Puchar Warmii i Mazur w Pływaniu Długodystansowym (PWiM) 2022

The Puchar Warmii i Mazur w Pływaniu Długodystansowym is a multi-stage open water swimming series held in the lakes of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, culminating in the provincial capital of Olsztyn. Organized across the summer months, the circuit brings swimmers together to experience the serene freshwater lakes. The series was developed by Stowarzyszenie Pływackie Masters Olsztyn, which has built the championship into an established regional tradition across seven successive editions. The competition gets underway in Rajgród, offering swimmers the choice between 1.5-kilometer and 5-kilometer courses where wetsuits are permitted. From there, the tour moves to Ełk for a pure skins swim over 2.8 kilometers where thermal neoprene is prohibited, before visiting Wejsuny with 0.5-kilometer and 3-kilometer events that allow wetsuits back into the water.

As midsummer arrives, the championship moves into some of its most demanding stretches of continuous swimming. In Mrągowo, participants take to the water for a 3.5-kilometer challenge without the buoyancy or warmth of wetsuits. The following stop in Olecko raises the distance further to a rigorous 4.5-kilometer course contested strictly in standard swimwear, demanding steady cadence and cold-water adaptation. The circuit also frequents the expansive waters of Lake Niegocin off Wilkasy near the local amphitheater, staging races spanning 200 meters up to 2,950 meters where wetsuits are allowed alongside divisions for uniformed service competitors. The multi-stage journey finishes in Olsztyn, where a 3-kilometer swim with permitted wetsuits decides the championship standings.

The Łyna river and glacial lakes of Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship

Rising south of the regional border near the town of Łyna, the Łyna River links many of the region's natural lake systems. Swimmers travelling between the stages encounter a landscape shaped by these continuous waterways. Along its winding path, the Łyna feeds into several prominent inland basins, including Lake Łańskie, which ranks as the seventeenth deepest lake in all of Poland. Dense woodlands flank the lake's eastern shorelines under the formal protection of the Las Warmiński Nature Reserve. Artificial channels link surrounding basins such as Lake Czarne and Lake Ukiel into a shared aquatic matrix.

The lakes of the stages: Rajgród, Ełk, Mrągowo and Olecko

Lake Rajgrodzkie, beside the town of Rajgród, is 9.4 m deep on average and 52.0 m at its deepest. Lake Ełckie, on which the town of Ełk stands, is at most 4 km long and 3.5 km wide. Lake Czos, in the Mrągowo Lakeland, lies entirely within the boundaries of Mrągowo, together with the Czterech Wiatrów peninsula. Lake Czos has two arms, a narrower western one 3.5 km long and a wider eastern one 1.5 km long. Lake Oleckie Wielkie, on whose western shore the town of Olecko lies, measures 4,860 m from north to south, is at most 1,110 m wide and 45.2 m deep, and covers 227.3 hectares. The Olecko Open Swimming Marathon, in its jubilee 30th edition, covers 4.5 km.

The Warmian Chapter Castle and Nicolaus Copernicus on the Łyna

A strategic watchtower was initially established on the Łyna in 1334, marking the early defensive settlement of the basin. Between 1346 and 1353, the monumental Warmian Chapter Castle was raised within a sharp, naturally protective bend of the river, utilizing the watercourse as a natural barrier against approaching armies. In its medieval layout, the fortress relied entirely on surrounding aquatic defenses, enclosed by high brick walls and a deep moat with approach secured across a drawbridge spanning the Łyna. The stronghold was dominated by an imposing defensive tower, built in the mid-14th century and later heightened in the early 16th century to stand 40 meters tall above the river plain.

The moat remained flooded until 1845, when it was drained and replaced with an earthen embankment that physically integrated the castle grounds with the expanding town center. The castle's most famous administrator was the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus, who resided within the north-eastern wing where his private living chambers overlooked the rushing water of the Łyna and the castle mill. Copernicus oversaw the fortification works and managed the successful defense of the castle during the Teutonic invasion of 1521. During his stay, he inscribed an astronomical board to record solar equinoxes, an invaluable scientific instrument that remains preserved on the fortress wall today.

Mszar peatland reserve and Lake Długie in Olsztyn

Close to the urban center lies Lake Długie, presenting 4,080 meters of shoreline and reaching maximum depths of 17.3 meters alongside an average depth of 5.3 meters. Hydrologically, the lake is an entirely closed basin without natural surface inlets or outlets, causing it to function as a bradymictic water body with minimal internal water turnover. Immediately east of the lake's northern bay lies the Mszar nature reserve, an enclosed hollow within the Municipal Forest that was established as a strict peatland reserve in 1953. The 5.24-hectare reserve occupies an ancient lake basin that completely filled over centuries with a peat deposit averaging 13 meters in thickness. Sitting at an elevation of 115 meters above sea level, the surface of this primeval peat mire rests several meters higher than the clear water surface of neighboring Lake Długie.

This elevated wetland supports delicate bog forest plant associations, including specialized communities of bog bilberry pine and peat moss. Botanists and walking naturalists explore the reserve margins to catch sight of rare insectivorous flora flourishing in the damp acidic moss, including protected colonies of round-leaved sundew and long-leaved sundew. The serene, wind-sheltered setting provides swimmers a quiet refuge for post-race walks beneath the surrounding canopy.

Lake Ukiel city beach and Park Centralny on the Łyna

The primary center for lake life in the regional capital is Lake Ukiel, the largest water body within the city limits of Olsztyn, holding over 43 million cubic meters of water. Its varied shoreline serves as the city's main summer meeting point, hosting an expansive municipal bathing beach alongside lakeside hotels and guesthouses catering to travelling swimmers. Back along the urban corridor of the Łyna, the city's relationship with water continues through Park Centralny, a landscaped parkland spanning 13 hectares along the riverbanks. The riverfront park is woven together by four footbridges and provides a modern canoe marina for paddlers exploring the central waterways. At the center of the park, an elliptical fountain features partially submerged hemispheres illustrating the orbital planes of the solar system, continuing Olsztyn's homage to Copernicus's celestial discoveries.

Just downstream lies Park Zamkowy, resting at the base of the Warmian Chapter Castle right on the perimeter of the Old Town. The parkland is shaded by historic trees, including four monumental purple European beeches designated as natural monuments, boasting massive trunk circumferences ranging from 227 to 300 centimeters.