What did the talented musician do at the Age-Group Polish Triathlon Championships? He won! Marek Wojtynek, a student of the Silesian University of Technology, won in Rzeszów in the M20 age category at the beginning of June. Despite the difficulties in combining both passions, sport and music create a perfect harmony, without which he cannot imagine life.

Age-Group is an amateur triathlon category in which competitors swim, cycle and run without breaks. Competitions are held in various age categories. There is also an open classification for everyone.

– Age-Group is the same as elite competitions, i.e. the fastest wins. Basically, anyone who feels capable can take part in the championship. It is worth noting that the level among amateurs is really high and during the competition - as they say - "there is no soft game" - says Marek Wojtynek, a first-year student majoring in industrial mechatronics at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering.

This year's Age-Group Polish Triathlon Championships over the sprint distance took place in Rzeszów. The competitors swam 750 m in the "Żwirownia" reservoir, raced through the streets of Rzeszów on bicycles for twenty-one kilometres, and finally had to run five kilometres along the Wisłok River.

– I competed in the M20 age category, i.e. for people aged 20-25 – says a student of our University. – We started with swimming. Due to my somewhat unfortunate start, a group of five people separated from me. I finished this competition in sixth place. Then it was time for cycling and at some point, I was only in ninth place. Fortunately, I got the situation under control and with allowed drafting, i.e. using the wind tunnel behind the competitor's wheel, I started to regain the lost seconds.

Everything was decided in a murderous race, in which the student of the Silesian University of Technology turned out to be the best, which allowed him to make up for the loss and finish the competition in first place in his age category and fifth in the open classification.

In the open competition, he was only 52 seconds behind the winner, and only sixteen seconds short of the podium. The student managed to set the best time in the race. After an exhausting effort, he covered five kilometres in sixteen minutes and two seconds. He finished the entire competition with a time of one hour and two minutes.

– The run is the most difficult moment in the entire competition – says the hero of the article. – We are very tired after the previous stages, and often it is this stage that determines the final position. Maintaining a high pace until the end is often a struggle with your own thoughts. This is not easy. You can't give up in any of the three disciplines. Weakness will always be exploited. Details are also important. A lot of time can be saved in the transition area or when putting on your helmet or shoes properly.

This season, Marek Wojtynek also had the opportunity to represent the Silesian University of Technology in the Silesian Academic Championships and the Polish Academic Championships, including in swimming and mountain biking. Currently, the athlete is preparing for the next event in the Polish championship series, this time in cross triathlon, i.e. triathlon in mountain terrain, on an MTB bike and in a diversified terrain run.

– I train almost every day. One day I focus on cycling, the next on swimming and running. Triathlon is very diverse, and I love the lack of monotony about it, says Marek. – Anna Wer, my trainer from the Tomica Coaching team, writes down all my activities and it helps me a lot.