“God took my arms but he gave me this gift”

From Afghanistan to America

Being born without arms never held Abbas back because he learned to use his feet for everything. As a kid, this burden made him angry, but swimming would soothe him. In Kabul, Abbas learned to swim in rivers, then in a pool, and he got really good at it. He knew, however, that if he really wanted to accomplish anything with swimming, he would have to leave Afghanistan.

Because of his disability, Abbas’s family wanted him to get married so that someone could take care of him. He wasn't having it – he had magical things to do. He was driven from within and knew that he could take care of himself.

So at age 16, Abbas left war-torn Afghanistan, walked through Iran, and then was smuggled into Turkey where he lived for four years. The United Nations Refugee Program plucked him out of the refugee camp because of his swimming and brought him to Portland, Oregon to train for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.

Abbas arrived in the United States after participating four times in a swimming world series and twice in world championships. He had six international medals and 25 medals from national events. He was in a great situation to continue training.

For the Tokyo Paralympic Games, Abbas’s plans were to swim the 50 meter butterfly, 50 meter backstroke and both the 50 and 100 meter freestyle. He already knew that his competition was going to be a Chinese guy and a Ukrainian guy. He wanted to drop a few seconds off his times before the games. Abbas applied to become an American citizen so if the games were delayed again, there would be more of a chance that he would be able to compete as an American.

Blessed with a Team of Coaches

When the pandemic forced the pools in Oregon to close, Abbas’s coach told him about Marty Hendrick and the Swim Fort Lauderdale Masters Swim Team (SFTL), a tightly knit swim group with over 200 members.

Marty has become more than Abbas’s swim coach, he is also his life coach. Abbas also has coaches Ryan Rosenbaum, Mike Averett, and Blake Woodrow helping him. They shoot video of him from all directions and each brings their own coaching gifts. Abbas is a religious guy and it’s a blessing to have them all in his life.

This is what Abbas’s training is like: He constantly stretches to maintain his flexibility. He swims six days a week, 2.5k per practice, and two days a week he does a double practice. Abbas is also a runner and he does dry land workouts all the time that include ab crunches. People don’t realize that swimming the butterfly has more to do with the abs than with arms.

Life in a New Country

Adjusting to his new life in America was easier because he knew how to speak English. It was the only subject in school he cared about. Besides that, swimmers already have an instant bond with each other no matter where they live. They share a lot of the same nuances; how they de-fog their goggles, what they eat, the amount they sleep, how they prepare for competition, how they train and even the way they discreetly change out of their wet swimsuits.

Abbas misses his family in Afghanistan and his life growing up, but he is comforted knowing that his parents and family love him, and that his father was proud of him before he passed. He talks to his family on the phone every morning.

SFTL Coach Marty Hendrick says this about Abbas: “Everyone has challenges. Ours are just packaged differently. No one’s life is perfect. His challenge is just very obvious. And life goes on. He is making the most of it. He is the definition of a true champion. The lesson I have learned from him is that I can be a lot better person than I thought I was.”

Bio written by Anita Mitchell