MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — Transplant recipients from across the world gathered in Perth, Australia in April, and a Morgantown resident brought home two medals.

During the World Transplant Games, which take place every two years, thousands of organ transplant recipients attend the Olympic-style sporting event for a chance to bring home a medal in one of 20 athletic competitions.

Sabak wearing his medal in the bowling alley from the 2018 Transplant Games of America (Courtesy of Greg Sabak)

According to a press release from Team Alleghenies Transplant, Greg Sabak, a heart transplant recipient from Morgantown, earned a silver medal in singles bowling and a bronze medal in teams bowling. Sabak also earned medals in the 2018 games.

Sabak said in an interview with 12 News last year that he was diagnosed with an enlarged heart in 2000 and received a transplant in 2016.

“If it’s not for the donors, I wouldn’t have had this second chance and I wouldn’t be able to attend the games and I wouldn’t experience what life has to offer,” he said in the 2022 interview with 12 News.

The event consisted of roughly 3,000 athletes and supporters—the largest community of its kind for transplant recipients and families.

“While the events are very competitive, the transplant games are more about honoring the legacy of those who gave the ultimate gift of life,” said Colleen Sullivan, director of public affairs at the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE)—a sponsor of the Alleghenies Transplant Team. “They also serve to show the world that having a transplant is a second chance at a full, productive and inspiring life.”