What was your first experience of sports, and sitting volleyball in particular?

I have always loved being active and doing all kinds of sports. In primary school, I had a super cool physical education teacher who believed in me and never gave me the feeling that I was somehow different from any other schoolmate. I tried many different sports, but my favourite was volleyball (maybe because my older sister also played it ). First, I played standing volleyball for the school team, then they invited me to join the local volleyball club, and after a while, I got another invitation: to join the sitting volleyball national team.

What made you decide to become a sitting volleyball athlete?

I have to admit that I wouldn’t say I liked sitting volleyball much in the beginning. I think I was 14 years old when I started practising with the national team, and all the team members were much older. Plus, being part of the para team meant admitting to myself and all others that I am disabled. Which was hard at first. So in the beginning, I played both – standing and sitting volleyball and enjoyed playing standing much more. But we got a new coach in a local club, and he was the first (and the last one, thankfully) person who told me straight to my face that my disability was a hindrance and that I should choose another sport. So standing volleyball suddenly became less enjoyable. And that is when I started to fall in love with sitting volleyball.