Dariusz Pender

Started: He took up wheelchair fencing at school in Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland, in 1996. (przegladsportowy.pl, 17 Sep 2016) Reason: He began Para sport in 1995 when he took up wheelchair basketball with the OSiR Zamosc club in Poland. The following year wheelchair basketball and fencing coach Tomek Marek offered him a place at the Konstancin School sports club. "I took that opportunity and from September 1996 I began to attend the school in Konstancin. Tomek Marek encouraged me to come to fencing training as well, and I stayed." (paralympic.org.pl, 01 Jun 2021) Milestones: At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he took his career Paralympic medal tally to nine, which is the most for a Polish wheelchair fencer. He was unable to add to his tally at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: In 2021 he was named the Best Para Athlete of the previous 20 years in Warsaw, Poland. (paralympic.org.pl, 01 Jun 2021) He was named Para Athlete of the Year in Warsaw, Poland, in 2011, 2012, and 2014. (um.warszawa.pl, 13 Jul 2016) In 2013 he was awarded the Officer's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta by the president of Poland. He had received the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in 2008. (bezpiecznapodroz.org, 19 May 2021) In 2012 he was named Para Athlete of the Year in Poland. (poloniahsv Facebook page, 19 Jan 2013) In 2001 he was awarded the Golden Cross of Merit by the president of Poland. (bezpiecznapodroz.org, 19 May 2021)