David Drahoninsky
David Drahonínský (born May 19, 1982 in Kaplice ) is a Czech para-archer in the W1 category with a compound bow . Since his successes, a gold medal during the Summer Paralympics 2008 in Beijing , a silver medal in 2012 during the Summer Paralympics in London , and 1st place at the 2015 World Championships in Donaueschingen , he has been among the world's best in archery .
He holds two world records, and during the 2014/2015 season he achieved the world maximum five times: three times in qualification with 72 arrows shot (668 points - WRT Nové Město nad Metují 2014, 670 points EM Nottwill 2014, 674 points Dutch Para Archery Tournament 2015) and twice in the eliminations, where 15 arrows were shot (143 points WRT Nové Město nad Metují 2014, 144 points WM Donaueschingen 2015). He set the last world record with a score of 144 out of a possible 150 points at the 2015 World Championships in Donaueschingen .
Drahonínský is a member of SC Jedličkův ústav, which belongs to Česká federace Spastic Handicap os.
At the competitions he is known for his hairstyle in the shape and colors of the Czech flag and for his famous “wheelchair” dance.
Personal life
Up to the age of 16 he played soccer, ice hockey and hockey, was in the boy scout club and went to the volunteer fire department. At that time he was also impressed by the martial arts Taekwondo .
On April 6, 1999, he fell asleep in his bed at home after exercising and woke up two days later in the Budweis hospital. He was somnambulistic and fell off the balcony on the third floor. His mother and brother found him very seriously injured. When he fell, he injured his spine, spleen and liver. The consequences of a fall are complete paralysis of the lower limb and partial paralysis of the upper limb - paraplegia .
A year after the accident, from 2000 to 2005, he successfully graduated from the commercial academy in Janské Lázně and graduated from high school. In 2005 he started studying at the Metropolitan University in Prague, where he was awarded his master's degree in 2011 from the Faculty of International Relations and European Studies.
At the university, Drahonínský also took part in the “Erasmus” program, combined with a one-year study visit and a three-month internship at the Viadrina European University in Frankfurt (Oder).
In his free time, he goes fishing, rides a handbike, plays golf, drives a quad, reads books, is interested in psychology, shipping, sails on a catamaran and is open to new activities that will get his adrenaline pumping.
Athletic career
Boccia
In 2000 he learned to play boccia in Janské Lázně . In this sport he took 4th place in 2001 at the European Championships in Teplice . The International Paralympic Committee changed the rules in 2002, so Drahonínský with his disability did not meet the classification criteria for this sport.
Archery
The period from 2001 to 2007
In 2001 he therefore started shooting with an Olympic bow , and only 2 years later did he switch to the compound bow in the W1 category. He also took the opportunity to take part in competitions with healthy archers, where in 2006 he won 3rd place in the hall and 1st place outdoors at the Czech Championships. But his main goal was always to measure his strength with other disabled athletes and gain experience.
The World Cup in Madrid 2003 he finished with the last, 18th place, two years later he took 5th place at the World Cup in Italy and in the men's team championship, a silver medal together with Martin Bartoš and Zdeněk Šebek.
In 2006 at the European Championships in Nymburg , he secured 4th place. The year 2007 was seen as a “pre-Olympic” test of his persistence, and he actually took 4th place at the World Championships in South Korea and a gold medal in the team competition, together with Martin Bartoš and Zdeněk Šebek.
Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympics
A breakthrough in his sporting career was the Paralympics in Beijing , before which Drahonínský declared that after many fourth places he was going to Beijing to win a medal. Remember the dramatic semi-final with Osmo Kinnunen from Finland , which was literally decided by the last arrow. The Finnish competitor shot in the seven, Drahonínský sent his last arrow in the nine and thus reached the final, and by showing such a sovereign performance against Jeff Cavanagh that he won a gold medal for the first time.
