Poland

Dariusz Cegielka

Sport has always been a major part of Dariusz Cegielka's life. As child it was his "passion" and trained to be a professional decathlete while in high school.

Sadly, an injury stopped those professional dreams from coming true but sport continued to be a large part of his life.

Dariusz's life changed after sustaining a serious injury to his left leg on deployment to Afghanistan.

"It was the worst time of my life. My plans and dreams collapsed and my world was broken into pieces.’’

Dariusz found himself in a dark place, he struggled with alcohol and getting outside to be active.

However, one day he found the courage to see that his life needed to change and began his rehabilitation.

He rediscovered his passion for sport and the biggest breakthrough came when he met his girlfriend Paulina, who supported his journey to the Invictus Games The Hague 2020.

Dariusz enjoys sitting volleyball, swimming, football, jogging and cycling and is now a part of the Polish Para Volleyball Team that is looking to compete at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

"

The Invictus Games makes my dreams as a little boy come true and gives me the possibility to get a medal after all. Sport has a positive effect on my daily life. It gives me a lot of mental and physical strength."

Invictus Games The Hague 2020

Athletics, Indoor Rowing, and Sitting Volleyball

Member of the 5th Engineer Regiment

Member of the Polish Para Volleyball Team

Deployed to Afghanistan