Natalia Partyka

Natalia Dorota Partyka (born 27 July 1989) is a Polish para table tennis player. Born without a right hand and forearm, she participates in competitions for able-bodied athletes as well as in competitions for athletes with disabilities. Partyka reached the last 32 of the London 2012 Olympic women's table tennis.

Early life

Partyka began playing table tennis at the age of seven years. She won her first international table tennis medal in 1999 at the disabled World Championships. At the age of 11, when she competed at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, she became the world's youngest ever Paralympian. In 2004, she won a gold medal in the singles event and silver in the team event at the Athens Paralympics. Also in 2004, she won two gold medals at the International Table Tennis Federation's European Championships for Cadets, which was open to able-bodied competitors. In 2006, Partyka won three gold medals at the European Paralympic Championships, one gold and two silvers at the International Paralympic Committee's Table Tennis World Championships for Disabled, and a silver in the team event at the ITTF European Junior Championship. She also won two silver medals and one bronze at the 2007 edition of that competition. Also in 2007, Partyka won three gold medals at the European Paralympic Championships, and a bronze at the ITTF World Junior Teams Championships.

Olympics and Paralympics performance

Partyka competed for Poland both the 2008 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing – one of only two athletes to do so, the other being Natalie du Toit in swimming. They were her third Paralympic Games, and her first Olympics. Competing in class 10 at the Beijing Paralympics, she won gold by defeating China's Fan Lei by three sets to nil.