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Larry Eder
Guest
Justyna Święty-Ersetic has been a star of Polish athletics since 2015, when she took a brozne with the 4x400m Polish women’s team in Praha 2015 European Indoor.
At the European Indoors, Justyna won 400m bronze medal in the 400 m in 2017 and silver in the 400m in 2021. In 2015, bronze, 2017, gold, 2019, gold, Justyna was a member of the amazing Polish women’s 4x400m relay teams.
A seasoned sprint racer, Justyna won gold in 2018 at 400m as an individual and then gold in 2018 and silver in 2022 in the 4x400m relay at the European Athletics Outdoor Championships.
With six medals at World Indoor Champs, all in the 4x400m relay, Justyna took silver in 2016, 2018, and 2025, and bronze in 2022 and 2026!
At World Outdoors, Justyna helped her team to silver in 2019, bronze in 2017, and bronze in 2025 at the 4x400m relay! Rewatch those races, watch Justyna race, and get her team into a better place.
Add to that gold in Mixed 4x400m in the Tokyo Olympics 2020 and silver in W 4x400m at Tokyo, and you have a bemedaled athlete!
It is with that pedigree and love of the sport that Justyna tells her fans why she is ending her season. She wants to compete at her best and is dealing with some difficulties, so she wants to come back to the sport she loves.
This writer has seen Justyna compete indoors and outdoors and enjoyed seeing her in Torun in 2019. We wish Justyna a complete recovery and look forward to seeing the doyen of Polish women’s 4x400m racing for over a decade race once again!
Justyna Święty-Ersetic on IG: (translated from Polish on IG)
“Sometimes the hardest decision is to choose yourself… Sport is a huge part of my life. It’s my passion, my place, and something that brings me joy, but this time I have to set a boundary and choose myself. Nothing is more important to me today than my health and well-being.
In my life, I’ve already been in a very dark place once. I fought hard to get out of it, and I promised myself that I would never again ignore the signals that my body and mind send me. This is not an easy decision. It hurts, because I know how much heart I put into every training session and every race. But I also know that no competition is more important than health.
I love sport, and I believe that this is not a goodbye, but merely a pause. I want to stand on the track again with joy, a smile, and the feeling that I’m there because I truly want to be. I want to experience those emotions again with you and give you—and above all, myself—reasons to be proud.
That’s why I’ve made the decision that you won’t see me on the track anymore this season. I need time. A moment to take care of myself, regain my peace, and come back stronger. Thank you to everyone who is with me and understands this decision. Your support means more to me than I can express. This is not the end. See you in the next season.
Justyna Święty-Ersetic, announces the end of the 2026 season via IG
This is the original post in Polish for our Polish readers:
Justyna Święty-Ersetic na IG: “Czasami najtrudniejszą decyzją jest postawić na siebie… Sport to ogromna część mojego życia. To moja pasja, moje miejsce i coś, co daje mi szczęście, ale tym razem muszę postawić granicę i wybrać siebie. Nie ma dla mnie dziś nic ważniejszego niż moje zdrowie i samopoczucie, dlatego nigdy więcej nie zignoruję sygnałów, które wysyłają mi moje ciało i głowa. To nie jest łatwa decyzja. Boli, bo wiem, ile serca wkładam w każdy trening i każdy start. Ale wiem też, że żadna rywalizacja nie jest ważniejsza od zdrowia. Kocham sport i wierzę, że to nie jest pożegnanie, tylko pauza. Chcę jeszcze nieraz stanąć na bieżni z radością, uśmiechem i poczuciem, że jestem tam, bo naprawdę tego chcę. Chcę znów przeżywać te emocje razem z Wami i dawać Wam, ale przede wszystkim sobie powody do dumy. Dlatego podjęłam decyzję, że w tym sezonie nie zobaczycie mnie już na bieżni. Potrzebuję czasu. Chwili, żeby zadbać o siebie, odzyskać spokój i wrócić silniejsza. Dziękuję każdemu, kto jest ze mną i rozumie tę decyzję. Wasze wsparcie znaczy dla mnie więcej, niż potrafię wyrazić. To nie koniec.Do zobaczenia w kolejnych sezonach “