Afghan Hossain Rasouli gets his chance in the Paralympics

By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Afghan athlete Hossain Rasouli finally got his chance to participate in the Paralympics. Rasouli and teammate Zakia Khudadadi got to Tokyo on Saturday after being evacuated from Kabul. They arrived a week late and remained sequestered in the Paralympic Village for privacy and safety reasons. They have also declined to speak to the media, before or after events. Rasouli is primarily a sprinter but arrived too late for his event. So he tried the long jump in the T47 class. Predictably, he finished last with jump of 4.46 meters on Tuesday. The winning jump was 7.46 meters. Paralympics spokesman Craig Spence says Rasouli “was super excited to be participating.”