Sleeping on an inflatable bed in a friend’s living room 15,000km from home, Michal Burian washed dishes to get by and ate enough porridge to be known as “The Porridge King”, however much porridge that is.
Two Paralympic medals later, he laughs about his stubbornness but holds firm in his belief that he wouldn’t change a thing – the experience shaping his success on the world stage.
Apart from an accent that hints at his Czech origins, Burian has just about mastered life as an Aussie. The javelin star is laid back, proficient in banter and positive by default, but he recalls a time when things were far from easy.
Burian worked double shifts washing dishes in an Italian restaurant on Chapel Street in his early 20’s, eating porridge to save money and sleeping on an inflatable mattress in his friend’s living room having arrived from the Czech Republic.
“I went through quite a bit. Looking back, I wouldn’t necessarily change it because those experiences shape you as a human being, and as long as you can push through it – you come out the other end as a better person,” Burian says.
“It was very humbling. A lot of my judgement has disappeared and whenever I deal with somebody now, I always consider what might be going on in their life. We always show our best side and hide the challenges.”
Despite the odds being stacked against him, Burian loved Australia. He had little English and even less direction, but as long as he had work ethic – he knew he had a chance:
“It was not the best time but it was super valuable. I’m a pretty stubborn guy and I don’t like to give up. From getting a hard time when I went to school, I knew not to show any weakness.”
The javelin thrower had already forged a promising athletics career back home but was told to stop due to his condition of club foot; his dream of replicating the greats like Jan Zelezny further put on hold by trying to stay afloat in his new life down under.
“I would still turn up to trainings when I could, but I was in such an exhausted state that my foot was like a piece of rusty metal. It was not favouring the javelin throwing, that’s for sure,” Burian says.
“One turning point was when my English improved because I could hold conversation better and get more opportunities, and then when I got my first full-time job and met my wife. It wasn’t just me anymore, there were two of us and we did the hard work together.”
With Paralympic silver and bronze to his name in the Javelin Throw F64, the 33-year-old has won a medal for Australia at all three major championships he has contested, with the possibility of adding a fourth at 2025 World Para Athletics Championships next month in New Delhi, India.
“It sounds boring but you need to treat it as another competition, because it can be scary experience and you can forget to enjoy it. I slipped into that mindset in Paris of winning a medal and getting my world record back. I just wanted it too much and that hurt me,” Burian says.
Also working at Australian Athletics as a High Performance Development Coach, Burian is already laying the foundations for life after his competitive career where he aims to stay involved in the sport that has been his guiding light.
“It’s given me more time to focus on something I really enjoy. Spending all day thinking about athletics means there is no disconnect like there has been in the past. It doesn’t feel like a job because it is something I love,” Burian says.
“On one side you are the preacher, and then you can catch yourself in the same traps when you are training. You realise you were just correcting someone else as the coach and now you are doing the same nonsense as the athlete.”
Burian will compete in the Men’s Javelin F44 at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, taking place in New Delhi, India from September 27 – October 5.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Australian Athletics
Posted 30/8/2025
