By Alicja Karlic and Alina Klin
Last Sunday afternoon the Michigan Chapter of the Kosciuszko Foundation (KF), still the “new kid on the block”, as it was established only last year, put on an excellent event, “A Conversation with Paul Juda” during which Paul Juda, a Polish American, a world-class athlete, and bronze medalist in gymnastics at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, candidly talked about his life, his career and the importance of his Polish heritage.
A very interesting conversation was expertly moderated by Jon Paul Morosi of the MLB and NHL Networks, himself a very accomplished sports journalist, also of Polish descent, and was co-organized by the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame (NPASHF). It took place at the American Polish Cultural Center in Troy, where the NPASHF is located.
Before the audience had a chance to hear from Paul Juda, Annette Raczkowski and Barbara Wisniewski, co-presidents of the KF Michigan Chapter welcomed the guests.
Then James Conrad, NPASHF Executive Director presented Paul Juda with the “Excellence in Sports Award”, a recognition which Paul Juda accepted with sincere gratitude and happiness.
Twenty-three-year-old Paul Juda has won numerous titles and awards, among them the award for the best collegiate gymnast in the United States in 2023, the so-called Nissen Emery Award. This award is presented to a collegiate gymnast who has not only distinguished himself during his college career but also to an athlete who has demonstrated outstanding athletic achievement, good sportsmanship and adherence to the principles of fair play.
Paul Juda is a gymnast for the University of Michigan Wolverine team which has been one of the best collegiate men’s gymnastics teams in the United States. Born in Des Plaines, Illinois, Paul admires Michigan’s rich history of gymnastics and was especially inspired by another Polish American and UM athlete, three-time Olympian, Sam Mikulak, who participated in the 2012 Olympics while he was still at UM. A few years ago, Juda’s role model, now a coach, also received the same award from NPASHF.
During the 2024 Paris Olympics Paul Juda was a critical “Team USA” member and helped to bring home a medal for the first time in 16 years. Especially his performance on the pommel horse was crucial for the team’s overall score.
His path to Paris took many years of hard work, during which Paul faced challenges, and was able to overcome obstacles such as injuries and defeats while training to become his best and win medals for his UM team and the US.
It was a huge blow to his confidence, when in 2020 he did not qualify for the US Olympic team. Not only at that time, but also during the 2024 Olympics, visualization was the technique which helped him a lot while under stress and pressure.
During the meeting Paul, with natural ease, conjured up some moments of his great happiness, as for instance, the moment when he learned that he qualified for the 2024 team USA and cried, or when during the Olympics he finished his routine on the pommel horse, and was ecstatic once he realized that he had nailed it. His exuberance and emotions were real and sincere, and the audience identified with them immediately.
During the Q&A Richard Walawender asked about living in the Olympic village. Paul explained that although the American Olympians do not get monetary compensation when they win medals – while many other countries pay their athletes for their achievements, sometimes quite lavishly – they really are very well taken care of. In Paris, it included air-conditioning, which was not available to others, meat flown in when the sustainable diet did not provide enough protein, hot tubs, massages and many other amenities.
Some lessons (yes, there were some!) which we took away from this fascinating and very inspirational meeting were: always stick to the plan, do not find excuses to put off doing something; if you are down, look for psychological help, and – he did not say it verbatim, but this was clearly the underpinning of the entire meeting – acknowledge the people who helped you on the way and show your gratitude for your good fortune and accomplishments.
And that was what Paul Juda did many times throughout the evening, emphasizing the role of his parents and his girlfriend in his success, particularly in his sports career.
Paul’s parents are immigrants from Poland who came to the US with aspirations for a better life for themselves and their children. They taught Paul the value of hard work. Paul is proud of his Polish heritage; he says that “Polish blood flows in his veins.” He is very grateful to his parents for the time they devoted to bringing him up him and driving him to sports classes for many years.
Paul communicates with his parents in Polish, which he speaks very well, even though he has been to Poland only once. Even as a kid he could not afford to miss a few weeks of practice as it would have set him back. It was his initiative to switch to Polish in the part of the interview in which he talked about the importance of his Polish heritage. Brawo, Panie Pawle! Przyznajemy Panu złoty medal za znajomość języka polskiego!
It was very touching to see how Sunday’s meeting was streamed to his parents who were not able to attend. This shows how close Paul is to his family.
Paul Juda earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 2023 and is now a graduate student at Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School. At Sunday’s meeting, Paul was accompanied by his girlfriend, gymnast Reyna Guggino, an NCAA champion. They have supported each other throughout their sports careers.
It was a privilege to meet such an outstanding athlete and a very warm, sincere and surprisingly relatable young Polish American.
Thank you and congratulations to the event organizers!
