Nadadores’ Polish Pipeline Ends With Him

Bart Kizierowski took his place in line. He came to Mission Viejo, the new world for Polish swimmers.

Artur Wojdat blazed the trail in 1985. When he won a bronze medal in the 1988 Olympics--becoming the first Polish swimmer to win a medal--the Eastern Bloc was pried open, at least in Poland. Every kid in Krakow who could execute a flip turn was trying to get to Mission Viejo to train with the Nadadores.

Those days are a memory and Kizierowski is a dinosaur, leaving large footprints. The pipeline that ran from Warsaw to Mission Viejo has been shut off.

“It’s sad, really,” Kizierowski said. “It was a great incentive to work harder. All the swimmers over there knew about Mission Viejo. Going to Mission Viejo was the opportunity to get better.”

Kizierowski is living proof. He arrived in 1993 as a 16-year-old kid. Now, he might be Poland’s best swimmer.

He made a case for himself in the European Championships last week, when he finished fourth in the 50-meter freestyle. Kizierowski continued his training for the Olympics with a second-place finish in the 100 free Friday at the Janet Evans Invitational at USC.

Kizierowski, 23, was the top-seeded swimmer after the prelims, but was touched out at the wall by Brazil’s Gustavo Borges, who tied the meet record with a time of 50.00 seconds. Kizierowski was second at 50.02.

“The guys who do well in the 50 and 100 freestyles are usually in their mid- to late 20s,” Nadadores Coach Bill Rose said. “He’s still a kid in his events.”

But he’s a kid trying to grow up fast. Kizierowski will swim the 50 and 100 freestyles for Poland at the Olympics. He finished 16th in the 100 free in the 1996 Olympics.

“You can swim in all the meets, but nothing compares to the Olympics,” said Kizierowski, who swam two seasons for Mission Viejo High. “It is the mental preparation that is totally different. It’s intense.”

Kizierowski was 8 when Wojdat and Wojciech Wyzga traveled from Poland to train with the Nadadores. The move paid off for Wojdat, who won a bronze medal in the 400 freestyle relay at the 1988 Olympics.

“I watched him on TV,” Kizierowski said. “It was a huge moment for Poland. I still have the tape and once in a while I’ll watch it. Not to study technique, but for the mental preparation. I love to watch how he acted just before the race.”

After Wojdat’s medal, swimmers poured in from Poland. Rafal Szukala came in 1990 and won Poland’s second Olympic medal, a silver in the 100 butterfly in 1992.

More than 25 have made the pilgrimage to Mission Viejo, all sponsored by Alex Kuryllo, a Villa Park developer.

Kuryllo, who fought in the Polish army during World War II, founded the Polish-American Sports Federation after the Soviet Union’s boycott made Poland a no-show at the 1984 Olympics. The group raised money to help bring Polish athletes to the United States.

“Unfortunately, that stream has dried up for us,” Rose said.

The federation no longer sponsors Polish athletes, Kizierowski said.

“We have some guys who come over here for college, but it’s not the same,” Kizierowski said. “I was fortunate to train over here when I was younger.”

It has paid off. He earned a college scholarship to California where he was the NCAA 200-yard freestyle champion in 1997 and the 100 freestyle champion in 1999.

“He has taken all the necessary steps all the way down the line, Southern Section champion, NCAA champion,” Rose said. “There is no reason to think he won’t go on developing.”

And Kizierowski knows where he took the first step.

“The coaches at Mission Viejo are great to train with,” Kizierowski said. “I will always swim for the Nadadores.”