Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
This Gift

This Gift

Mitchell, Anita

Paperback

AthletesImmigration & RefugeesSwimming & Diving

Publisher Price: $21.99

ISBN13: 9798988189152
Publisher: CG Sports Management LLC
Published: Apr 17 2024
Pages: 242
Weight: 0.72
Height: 0.51 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English

Winner of the 2025 Buck Dawson Award for books that promote, educates or entertain people about aquatics!

Tortured by misfortune and blessed beyond my wildest dreams....The unlikely story of how an armless Afghan boy became a world champion swimmer.God took my arms but he gave me THIS GIFT by Anita MitchellThe road to the Olympics and Paralympics comes from unlikely places and often reveals the best of humanity. Abbas' journey from Kabul, Afghanistan to Turkish refugee camps to the Tokyo Paralympic Games has been profiled in the New York Times, CNN and News Nation. He has been interviewed by Angelina Jolie and Khaled Hosseini and has one of the most inspiring stories in the world. The future looked bleak for Abbas when he was born armless. With so many other problems in Kabul, people with disabilities there are a low priority. After years of being bullied for being different, he sought refuge and peace in the water where he learned to swim and began to compete. If 15-year-old Abbas wanted to excel with his unusual skill as a swimmer, he knew that he had to leave his large and close family. How he left, how he traveled through Iran, how he petitioned the UNHCR to come to the United States, how he made the Tokyo refugee Paralympic team, how he became a US citizen and what complications ensued in his life is a beacon of triumph and a salute to the human spirit. Abbas is a role model not only for people with disabilities, but for anyone with a lofty goal where detours are placed along the way. Abbas always had a champion's mindset, whether it was in how he played marbles, performed martial arts or eventually excelled to world class levels in Paralympic swimming.Abbas is training with Swim Fort Lauderdale Masters Swim Team for the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.

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