INFORMATION PORTAL OF THE MARSHAL'S OFFICE OF THE KUJAWSKO-POMORSKIE Region IN TORUŃ

Record holders’ outfits, medals and memorabilia from the biggest sporting events – for an entire month the Toruń Plaza shopping centre will be buzzing with athletics. All thanks to the exhibition opened on Friday (20 February), prepared by the Museum of World Athletics (MOWA). The ceremonial opening was attended by Marshal Piotr Całbecki, President of the Polish Athletic Association Sebastian Chmara, MOWA Director Chris Turner, Deputy Mayor of Toruń Adam Szponka, representatives of the sports community and outstanding athletes. The event accompanies preparations for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26.

“Welcome to Kujawy and Pomorze, the region of Nicolaus Copernicus – the man who taught the world to look at the sky differently. Sport, like space, has its own laws, its own stars and its breakthrough moments. It is no coincidence that the medal of the upcoming World Indoor Championships is shaped like a star, symbolising our region and its presence on the world map,” emphasised Marshal Piotr Całbecki. “The heritage of sport is not only memories of champions but also an opportunity for children and young people to create their own stories and dream about the future. Through our initiatives – including volunteering and the ‘50 Relays of Kujawy and Pomorze’ series – we inspire the young to take on challenges, overcome their limits and stay determined on their life paths. The star on the medal is a commitment: the light will not fade after the championships, and Kujawy and Pomorze will continue to shine – for sport, for young people and for a region that is boldly accelerating.”

“The memorabilia of the greatest stars of world athletics gathered at the exhibition already allow us, a month before the world championships, to feel the atmosphere of the season’s most important sporting event,” said Sebastian Chmara. “Because very soon, right here in Toruń, in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region, we will be able to watch live, among others, the outstanding Armand Duplantis, who keeps breaking record after record, as well as the biggest Polish stars. I am convinced that we will hear ‘Mazurek Dąbrowskiego’ more than once.”

“It is a nice feeling to be part of the history of world athletics,” said shot putter Tomasz Majewski, a two-time Olympic champion. “It is fantastic to know you have done something important and to recall those great moments spent in sporting arenas.”

“This exhibition has a special meaning for me,” said pole vaulter Paweł Wojciechowski, an ambassador of the championships. “It took me back to 1999, when the World Youth Championships were held in Bydgoszcz. I took part in that event in a completely different role – I was a ‘basket boy’, carrying hurdles. Then came 2008 – the World Junior Championships and my first international medal. It brings a tear to the eye. Although I am 37, today I am opening a museum where I am, in a way, an exhibit – my photograph greets visitors right at the entrance.”

“This museum is now located in Toruń, but it also exists in the virtual world. Access to the museum’s digital platform can be obtained via the World Athletics website,” – explained MOWA Director Chris Turner. “There are many artefacts here, but the exhibition also shows the context in which athletics champions won their medals and broke records. On the lift walls I recommend the poster showing women and men in the high jump and pole vault. The poster is life-size and best illustrates the heights athletes cleared while setting records.”

The exhibition is a journey through half a century of athletics history, full of unique exhibits from the Museum of World Athletics collection – outfits, shoes, medals and equipment with which the biggest stars of athletics won titles and broke records. Among them are the spikes of Marcus O’Sullivan, the 1987 world champion in the 1500 m, and the outfit of Devynne Charlton, in which she won the 2024 world indoor title and set the world record in the 60 m hurdles in Glasgow, as well as the spikes of the legendary Irena Szewińska, one of the most outstanding figures in the history of world sprinting, and the shoes of Robert Korzeniowski, four-time Olympic champion in race walking. Interactive installations also await visitors, including visualisations of world records in the high jump and pole vault, as well as a shot-put zone.

The museum’s collection has been enriched with further memorabilia donated during Friday’s ceremony by high jumper Kamila Lićwinko* and shot putter Tomasz Majewski. The meeting was also attended by Jason Gardener* and Robert Korzeniowski, four-time Olympic champion and legend of race walking, as well as athletes from our region: multiple Polish Championships long jump medallist Anna Matuszewicz and Paweł Wojciechowski, ambassador of the World Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26, pole vaulter and medallist of the European and World Championships.

*Kamila Lićwinko – Polish track and field athlete specialising in the high jump. Two-time Olympic finalist. World indoor champion, Universiade champion, and bronze medallist at the World Championships. Polish record holder both outdoors and indoors.

**Tomasz Majewski – Polish shot putter and sports official. Two-time Olympic champion in 2008 and 2012.

***Jason John Gardener – former British track and field athlete, sprinter. His greatest achievements include the Olympic title in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the Athens Olympic Games, as well as the world indoor title and four European indoor titles in the 60 metres.

The ceremony was highlighted by the presentation of the World Athletics Heritage Trophy to Sebastian Chmara, a prestigious distinction awarded by World Athletics. The President of the Polish Athletic Association, a native of Bydgoszcz, was recognised for his enormous contribution to the development of athletics. It is worth noting that Sebastian Chmara is the 1999 world indoor champion in the heptathlon (World Indoor Championships in Athletics).

MOWA Exhibition

Date: 21 February – 22 March 2026
Location: Toruń Plaza, ul. Broniewskiego 90
Opening hours: 9:00 – 21:00
Admission: free

In just a month, the world’s best athletes will begin competing for top honours at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Kujawy Pomorze 26. The competition at the Arena Toruń will start on 20 March. Morning sessions will begin each day at 10:05, while afternoon sessions will start at 18:35 on Friday and Saturday and at 17:40 on Sunday. The first medals – in the women’s high jump – will be awarded in the opening session of the championships.

The countdown of 100 days to the championships began with the ringing of the Tuba Dei bell.

Fifty days before the championships, we launched the “50 Relays of Kujawy and Pomorze” series. Every day, until the start of the event, sports activities are being held in all counties of the region.

The championship medals, featuring elements of the logo of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Tourist Organization on the obverse, were unveiled during a press conference.

Press Office of the Marshal’s Office
& the Polish Athletic Association

21 February 2026