The Polish woman delighted the whole of Paris! Fifth gold at the games and a special flag

Barbara Bieganowska-Zając (in the past she also competed under the name Niewiedział) is a legend of Polish paralympism. Her story related to the sport actually began in Grodków, where she won the Olympic Race. It was then that she knew she was going to devote a lot of time to training. This led her to the top.

Bieganowska-Zając with her fifth gold

She made her Paralympic debut in 2000, when the games were held in Sydney. In her first start, she won gold in the 800-meter race (T20 category). After that, she was absent from the most important events for disabled athletes for a long time.

She returned to the Olympics in 2012 and it was an extremely successful return. She won gold again, but this time in the 1500 meters, a distance she has become friends with for good. Since then, she has mainly competed in the 1500 meters. And she also won gold medals in this distance in Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and now in Paris. On Friday, she ran a phenomenal race, leaving her rivals behind her on the final stretch. She had an advantage of over two seconds over the second Ukrainian.

– I am a very stubborn woman, when I say something to myself, I do it. And brave. I have never given up, although I have fallen many times, hurting my arms and legs – on the track and my heart – in life. I have always been able to get up, move forward and fight despite the adversities and people around me who wished me ill. I have chosen only those people from whom I felt only good power and positive euphoria. And I am a hundred times grateful to them today… – she said after the race, quoted by Michał Pol, who is the press attaché of the Polish Paralympic team.

A special flag for a Polish woman

After finishing the race, the 43-year-old athlete received a flag with an eloquent inscription: “From Sydney to Paris, from gold to gold in the race, undefeated. An inspiration recorded for future generations,” we read.

And indeed Bieganowska-Zając can boast an incredible feat. In five starts at the Paralympic Games in middle-distance running, she won all of them. She also added a bronze medal in the 400-meter competition in Rio de Janeiro.