Salum Ageze Kashafali (born 25 November 1993) is a Norwegian Paralympic athlete who competes in the T12 classification of sprinting events.[1] He is a Paralympic champion and silver medallist, two-time world champion and a European champion in the 100 metres. Kashafali won the gold medal in the men's 100 metres T12 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and the silver medal in the men's 100 metres T13 event at the 2024 Summer Paralympics.[2][3]

Salum Ageze Kashafali
Kashafali in 2022
Personal information
Born (1993-11-25) 25 November 1993 (age 30)
Goma, Zaire[citation needed]
Sport
CountryNorway
SportAthletics
Para-athletics
DisabilityVision impairment
Disability classT12
Event100 metres
Medal record
Representing  Norway
Men's para-athletics
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 100 m T12
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris 100 m T13
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Dubai 100 m T12
Gold medal – first place 2023 Paris 100 m T13
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Kobe 100 m T13
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Bydgoszcz 100 m T12
Men's athletics
Norwegian Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Hamar 100 m

Kashafali holds world records in the T12 and T13 classification of the 100 metres, with a time of 10.43 set at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and a time of 10.37 set at the Bislett Games in 2023 respectively.[4][5][6][7] The latter record makes him the fastest Paralympian in the 100 metres event in history, regardless of disability.

Kashafali is visually impaired as a result of Stargardt disease.[8]

Career

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In 2019, Kashafali competed both in able-bodied and para-athletic competitions. In June 2019, he set a new world record of 10.45s in the 100 metres T12 event at the Bislett Games held in Oslo, Norway.[9] In August 2019, at the 2019 Norwegian Athletics Championships, he won the gold medal in the men's 100 metres with a time of 10.37s.

At the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Kashafali won the gold medal in the men's 100 metres T12 event with a time of 10.54s. This meant that he qualified to represent Norway at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.[10]

In 2021, Kashafali won the gold medal in the men's 100 metres T12 event at the 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships held in Bydgoszcz, Poland.[11]

Personal life

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Kashafali was born in Goma on November 25, 1993.[12] When a civil war broke out in Congo, Kashafali and his family fled the country and ended up in a refugee camp.[13] The family came to Norway in 2003 and lived a brief period in Vadsø before settling in Bergen.[14]

Achievements

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Athletics

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
2019 Bislett Games Oslo, Norway 1st 100 m 10.45 s
Norwegian Athletics Championships Børstad, Hamar Municipality 1st 100 m 10.37 s

Para-athletics

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Year Competition Venue Position Event Notes
Representing   Norway
2019 World Championships Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1st 100 m 10.54 s
2021 European Championships Bydgoszcz, Poland 1st 100 m 10.70 s
Summer Paralympics Tokyo, Japan 1st 100 m 10.43 s
2023 World Championships Paris, France 1st 100 m 10.45 s
2024 World Championships Kobe, Japan 3rd 100 m 10.79 s
Summer Paralympics Paris, France 2nd 100 m 10.47 s

References

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  1. ^ "Salum Ageze Kashafali". paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  2. ^ Berkeley, Geoff (29 August 2021). "Kashafali reflects on journey from refugee to fastest man in Paralympic history". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Records Set" (PDF). 2020 Summer Paralympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ Berkeley, Geoff (2021-08-29). "Kashafali reflects on journey from refugee to fastest man in Paralympic history". www.insidethegames.biz. Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  5. ^ Folvik, Herman; Helle, Magnus; Delebekk, Bjørn S. (2023-06-16). "Kashafali hyller assistenter etter verdensrekord: – Det er ubeskrivelig". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  6. ^ "Athletics - Men's 100 m T12 – Results". paralympic.org. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  7. ^ "100m Result" (PDF). sportresult.com. 15 June 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 July 2023. Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  8. ^ Rowbottom, Mike (30 November 2020). "Mike Rowbottom: Reality checkpoints that tell the tale of Para-athletes". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. ^ "New world record!". IAAF Diamond League. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  10. ^ "2019 World Para Athletics Championships - Results - Men's 100m T12 Final" (pdf). IPC. 15 November 2019. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Men's 100 metres T12 Final" (PDF). 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  12. ^ Strøm, Ole Kristian (2021-08-29). "– Det var en seier å komme til Norge. Alt dette er bonus i livet mitt". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  13. ^ Godø, Øyvind (2022-06-13). "«Blir vi her, så dør vi i kveld»". dagbladet.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-09-01.
  14. ^ Lote, Arve (2019-08-09). "Verdsrekordhaldar Kashafali: – Vi kunne bli og døy, eller vi kunne flykte og ta sjansen". NRK (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 2023-04-03.
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