Ciszek dedicates first Paralympic medal to family for supporting him after accident
Lukasz Ciszek achieved a career-first individual medal on Wednesday as he claimed recurve men’s silver at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
The Pole celebrated the moment, leaving no shadow of illusion he could be upset with a final loss.
This is his greatest achievement only five years after he took a bow.
“This is a wonderful joy, I have made my dreams come true,” he claimed. “Five years ago, I would never say I would get as far as here.”
Ciszek lost only to an outstanding Harvinder Singh, who gave India its first-ever archery gold media in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The 44-year-old put on a strong show in qualifying, taking sixth seed, but a medal was never a goal in itself.
“A month ago, I was a mess. I wouldn’t have thought I would get into the top 10, let alone leaving Paris with a medal.”
“In the qualification round, I scored a nice personal best, and I felt I was strong. I thought maybe something would come out of it, and it did.”
As far as it could seem unreal, Lukasz stepped onto the Paralympic podium on Wednesday evening.
“Archery is unpredictable,” he said with a smile, pointing to the silver medal around his neck.
The slow start of Ciszek’s second elimination match appeared as the breakthrough moment.
Afterwards, it went smoothly for him.
“I lost the first set, and then I got a boost,” he explained. “I thought I had to take a risk. And I kept doing it until the end.”
“It was my day. The weather was great, indeed perfect for me.”
“The sun didn’t blind my right eye, where I have astigmatism and have difficulties in seeing,” he explained. “The conditions were sensational for me.”
The medal seems more than just a sporting victory for the 44-year-old Pole.
“I had a very rough year,” he said. “We had problems with the kids. Our two daughters were ill. It was tough.”
“I decided I would do it for them. This medal is not just my win. It’s a win of my family.”
Lukasz used to work as a mechanic, and one day his life flipped upside down by an accident at work.
His right leg was amputated.
“I went to work in the morning and came home after three months,” the Paris 2024 silver medallist recalled.
His closest didn’t let him snap mentally when his world collapsed.
“I have a wonderful wife and daughters. I was supported by the rest of my family, motorbike buddies. I was surrounded by great people. I couldn’t have done it any other way.”
They didn’t leave a room for Lukasz not to accept himself after the accident.
“They wouldn’t even let me think that way.”
“You have to be strong. It’s all in your mind. If one puts it together, everything is possible.”
The Pole started shooting as a part of his rehab. Only two years later, Ciszek represented Poland at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics.
“It was a cold shower for me.”
“It showed me that people work hard to achieve something, and I found out I wanted to be like that, too. I sacrificed those three years, and I’m happy about it,” he claimed without a hint of a doubt in his voice.
“Going to Tokyo was a total surprise for me. I learnt I would be there a month before the Paralympics.”
He didn’t do well in Tokyo but found the motivation to go the whole log. It paid off.
Lukasz sacrificed three years en route to Paris. In the last months, he would even put aside his hobby as a passionate motorbike rider.
“I saw my buddies travelling to different places in Europe, and I couldn’t be with them,” he claimed. “But now I can go with them!”
And now he is now free to leave as a Paralympic silver medallist.
But before that, he has one more shot at a medal, partnering with Milena Olszewska in the recurve mixed event on Thursday afternoon in Paris.