The period from 2009 to 2011
2009 was a difficult year for him. The health problems and his bad psyche caused a debacle at the World Championships in Nymburk and it was only 8th place.
In 2010, at the World Championships in Vichy , France , he checked his fitness by training with the other Czech para-archers. He wanted to know whether training, studying abroad - and everything else could be combined. He made the quarter-finals and the semi-finals excellently, in the final he struggled with strong headwinds and was unable to build on his good form from the previous day. Finally he finished 2nd.
The 2011 World Championships in Turin became a battle not only for medals, but also for places in the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London . In the second round, Drahonínský beat the American representative Jerry Schield, in the quarterfinals the Japanese representative and in the semifinals he defeated John Cavanagh. In the final he was defeated by the Finn Osmo Kinnunen. A Czech para-archer took 2nd place and was nominated for the Summer Paralympic in London. That was the big news. He also reached the team championship with Petr Bartoš and Zdeněk Šebek by beating the USA team.
London 2012 Summer Paralympics
In 2012 Drahonínský wanted to build on the successes and defend his 1st place from Beijing. Working with a sports psychologist, he improved his physical and mental condition. It was still an easy game in qualifying, but he lost to Fabio Azzolini in the quarter-finals and only made it to the semi-finals with the last shot. Osmo Kinnunen, the finalist from Beijing, was his next opponent, whom he also defeated. In the final, he met Jeff Fabry. Before the Paralympics, the Czech archer ignored a rule change that favored Fabry's position and so he only took 2nd place.
The world championship in Bangkok 2013 started with the qualification with the 5th place for Drahonínský. Jeff Fabry met again in the semifinals and moved to the final. Finally he took 3rd place, which he won in the final battle against John Cavanagh.
The record time in 2014
Fortune accompanied the Czech para-archer at the World Cup in Nové Město nad Metují . Already in the qualification he shot 668 out of a possible 720 points, and that was recognized as a world record by the judges' committee. The next day he increased himself against Seiong-Pyo An to a new record of 143 points out of 150 possible and achieved a new maximum for the W1 category. In the final he won the tough fight against John Cavanagh.
In Nottwill, Switzerland, he finished the qualification with a new world record of 670 points, which brought him straight to the semi-finals. There he was inferior to the Finnish para-archer Antonius and won a bronze medal.
The year 2015
In 2015 he took part in the Dutch Para Archery Tournament in the Netherlands as the only Czech representative. During qualification, he improved his own world record to 674 points. In the semifinals he beat Jean Pierre Antonios and in the final he defeated the Italian Fabio Azzolini.
In July Drahonínský completed a World Cup in Nové Město nad Metují, where his successful streak was interrupted by the Slovak Petr Kinik. In the battle for the bronze medal, he defeated Jean Pierre Antonius.
At the World Championships in Donaueschingen he not only took part as a lone fighter, but also in the mixed team and in the team competition for men. In the Mix Team, where he was on the pitch with Sarka Musilova for the first time, they were eliminated in the first round.
In the men's team, he was confirmed as leader, which his team friends did not do so well and in the final phase they only reached the fight for 3rd and 4th place. Finally, they took 4th place.
In the lone fighter category, he set a new world record with 144 points out of a possible 150 against Jean Pierre Antonios. Via Fabio Azzolini he got easily into the final, where he defeated John Walker, won the world title and secured a direct place at the Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro .
The year 2016
At the 2016 Summer Paralympics , he won silver in the singles class W1 behind the Briton John Walker and bronze in doubles, also in class W1, with his team partner Šárka Musilová .
literature
- Z Atén do Pekingu, Jiří Lacina, David Soeldner, 2009: EPOCHA sro, Kaprova 12, Praha 1
- Z Pekingu do Londýna, David Soeldner, 2013: EPOCHA sro, Kaprova 12, Praha 1
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Drahonínský, David |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Czech para-archer in the W1 category with a compound bow |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 19, 1982 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kaplice |