Weronika Górniak is the latest addition to the Centre of Excellence. She has joined the CoE on a permanent basis.

There is a lot of activity at the Badminton Europe Centre of Excellence. One of the new players joining CoE is the Polish U17 national women’s singles and mixed doubles champion, Weronika Górniak.

- Since I hit the shuttle for the first time, I liked this sport. I really enjoyed every training and I could not wait until the next one. That is why I have never thought about changing sports, Górniak said.

The Polish talent picked up the racket for the first time at the age of nine, and winning three gold medals at Polish Championships in her age categories shows that she for sure is one to watch.

Badminton and education
Now she left home and moved to Denmark to join the CoE in Holbaek – but not only for playing badminton, Górniak is also going to study.

- I joined the CoE because it is a place where I can develop further. What I like is that here everyone is professional. The coaches have an individual approach and all the players create an exceptional atmosphere which helps to work hard and push limits, Górniak stated.

- Connecting school with trainings means a lot to me. I want to develop not only as an athlete but also as a human. The IB program will allow me to get an internationally examination which allows me to study at university in the future if I decide to enroll into higher education.

The Olympic dream
On court the ambitions are high: the 17-year-old aims for the Olympics:

- My big dream is to win an Olympic medal. My current long-term goal is to represent my country in the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, Górniak mentioned.

Who inspires you?

- My role model is Carolina Marin. She proved that with hard work and persistence everyone can achieve goals no matter who you are or where you are from, the youngster said.

More information about Weronika Górniak here