A teenage jet ski champion has died in a horrific high-speed crash during a competitive race.
Igor Tycel suffered fatal injuries when his watercraft collided with another competitor last Saturday (9 May).
The reigning national champion collided with a 54-year-old competitor during the opening round of the Polish Jet Ski Championships on the Vistula River in Płock, Poland.
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The 19-year-old was competing in the Runabout Stock Box class when the crash occurred.
Both racers were thrown from their watercraft and pulled beneath the surface near the city’s popular tourist pier.
While the older competitor emerged without serious injury, Igor was pulled unconscious from the water by safety crews.
Paramedics and an airborne medical team from the Polish Medical Air Rescue attempted to resuscitate the teenager on the riverbank.
He was pronounced dead at the scene, forcing devastated race officials to abandon the remainder of the championship event immediately.
In a moving tribute, the Polish Motorboat and Water Ski Association retired the victim’s race number 27 for life across all national water scooter events.
President Franciszek Haber said: “We want the number 27 to become a symbol.
“We want it to always remind each of us of this wonderful man.
“Igor simply deserves it, and in this way we can commemorate him and emphasise how much we miss him.”
Igor, who competed for the WKSM JetRiders club in Wrocław, was the reigning Polish champion in the Runabout Stock Box category and a bronze medallist at the European Championships.
He had also competed in world championship rounds and was described by the sport’s governing body as a “wonderful man” and a “rising talent”.
Igor’s funeral took place in the church in his hometown of Malczyce yesterday (14 May), as reported by Need To Know.
Investigators seized both jet skis, race documentation, drone footage, and the victim’s helmet and racing suit.
Witness statements were taken from the judges and all 12 participants in the heat.
The investigation continues.
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