Anna Michaliszyn (English)

Z Historia Wisły

Anna Michaliszyn: Born on February 26th, 1975, she was a gymnast for Wisła Kraków, a representative of her country, a multiple medalist at the Polish Championships, and a participant in international competitions and matches between nations. She was a two-time Polish National Champion in the all-around (1993 and 1994) and won gold medals three times at the Polish National Championships on the uneven bars (1993, 1994, 1995), twice on the balance beam (1993, 1995), and once in the vault (1996). In 1988, she was a member of the Junior National Team, and from 1989 to 1996, she was a member of the Senior National Team of the Polish Gymnastics Federation. She concluded her sporting career in 1996.

Privately, she is the daughter of the head of the gymnastics section from 1990 to 2010, Andrzej Michaliszyn.

Currently, Anna Michaliszyn (Pawlak) resides in San Antonio, Texas, USA, where she works as a gymnastics coach. Following in Anna's footsteps, her daughters, Natalia and Kamila, have been successfully training in artistic gymnastics. Besides holding American citizenship, they also possess Polish citizenship. In 2016, Natalia Pawlak and Kamila Pawlak also became gymnasts for TS Wisła.

Return after years June 14th, 2008

Anna Michaliszyn is the last representative of Wisła who managed to win the Polish gymnastics all-around championship in 1993 and 1994.

Currently, Ania lives with her family in the United States in Arizona. However, she has not forgotten the time she spent in the TS Wisła gym and gladly visits our club during her trips to Krakow. She pleasantly surprised us on Thursday when she decided to meet with Coach Kaliszewski, under whose guidance she had the pleasure of training years ago. On this occasion, we asked our champion to share her impressions of her visit to her home club and her life in the USA.

While living abroad, Anna Michaliszyn has not lost touch with gymnastics, as she trains children in Arizona, where there is a high demand for the sport. The popularity of gymnastics across the ocean is evident in the fact that gymnastic sections in American clubs typically have around 700 gymnasts. Also, the age at which the youngest children begin training is lower than in Poland. The training itself and the coaching techniques are quite similar to those used in our club, which reflects the high level of professionalism in developing gymnastic talent at Biała Gwiazda (White Star).

During our conversation, Anna noticed significant progress in the gymnastics section of Wisła in recent years. She believes that the technical level has greatly improved, which is the result of the entire coaching and training staff under Coach Kaliszewski's leadership. Unfortunately, Anna did not have the opportunity to see our most talented gymnast, Gabrysia Janik, in action, but she was very impressed with her achievements.

At the end of the conversation, I asked Anna for advice to pass on to our young gymnasts. What she said may seem simple, but many athletes forget this fundamental principle. - To feel fulfilled both physically and mentally, you must love your sport unconditionally and approach training with 100% dedication – says Ania, adding: - During competitions, instead of just thinking about winning or securing the top spot, you should go out and give it your all, from the depths of your heart.

This attitude should be wished for all the TS Wisła athletes.