| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Péter Pál Kiss |
| Nationality | Hungarian |
| Born | (2003-05-06)6 May 2003 (age 22) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Paracanoe |
| Disability | Guillain–Barré syndrome |
| Disability class | KL1 |
| Club | Budapesti Honvéd Sportegyesület |
| Coached by | István Pruzsina |
Medal record | |
Péter Pál Kiss (born 6 May 2003) is a Hungarian paracanoeist. He represented Hungary at the2020 and2024 Summer Paralympics.[1][2] At 18 years old he was youngest-ever paracanoe Paralympic champion.[3]
Kiss originally lived in ashanty town inBaranya County.[4] In 2011, Kiss was paralyzed after being diagnosed withGuillain–Barré syndrome.[5][6] When Kiss was eight, he thought it was a fever that was originally thought as just being the flu but as a result he lost feeling in his legs.[7] In order to get treatment, he moved to a school inBudapest.[4] As part of his rehabilitation, he started swimming despite a fear of water after a near drowning experience when he was younger and overcame that fear.[7]
Whilst undergoing rehabilitation after losing the use of his legs, his swimming coach noticed Kiss demonstrating talent in a canoe and suggested he take it up.[7] He started training on theRiver Danube and won gold and bronze medals at Hungary's national paracanoe championships.[8] When he was 16, he won gold at the2019 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.[9][10]
At the2020 Summer Paralympics inTokyo, Japan, Kiss won gold in the 200 metre KL1 sprint.[11] This made him the first teenager to win gold in the KL1 class.[12] Prior to the2024 Summer Paralympics inParis, France, Kiss suffered a pectoral muscle injury in training that kept him out of the 2024 European and World Championships and only qualified for the Paralympics after winning a domestic head to head competition.[13] Following a repeat gold medal win at the Paralympics, Kiss was selected as Hungary's co-flagbearer for the closing ceremony.[14] Later in the year, Kiss announced that he was looking to enter in the VL2 category in addition to KL1.[13] In 2025, he announced that he had a new coach and trained in the bay atÚjpest on the Danube as a part of theBudapesti Honvéd SE canoeing team.[15] On 11 January 2024, he was named the Hungarian parasportsman of the year for 2023.[16]
In August 2025, he competed at the2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships and won a gold medal in theKL1 event. The next month he competed at the2025 ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships and won a silver medal in the KL1 event with a time of 32:37.15. This marked the first time paracanoe was competed in marathon distances at theICF Canoe Marathon World Championships.[17]
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