Doha: The Organising Committee of the Doha 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships yesterday launched a series of five inspirational films telling the incredible stories behind some of the athletes who will be competing.
The first film in the ‘My Incredible Story’ film series tells the remarkable journey of Terezinha Guilhermina (pictureed). Born with a degenerative eye condition, Terezinha grew up in poverty in a family of 12 who had little money for food. She discovered her talent for running when escaping from school bullies and the rest is history.
Speaking in the film, Terezinha says: “During my childhood, our financial situation had a very deep impact on my life, on the way I looked at the world. I believe those who have little in life can sometimes achieve a lot more. I used to dream of being the best in the world, so I could change my story. Sport has had an amazing impact on my life. I went from being Guilhermina, the one who dreamed, to Terezina Guilhermina, the one who achieved her dreams.”
Preparations for the World Championships are on track and the Organising Committee will be hosting a Test Event from September 12 to 15, in order to test operational procedures and functions ahead of October’s event.
The Test Event will double up as this year’s GCC Para-Athletics Championships and will see 200 of the region’s athletes getting an early opportunity to compete in the same stadium that will host the World Championships.
Local para-athletics heroes and Asian Para Games Champions, Abdulrahman Abdelqader, Sara Masoud and Mohamed Al Kubaisi will all be competing in the Test Event and will be hoping to put the final touches to their own preparations for the World Championships.
Speaking ahead of the Test Event, Abdulrahman Abdelqader, who is currently ranked second in the world in the F34 Shot Put, said:
“It will be a dream come true for me to compete in the IPC Athletics World Championships in front of a home crowd, with friends and family cheering me on – this will surely be the highlight of my career to date. My season has been going very well so far and I will use the GCC Para-Athletics Championships to see what form I am in and what I need to work on ahead of the World Championships. I cannot wait to compete in October and I really hope that I will make the nation proud and inspire a new generation of athletes.”
The Peninsula
