| Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games | ||||||||||
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At the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens
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| Competitors | 2 in 2 sports | |||||||||
| Medals Rank: 76 |
Gold 0 |
Silver 0 |
Bronze 0 |
Total 0 |
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| Paralympic history (summary) | ||||||||||
| Summer Games | ||||||||||
| 1960–1992 • 1996 • 2000 • 2004 • 2008 | ||||||||||
Afghanistan participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. It was reportedly the country's first "official" appearance at the Paralympic Games,[1] although two cyclists had already competed for Afghanistan in 1996. The delegation consisted of two competitors, Mareena Karim and Qaher Hazrat.[2][3] A third competitor, runner Sharifa Ahmadi, was registered for the games but did not participate.[4]
Karim was a fourteen-year-old runner who competed in the 100 metre T46 event. Karim's feet were amputated when she was an infant after they were severely burned. She began proper training only two months before the games.[5] In the first round of the 100 metre race, she finished last with a time of 18.85 seconds and did not advance to the next round.[4]
The other team member was twenty-two-year-old cyclist Qaher Hazrat,[2] who lost both legs below the knee after stepping on a land mine in 1996 during the country's civil war.[1] Hazrat competed in the men's road race/time trial LC3 event and, with 26 points, finished last out of fourteen cyclists.[6]
Karim and Hazrat trained at Kabul's National Stadium under Sultan Mahmood, who had participated in the 1980 Summer Olympics as a wrestler.[1]