Marek Dobrowolski

I was born in Warsaw  so my entire childhood is connected with this city. I’m 25 years old.
I’ve always been interested in sports. When I was still a physically healthy teenager, I practiced karate. After a back injury, I couldn’t imagine life without sports either.

I was 13 years old. From the moment I got in a wheelchair, I have tried many activities such as dog frisbee, swimming, and wheelchair basketball, athletics, street running, wheelchair crossfit among others. But it was only with sport shooting that I hit the bull’s-eye.

It’s just that when I tried shooting, after a few training sessions I felt that I had finally found the right one. Shooting is an individual sport.I have to be in charge of my own body, keep control of my stress level, heart rate and breathing. I have to focus on specific, repetitive actions while taking a shot.
For me, this sport is a distraction from my daily life, from the physical limitations. It also gives me a great opportunity to meet people and see new places I might not have traveled to on my own. In addition, the acquaintances often turn into friendships.

At the European Championships in Rotterdam in August I won a silver medal in the R1 type competition – 60 air rifle shots at a distance of 10 meters.

I train extremely intensively for ten months of the year. The other two are more relaxed, but that doesn’t mean I give up on practicing completely. I have access to an air rifle range year round. But when I’m practicing ball shooting, I use the courtesy of friendly clubs who give me access to their training facilities. For this purpose, I have to travel outside Warsaw quite often.

I try to be critical of my starts, because they can always be better. But every competition is a new experience with different conditions. Afterwards I analyze everything and try not to repeat the same mistakes. Every defeat is an important lesson in humility, it teaches you how to deal with stress and your own weaknesses. I try to stay positive about all of it. Fortunately, to date, I have more successes than failures. I train under the guidance of kind and considerate people who pick up on my every flaw, mistake, bad skill. Thanks to opening myself up to new contacts, I have new opportunities and a chance to develop. It’s important to turn every failure into a success.

In general, every championship is highly competitive and high level. Often the sportsmen cope best with their stress win, despite the fact they didn’t have the best results during practice, so I always try to keep calm and give my best.

It’s hard to name one person. Obviously family, but also a lot of good people I meet along my way. Sometimes it’s 1:1 training, sometimes it’s the opportunity to use the facility, and sometimes it’s a discount to buy necessary equipment. Unfortunately, I mostly cover my own expenses related to the sport.

I chose the university on the recommendation of my friends, and management – because it allows me to realize my plans for the future. I’m thinking about a job related to sports, not only as a sportsman, but also as a manager of a club or sports association.
I’ve got a Bachelor’s degree in Human Capital Management and these three years were very exciting! The lecturers were great, especially Dr. Barbara Sypniewska, my contact with her is always great. Day-time studies were very important to me when I started my Master’s program because weekends are usually busy, often dedicated to travel and competitions.

The defense of my bachelor’s thesis went unexpectedly well. But I didn’t manage to defend my Master’s thesis in time, so I want to make up for it this academic year. I passed all subjects on time, but I didn’t have enough time to write my thesis ‘cause in September I participated in the World Championship in Peru and qualified for the next Paralympic Games.

The university, especially the building, is definitely prepared for people with special needs. However, I’ve met some difficulties when it comes to supporting my sports activities.

The university has an Academic Sports Association (AZS) – in my opinion, it would be nice if AZS opened up to new disciplines over time and supported sportsmen outside of the sports sections it contains. But I realize that UEHS is a university focused on academic results not physical education.

When I don’t know how to solve a problem. They always know where to go and what to do 🙂

Motorsport is still my passion. Before flying to Peru, the Finał Drift Masters Europe Championship was held at the National Stadium. It was an unforgettable experience! I advise everyone to join this event in the future!
Motorsport is my real hobby, I love to watch it and take photos – quite good ones actually – from rallies, exhibitions and competitions.

My city is developing at an amazing pace, so it’s hard for me to even recommend any specific places. I think the most important thing is to be in a good company, in which you can visit the most interesting museums, new atmospheric restaurants or just gyms.

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Thank you, Mark, for the interview, for your opinion and example of how to stay strong and resilient day in and day out!
We wish you further endless victories!

Alona Trokhymchuk
UEHS in Warsaw