Maciej Lepiato

Started: He took up Para athletics in 2005 in Strzelce Krajenskie, Poland. (Athlete, 21 Jul 2017) Reason: He played basketball before he was encouraged to try athletics by his physical education teacher in high school. (sport.tvp.pl, 13 Jul 2023; e-mojemiasto.pl, 08 Jun 2015) Ambition: To win a gold medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook page, 06 Sep 2023; sport.tvp.pl, 13 Jul 2023) Awards: He and fellow athletics competitor Lucyna Kornobys were named as Poland's flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (niepelnosprawni.pl, 09 Aug 2024) He was named Athlete of the Year for 2023 by the Polish Paralympic Committee. (polsatsport.pl, 04 Dec 2023; olimpijski.pl, 06 Dec 2023) He and swimmer Joanna Mendak were flag bearers for Poland at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (wyborcza.pl, 15 Jul 2021) He was presented with the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta in recognition of his performance at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (prezydent.pl, 05 Oct 2016) He was named the 2012 Discovery of the Year in a Polish national sports review poll. (oczygorzowa.pl, 12 Mar 2013) Additional Info: SHARED GOLD He shared gold in the men's T64 high jump at the 2023 World Championships in Paris, France, with Jonathan Broom-Edwards of Great Britain. Both athletes failed to clear 2.07m and were offered a jump-off to decide the winner. However, they decided to share the gold medal instead. "There was great consternation in the mixed zone when the medals had to be awarded. In general, I think that this competition was so unexpected and so unprecedented. It will go down in the history of World Para Athletics. For me it will be a huge push to work even harder." (pzsnstart.eu, 17 Jul 2023; sport.tvp.pl, 13 Jul 2023; britishathletics.org.uk, 10 Jul 2023)