Dorota Buclaw

Started: She took up the sport in 1997 at age 19 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. (Athlete, 23 May 2016) Reason: She was an active child and played basketball before her first accident. After her first accident her uncle Ryszard Marczak encouraged her to get involved in Para sport. "In Bydgoszcz [Poland] I tried swimming, running and table tennis. It turned out that I stayed with table tennis." After her second accident, which prevented her from competing at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, she initially did not want to play table tennis again. "For a long time I could not return to sport. I did not want to because I could remember what it was like to play standing up. I didn't want to ruin those memories and I was really afraid. However, my neighbour Alicja kept encouraging me to go and play. Eventually, for the sake of peace, I agreed. And then it turned out that the wheelchair was not an obstacle." (magazynsportowiec.pl, 14 Nov 2019) Additional Info: FRIEND AND ASSISTANT After her first accident, in hospital she met Dorota Kubicka who worked there as a physiotherapist. Kubicka helped her to recover and they became friends. Her second accident in 1999 happened when she was a passenger in a car driven by Kubicka. After Buclaw left hospital, Kubicka helped with her rehabilitation and the pair began living together. Kubicka has assisted her in daily life and at competitions, and accompanied her to the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. "Unfortunately, even if I win, Dorota [Kubicka] doesn't receive a medal. It's not like in Para athletics, where guides of blind runners are awarded with medals. Only I can give her a medal for all that she has done for me." (magazynsportowiec.pl, 14 Nov 2019; przegladsportowy.pl, 26 Sep 2016) HANDEDNESS She was right-handed, but had to learn to use her left hand for writing and playing table tennis after her first accident. The accident happened shortly before her school exams. "I was learning to write again. I was rewriting entire books to train my hand." (magazynsportowiec.pl, 14 Nov 2019)

Sporting Relatives: Her uncle Ryszard Marczak represented Poland in athletics [marathon] at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. (SportsDeskOnline, 31 Mar 2021; Athlete, 23 May 2016)