by Laura Voet
The Dream Team The team of Ellie Marks, Leanne Smith, Zach Shattuck and Abbas Karimi won the first-ever Paralympic medal in the mixed 4x50m freestyle relay – 20 Points for the U.S.
The achievement was Marks’ third silver medal in Paris after just two days of swimming and also capped a stellar U.S. debut for Fort Lauderdale swimmer Abbas Karimi, who competed for the Refugee Paralympic team three years ago in Tokyo.
“It’s an honor for me to represent the United States of America,” Karimi said. “It means everything to me, especially for my legacy…after 12 years, I’ve finally won a Paralympic medal. It’s been a heck of a journey for me. But, at the end of the day, I won. So, here we are.”
Congratulations to our Fort Lauderdale swimming Paralympians for Team USA – Abbas Karimi and Coach Marty Hendrick!
Shout out to Fort Lauderdale Police Officer Zac McGinnis who helped coach and trained alongside Abbas in the pool at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center.
Teamwork makes the Dream work!
#ISHOF
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#World Aquatics