It has recently been confirmed that Natalia Partyka from Poland will compete in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Table Tennis in Beijing 2008. Since 1997, she has been a member of two table tennis clubs – one for the disabled and one for the able-bodied.
She competed in her first Paralympic Games in Sydney after winning her first table tennis medal in the disabled World Championships of 1999. She became unique in the sport when in the same year, 2004 she won her first elite medals in both able-bodied and disabled events: she won 2 golds in the European Championships for Cadets (ITTF) and silver in the team event in the Athens Paralympic Games.
This outstanding duality continued in 2006 with 3 gold medals European Paralympic Championships and 1 gold and 2 silver medals at the IPC Table Tennis World Championships for Disabled in Monteux 2006 and a silver medal at the ITTF European Junior Championship in the team event).
In July 2007 she won 3 medals (2 silver and 1 bronze) in ITTF European Junior Championship in Bratislava (SVK); in October 3 gold medals in European Paralympic Championships in Kranjska Gora (SLO) and at the end of the year, in December, she won a bronze medal in ITTF World Junior Teams Championships in Palo Alto (USA).
At the beginning of the 2008, she received an award of Champion 2007 for the best disabled sportsperson in Poland.
This summer we look forward to seeing Natalia Partyka successfully participate in the Olympic Games (in team event) and Paralympic Games – single and team event, having just finished high school.
We wish her every success from London as a living example of ‘integration’ and as a further stimulus for us to ‘get it right’ in 2012.
