Daniel Michel

Started: He took up the sport at age 15 in New South Wales, Australia. (paralympic.org.au, 2016) Reason: He was introduced to the sport at a camp organised by Muscular Dystrophy NSW [New South Wales] in Australia. "Some of the guys from Boccia NSW came out and did a demonstration. I'd never heard of it. Never seen it before. I had a go and realised it was something I could play. Being something that I had craved for so long, I took to it like a gust of wind, I suppose you could say. I really went hard at it. I wanted to improve as fast as I could. Boccia gives me a sense of purpose in life that I didn't have prior to discovering the sport. It has given me an avenue through which to compete and strive for improvement every day, whilst introducing me to some of the best friends I will ever meet." (theaustralian.com.au, 03 Apr 2020; mdnsw.org.au, 05 Dec 2019; paralympic.org.au, 2016) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 22 Dec 2023) Milestones: His bronze medal in the open BC3 individual event at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo was Australia's first individual Paralympic medal in boccia. The only previous Paralympic boccia medal for Australia was bronze in the BC1 mixed pairs event at the 1996 Games in Atlanta. (SportsDeskOnline, 30 Jan 2024; boccia.com.au, 29 Aug 2021) Awards: He and Jamieson Leeson were named Team of the Year at the 2023 AIS Sport Performance Awards in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. (paralympic.org.au, 30 Nov 2023) In 2017 he was inducted into the New South Wales [NSW] Boccia Athletes Hall of Fame in Australia. (Facebook page, 19 Mar 2017; bocciansw.org.au, 2017) In 2015 he received the Tu Huynh Memorial Award for Sporting Excellence from Boccia NSW. (bocciansw.org.au, 2017) Additional Info: <B>Guide</B> Ashlee McClure (nswis.com.au, 29 Sep 2023)