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| Human Interest | |
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Further Personal Information | |
| Residence | Brisbane, QLD, AUS |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Club / Team | Sporting Wheelies: Australia |
General Interest | |
| Memorable sporting achievement | Representing Australia, travelling the world as an athlete. (abc.net.au, 23 Aug 2012) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Why this sport? | He saw other people doing the sport and decided he wanted to try it. |
General Interest | |
| Hero / Idol | Australian powerlifter Darren Gardiner, Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Australian rugby league player Darren Lockyer. (paralympic.org, 05 May 2011) |
Sport Specific Information | |
| Name of coach | William Nancarrow, AUS |
| When and where did you begin this sport? | He began powerlifting in 1999 in Australia. |
International Debut | |
| Year | 2007 |
| Competing for | Australia |
| Tournament | International Tournament |
| Location | Darwin, NT |
General Interest | |
| Nicknames | Abba (paralympic.org, 05 May 2011) |
| Other information | AFRICA TO EUROPE TO AUSTRALIA Born in Ethiopia, his father was taken away by military police when he was age eight. He never saw his father again. In 1996 after attending a political rally, he was involved in a car chase with government security in which he crashed, losing both his legs and sustaining a spinal cord injury. He sought treatment in Italy where his brother was living, and 18 months later travelled to Australia to join his sister. He was unemployed and without health coverage, until he went to a gym in Brisbane to get some exercise in his wheelchair and met coach Ramon Epstein. He began powerlifting and was granted Australian citizenship just before the Asian Paralympic Committee Powerlifting Cup in 2007. (abc.net.au, 15 Sep 2008) |
Impairment Information | |
| Type of Impairment | Spinal Cord Injuries |
| Origin of Impairment | Acquired |
Further Personal Information | |
| Languages | English |
General Interest | |
| Sporting philosophy / motto | "Tomorrow can be a better day." (abc.net.au, 23 Aug 2012) |
| Impairment | In 1996 he was involved in a car accident in Ethiopia, which resulted in paraplegia. (abc.net.au, 23 Aug 2012) |