When she was just two years old, Asiya Mohammed was hit by a train as she crossed railway tracks near her Kenyan home, an accident that claimed both her legs and several fingers.
Seven years later she was orphaned.
Rather than crumpling in the face of such adversity, Mohammed has gone on to become a highly decorated para-athlete and is the first Kenyan female rower to qualify for the Paralympic Games opening in Tokyo later this month.
Photo: AFP
Yet the bubbly 29-year-old, who was brought up by a cousin and first trained as a teacher, said she did not value sports until weight gain changed her outlook on life about five years ago.
“As a disabled person, I was weighing 70kg, which caused a lot of concern to my immediate family. They advised me to join sports to help me cut the weight and remain in shape,” she said.
The sports available at the time in her home city of Mombasa on Kenya’s east coast were wheelchair tennis, badminton and rowing.
Mohammed went on to win medals in competitions in all three sports as well as wheelchair marathons.
Eventually the double amputee decided to focus on rowing and would be competing in the PR1 single sculls in Tokyo.
“I realized I was getting more captivated by rowing because of the friendly atmosphere, and I made up my mind that I was going to do this sport until I qualified for the Olympics,” she said.
“I made an immediate decision to abandon teaching completely and go full bodied into sport full time, especially in the rowing,” she added.
In May 2019, she qualified to compete in her first-ever international event — the season-opening para-rowing Gavirate Regatta in Italy.
“She finished second last in her competition, but her passion and keen interest for rowing impressed the international team of coaches attending the regatta who remarked that it wouldn’t take long before Asiya qualified for the World Championships and the Paralympics,” said Joshua Kendagor, a Kenya Navy officer who coaches Asiya and is to accompany her to the Paralympics.
She eventually booked her berth for Tokyo at the African pre-Paralympic championships in Tunis in October 2019, where she beat out seven other contenders to win the PR1 women’s singles sculls, for competitors using their arms only.
It has not been smooth sailing for Mohammed, who has had to overcome many frustrations as a physically disabled woman in sport — including a lack of funding and support from Kenyan federations.
She had to borrow proper rowing gear from her able-bodied male compatriots to compete in Tunis, after her request to the Kenya Rowing Federation to provide her with the competition kit failed to materialize.
“I was so heartbroken and frustrated when the Kenya Rowing Federation and the Kenya National Paralympic Committee both told me they would not be sponsoring any rowers for the pre-Olympics qualifier due to lack of funds, and yet my male colleagues had received full funding from the National Olympic Committee of Kenya,” she said.
Her family and friends were also forced to raise the money for her airfare to Tunisia — but she repaid them by being the only Kenyan rower at the event to qualify for the Para games.
“After the championships, I was gifted with two rowing boats by the International Rowing Federation — one for training and the other for the competition at the Paralympics — but until today I have not received the two boats,” she said.
The Kenyan said she is determined to put the problems behind her.
“I don’t want to finish last. I am very realistic,” Mohammed said, adding that she wants to advance to the final six in the PR1 women’s single sculls to be in medal contention.
“I am in rowing until I win an Olympic medal,” she said.
NO HARD FEELINGS: Taiwan’s Lin Hsiang-ti and Indonesia’s Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi embraced after fighting to a tense and rare 30-29 final game in their Uber Cup match The Taiwanese men’s team on Wednesday fought back from the brink of elimination to defeat Denmark in Group C and advance to the quarter-finals of the Thomas Cup, while the women’s team were to face South Korea after press time last night in the Uber Cup quarter-finals in Horsens, Denmark. In the first match, Taiwan’s top shuttler Chou Tien-chen faced a familiar opponent in world No. 3 Anders Antonsen. It was their 16th head-to-head matchup, with the Dane taking his fourth victory in a row against former world No. 2 Chou, winning 21-14, 13-21, 21-15 in 1 hour, 22 minutes. The
Jannik Sinner continued his quest to become the first man in history to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Danish qualifier Elmer Moller at the Madrid Open on Sunday. The world leader extended his winning streak to 19 matches, a run that began early March in Indian Wells, and he has captured 24 consecutive victories at the Masters 1000 level, dating back to the Paris Masters last October. Searching for a maiden title at this level on clay, Sinner advanced to the round of 16 at the Caja Magica with a 77-minute performance against
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Tennis players are facing an unexpected opponent at the Madrid Open. A stomach virus or food poisoning has affected Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Marin Cilic and others, raising concerns. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka avoided an upset by Naomi Osaka on the court on Monday and said she is trying to avoid illness by sticking to a diet of chicken breasts, rice and salad. The rumor among the players was bad shrimp tacos were to blame. Sabalenka knocked on wood for luck and said, “So far, so good. I heard that I have to avoid those tacos,” she laughed, adding “I stick to the
RSS