Three Paralympians from Kujawsko-Pomorskie will take part in the 17th Paralympic Games, which will begin tomorrow (28 August) in Paris.
Two weeks after the end of the Olympic Games, the capital of France will be taken over by athletes with disabilities competing in 22 disciplines and as many as 235 events. In Paris, Poland will be represented by 84 athletes (including nine with an assistant, pilot or guide). This group includes three athletes from Kujawy and Pomerania – Klaudia Maliszewska (GKS Olimpia Grudziądz, shot put), Paulina Przywecka-Puziak (Association of Sports and Rehabilitation of the Disabled “Start” Bydgoszcz; weightlifting) and Tomasz Pauliński (Association of Sports and Rehabilitation of the Disabled “Start” Bydgoszcz; shot put). All three have already made their Paralympic debut, having competed in Tokyo 2021.
Klaudia Maliszewska (32 years old) has been training since she was 13. She has a bronze medal at the World Championships (London 2017), medals at the European Championships (silver and bronze). At the Paralympic Games in Tokyo she took fifth place.
Paulina Przywecka-Puziak (32 years old) comes from Nakło and plays for Start Bydgoszcz, where she trains under Damian Sikorski. She has 18 Polish weightlifting championship titles under her belt, competing in the up to 67 kg category. She came eighth in Tokyo and wants to improve on that result on the Seine.
Tomasz Pauliński (35 years old), from Bydgoszcz, has been successfully competing in para-athletic championship events in discus throw and shot put for over a decade. As a shot putter, he even became world and European champion. During the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, he took 4th place, just off the podium.
The Paralympic team also includes coach Grażyna Chochliuk, who normally trains players at GKS Olimpia Grudziądz. – I am glad that after a dozen or so years of work, I will go to the Olympic Games as a coach of the para-athletes team, and in Paris at that. – says the Grudziądz trainer. – I will have the opportunity to closely watch the starts of Klaudia Maliszewska and Tomasz Pauliński. Our shot putters are among the world’s best and are capable of reaching at least the final eight.
The Paralympic Games begin in Paris on August 28 and will last until September 8. The first competition for people with disabilities was organized in 1948 in London, and the first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960. Poles made their debut at the event in 1972 in Munich. Since then, our representatives have won a total of 798 medals. At the last games in Tokyo in 2021, the Polish team won 24 medals – 7 gold, 6 silver and 11 bronze.
Paralympians from Kujawy and Pomerania have won six medals at the games. The multi-medalist is Mirosław Piesak (Triumf Start Bydgoszcz, swimming), who won 4 medals (gold – Atlanta 1996 50 m freestyle; two silvers – Atlanta 50 m backstroke, Athens 2004 50 m backstroke; bronze – Sydney 2000, 50 m freestyle). Two medals were won by Arleta Meloch (Olimpia Grudziądz), a para athlete – silver in 800 m in Sydney 2000 and bronze in 1500 m in London 2012). We look forward to more successes of para athletes from the region.
Department of Sports and Tourism of the Marshal’s Office
August 27, 2024
