Arz Zahreddine is representing Lebanon at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, in Lebanon’s first participation in the Paralympics since 2008.
Zahreddine, who will compete in the men’s 200m T64 category next week, started his para-athletics career in 2019 and is seeking to not only break his personal record but also to bring home a medal.
“I believe that I have done all that I could do against all odds due to the restrictions amid the COVID-19 lockdown,” the athlete told IPC.
“I feel very confident about my participation in Tokyo and hopefully my hard work and dedication will be awarded with a new personal best record and a medal.”
Zahreddine, who lost his right leg in a tragic car accident at the age of three, used to compete in fencing, winning several medals at national championships in Lebanon between 2012 and 2017, including three gold medals.
For the past two years, however, he has been focusing on running and his dream of reaching the 2020 Paralympics.
Now the sole representative of Lebanon at the Tokyo event, Zahreddine hopes to win Lebanon’s first Paralympics medal in over a decade.
Lebanon’s first participation in the Paralympics was in the year 2000 in Sydney, but the country missed Athens 2004 and Rio 2016.
Between these two absences, the country’s Edward Maalouf scored two bronze medals in cycling events at the 2008 Beijing Games.
