ZAKIYEV Ilham

Classification
B1 (IBSA, 23 Apr 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (trend.az, 13 Oct 2020)

Impairment Details
In February 1999 he sustained a head wound while serving in the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and lost his vision. (trend.az, 13 Oct 2020)

General
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He has served as the vice-president of the Azerbaijan National Paralympic Committee and actively encourages fellow injured veterans to take up Para sports. "Bringing veterans to the Paralympic movement sets new goals for them. Sport helps a person live and fight. They don't have to be professional athletes. You can play sports just to integrate into society, but those who want to prepare at a professional level will be assisted by professional trainers and they can achieve success in various sports in the shortest possible time. If I find out that there are injured veterans in the neighbourhood or within my reach, I visit and talk to them. I consider it my duty to meet others and give my advice and support to them and their families." (paralympic.az, 03 Mar 2021; regionplus.az, 01 Mar 2021; trend.az, 13 Oct 2020)

He became the first athlete representing Azerbaijan to win a Paralympic Games medal in Para judo when he took gold in the +100kg category at the 2004 Games in Athens. (SportsDeskOnline, 26 Apr 2021)

He became the first athlete representing Azerbaijan in any sport to win two career gold medals at the Paralympic Games when he won the +100kg category at the 2004 and 2008 editions of the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 26 Apr 2021)

When he won a bronze medal in the +100kg category at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, he became the first athlete representing Azerbaijan in any sport to win medals at three consecutive editions of the Games. His compatriot, Para athletics competitor Oleg Panyutin, achieved the same feat a week later at the 2012 Games. In 2016 he and Panyutin also became the first male athletes representing Azerbaijan to compete in any sport at four editions of the Paralympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 26 Apr 2021)