prolonged laps. At the pinnacle of the weekend stands the 10,000-meter marathon swim, an exhausting test of stroke consistency and mental fortitude that crowns Poland's long-distance champions.

Lake Oleckie Wielkie: glacial channel depths and the Lega river

Lake Oleckie Wielkie is a classic channel-type lake, defined by elongated shorelines and steep underwater drops that plunge sharply away from the margins. The water body extends over a surface area of 227.3 hectares and reaches a maximum depth of 45.2 meters, holding a vast volume of water. Except for the shallow southern section known as Szyjka and the delta where the river flows in, the lake walls drop rapidly down toward the bottom. That hydrological balance is sustained by the Lega River, which flows into the lake along its southwestern shore. After moving through the basin, the river continues along its natural drainage course, eventually discharging into the Biebrza river network.

Further downstream along the river course lies the lake of Olecko Małe, an S-shaped water body covering 220.8 hectares at an elevation of 148.8 meters above sea level, where the Lega enters from the north and exits in the south. That lower lake features a flat, swampy eastern shore contrasting with a hilly western bank, and holds two small islands in its southern reach that submerge during spring floods. Gliding through the channel of Lake Oleckie Wielkie, swimmers pass over a bottom composed of firm sand and patches of stone. The lake is classified as a vendace-type fishery, supporting diverse freshwater species such as bream, tench, roach, perch, pike, rudd, smelt, bleak, carp, trout, catfish, ruffe, and eel.

Lake Oleckie Wielkie from the shore: access, beaches and the Lega

Lake Oleckie Wielkie measures 4,860 m from north to south and is at most 1,110 m wide. The lake is easy to reach from the Olecko side, while elsewhere it is surrounded by forest with steep banks. Along significant stretches of the shore, coastal vegetation makes the water unsuitable for bathing. Skocznia is a guarded beach on the lake with a bar, a pier, a diving platform, a water slide, a beach volleyball court, a WOPR base and water-equipment rental. A second guarded beach, known locally as Szyjka, has a diving platform and a lifeguard tower. The lake is also the starting point of the kayak route down the Lega river.

The 1540s hunting lodge and castle along the Lega

The early origins of Olecko are rooted directly in the riverway that nourishes the race venue. In the 1540s, a hunting lodge was erected on the banks of the Lega River. That outpost was subsequently transformed and expanded into a permanent castle. The town is nestled precisely at the mouth where the Lega flows into the southwestern shore of Great Olecko Lake.

Olecko lakefront: historic wooden pier, city beach, and Wiewiórcza Ścieżka

Today, the town waterfront along the southwestern shore serves as the focal point for open water swimming, offering an urban beach, a lakeside promenade, and a historic pier. On race morning, the sandy municipal beach and adjacent promenade fill with athletes warming up, spectators tracking the laps, and supporters welcoming finishers back to shore. Encircling the entire body of water is the Wiewiórcza Ścieżka, a 12-kilometer walking and cycling trail that winds along the lakeshore. For competitors after their race, walking the 'Wiewiórcza Ścieżka' path provides a gentle recovery route to stretch out tired arms. The broader surrounding region contains several distinctive lakes. Lake Sedraneckie, stretching 2,750 meters in length and 450 meters across with a 7,600-meter shoreline that includes Młyńska bay, is regarded as one of the cleanest lakes in the area thanks to its isolation from town settlements.

Its high, steep banks are shaded by mature multi-species woods that resemble primeval forests, sheltering waters inhabited by lake trout, whitefish, vendace, pike, zander, and burbot, with shallow one-meter passages isolating its terminal bays from the central basin. Within the Ełk Lake District lies Lake Dudeckie, an elliptical water body with a little-indented shoreline, four islands covering 2.5 hectares, and two small outflows. It receives inflow from Lake Zajdy to the north and Lake Kukowino to the south before discharging toward Lake Dworackie, with reeds, rushes, and sweet flag covering 80 percent of its banks over 8.2 hectares. The upstream feeder basin of Lake Zajdy, extending across a 4,650-meter perimeter with an average depth of 5.3 meters, is a high-calcium stratified water body containing a small island and populated by roach, pike, and bream.

Nearby Lake Romoty sits at an elevation of over 148 meters, covering more than 40 hectares with an average depth of 5.7 meters and maximum depths reaching 11.6 meters. Its margins shelter yellow and white water-lilies, stoneworts, and water soldiers alongside reeds and sweet flag, providing habitat for catfish, zander, perch, and pike. Lake Oleckie Wielkie provides swimmers with an authentic venue to contest the national championships.