The first time Abbas Karimi jumped into a pool, the water brought fresh relief from the heat of Kabul.
For Karimi, 24, who was born without arms, the pool also conferred a sense of freedom and protection. As he advanced quickly from flailing in a life jacket to winning races, he discovered a place where he could excel, and transcend the bullying he experienced.
Unable to view this article?
This could be due to a conflict with your ad-blocking or security software.
Please add japantimes.co.jp and piano.io to your list of allowed sites.
If this does not resolve the issue or you are unable to add the domains to your allowlist, please see out this support page.
We humbly apologize for the inconvenience.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.