Mikela Ristoski

Started: She took up the sport at primary school. (hrvatskareprezentacija.hr, 13 Apr 2014) Reason: An athletics coach came to her school to look for children that were interested in the sport. "I was running 400m and did jumping events. I was good at long jump and by the end of high school I had met coach Danial [Temim] and we started doing more serious training sessions." (slobodnadalmacija.hr, 21 Jun 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Sportnet.hr Facebook page, 13 Jul 2023; glasistre.hr, 08 Apr 2024) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she became the first female Croatian, and second Croatian of any gender behind swimmer Mihovil Spanja, to win three career Paralympic medals. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Jul 2024) Awards: She was named the Best Female Athlete of 2000-2020 by the Croatian Paralympic Committee. The award replaced the traditional Athlete of Year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (tportal.hr, 14 Feb 2021) In 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019 she was named Female Para Athlete of the Year by the Croatian Paralympic Committee. (dnevnik.hr, 08 Feb 2018; tportal.hr, 30 Jan 2020) In 2012 she received the Franjo Bucar State Award, the highest recognition given in Croatia for extraordinary achievements in sport. (hpo.hr, 03 Dec 2012) She has been honoured with the Order of Danica Hrvatska and the Order of Duke Branimir by the president of Croatia. (regionalexpress.hr, 02 Jan 2018)