Thomas Zajac

Thomas Zajac (2017)

Thomas Zajac (born September 22, 1985 in Vienna ) is an Austrian sailor . In 2016 he and Tanja Frank won the bronze medal in the Nacra-17 class at the Summer Olympics in Rio .

Life

Thomas Zajac was born in Vienna as the son of the Polish Olympian Jan Bartosik and his wife. His father, who finished ninth in the Soling boat class at the 1980 Olympic Games , was killed in a paragliding accident in 1995 .

After some successes in the junior area, helmsman Zajac won silver with his sailing partner and crew Thomas Czajka at the Tornado World Cup 2009 on Lake Garda , where Zajac made a comeback 170 days after a serious climbing accident. In autumn of the same year, the two switched from the tornado to the 49er dinghy . In 2010 Zajac received the Silver Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria .

Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank at the 2016 Olympic outfit

He has been sailing in the new Olympic catamaran class Nacra 17 since 2013 . The Nacra 17 is sailed in Olympic format in mixed teams . With his partner Tanja Frank , he was able to record some successes in 2013, including a second place in the overall European Cup standings and the lead in the ISAF world rankings. The two qualified for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro , where they won the bronze medal, the first Austrian medal in eight years. For this achievement, the duo was named Team of the Year in the election for Austria's Sportsman of the Year.

Since 2006 Thomas Zajac has been a member of the national team of the Austrian Sailing Association and is employed by the armed forces as an HSZ athlete. He has the rank of train conductor . He has been sailing with Barbara Matz since 2017.

successes

2003: Junior European Champion in Hobie 16 (with Thomas Czajka )
2005: Junior European Champion in Tornado (with Thomas Czajka)
2006: Austrian Tornado Champion (with Thomas Czajka)
2006: Junior European Champion in Tornado (with Thomas Czajka)
2006: Junior World Champion in Tornado (with Thomas Czajka)
2007: Austrian master in darts 18 (with Thomas Czajka)
2007: Third at the Kieler Woche im Tornado (with Thomas Czajka)
2009: Silver at the Tornado World Cup on Lake Garda (with Thomas Czajka)
2011: Silver at the Topcat World Championships on the Traunsee (with Thomas Czajka)
2012: Victory at the BMW Open Sea State Championship in Biograd (with Thomas Czajka)
2013: European Cup victory at Lake Garda in Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank )
2013: Third at the Kieler Woche in the Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank)
2013: Second in the overall European Cup ranking in the Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank)
2013: Gold at the Pre-Worlds in the Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank)
2013: World ranking in the Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank)
2016: Bronze at the Olympic Summer Games in Rio in Nacra 17 (with Tanja Frank)
2017: First at the Kieler Woche in Nacra 17 (with Barbara Matz)
2019: First at Kiel Week in Nacra 17 (with Barbara Matz)

Awards

Thomas Zajac and Tanja Frank honoring Austria's athletes of the year 2016

2010: Silver Medal for Services to the Republic of Austria
2016: Team of the Year in the election for Austria's Sportsman of the Year (with Tanja Frank)

Web links

Commons : Thomas Zajac - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Constant regatta ends on podium. ORF , August 17, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .
↑ WM silver for tornado sailors Zajac / Czajka. Wiener Zeitung , September 4, 2009, accessed on August 17, 2016 .
↑ List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)
↑ First precious metal since August 15, 2008. ORF , August 16, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .
↑ Rio 2016: Bronze medal for military athletes. Federal Army , August 17, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .
↑ Official Nacra 17 ranking. Retrieved July 17, 2017 (English).
↑ Kieler Woche Winner 2019. In: Kieler Nachrichten 1. July 2019, page 18. Rare result: This Nacra team achieved the overall victory without having won any of the eleven races.

personal data
SURNAME	Zajac, Thomas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Austrian sailor
DATE OF BIRTH	September 22, 1985
PLACE OF BIRTH	Vienna

[1] Constant regatta ends on podium. ORF , August 17, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .

[2] WM silver for tornado sailors Zajac / Czajka. Wiener Zeitung , September 4, 2009, accessed on August 17, 2016 .

[ehrenzeichen-3] List of all decorations awarded by the Federal President for services to the Republic of Austria from 1952 (PDF; 6.9 MB)

[4] First precious metal since August 15, 2008. ORF , August 16, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .

[5] Rio 2016: Bronze medal for military athletes. Federal Army , August 17, 2016, accessed on August 17, 2016 .

[6] Official Nacra 17 ranking. Retrieved July 17, 2017 (English).

[7] Kieler Woche Winner 2019. In: Kieler Nachrichten 1. July 2019, page 18. Rare result: This Nacra team achieved the overall victory without having won any of the eleven races.