Twelve-year-old Gabriel – a fighter from the first breath: born just 1 kg, now he is collecting karate golds | Life

A fighter from birth

The story of Gabrielius Matas is such as few have heard or at least imagined. The boy’s mother started expecting at the age of 44. The family already raised two older children – 21 and 22 years old, the woman says that there were no complications while expecting them, even though it was a long time ago.

And here is Gabrielius Matas, who decided to see the world very early, as it should have scared both his parents and doctors. After giving birth at 28 weeks, the boy’s mother Rimutė was in shock, as was her husband.

“I wouldn’t wish what we went through even on an enemy. Really. I gave birth to a baby right at home, at first maybe I didn’t even fully understand that it was a birth. The husband called the doctors instantly – one ambulance took Gabrielias Matas to Vilnius, and the other took me to Alytus.

You know, maybe I don’t remember something well, because we were really very scared and just shocked. I had lost a lot of blood, I was very weak, so the doctors took me away as well. And Gabrielius Matas was born very tiny – 1040 grams. As we say, it’s like a loaf of bread,” said the twelve-year-old’s mother.

When Rimutė felt better, she immediately rushed to Vilnius with her family, her husband stood by Gabrielias Matas all the time, and also did an incredible thing: “I saw Gabrielias Matas the very next day, as soon as he released me, we went to see him. Sure enough, he was in an incubator, connected to machines. The doctors said that the fact that Gabrielius Mato survived is an absolute miracle and a gift from God. By the way, my husband managed to find a priest and baptize Gabrieli Matas during that first day. Can you imagine? Even the doctors advised him to do that.”

The woman says that when she saw the boy in the hospital for the first time, she got very excited and even fainted, but later the doctors explained to her that children react very sensitively to their environment – they feel everything, so the best help for them is positive thoughts: “Since then, I somehow managed to concentrate and manage myself and I realized that we have to move forward, fight.”

A difficult start

After overcoming the first stage, realizing what happened and putting their thoughts on the shelves, according to Rimute, everyone focused on the fight, and Gabrielius Matas the most. Although he had many health problems due to being born very early, the boy’s determination to live overcame most of them.

“Oh, there were a lot of diseases. We have spent 99 days in the hospital since birth. The baby spent 31 days alone in the intensive care unit, and later he was together in the premature unit. He went home for the first time almost a hundred days later,” recalls the boy’s mother.

Rimutė says that when Gabrieli Matas was discharged from the hospital, even the doctors were surprised and wished him success: “He said – he was really a fighter since childhood.”

According to the mother, fortunately, today the disease is no longer affecting her son intensively, the only thing that could not be restored is Gabrielias Matas’s hearing, but hearing aids help the boy to communicate with the world. Today, the young man attends music and choir, has a lot of hobbies and, as his mother notices, he is mature, maybe not according to his age.

“Somehow he understands his situation very well, I don’t know how it is, but he just values ​​his life very much and thanks everyone all the time,” assures his mother. Although she laughs that, most likely, others should thank him, because he changed the life of the family for the better, as well as the perception of values.

And today, according to Rimute, her son Gabrielius Matas successfully proves his champion character in sport – karate, which his father brought him to: “I was basically just their supporter. Gabrielius Matas’ inclination towards sports was really ignited by his father. He used to see how he did those movements at home, he became interested, they started going to training together, and even now – whenever he has free time, he goes to exercise and improve.

This is already a common activity for both of them, and I am like a support team. But this year there was a coup, now even I have joined them, now we all do sports together.”

Golden and championship Gabriel

Coach Gintaras Kazilionis remembers that he met Gabrieli Matas five years ago, when the boy was seven years old: “He was brought to training by his father, the child started training with him. I immediately got the impression of a hot-headed, talented boy. A friendly, respectful relationship has developed between us.”

