Kenya's first female rower Asiya Sururu notes progress in her Paris Paralympics performance
Reading Time: 2min | Mon. 02.09.24. | 10:26
With her 2024 Paralympic Games as a competitor over, Sururu will remain in Paris to watch her compatriots and visit some tourist sites
Kenya's Paralympic 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 lost both her lower legs and some fingers in a train accident at just two years old and became the first woman to represent Kenya in the sport in an Olympics or Paralympics in 2021.
Despite finishing in 12th place for a second straight Games in the PR1 single sculls, she completed the race 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 when she was orphaned at nine years old and was brought up by her cousin and aunt. She turned to sport, initially trying tennis before switching to rowing and making her competitive debut in 2019.
In May 2022, she began learning 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 their 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, welcoming reports of a Grand Prix returning to Africa, in Rwanda. "Imagine it! I think it would be fun. 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 2024 Paralympic Games as a competitor over, Sururu will remain in Paris to watch her compatriots and visit some tourist sites. "I'll be in athletics, where most of the Kenyans are. Then I'll be in powerlifting, roaming around all sports. In the mornings, I will be watching the Games. From midday onwards, I'll be around the city,” she continued
"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."
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