When he competes in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games as a para badminton player, four-time Paralympic champion Wojtek Czyz will make athletic history in New Zealand.

The 43-year-old Czyz will compete in his fourth Paralympic Games today, but it will be his first for his adopted nation of New Zealand, according to Paralympics New Zealand (PNZ).

After suffering a lower leg amputation in a football accident when he was twenty-one, Czyz competed for Germany at three Paralympic Games (in 2004 and 2012), winning seven medals in the sprint and long jump events. After moving to New Zealand three years ago with his wife and son, he only started playing para badminton.

Czyz, who is competing for the fourth time at the Paralympic Games in a brand-new sport, says he is honoured to represent New Zealand on the international scene.

“I just want to demonstrate what’s possible to everyone in New Zealand and beyond.” That’s the major reason I’m doing it, he adds. You have to want it, and the moment you really dedicate yourself to something and really fight for it, success will come to you. I’m incredibly excited to mentor the next generation and support the development of Paralympic athletes in New Zealand.

“We’re thrilled Wojtek will be our first parabadminton player in the history of the New Zealand Paralympic Team,” stated Greg Warnecke, CEO of Paralympics New Zealand. Wojtek’s extraordinary athletic ability as a representative of New Zealand is fantastic for our nation’s Paralympic Movement. We are eager to see Wojtek return to the international scene and share his wealth of Paralympic Games experience because he has played such a significant role in shaping the lives of amputees all around the world. He will undoubtedly inspire many more in Paris.
Czyz has a vast background in sports. He was born and raised in Germany, and at the age of 21, he fulfilled his dream of playing professional football. However, in the final club game before signing a professional deal, he suffered a broken knee in an accident with the goalkeeper. His left lower leg was amputated as a result of the injury.

Six months later, Czyz won the German titles in the long jump (F42/44) and 100 metres (T42) with a prosthetic and the same will for success. Two years later, at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, he took home three gold medals in sprinting and long jump. At the London 2012 Paralympic Games, he earned two bronzes, a silver, and another gold in Beijing four years later.

After that, I gave up parasports to travel the world with my family and assist amputees in getting prosthetics. Czyz, who currently resides in the Hamilton hamlet of Eureka, states, “We helped ninety individuals with prosthetic legs while living on a boat for five years.

“We fell in love with New Zealand as soon as we arrived, and I was really curious to see how parasport was organised there. Since I was a little boy, badminton has been a hobby of mine, although I have never played it competitively. I contacted Badminton New Zealand to request that they evaluate my abilities after seeing it on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games competition schedule.

Czyz made the decision to give it her all in order to compete globally in the hopes of earning a spot in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games after defeating other para badminton players in New Zealand. In Dubai in 2022, he participated in his first international match for New Zealand in para badminton.

“Anyone who knows me is aware that I never work at 20 or 50 percent efficiency. I give anything I do my full attention. I began training twice a day as a result, and in a short amount of time, my desire and dedication helped me reach the point where I could qualify for Paris,” he says. “It wasn’t simple. I was fighting against players who had been playing badminton consistently for 15, 20, or 25 years, and the qualification requirements are rigorous. However, I had the good fortune to rally others around my vision and passion, and with a strong team dynamic, we collectively pulled it off.

In the men’s singles SL3 classification, Czyz is currently ranked 14th in the world; his greatest result came from finishing in the quarterfinals of the Japan Para Badminton International in 2023.

In addition to being a licenced diving instructor, Czyz holds five world records for amputee free diving, having descended to a depth of 50 metres on a single breath.

“Badminton New Zealand is proud and absolutely delighted to have our first ever para athlete competing in Paris,” stated Stephen Nelson, Chief Executive of Badminton New Zealand. Wojtek has accomplished a great deal, and we have no doubt that he will set the example for other Kiwis to follow and take up badminton.

In the sports of para athletics, para equestrian, para swimming, and para table tennis, Czyz joins the 11 other Paralympic athletes already named to the New Zealand Paralympic Team.