Margalit continues her love affair with Lomianki 

The Lomianki audience were treated to incredible dance moves and skills as Para dancers returned to one of their favourite competitions, the Polish Open, in style during the weekend.

Not just the familiar names dazzled with their dancing styles, newcomers made a mark as 60 dancers from 10 nations graciously swayed and danced to the tunes of hit numbers in the second World Para Dance Sport competition of the season. 

Top names dazzle

Among the top finishers, Israel’s Tomer Margalit clinched two gold medals in women’s single 1 and combi freestyle 1 events and continued her winning streak at the Polish Open, that celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2023.

Margalit, silver medallist in the Bonn 2019 World Championships, combined with Halaf Orel to take the combi gold ahead of her compatriots Sean Ziv & Vital Zinger and Mazor Gil & Vashbein Anna.

In the single event, it was again Margalit and Zinger, the Worlds and European Championships medallist, who claimed the first-second position. 

Local dancer Matusiak Magdalena finished in third place. 

Israel’s gold medal winning show continued as Wax Meital claimed the first place in the women's single 2 event, finishing ahead of big names like Belgium’s Sofie Cox and Austria’s Sanja Vukasinovic.

For Cox, the silver medal was a comeback boost as she was returning after a gap following surgeries.

Local stars impress

Israel’s impressive show was equally matched by local stars as they claimed three gold medals in combi, duo and men single events.

Experienced Pawel Karpinski, the 2010 world champion besides silver and bronze medallist at the championships, lived to the expectation of the home audience claiming the gold in men’s single 1+2 final. 

Karpinski had the company of Ciok Michal - Nowokunska Katarzyna at the top of the podium as the Prague 2022 European champion pair put up a captivating show for the gold medal in the combi 2 final.

In the freestyle duo event, Poland dominated with Katarzyna Bloch – Malgorzata Bloch taking the gold followed by Bartlomiej Kurek – Sara Staszyszyn.

The Polish Open 2023 also witnessed the international debut of four dancers with Italy’s Enzo Palombo impressing with his dance moves. He went on to clinch his first international medal, the bronze in men's single 1+2 event.

What’s next?

After the European show, the World Para Dance Sport action will shift to Asia for the Tokyo 2023 Para Dance Sport International Competition in Japan starting 5 August. 

But the sole focus will be on the Genoa 2023 Para Dance Sport World Championships in Italy scheduled to take place from November 24 to 26.

Complete results from the Para Dance Polish Open 2023 will be available here.