Wojtek Czyz
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| Nationality | German | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
July 30, 1980 Wodzisław Śląski, Poland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Wojtek Czyz (b. July 30, 1980) is a German Paralympic athlete from Polish part of Silesia.
In 2001, he was an aspiring professional soccer player, and had just signed terms with SC Fortuna Köln.[1] He ran for a loose ball, when the opposing goalkeeper rammed his knee, causing multiple fractures and compartment syndrome. According to Czyz, the injury was gravely underestimated due to professional failure. Due to delays in treatment, his leg had to be amputated. However, Czyz rebounded and established himself as one of the most successful German athletes in the T/F42 class for above-knee amputees.
Athletics success
Eleven months after his amputation, at the German Championships in 2002, Czyz broke the National record for F42 long jump and won the T42 100m event.[2]
He won triple Gold Medals at the 2004 Paralympics. He won the 100 m and the 200 m dash the long jump for leg amputees, setting World Records in the latter two.[3][4] In the European Championship of 2005, he repeated his triple crown, winning each discipline again. At the 2006 IPC Athletics World Championships he again won triple gold medals.[1]
As of January 2013, Czyz is world record holder in the Men's F42 Long Jump event.[5] He has broken his own world mark several times.[3][6] He beat his 2008 Paralympics record twice at the 2009 IWAS World Games, but wind assistance invalidated both jumps.[7]
Personal life
As of September 2012, Czyz was a sport student in Cologne.[8] His personal motto is "don't think of what you were, but of what you are and of what you aspire to be" ("denk nicht an das was du warst, sondern an das, was du bist und zu sein dich sehnst").
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Wojtek Czyz". ipc.infostradasports. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ Team Ossur: Wojtek Czyz
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's Long Jump F42". International Paralympic Committee.
- ↑ "ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's 200 m T42". International Paralympic Committee.
- ↑ "IPC Athletics World Records - Men's Long Jump" (PDF). International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 27 January 2013.
- ↑ "Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games - Athletics - Men's Long Jump F42/44". International Paralympic Committee.
- ↑ IWAS World Games 2009 - Athletics Results
- ↑ "Wojtek Czyz". London 2012 Paralympics. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
See also
- The Mechanics of Running Blades