Sport - Slovenia's Paralympic Gold Medal: Franček Gorazd Tiršek

Sport – Slovenia's Paralympic Gold Medals

Franček Gorazd Tiršek

Franček Gorazd Tiršek is an elite Slovene para-athlete, a para-shooter, born on 28 March 1975. Following a traffic accident in 2003, Tiršek became a tetraplegic, but prior to this he had competed in shooting with a hunting rifle.

After successful rehabilitation he took up para-sports. Since 2007 he has been a member of the national para-shooting team.
He competes in category SH2 in the following disciplines: R4 mixed 10 metres air rifle standing SH2, R5 mixed 10 metres air rifle prone SH2 and R9 mixed 50 metres rifle prone SH2. Franček Gorazd Tiršek is a left-handed shooter.

To date he has competed in four Paralympic Games, winning five medals. In the Paralympics in London (2012), Rio de Janeiro (2016) and Tokyo (2021) he won silver with the air rifle standing, and in 2021 in Tokyo he won the bronze medal in shooting an air rifle from the prone position. In 2024 at the Paralympic Games in France he became champion in the air rifle standing event. In 2018 and 2023 he also became European champion in his showcase discipline, shooting an air rifle standing. Up until 2021 he competed under the tutelage of trainer Polona Sladič, and now he is coached by Andreja Gorjup.

Since 2013 Franček Gorazd Tiršek has been an honorary citizen of the municipality of Gornji Grad, and the Disabled Sports Federation of Slovenia – Paralympic Committee has declared him sports person of the year seven times.

Drago Perko, Disabled Sports Federation of Slovenia – Paralympic Committee