To celebrate Disability Employment Awareness Month, the University of Choice initiative (UoC) at Florida State University will host Paralympic champion Abbas Karimi to share his journey of athletic excellence and perseverance during its eighth annual disability conversation.
Karimi, who earned a silver medal in the men’s 4×50-meter freestyle relay at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, encourages others with his message: “Never give up. Never quit, no matter how impossible your dream or goals are.”
“Abbas Karimi: Living and Thriving with a Disability” will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 21, at the Moore Auditorium in the FSU Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.
Born in Afghanistan without arms, Karimi faced childhood bullying but found solace in martial arts and swimming. At 16, he left war-torn Kabuland and endured a challenging journey through Iran and Turkey before becoming a refugee athlete in the U.S. in 2016.
In 2021, Karimi was named a High-Profile Supporter for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, advocating for displaced people worldwide. He became a U.S. citizen in 2022.
Karimi won in backstroke, butterfly and freestyle events at the 2023 Parapan American Games, the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships, and the 2022 Indianapolis World Series, where he won his first gold medal as a U.S. citizen.
The University of Choice is a student-led advocacy group at Florida State University that fosters relationships, builds community relations and advocates for the needs of individuals with disabilities. For more information, visit the University of Choice Facebook page (@uocfsu) and Instagram (@fsu_uoc).
