Veronika Vadovicova

Started: She began shooting at age 15 at the SSK Vistuk club in Slovakia. (Athlete, 04 Sep 2016) Reason: She was introduced to the sport by a boarding school teacher, Pavel Bilik. "However, it started in an unexpected way. In the first year of high school we were ski training. Since we could not be outside due to the weather, we spent time inside. There was an infrared rifle, so we shot out of boredom. Suddenly we found out that I was doing quite well, so the teacher suggested that I sign up for shooting at school. I first started shooting training in the summer during the holidays at the Vistuk sport shooting club with coach Jozef Siroky. In my second year of practising the sport, the coach wanted me to train during the school year, and this gradually led to me starting participating in competitions with non-Para shooters." (sport.aktuality.sk, 18 Jun 2020) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (takurcitee.sk, 06 Sep 2023) Milestones: She became the first female Slovakian in any sport, and second Slovakian of any gender after table tennis player Jan Riapos, to win four Paralympic gold medals when she claimed her fourth gold in the open SH1 50m free rifle prone event at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Jul 2024) At the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she and two other Slovakian athletes [table tennis player Jan Riapos and cyclist Jozef Metelka] all took their career Paralympic medal tally to six, a record for the NPC. (SportsDeskOnline, 02 Jul 2024) Awards: She was named the 2018 Sportswoman of the Year by the Slovak Association of Physically Disabled Athletes [SZTPS]. (spv.sk, 09 Jun 2019; teraz.sk, 09 Jun 2019) In February 2017 she was named Athlete of the Month by the International Paralympic Committee [IPC]. (paralympic.org, 09 Mar 2017) She was named the 2016 Sportswoman of the Year in Trnava, Slovakia. (spv.sk, 14 Dec 2016) Additional Info: LIFE-CHANGING GOLD IN BEIJING Winning gold at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing raised her profile so much that she says it changed her life. "This medal actually changed everything. Suddenly I was in every Chinese newspaper, everyone wanted to take pictures with me, talk to me, in China they even ran a documentary about me. For me, as a staunch introvert, this huge interest in me was something I had never known before. But I was happy and I actually enjoyed it. When I got home to Slovakia, suddenly people began to perceive me quite differently. I was a Paralympic winner and I didn't even have time to breathe. I went to various events, TV interviews, discussions, schools, corporate events and the like. My life suddenly turned around. The impaired girl became a recognised personality. I was no longer just the little girl in the wheelchair. Society and the media began to perceive me as a respected person." (epochtimes.sk, 02 Apr 2024; sport.aktuality.sk, 18 Jun 2020) OTHER ACTIVITIES She has served as a member of the athletes' committee of the Slovak Paralympic Committee [SPV]. (spv.sk, 25 Feb 2018) FURTHER EDUCATION She has studied for a master's degree in sports coaching. (epochtimes.sk, 02 Apr 2024)