# Rafał Omelko

Rafał Omelko (Polish pronunciation:; born 16 January 1989) is a retired Polish athlete who specialised in the 400 metres. He won two medals in the 4 × 400 metres relay at the European Athletics Championships.

## Career

Omelko finished fourth at the 2013 Summer Universiade and reached the semifinals at the 2014 World Indoor Championships.
His personal bests in the event are 45.14 seconds outdoors (2016) and 46.08 indoors (2017).
Omelko and his teammates qualified to the 4 × 400 metres relay final at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Polish quartet of Karol Zalewski, Rafał Omelko, Łukasz Krawczuk, Jakub Krzewina broke the world indoor record in the men's 4x400m with a stunning finish to the final track event of the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham. Krzewina overtook the leaders from the beginning - Americans on the last straight and achieved the greatest success in their career.

## Competition record

| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
| Representing Poland ||||||
| 2008 | World Junior Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:08.65 |
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 24th (h) | 400 m hurdles | 52.54 |
| 2011 | European U23 Championships | Ostrava, Czech Republic | 2nd$^†$ | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:05.96 (h)$^†$ |
| 2013 | European Indoor Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | – | 4 × 400 m relay | DQ |
| 2013 | Universiade | Kazan, Russia | 4th | 400 m | 45.69 |
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 7th (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:01.73 |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 9th (sf) | 400 m | 46.94 |
| 2014 | World Indoor Championships | Sopot, Poland | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:04.39 |
| 2014 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 19th (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:05.16 |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 21st (sf) | 400 m | 46.69 |
| 2014 | European Championships | Zürich, Switzerland | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 2:59.85 |
| 2015 | European Indoor Championships | Prague, Czech Republic | 3rd | 400 m | 46.26 |
| 2015 | European Indoor Championships | Prague, Czech Republic | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:02.97 |
| 2015 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 9th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:03.23 |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | 13th (sf) | 400 m | 46.62 |
| 2015 | Universiade | Gwangju, South Korea | 3rd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:07.77 |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 11th (h) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:00.72 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 6th | 400 m | 45.67 |
| 2016 | European Championships | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 2nd | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:01.18 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 19th (sf) | 400 m | 45.28 |
| 2016 | Olympic Games | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | 7th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:00.50 |
| 2017 | European Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 2nd | 400 m | 46.08 PB |
| 2017 | European Indoor Championships | Belgrade, Serbia | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:06.99 |
| 2017 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 9th (h) | 4 × 200 m relay | 1:24.78 |
| 2017 | IAAF World Relays | Nassau, Bahamas | 3rd (B) | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:07.89 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 18th (sf) | 400 m | 45.37 |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 7th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:01.59 |
| 2017 | Universiade | Taipei, Taiwan | 3rd | 400 m | 45.56 |
| 2017 | Universiade | Taipei, Taiwan | – | 4 × 400 m relay | DNF |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 8th (sf) | 400 m | 46.39 |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 1st | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:01.77 WIR |
| 2018 | European Championships | Berlin, Germany | 5th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:02.27 |
| 2019 | European Indoor Championships | Glasgow, United Kingdom | 4th | 4 × 400 m relay | 3:08.40 |
$^†$: Competed only in heat.