Jan Guńka

Jan Guńka
	Guńka in 2024
Personal information
Nationality	Polish
Born	14 April 2002 (age 22); Zakopane, Poland
Sport
Country	Poland
Sport	Biathlon
Medal record
Men's biathlon
Representing Poland
Junior World Championships
Youth World Championships

Jan Guńka (born 14 April 2002) is a Polish biathlete.^[1]

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.^[2] 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 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.