From the Euphrates to Tokyo: Syrian refugee who lost leg targets Paralympics


  • Swimming
  • Wednesday, 28 Apr 2021

ATHENS (Reuters) - As a teenager in Syria, Ibrahim al-Hussein dreamt of becoming an Olympic swimmer before he lost a leg in the war. Now a refugee in Greece, he is training for a place at the Tokyo Paralympics.

The son of a swimming coach, Hussein, 33, began swimming aged five in the Euphrates river, which passes by his hometown of Deir al-Zor in eastern Syria. He used a bridge as a diving board until it was destroyed in his country's civil war.

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