Abebe Fekadu (born 20 April 1970) is an Ethiopian Australian

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

. He competed at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It wa ...

, where he finished tenth. He was selected to represent Australia at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

in powerlifting. He did not medal at the 2012 Games.

Personal

Nicknamed Abba, Fekadu was born on 20 April 1970 in

Mekelle Mekelle ( ti, መቐለ, am, መቀሌ, mäqälle, mek’elē) or Mekele is a special zone and capital of the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Mekelle was formerly the capital of Enderta awraja in Tigray. It is located around north of the Ethiopia ...

, Ethiopia. The Ethiopian junta executed his father around 1977, when Fekadu was about eight years old. In response to that, he joined the secret anti-government, pro-democracy movement in Ethiopia. The government did not look kindly on his activities. One day in 1997 near

Gonder Gondar, also spelled Gonder ( Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on t ...

, while trying to avoid an arrest, he was involved in a police chase that resulted in a serious car accident that left him a paraplegic. He was initially treated by a local medicine man. He left Ethiopia for Italy in order to receive treatment, choosing Italy because his brother was living there. He moved to Australia within two years of moving to Italy because his sister was living in the country. He was initially a refugee and detained by the Australian government. In 2007, Fekadu became an Australian citizen. He resides in Queensland as of 2012.

Powerlifting

Fekadu is a powerlifter. He started powerlifting in 2002 after meeting

Ramon Epstein Ramon (Ray) Gary Epstein, (born 14 October 1959) is an Australian Paralympic weightlifter and powerlifting coach. He represented Australia in weightlifting at the 1988 Seoul and 1992 Barcelona Paralympics and was Head Coach of the Australian ...

while at a gym in Brisbane. His first competition lift weight was . In 2004, Fekadu was the Australian national champion in the men's 56 kilograms event. He continued to hold the title in 2005, 2006 and 2007. In 2007, he competed in the Asian Paralympics Committee Powerlifting Cup in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

, where he earned a silver medal. That year, he also represented Australia at the Arafura Games, where he earned a gold medal while lifting . He competed in the

in the men's 56 kilograms event, where he finished tenth overall. Going into the Paralympics, his personal best lift was 160 kilograms. Members of the Ethiopian Paralympic team met him and shook his hand at the Paralympics dining hall during the 2008 Games. Fekadu was selected to represent Australia at the

in powerlifting in the Under 56 kg event but did not medal.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fekadu, Abebe 1970 births Living people Paralympic powerlifters of Australia Powerlifters at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Powerlifters at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Australia Powerlifters at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Brisbane Australian people of Ethiopian descent