Abbas Karimi | Carnegie

Born in Afghanistan with out arms, Abbas Karimi grew up dealing with discrimination and bullying for his incapacity. But he discovered freedom and belonging in swimming, first studying to swim within the rivers of Kabul. At 16, he fled the continuing violence and insecurity in Afghanistan and moved between refugee camps in Turkey. Later, he resettled within the United States with the assistance of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, first in Oregon after which Florida.

“I needed to be somewhere I could be safe and keep training and be a Paralympic champion,” he informed The New York Times. “When I left Afghanistan, that was with me, that idea of what I’m going to be.”

Karimi is now a Paralympic swimmer with quite a few nationwide and worldwide medals. In 2017, he gained silver within the 50-meter butterfly on the World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico City, turning into the primary refugee athlete to medal at that competitors. He later competed within the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games as a part of the International Paralympic Committee’s Refugee Paralympic Team and was one of many crew’s flag bearers on the opening ceremony. In 2022, Karimi turned a U.S. citizen and went on to characterize Team USA on the 2024 Paris Paralympics, the place he gained two silver medals in blended relay occasions.

Karimi has additionally turn into a strong advocate for refugees and athletes with disabilities. As he wrote in The Guardian in 2022, “I set out on a journey that would break down barriers and show others that people with disabilities can be active and can fulfill their potential.”

Published June 2026