Paris 2024: Peter Pal Kiss ready to repeat ‘unforgettable experience’ of Tokyo

Hungary's Paralympic canoe champion Peter Pal Kiss was just 18 years old when he won the men's kayak single KL1 gold medal at Tokyo 2020 and made history as the youngest-ever champion in the sport. That experience will stick with him for life. 

"The moment when my country's national anthem was played in Tokyo at the Paralympics, I felt an indescribable, enormous pride," he said. 

"It is very nice to look back at those Games, because I became a Paralympic champion there. Tokyo gave me a lot of things that I can only be grateful for in life." 

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But despite his young age, he had not come to Japan as an underdog. Instead, Kiss was targeting gold. As a 16-year-old, he triumphed in front of a home crowd at the 2019 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, and was confident that he could repeat the feat on another world stage. 

"I was already able to win at the previous world competitions and well prepared for my opponents. I was training under an enormous pressure, and mentally I was very focused on the competition. So, I can say that I went to Tokyo to win," Kiss said. 

Becoming a Paralympic champion 

It was, however, a different kind of Games, in many ways. 

"I was very excited for the Paralympic Games, even though there were no spectators in the stands due to Covid, which of course was a shame," Kiss said. 

"I still think that it was a huge sporting event that the whole world followed via the internet and TV, and it was incredible to be a part of it. Naturally, the previous international competitions gave me a routine and confidence, but the atmosphere of the Paralympics is incomparable." 

Despite having gone to Tokyo to win, Kiss, whose legs were paralysed following an illness when he was eight years old, could not believe that the gold medal was his until he crossed the finish line. 

"It took me a while to digest that I could call myself a Paralympic champion from now on. It took a very long time for me to fully believe this."

Before getting into kayaking, Kiss swam competitively for three years. That gave him a positive attitude about life and his capacity after the illness, but also a lot of upper body strength. Going to a primary school specialised specifically for children with physical impairments, he tried kayaking – and loved it. 

"We had the chance to try out a couple of Para sports, and that is how canoeing – and kayaking – came along," he said. 

Sacrifices pay off 

He would soon be beating athletes who were much older and more experienced than him – a feat he put down to hard work. 

"This has helped me get to the top, including a lot of sacrifices of course; tiring training, cancelled weekends and so on," he said.  

"But it is worth it, because I love it. When I can do this sport, I am myself. This is my life. I dedicate everything to it, so that I can always make my dreams come true at the competitions." 

Apart from his first world title, he had also taken two European championships gold medals, in 2019 and 2021, before reaching the peak of his career so far in Tokyo.  

Today he is a four-time world and three-time European champion, but things were different when he came to his first international competitions as a teenager. 

"I was extremely young. And to be honest, I was very scared about these first large competitions and their outcome, despite that I was really looking forward to them. Luckily, they went very well, I think both (his 2019 gold medals) will remain forever memories," Kiss said. 

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Growing recognition 

The Tokyo 2020 gold medal, however, is a new level of milestone for the young Paralympic champion. 

"After it was hung around my neck, I have to admit that I wore it all day and I even slept in it," Kiss said. 

"Ever since then, when I look at it, I am really happy, because it makes me believe that all the hard work, the training and the sacrifices made sense and paid off 120 percent."  

Apart from that Paralympic gold, not much has changed for the 20-year-old, who refuses to let the fame go to his head. He has more training and more medals to win. 

"It has changed my life in a sense, but from another aspect it has not. I'm actually doing the same things as before; I still go to training and spend time with my loved ones.

"Maybe one thing has changed; I can realise that more people recognise me on the street now. It was strange for the first time, but you can get used to it." 

National triumph 

Kiss has realised that his gold medal has not just become a triumph for himself, bit for Para sports in general in Hungary. 

"Elite sports have always been very important to Hungary, because we are a small country with great talents, and we want to make the best out of it in terms of results, as well," he said. 

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"It is a huge joy to me that I was able to enhance the reputation of Hungarian Para sports and Hungarian kayak-canoe sport at the same time with this gold medal. It has been a successful sport in Hungary for a long time, and I think that the national federation is also very happy to have a rising star in the Para department as well." 

Biggest goal 

Now his full focus is on repeating the feat at Paris 2024. He "cannot wait to be there". 

"This is my largest goal nowadays and I am doing my best to make it happen. I think it is much more difficult to defend a title than to achieve it," Kiss said. 

"Defending the title would mean for me that I was able to maintain my motivation and dedication to kayaking, sports, and the Paralympics for three years, in this case. Maybe that is the hardest thing when you are already on top." 

If he wins, he is interested in trying out a different event. 

"I think I can no longer have much bigger dreams in the sport of kayaking, where I have achieved basically everything. Therefore, in the near future I would like to try out canoeing, to see what I can do there," Kiss said. 

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But first, he is looking forward to another unforgettable Paralympic experience – that hopefully results in another gold medal to the collection, to wear for 24 hours a day. 

"I am really looking forward to it. I hope to meet a lot of athletes, get to know them, and I hope that a lot of fans will cheer for us," he said. 

"I wish everyone an unforgettable experience there, like I had in Tokyo." 

Book your tickets for the Paralympic Games by visiting the Paris 2024 ticketing website.