The 24-year-old clocked in at a season's best of 34.89, finishing behind Laurent Dubreuil of Canada and Tingyu Gao of China in front of a cheering home crowd at the Tomaszów Mazowiecki Ice Arena in central Poland.
Żurek is a native of the central Polish town of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, some 110 kilometres southwest of the capital Warsaw.
Second-placed Tingyu Gao of China, winner Laurent Dubreuil of Canada and Poland's third-placed Damian Żurek pose with their medals for the men's 500 m in Tomaszów Mazowiecki on Sunday. Photo: PAP/Grzegorz Michałowski
Żurek's third-place finish marked Poland's third bronze medal at the three-day World Cup leg in Tomaszów Mazowiecki.
The other two bronzes for Poland came from Andżelika Wójcik, who finished third in the women's 500 metres, and the women's sprint team.
More than 250 speed skaters from 27 countries competed in a range of World Cup events at the Tomaszów Mazowiecki Ice Arena from Friday to Sunday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
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Source: IAR, PAP, TVP