Tag Archive for 'Abbas Karimi'

Paralimpic Games: Abbas Karimi unbelievable story

Abbas Karimi is one of six athletes on the refugee team present in Tokyo. Karimi is 24 years old, born without arms, Afghan and is a swimmer. In 2013, he escaped with his brother to Turkey via Iran. His dream was to become a Paralympic champion.

Through Facebook he managed to find a football coach in Oregon, Mike Ives, who helped him go to the United States with refugee status and live with him. He found a swim team and so he began to train. In 2017 he won silver at the Paralympic World Swimming Championships, in the 50m butterfly. Since then he has not stopped training and during the pandemic he moved to Florida to train in an outdoor pool with another coach from whom he also went to live.

Of him, his new coach says, “I could see him as a superhero, sort of a mix between Aquaman, Superman and Spider-Man, with all his abilities.”

One of his best friends suggested that when his thoughts remind him of what’s going on in Afghanistan, “You’ve been working hard for as long as I’ve known you, and there’s so much going on in Afghanistan, keep your mind clear and focused on your approach.”

His story is an unbelievable one, one of the many we encounter at the Paralympics.

Afghan-born swimmer wins silver at World Para Swimming Series - The Khaama  Press News Agency