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“I have Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a wasting of all muscles in the body. I use an electric wheelchair and a ventilator. I only move my fingers.” Adam Peška describes himself diagnosis.
As he says, he has been in a wheelchair since he was eight years old. In April this year, the Rojov Radovabella native celebrated his twenty-seventh birthday. However, by the age of twelve, sports had become an integral part of his life.
“I learned about bocce from a friend who was in a parent program. I tried it and I found that I loved it,” he described his athletic career.
“I started training at the age of twelve at the Svitani School in Pardubice. Whenever we had time, we trained with my mom. Even on the sidewalk in the corridor of my primary school, for example,” recalls the youngster who plays boccia at the East Bohemian sports club TJ Léčebna Košumberk. “I also tried floorball with my friends, but only a few times. Boccia won,” he admits.
“In 2017, I joined the national team and decided to devote myself to boccia. Time has proven that I did well,” he said.
The sport of petanque is played by athletes who are in wheelchairs due to disabilities. They compete individually, in pairs or in teams of three. All events are played by both men and women.
This is a game of strategy and precision, the object of the game is to get the red or blue leather ball as close to the target white ball (Jack) as possible. Each player has six balls per “end”, each “end” has a time limit, and the game is divided into four rounds (six for the team). The winner is the player or team whose ball is closest to the cue ball.
Adam makes the classification categories closer to the readers. The competitors are divided into different categories according to the type of disability. “The three categories are for those who can throw with their hands. In my BC3 category, the athletes cannot throw with their hands, but use a ramp to release the ball. Therefore, the ball must be calibrated to travel a certain distance in a straight line. This requires the most work and is very time-consuming and requires patience from me and the ramp operator,” he explains. “Then I train various throws – serve, follow-through, kick, touch, rebound and pyramid. Then I play against my serve and the opponent’s serve,” he also describes the training process.
When you come to watch a game and enter the hall during the game, you expect a more intimate environment. But that doesn’t mean they don’t cheer for bocce. “I don’t mind the silence or the noise. I try not to pay too much attention and focus on the game itself. Because I speak very quietly, I have a megaphone to cut out the noise. I need to be heard by my colleagues and my mother who is the ramp operator. Sometimes they cheer too loudly and my mother can’t hear my instructions, which is why I use the megaphone.” He also mentioned the important role of his mother.
Adam makes the classification categories closer to the readers. The competitors are divided into different categories according to the type of disability. “The three categories are for those who can throw with their hands. In my BC3 category, the athletes cannot throw with their hands, but use a ramp to release the ball. Therefore, the ball must be calibrated to travel a certain distance in a straight line. This requires the most work and is very time-consuming and requires patience from me and the ramp operator,” he explains. “Then I train various throws – serve, follow-through, kick, touch, rebound and pyramid. Then I play against my serve and the opponent’s serve,” he also describes the training process.
Classification categories:
BC1 – Players at this level throw the ball with their hands or feet. During play, an assistant may be used who does not move within the player’s playing area and who can adjust or stabilize the playing chair and hand the ball to the player upon request.
BC2 – Players at this level throw the ball with their hands and cannot use an assistant
BC3 – Players at this level have very severe motor impairment of the limbs. Although they can move their hands, their motor function of the hands (grasping or throwing) is limited. They can use assistive devices – ramps, and can use the help of assistants; assistants must have their backs to the court and must not look at the playing field.
BC4 – Players at this level have very severe motor dysfunction in their limbs and poor motor control in their trunk. They may have enough skill to throw the ball into the court. The player cannot use the help of an assistant.
A psychological element also played a role in the preparation of Adam Peška, who graduated from grammar school seven years ago. Adam started working with a sports psychologist five years ago.
“After the 2019 Nymburk tournament, when my mind betrayed me in the quarterfinals, my sister found me a sports psychologist and gave me a session as a Christmas present,” he recalled. “Mental preparation is very important. Since then, I would say my performance has stabilized and improved,” he observed of the progress.
Peaked three years ago In Tokyowhere Adam achieved his greatest sporting achievement to date. He won a Paralympic gold medal. “Even though they weren’t fans and had to follow strict measures, I still enjoyed it. Just being there was an experience and a privilege,” he recalled of his first Paralympic Games, which were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
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Source: With permission of the Czech Paralympic Committee
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Adam Peška won gold at the Tokyo Paralympics.
This year will be Paralympics Even with spectators. “I’m really looking forward to experiencing everything now. It’s a great honor for me to represent the Czech Republic again,” Peska admitted, noting that victory at the Paralympics brought him many changes. “It helped improve our training conditions and funding for competitions. I appeared at social events and, as a result, was more present in the media. Since then, I’ve been treating petanque as a job. I also had the privilege of meeting famous Czech athletes and sports figures,” he calculated.
Even before leaving for Paris, he had already managed to compete successfully in the international competition in Portugal. “I did well in the individual event and finished second. I also liked the delivery. It wanted to improve the game against opponents who used harder jacks. There were two situations where it didn’t work out well for me and I had to catch up. The semi-final didn’t look good at the beginning and I turned it around in the end, which made me very happy. In the final I also caught up, but the final turn was a little short,” he summed up a few competitions that even before the success saw reserves in his game.
Adam Peška wins gold at the Tokyo Olympics:
A few days ago, he returned from an international training camp in Poland and had his last training session in Nymburk before leaving for France. “It’s better to slow down and build up strength before leaving,” he planned.
Sports mean a lot to him. “I’m glad I can play sports because I never get bored. I really love bocce, it’s my life engine. Training and competitions are fun and I have a lot of friends among bocce players. I also travel a lot because of bocce. I also like to watch broadcasts of competitions that I don’t participate in to learn from other players,” Adam admits.
“Certainly let them try some sports. If they like it, let them stick with it.” He advises other disabled people to try sports.
He ended his account with a motto. “No game is lost, even if you lose,” he said, and not only on the court.
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