Paralympian Živa Lavrinc: Dreams can already come true tomorrow

Disabled athletes deserve special respect. They have to muster the strength and energy to devote themselves to sports despite their limitations.

It’s even harder for those who get injured overnight. Among them is Živa Lavrinc, a Slovene medalist at the recently concluded Paralympic Games.

She had a bicycle accident when she was 29 years old. She has been in a wheelchair ever since.

We can overcome anything in life if we believe in it. When in doubt, it’s harder, she says.

My message to the youngest is to dream, because dreams can already become reality tomorrow. At certain moments, you have to imagine that something has already happened, and be a little childishly naive, so that it actually happens.

Živa Lavrinc

Such thinking also helped her on the decisive day, when she and her teammate had extremely close battles in the fights for medals. Under great pressure, she showed her best shots.

Her story is all the more special, as she achieved an exceptional result quickly after her injury and somewhat by coincidence.

In Switzerland, where she lived at the time of her injury, due to the coronavirus, an archery competition was organized that should have been held in Asia.

She applied to be a volunteer at the school she attended. At the information point, the president of the archery center noticed her and invited her to join the shooters.

I accepted the invitation because it helped me integrate back into society and because sport is great for getting to know my body again. It all kind of started by coincedence.

Živa Lavrinc

In addition to Živa Lavrinc and Dejan Fabčič, the first Slovenian Paralympic hero was shooter Franček Gorazd Tiršek.

He already won his fifth medal in major competitions. This time even the first gold!

Points to Consider

1. How do you handle pressure?
2. Which Paralympic disciplines do you know?
3. Why is it important to have dreams?

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The original version of this article was published on 11^th September.