BALCOVA Michaela

Rank	Event	Year	Location
Paralympic Games
1	Pairs - BC4	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA
World Championships
1	Pairs - BC4	2018	Liverpool, GBR
27	Individual - BC4	2018	Liverpool, GBR
European Championships
1	Pairs - BC4	2019	Seville, ESP
3	Individual - BC4	2019	Seville, ESP
4	Individual - BC4	2017	Povoa de Varzim, POR
4	Pairs - BC4	2017	Povoa de Varzim, POR

Student

Economics - University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia

Slovak

SK Altius [Bratislava, SVK]

Martin Gabko [national], SVK

2014 for Slovakia (ludialudom.sk, 01 Mar 2015)

She and her BC4 pairs teammates Samuel Andrejcik and Martin Streharsky were named Team of the Year for 2019 by the Slovakian Association of Impaired Athletes [SZTPS]. (sport.aktuality.sk, 09 Apr 2020)

She broke her left leg in February 2020. (Facebook page, 26 Feb 2020)

She competed at the 2019 European Championships Seville, Spain, with an injured knee. (Facebook page, 31 Jan 2020)

She took up boccia in 2009. (ares.sk, 25 Mar 2019)

She competed in Para swimming until age 14 but had to give up the sport after repeatedly sustaining injuries. She switched to boccia after being introduced to the sport by coach Martin Gabko. "I didn't know boccia at all until coach Martin Gabko approached me to try it out. At that time, I only practised it as a hobby, but I was very quickly enjoying the sport. I knew it was a sport I wanted to pursue actively." (ares.sk, 25 Mar 2019; zenyvmeste.sk, 22 Apr 2017; ludialudom.sk, 01 Mar 2015)

She trains three to four times per week. (ares.sk, 25 Mar 2019)

Winning gold in BC4 pairs at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, and at the 2018 World Championships in Liverpool, England. (Instagram profile, 12 Sep 2020; ares.sk, 25 Mar 2019; paralympic.org, 12 Sep 2019)

"Where there is a will there's a way." (Facebook page, 22 Jan 2020)

In February 2020 she received a commemorative medal at an event to mark the 25th anniversary of the Slovakian Paralympic Committee [SPV]. (Facebook page, 18 Feb 2020)

She received the Fair Play award following Boccia Slovakia's 2019 Boccia Player of the Year poll. (boccia.sk, 19 Jun 2020)