Jan Riapos

Started: He took up the sport in 1993 at age 24 in Slovakia. (Athlete, 23 May 2016) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (sztps.sk, 18 Jan 2024) Milestones: At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo, he became the first athlete from any sport to represent Slovakia at seven editions of the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jan 2024) Also at the 2020 Games, he and two other Slovakian athletes [shooter Veronika Vadovicova and cyclist Jozef Metelka] all took their career Paralympic medal tally to six, a record for the NPC. Metelka was the first to achieve the feat in Tokyo, followed by Riapos and then Vadovicova. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Jul 2024) He became the first athlete representing Slovakia to win four gold medals in any sport at the Paralympic Games, when he claimed his fourth gold at the 2012 Games in London in the TT1-2 team event. (SportsDeskOnline, 08 Apr 2021) Awards: In 2006 he received the Order of Ludovit Stur [third class] from the president of Slovakia. The honour recognised his work in developing Para sport in Slovakia. (truni.sk, 29 Oct 2020; osobnosti.sk, 2007) Additional Info: OTHER ACTIVITIES He has served as chairperson of the Slovak Paralympic Committee [SPV] since 2003. He was re-elected for his sixth term in 2022. "After five terms of office, I was determined not to run again, but state secretary Ivan Husar had the opposite effect on me. He motivated me to continue on." He has also served as chairperson of the Slovak Association of Physically Handicapped Athletes [SZTPS], and was a tournament director at the 2017 World Team Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia. (piestanskydennik.sk, 17 Jan 2024; olympic.sk, 20 Jun 2022; ittf.com, 17 May 2017; webnoviny.sk, 06 Jul 2012; truni.sk, 29 Oct 2020) FURTHER EDUCATION He has studied at the University of Trnava in Slovakia. (truni.sk, 29 Oct 2020)