Para-rower Asiya cool, calm and collected on Tokyo waters
Kenyan para-rower athlete Asiya Mohammed lifts weights during her gym session at Tudor Water Sports Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya on July 26, 2021 ahead of the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
What you need to know:
- Asiya said the Para Rowing Foundation had given her “the best possible” training programme ahead of the Tokyo Games.
- “They gave me the longest training ever – three months in Portugal – and I came back in July, completing my home training in Ruiru,” she explained.
In Tokyo
Asiya Sururu Mohammed couldn’t have hoped for a better build-up to the Paralympics than the one she was afforded ahead of the Tokyo Games.
The rower told Nation Sport Tuesday that she was good to go, especially after her competition boat arrived in Tokyo, right in time for the competition.
Asiya will be in action on Friday in the PR1 Single Sculls rowing competition from 9.30am (3.30am Kenyan time) at Tokyo’s Sea Forest Waterway.
The PR1 Single Sculls competition features rowers “with minimal or no trunk function who primarily propel the boat through arm and shoulder function.”
Kenyan para-rower athlete Asiya Mohammed rows a boat during her training session in Mombasa, Kenya on July 26, 2021 ahead of the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
These rowers have poor sitting balance, which requires them to be strapped to the boat or seat.
Asiya, 29, lost her two legs and several fingers in a train accident when she was just two years old, but has overcome adversity – including losing her parents - and physical challenges, to take up competitive sport.
She started off with wheelchair tennis and badminton before taking up elite rowing qualifying against all odds stacked against her for the Tokyo Paralympics.
“I can’t complain. The training has been good and we now leave the rest to God,” the Mombasa-based rower said yesterday.
Kenyan para-rower athlete Asiya Mohammed (centre) and her main coach Joshua Kendagor take phone pictures with some fans who are wishing her the best for the Paralympics after her training session in Mombasa, Kenya on July 27, 2021 ahead of the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
“My target is to qualify for the final from Friday’s heats and I don’t want to finish last in the final, certainly. I can only blame myself if I don’t perform.”
The competition starts with the heats on Friday followed by the repechage (for lower positions) on Saturday before the final on Sunday.
Asiya said the Para Rowing Foundation had given her “the best possible” training programme ahead of the Tokyo Games.
“They gave me the longest training ever – three months in Portugal – and I came back in July, completing my home training in Ruiru,” she explained.
Kenyan para-rower athlete Asiya Mohammed is helped to move on her wheelchair by her coach Joshua Kendagor while on the way to her training session at Tudor Water Sports Hotel in Mombasa, Kenya on July 26, 2021 ahead of the preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Yesterday, Asiya had a feel of her new competition boat at the race venue and was happy with how it handled.
“I was in the water today and the boat is OK. I will hold another session from 7.50am tomorrow (today) as I complete my preparations for Friday’s competition.”
With Asiya off to the waters today, the track team is expected to hold a training session at Tokyo’s Yoyogo Park.
