AZZAM Husam F A

Date of Birth: 7 Dec 1975

Age: 45

Gender: Male

Sport Class: F53

Birth Country:

Palestine

Place of residence : PALESTINE

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Men's Shot Put - F53	8

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Seated Shot Put	Men's Shot Put - F53 Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
2	Shot Put - F53	2004	Athens, GRE	7.82
3	Shot Put - F53	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	6.84
8	Shot Put - F53	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	6.34
8	Men's Shot Put F53/54	2008	Beijing, CHN	7.89
13	Men's Discus Throw F54	2000	Sydney, NSW, AUS	19.35
World Championships
2	Shot Put - F53	2002	Lille, FRA	7.33
10	Men's Discus Throw F54	2002	Lille, FRA	22.41

Occupation:

Wife Duha, eight children

Languages spoken:

He became involved in Para sport in 1998. He would train in school playgrounds in javelin and later shot put in Gaza, Palestine. (maannews.com, 14 Oct 2008; middleeasteye.net, 19 Sep 2016)

He took up sport as a way of overcoming his impairment. "When my health deteriorated, at the age of three, I was too young to really understand that I was becoming disabled, and so it just became a part of my life. When I realised that I wouldn't be able to move my legs anymore, I decided to overcome my disability through sport. I started as a wheelchair basketball player. Then, when the Palestinian Disabled Sports Federation was established and new sports were added, I chose the shot put because it needs strength and determination." (middleeasteye.net, 19 Sep 2016)

Winning Palestine's first medal at the Paralympic Games when he claimed bronze in the F53 shot put at the 2000 Games in Sydney. (middleeasteye.net, 19 Sep 2016)

He was Palestine's flag bearer at the opening ceremonies of the 2008 and 2016 Paralympic Games. (paralympic.org, 05 Sep 2008; myinfo.rio2016.com, 06 Sep 2016)

General Interest

Classification
F53 (IPC, 06 Aug 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 23 Aug 2021)

Impairment Details
His impairment is a result of the effects of polio. He contracted the illness as an infant. (maannews.com, 14 Oct 2008)

General
RETIREMENT AND RETURN
In 2009 he retired from the sport after losing a number of family members, including his first wife, who passed away in childbirth. During this period he was evacuated from his house due to the Gaza-Israel conflict. When he returned to his house, he found it had been bombed and that he had lost most of his medals. He returned to the sport in 2015. "My parents, my wife, and my son had passed away in a short period. That left me in a state of severe grief and isolation. I also lost most of my medals when my house was targeted by an Israeli airstrike during the 2008 war on Gaza. I felt that I had lost everything." He found the bronze medal he won at the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney in the rubble following the bombing of his house. "It's my first and favourite medal. I found it with some other medals. In fact, I can't imagine what I would do if I had lost it too. In 2015, I decided to go back to training in order to participate in [the] 2016 Rio Paralympics." (mondoweiss.net, 12 Sep 2016; middleeasteye.net, 19 Sep 2016)

Milestones

He became the first athlete representing Palestine to win a medal in any sport at the Paralympic Games, when he claimed bronze in the F53 shot put at the 2000 Games in Sydney. (mondoweiss.net, 12 Sep 2016; SportsDeskOnline, 17 Aug 2021)

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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