ZAJAC Thomas

General
CREWMATE
He and Barbara Matz began competing together in the Nacra 17 class in 2017. Zajac won bronze in the same class at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro competing with Tanja Frank. "I was looking for someone whose approach and attitude convinced me. Experience is not the top priority, development opportunities are in the foreground. Barbara impressed me with her unconditional will and her ability to learn quickly." (SportsDeskOnline, 14 Jan 2020; kurier.at, 03 Dec 2019; burgenland.orf.at, 20 Feb 2017)

HERITAGE
His father Jan Bartosik represented Poland in sailing at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow. Later in the same year he claimed asylum in Austria after taking part in a competition there. "My parents were born in Poland. My father used sport at a young age to leave the country once in a while. That was the driving force behind many young athletes back then. My father fled when he sailed for Poland in a regatta in Austria, shortly after the 1980 Olympic Games. After the award ceremony, he packed his things and hitchhiked to Traiskirchen to apply for asylum." (laola1.at, 17 Aug 2016)