Marcel Pavlik

Started: He took up the sport in 2007 at age 32. (Athlete, 04 Apr 2016) Awards: He was named the 2018 Para Archer of the Year by the Slovakian Archery Association [SLZ]. (slz.sk, 01 Dec 2018) Additional Info: BREAK FROM ARCHERY In 2010 he stepped away from archery after the recurve bow he used in training and competition started to cause him back pain. He focused on handcycling for two years before returning to archery using the compound bow. "I did handbike for two years and I did a lot. One time, when I got 80 kilometres behind me, I said, 'Okay, I want to do archery again and with a compound bow'. With the compound bow, I had to start from the beginning, but I had less pain and health problems with the back in comparison to the recurve bow. With a recurve bow, many people know how to do it and set the bow, but with the compound bow in Slovakia, there are few people who shoot with it so I had to learn everything by myself. I studied a lot by myself, from YouTube, from various websites because nobody could tell me, 'Do it this way or that way'." (takurcitee.sk, 09 Dec 2022; paralympic.org, 07 Apr 2020) CLUB FOUNDER He established an archery club named Sport Club Speed Arrows in Kosice, Slovakia, after competing at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Sport Club Speed Arrows Facebook group, 29 Feb 2020; paralympic.org, 20 Nov 2018)