Mohammad Abbas Karimi (; born 1997) is a swimmer, who came second in the S5 50 meter

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

event at the

2017 World Para Swimming Championships The 2017 World Para Swimming Championships was the ninth edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Mexico City, Mexico and took place from 2 to 7 December ...

, making him the first refugee athlete to win a medal at that competition. He came eighth in the 50 meter butterfly S5 event for the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. In 2021, Karimi obtained US citizenship and started to compete for the USA team. He was part of the US team that won the medley relay event at the

2022 World Para Swimming Championships The 2022 World Para Swimming Championships was the 11th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for athletes with a disability. It was held in Madeira from 12 to 18 June. The competition was origin ...

. He has won national championship events in Afghanistan, Turkey and the US. Karimi competed for the US team at the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Summer Paralympics (), also known as the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games (), and branded as Paris 2024, were the 17th Summer Paralympic Games, an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event governed by the International P ...

, and was part of the US team that came second in the Mixed 4×50 m freestyle relay 20 pts event.

Personal life

Karimi was born in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

, Afghanistan, and had no arms from birth. His family is of

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Places and ethnic groups Afghanistan * Hazaras, an ethnic group and a principal component of the population of Afghanistan ** Hazarajat, or Hazaristan, a historic region of Afghanistan ** List of Hazara tribes Pakistan * H ...

descent, and his father died in 2019. One of his brothers lives in Australia, and Karimi did not see him from 2013 until 2021. After the

2021 Taliban offensive The 2021 Taliban offensive was a Offensive (military), military offensive by the Taliban insurgent group and allied militants that led to the fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the end of the nearly 20-year War in Afghanistan (200 ...

, Karimi's family relocated from Afghanistan to Pakistan. At the age of 16, Karimi fled Afghanistan, to escape the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

. In 2013, he arrived at a

refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for in ...

in Turkey, having traveled through Iran and the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

. He lived in four different refugee camps in Turkey. In 2016, Karimi moved to

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, US, after being assisted by an American teacher and the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

with his documentation for resettlement in the US. In 2019, he moved to

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County, Florida, Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the ...

. In 2022, Karimi became a

naturalized American citizen Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...

Career

At the age of 12, Karimi took up

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

. Aged 13, he took up swimming. His first competitive competition was an Afghan national championships, which he won. Whilst in Turkey, he won two national championships, and a total of 15 medals. He was unable to participate in international tournaments whilst in Turkish refugee camps, as he didn't have the correct documentation to travel. At the

, Karimi won a silver medal in the S5 50 meter

event. He was the first refugee athlete to win a medal at a

World Para Swimming Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known also as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). Prev ...

. At the Championships, he also finished sixth in the S5

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

event. In 2018, he won the 50 meter

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott Laboritories Media * '' FreeStyle'', ...

event at the U.S. Paralympics Swimming Para National Championships. At the

2019 World Para Swimming Championships The 2019 World Para Swimming Championships was the tenth edition of the World Para Swimming Championships run by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). The championships were held from February to June in seven countries across five contine ...

, he came sixth in the 50 meter butterfly event. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he was unable to swim for several months, as all swimming pools were closed. In 2021, Karimi competed in the US Paralympic Trials in the 50 meter butterfly, backstroke and freestyle events. In April 2021, he won a World Para Swimming Series S5 50 meter butterfly event in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, US. In June, he was included in the Refugee Paralympic Team for the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

. Karimi and

Alia Issa Alia Issa (born 4 January 2001) is one of the six refugees in the Refugee Paralympic Team at the 2020 Summer Paralympics who competed at the delayed Tokyo Paralympics. Issa is based in Athens. She was the first woman parathlete to represent ref ...

were the Refugee Paralympic Team's flag bearers at the Games' opening ceremony. He competed in the 50 meter butterfly S5 event, where he qualified for the final, and finished eighth overall. He also competed in the 50 meter backstroke S5 event, where he finished last in his heat. Karimi won the 2021 USMS Long Course National Championship 200 meter backstroke and 200 meter butterfly events. In 2022, he won the 50 meters butterfly event at the Indianapolis World Series. At the

, Karimi competed for the US team. He finished ninth in the heats of the 50 meter freestyle event. He also finished fourth overall in the 50 meter backstroke and 50 meter butterfly events. He was part of the US team that won the medley relay in a world record time, alongside Elizabeth Marks,

Rudy Garcia-Tolson Rudy Garcia-Tolson (born September 14, 1988) is a Paralympic swimmer, runner and triathlete from the USA. He was born with popliteal pterygium syndrome, resulting in a club foot, webbed fingers on both hands, a cleft lip and palate and the inab ...

and

Leanne Smith Leanne Smith (born May 28, 1987) is an American World Cup alpine ski racer and specializes in the speed events. Early life Born in North Conway, New Hampshire, Smith attended A. Crosby Kennett High School. She spent her skiing time on the lo ...

. He finished third in the 50 metre freestyle S5 event at the

2023 Parapan American Games The 2023 Parapan American Games, officially the VII Pan American Games and commonly known as the Santiago 2023 Parapan-Am Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities. It celebrated the tradition of the Parapan Am ...

. Karimi was selected for the US team for the

. He was part of the American team who finished second in the mixed 4×50 m freestyle relay 20 pts.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karimi, Abbas 1997 births Living people Afghan refugees Refugees in the United States Afghan male swimmers Sportspeople from Kabul Swimmers at the 2023 Parapan American Games Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games S5-classified para swimmers American male swimmers Naturalized citizens of the United States Swimmers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in swimming 21st-century American sportsmen Parapan American Games bronze medalists for the United States