Abbas Karimi is a Paralympic swimmer and medalist. At age 25, Abbas Karimi has already lived many lives having gone from being a refugee from Kabul Afghanistan to becoming a world champion. In 2013, Abbas fled from Afghanistan. After a long and arduous journey he arrived in Turkey, where he spent four years as a refugee before being resettled to Portland, USA by UNHCR in 2016. Since then, Abbas has won eight medals, including silver in the Mexico City 2017 World Para Swimming Championships and he now lives and trains in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
“I asked the lifeguard, ‘Do you think I can learn how to swim?’ He said, ‘Of course you can. There are people in the world who don’t have arms and legs and who swim’. So I put on a life jacket and didn’t drown. That day gave me a lot of hope.”
Abbas’ wisdom and drive lifts all of us who already know him and will lift the others who have not yet met him.
Abbas is represented by Chandler Crawford.