Prominent Kenyan para-rower Asiya Sururu Mohammed regrets not spending more time with her parents.
Her grief, brought on by a heartbreaking train tragedy, was made worse when she lost both of them immediately after.
Asiya overcame several serious obstacles throughout her early years to achieve remarkable success as a Paralympian.
At just two years old, fate handed her a near-fatal blow when a train accident rendered her a double amputee, also claiming her three fingers.
Despite the calamity that plagued her early in life, Asiya was fortunate enough to find a loving home when her relatives took her in and enrolled her at a school for the disabled, where she got a solid foundation to pursue her dreams.
Asiya's life took a catastrophic turn when she encountered a tragic train accident in 1994 at the tender age of two years.
"I was playing at the Ganjoni Estate in Mombasa when the accident occurred. I lost all my legs and almost all fingers on my left hand in the accident," Asiya stated.
"Eventually, I pulled myself together and began walking using artificial legs. It took about four years to learn how to walk steadily using the artificial legs," she added.
Fate piled more misery on her and it did not take long before she tragically lost her two parents after the accident.
"I'm a total orphan and the saddest part is that I don't even know my parents," Asiya remarked in an exclusive interview on Thursday.
"My father was utterly shocked when he learned about my accident and died from a sudden stroke. My mother also died eight years after the accident," Asiya remarked.
Unable to turn around the situation, Asiya opted to change the lemons that life handed her into juice.
"I eventually learned to love and accept myself for who I am. Doing so gave me the courage to tackle the challenges that I faced while growing up," Asiya added.
Born on April 25, 1992, and the only child, Asiya attended the Port Reitz Special School for her primary education in 2000 before sitting for her Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exams in 2007.
She enrolled for her secondary education at Joy Town, Thika from 2008 to 2011 and attained enough marks to pursue a diploma course at the Shanzu Teachers College where she graduated in 2012.
The double amputee made her maiden Paralympic appearance during the 2020 Summer Paralympics, where she basked in the glory of history as the first Kenyan female rower to compete at the premier global quadrennial showpiece.
"I initially had an interest in wheelchair marathon and attempted to join the sport at the age of 17. I competed in several international wheelchair marathon events but later shifted focus to wheelchair tennis," Asiya remarked.
"I later settled for rowing at the age of 29 in 2018 and in May 2019, I registered for the International Para-rowing Regatta event which served as my first international rowing event.
"No one introduced me to rowing. They were just looking for an athlete who uses their upper body muscles and thought that I could fit," Asiya stated.
Asiya punched a ticket to fly the country's flag at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the women's PR1 single sculls rowing event, barely three years after expressing interest in the sport.
"In October 2019, I landed a qualification slot from the 2019 Africa Continental Qualification Regatta to participate at the 2020 Summer Paralympics," she said.
Based in Mombasa, Asiya has displayed her athletic prowess by successfully managing to juggle between marathon wheeling, wheelchair tennis, and Para-rowing.
Her meteoric rise as a sportswoman took off at Joytown Secondary School. "My journey in sports began in high school when I took a keen interest in the Standard Chartered Marathon that was being hosted in the region. I registered for the competition and placed fifth overall in my first attempt.
"I never gave up and eventually managed to clinch bronze, silver, and gold medals in my subsequent efforts."
Determined to maintain a healthy lifestyle, Asiya took up wheelchair tennis upon completing her studies at Shanzu.
Her commendable exploits in the sport secured her a slot on the Kenya National Wheelchair Tennis team, affording her a glorious opportunity to transverse the world while holding briefs for the country in a wide array of tournaments.
In 2018, aged 29, Asiya shifted her interest to Para-rowing, where she got a baptism of fire.
"I did not even know how to swim, and my first attempt to row got nasty when my boat capsized," she said.
Never one to get daunted easily, Asiya fought tooth and nail, fending off all the challenges to get her rowing skills right.
"The moment I felt I was ripe enough for competition. I participated in the season-opening Para-rowing Gavirate Regatta in Italy, which was held in May 2019.
"I finished second from the bottom in the race, but this experience made me even bolder and I developed the confidence to take a stab at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers."
Her only path to the games would be via the 2019 Africa Continental Qualification Regatta which was being held in Tunis. Unknown to her, a big hurdle awaited her ahead when the government turned down her request to finance her trip.
Her Olympic dream would have been easily crushed had her supportive family not rallied around her and fundraised to get her to Tunisia. "I was moved by their support and vowed to reciprocate with a good performance. Fortunately enough, I made my family and the country proud by winning the PR1 women’s singles sculls."
The masterclass act instantly earned her a direct ticket on the Kenyan plane to the Tokyo Summer Olympic Games, where she wrote history as East Africa’s first-ever female Olympic Para-rower and the first Kenyan female rower to qualify for either the Olympics or Paralympics.
Asked about the most memorable moment in her glittering para-rowing career, Asiya reminisced about the day she punched a ticket to the Olympic Games.
But her tone quickly changed and her voice sank when she recalled the day her boat capsized. "I capsized and drank almost a quarter of the ocean," she said.
Having already participated in at least 10 major tournaments so far, Asiya now has her sights firmly trained on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. "My target is to be in the medal bracket in Paris," she said.
However, Asiya has challenged authorities to pull up their socks when it comes to facilitating the sport in the country.
"I am not satisfied with the government and the federation. I feel they could do more. How can I be prepared yet I don’t even have a boat? Am not prepared at all."
"The government ought to buy more rowing equipment like boats, host our international event, and train more rowing specialists."
She intends to do a lot more away from the field of sports, including writing her book.
She asked budding athletes to stay fit, and healthy and protect their mental well-being.
