Franček Gorazd Tiršek (born 28 March 1975) is a Slovenian

sport shooter Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

who has won one gold, three silver, and one bronze medal at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

Career

Tiršek became a

tetraplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or ...

in a car accident in 2003. Prior to the accident, he competed in hunting rifle shooting. At the age of 32, he started practicing para-shooting. In this sport, Tiršek competes in the SH2 category in the following disciplines: R4 Mixed 10 metre air rifle standing SH2, R5 Mixed 10 metre rifle prone SH2, and R9 Mixed 50 metre rifle prone SH2. Tiršek uses his left hand for shooting. At the

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

, Tiršek has represented Slovenia three times, at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, and at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

in Tokyo. Each time, he has won a silver medal in the R4 discipline. In addition, he finished 7th in R5 in 2016. He was also the flagbearer for Slovenia at the opening ceremony in Rio in 2016. The medal that Tiršek won in Tokyo was the 50th medal for Slovenia at the Paralympic Games, taking into account the medals that the athletes won when Slovenia was part of Yugoslavia. He is coached by Polonca Sladič, who has coached para-shooters for several Paralympics, and coached

Živa Dvoršak Živa Dvoršak (born 9 July 1991) is a Slovenian sports shooter. She competed in the Women's 10 metre air rifle and women's 50 metre rifle three positions events at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. She won a bronze at the 2013 European 10 m ...

at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. After the R4 competition, Sladič stated that Tiršek was almost too late for the 11th shot, but he managed to shoot in time. Tiršek stated that he could have aimed for gold if he had more shots available. Later in Tokyo, Tiršek won a bronze medal in the R5 event. For his achievements in para-sports, Tiršek has received several awards and recognitions. He was named Male Athlete of the Year by the Paralympic Sports Federation of Slovenia and the Paralympic Committee of Slovenia in 2012, 2014, 2015, and 2016. He was also named Para Athlete of the Year in 2013 and 2014.

References

External links

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Francek Gorazd Tirsek
at the

Paris 2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiršek, Franček Gorazd 1975 births Living people Slovenian male sport shooters Paralympic shooters for Slovenia Paralympic gold medalists for Slovenia Paralympic silver medalists for Slovenia Paralympic bronze medalists for Slovenia Paralympic medalists in shooting Shooters at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Shooters at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Shooters at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Shooters at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the European Para Championships 21st-century Slovenian people