Personal arch./Gabrielius Matas won the gold

The coach admits that his student really has a champion character. “What is it? Patience, perseverance, motivation, responsibility, ability to learn from defeats. On the other hand, at the same time, he is the same child as the others. Active, lively, likes to play with others. But during training, Gabrielius Matas concentrates, listens to the coach’s instructions and really works seriously, tries hard. So that’s why his results are good”, said G. Kazilionis about the promising twelve-year-old.

You can finally participate in the competition

Gabrielius Matas has been hearing impaired since childhood, he wears hearing aids that help him communicate with the environment. Karate kyokushin coach Gintaras points out that it is a contact sport, so Gabrielius Matas, who has hearing aids, would not be able to participate in the competition. However, the coach is very happy that the opportunity to join the integrated has recently appeared kata and kumite competitions, where Gabrielius Matas can compete with other athletes with the same disability. The young man is doing very well, but, he points out, he still faces challenges that are largely beyond Gabrielus Matas’s control.

“Since a couple of years ago we joined the integrated para karate international organization “I – Karate – Global” and became its representatives in Lithuania, we invited Gabrieli Matas to participate in the integrated kata and kumite in competitions.

The organization unites martial arts athletes with various disabilities, so Gabrielius Matas participates in competitions and fights against opponents with the same disability. The biggest challenges in this matter are financing. Since this activity is not financed by the state, the search for financing or at least partial financing in order to participate in competitions abroad becomes a challenge,” commented the coach.

Personal arch./Gabrielius Matas in the competition

Despite this, the coach is happy that Gabrieliaus Matas’ achievements are excellent. The boy has already won two gold medals kata and integrated kumite in matches at the World Championship in Belgium and Hungary. “The greatest and most pleasant achievement, I think, was the integration of the world para karate championship first place.

It was the first championship for Gabriel Matas, so there was a lot of uncertainty, excitement, preparation, and the success that followed it. The biggest impression was more than 100 participants with various disabilities who were able to demonstrate their skills in the integrated kata matches”, G. Kazilionis shared his impressions.

The coach said that during the competition, each participant appears according to their physical capabilities and each one is evaluated. “Gabriel Matas has talent and physical capabilities, I see his future in sports. It is important to improve and not stop.

Gabrielius Matas shows not only athletic talent, but also commitment and perseverance to achieve the highest goals. His achievements are not only personal triumphs, but also an example for young people that even in the most difficult conditions and challenges, great things can be achieved,” the coach was proud of his pupil.

Fascinating energy and concentration

Laima Stankeviča, who accompanied young people with disabilities to competitions, supported them and helped them, emphasizes that she is very proud of them and wants as many people as possible to learn about the success and achievements of these athletes: “I just really want Lithuania to know about them. About how they exercise and what unreal things they do. Finally, about the impact of karate on their lives, how the sport helps them improve and get stronger.”

Personal arch./Gabrielius Matas with his mother

Having gone to competitions together with the team, L. Stankeviča helped the team members who cannot see or hear, both in training and in their daily activities – she simply accompanied them: “In general, our kyokushin karate team is a bit different. Everyone comes to training with their families – with children, with teenagers – and they all do sports together. Gabrielius Matas and his parents are among them.

It’s fascinating to me that his parents are a little older, but they still always come together, don’t miss training, and Gabriel is just a great guy,” said L. Stankeviča. True, the interviewer added an interesting fact that Gabrielius Matas is completely different when the competition comes – he concentrates and calms down. The woman laughs that she herself filmed Gabriel’s golden performance and even thought that he knows how to adapt to the competition very well – the energetic boy is turning into a serious athlete.”

The interviewer testified that it can be seen that during training Gabrielius Matas is extremely active, he is the fastest, the most agile and the strongest: “He is a lot, he does everything and does it, even several times more than others. If the coach says to do 10 push-ups, he will do fifteen, squats or something – again more, he just does everything with a plus. I am truly fascinated by his energy and enthusiasm.”