PARIS: Kenya’s Paralympics rower Asiya Sururu Muhammed says being at her second Games is like “university” compared to her “school-like” debut in Tokyo three years ago. Sururu Muhammed lost both her lower legs and some fingers in a train accident aged just two and became the first woman to represent her country in the sport in an Olympics or a Paralympics in 2021. Despite finishing in 12th place on Sunday for a second straight Games in the PR1 single sculls, she finished two minutes quicker than in Japan.

“There is a great improvement personally in terms of timing. In Tokyo I was still a learner but now I fully understand what I need to be doing,” the wheelchair user told AFP. “This is like university, more advanced (compared to school),” she added. After the rail accident, further tragedy struck Sururu Muhammed as she was orphaned aged nine years old. She was brought up by her cousin and aunt. She turned to sport, trying tennis first before switching to rowing and made her competitive debut in 2019.

In May 2022, she started to learn to walk with prosthetic legs. “The French say ‘magnifique’ and it’s really magnificent,” a smiling Sururu Muhammed said. “I’d never walked before so I started walking when I was 30. “Every experience is once in a lifetime, it’s a big thing, like when a baby takes its first steps, I’m a big baby. “Every step is a celebration,” she added. The Mombasa native is a huge sports fan and keeps a keen eye on Formula One, and welcomes the reports of a Grand Prix return to Africa, in Rwanda. “Imagine it! I think it would be fun,” she said. “Rwanda is two days by road or 45 minutes by plane from Kenya, so it’s very easy to get to,” she added.

With her Games as a competitor over, Sururu Muhammed will remain in Paris to watch her compatriots and visit some tourist sites. “I’ll be in athletics, where most of the Kenyans are,” she said. — AFP

“Then I’ll be in powerlifting, roaming around all sports. “The mornings I will be watching the Games. Midday onwards I’ll be around the city. “If it’s not the Eiffel Tower, I’ll go to the best restaurants, because I like eating. “I’ll go places to have memories to tell my grandchildren, this is Paris,” she added.- AFP