Jan Guńka

{{Infobox sportsperson

| name = Jan Guńka

| image = Gunka J. – Biathlon WCh 2024 Nove Mesto 2786.jpg

| caption = Guńka in 2024

| nationality = Polish

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|2002|04|14|df=y}}

| birth_place = Zakopane, Poland

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education =

| alma_mater =

| occupation =

| years_active =

| spouse =

| country = Poland

| sport = Biathlon

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry| {{POL}} }}

}}

Jan Guńka (born 14 April 2002) is a Polish biathlete.{{Cite web|url=https://www.realbiathlon.com/athletes.html?ibuId=BTPOL11404200201|title=Athlete Statistics – real biathlon|website=www.realbiathlon.com}}

Career

Jan Guńka gained his first international experience at the 2019 Youth World Championships, achieving a best individual result of 22nd place in the sprint. The following winter, he competed in the IBU Junior Cup, securing Top-10 finishes with the relay team at the IBU Junior Cup and Youth World Championships. He also participated in the Youth Olympic Games, finishing 10th in the individual event and eighth with the mixed relay team.

In January 2021, Guńka made his debut in the IBU Cup at Arber, earning ranking points with a 36th-place finish in the sprint. The Junior World Championships of the same year were highly successful for him, winning the bronze medal in the sprint behind Denis Irodow and Fabio Piller Cottrer. Additionally, he and his teammates Konrad Badacz and Marcin Zawół emerged victorious in the relay race.

Despite his successes in the junior category, it was somewhat surprising after the season's end that he clinched the Polish national title in the individual event, surpassing competitors like Grzegorz Guzik.{{Cite web|url=https://eurosport.tvn24.pl/geoblocking.shtml|title=Eurosport is not available in your region|website=eurosport.tvn24.pl}} Throughout the winter of 2021/22, Guńka dominated every race he participated in, except for one individual competition. Consequently, he made his World Cup debut in January at the Oberhof competitions, finishing his first sprint in 67th place.

At the 2022 Junior European Championships, Guńka secured another medal in the pursuit race, although a missed weekend prevented him from winning the overall Junior Cup. At the end of the season, he rejoined the World Cup team, improving his best result in Otepää by one position.

Despite his young age, Guńka was not part of the Junior Cup in the 2022/23 season but consistently featured in the national team for the World Cup. In 2022, he struggled to make an impact, but success returned in January. At Pokljuka, he was the leadoff skier for the mixed relay alongside Marcin Zawół, Kamila Żuk, and Joanna Jakieła, finishing in eighth place. In Ruhpolding, Guńka, along with Marcin Zawół, Grzegorz Guzik, and Andrzej Nędza-Kubiniec, achieved Poland's best result in a men's relay since the 2006/07 season with a 10th-place finish.

Guńka achieved his best individual performance for the 2023 World Championships. Despite two shooting misses, he finished 39th in the sprint, qualifying for his first pursuit race at the World Cup level, where he finished 48th—the season concluded with the Junior World Championships, where the Pole won the silver medal in the sprint, finishing behind Campbell Wright.

Personal life

He is the son of Polish biathlete Halina Nowak-Guńka. He also has an older brother, Kacper Guńka, who is also a biathlete.{{Cite web|url=https://limanowa.in/sport/jan-gunka-dwukrotnym-mistrzem-polski-w-biathlonie/48263|title=Jan Guńka dwukrotnym mistrzem Polski w biathlonie|first=Jacek|last=Bugajski|date=December 29, 2023|website=limanowa.in}}

Career results

=World Championships=

0 medals

class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
" !Event !style="width:70px;"\|Individual !style="width:70px;"\|Sprint !style="width:70px;"\|Pursuit !style="width:70px;"\|{{nowrap\|Mass start}} !style="width:70px;"\|Relay !style="width:70px;"\|{{nowrap\|Mixed relay}} !style="width:70px;"\|{{nowrap\|Single mixed relay}}
align=left\|{{flagicon\|GER}} 2023 Oberhof	87th	39th	48th	—	17th	—	—
align="left" \|{{flagicon\|CZE}} 2024 Nové Město na Moravě \|61st \|73rd \|— \|— \|9th \|15th \|—
align=left \|{{flagicon\|SUI}} 2025 Lenzerheide \| 91st \| 55th \| 53rd \| — \| 16th \| 14th \| —

=Youth and Junior World Championships=

5 medals (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%; text-align:center; border:grey solid 1px; border-collapse:collapse; background:#ffffff;"

! style="background-color:#369; color:white; width:160px;"|Year

! style="background-color:#369; color:white; width:40px;"| Age

! style="background-color:#4180be; color:white; width:75px;"| Individual

! style="background-color:#4180be; color:white; width:75px;"| Sprint

! style="background-color:#4180be; color:white; width:75px;"| Pursuit

! style="background-color:#4180be; color:white; width:75px;"| Mass Start

! style="background-color:#4180be; color:white; width:75px;"| Relay

align=left |{{flagicon|SVK}} 2019 Brezno-Osrblie

| 16

| 71st

| 22nd

| 46th

| rowspan="5" style="background: #f0f1f4; color:gray; text-align:center;" class="table-na" |N/A

| 9th

align=left |{{flagicon|SUI}} 2020 Lenzerheide

| 17

| 19th

| 18th

| 6th

align=left |{{flagicon|AUT}} 2021 Obertilliach

| 18

| 24th

| style="background:#cfaa88;"|Bronze

| 9th

| style="background:gold"| Gold

align=left |{{flagicon|USA}} 2022 Soldier Hollow

| 19

| 21st

| 15th

| 25th

| —

align=left |{{flagicon|KAZ}} 2023 Shchuchinsk

| 20

| 8th

| style="background:silver"| Silver

| 19th

| 5th

align=left |{{flagicon|EST}} 2024 Otepää

| 21

| style="background:#cfaa88;"|Bronze

| style="background:silver"| Silver

| style="background: #f0f1f4; color:gray; text-align:center;" class="table-na" |N/A

| 8th

| 6th

References

External links

{{sports links}}

Category:2002 births

Category:Living people

Category:Polish male biathletes

Category:Sportspeople from Zakopane

Category:Biathletes from Lesser Poland Voivodeship

Category:Biathletes at the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics

Category:21st-century Polish sportsmen