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.
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
The civil war engulfing tennis has been laid bare on the opening day of the first Grand Slam event this year, with details of Tennis Australia’s peace deal with the Professional Tennis Players’ Association (PTPA) published for the first time. The PTPA last year launched an anti-trust lawsuit against the four grand slam tournaments, the ATP Tour, WTA Tour, and the International Tennis Federation, accusing them of collaborating to reduce prize money, impose a restrictive ranking system and repress player promotional opportunities, but Tennis Australia was dropped from the claim last month after reaching a settlement agreement with the players’
RSS