#123: Czarek Odlanicki Poczobutt Represents Malta at Polish Open G1

Czarek Odlanicki Poczobutt represented Iron Taekwondo and the Malta Taekwondo Association at the Polish Open G1, held in Warsaw on 26–27 September 2026.

Competing in the senior men’s under-87 kg category, Czarek faced Italy’s Antonio Gerrone of G.S. Fiamme Oro in the quarter-final.

Gerrone secured a 2–0 victory in rounds, but Czarek fought well and delivered a respectable performance against an accomplished international opponent. Gerrone is a European Cadet Vice-champion. He also subsequently claimed the European junior heavyweight title in Sarajevo in 2021. Moving into senior competition, he won the Swedish Open G2 in 2022 and secured the Italian senior under-80 kg national title that same year. His career also includes appearances at the Rome World Taekwondo Grand Prix in 2022 and 2023.

Although the result brought his tournament to an end, the match provided valuable experience against an athlete with a strong record at both junior and senior level.

The strength of the Warsaw draw became even clearer in the next round. Gerrone lost 2–0 to Tunisia’s Firas Katoussi, the Paris 2024 Olympic under-80 kg champion, and finished with bronze. Katoussi went on to win the under-87 kg category, defeating Egypt’s Adham Elsheikh 2–0 in the final.

Czarek’s own journey combines international competition with an active contribution to taekwondo in Malta. Originally from Poland, he returned to Malta in 2024 as a qualified coach and second-Dan black belt, continuing to train and compete with Iron Taekwondo’s senior team while supporting the club’s coaching and administration. That year, he earned gold at the Invitational Games of the Small States in Malta and bronze at the Brussels Indoor Open.

Further success followed with gold at the Open de Liège in Belgium in 2025. In an interview after that achievement, Czarek traced his introduction to the sport to his father taking him to his first training session, highlighting discipline, respect, and self-control as central to his connection with taekwondo.

For Czarek, the Polish Open was another opportunity to test himself internationally while representing his club and Malta. His respectable showing against Gerrone adds to the experience he brings both to his own competitive development and to his work with fellow athletes at Iron Taekwondo.

You can catch the fight by clicking here and scrolling to match 426.