From vegetable seller to silver medallist at Paralympic Games, this is the story of Iraq’s Garrah

Syed Shayaan Bakht, Gulf Today

Iraqi champion Garrah Tnaiash won the silver medal in the shotput event by throwing a distance of 11.15 m at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, a centimetre less than the gold medallist.

This is Garrah Tnaiash’s second medal during his participation in the Paralympic Games after he won the gold medal in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Garrah Tnaiash, 30, is a short-statured athlete.

He was born in Nasiriyah, Al-Batha district, and trains under the supervision of coach Mazen Hussein.

He was training in a modest place, as the support he was receiving was not enough to enter preparatory camps at a high level, but despite that he was able to overcome the circumstances and raise the prestige of his country. 

Garrah Tnaiash reacts after a throw in the men's F40 shot put final. AP

Social media users published the daily suffering of the hero, as he trains in his modest home and works by day as a vegetable seller, yet he achieved success after he starred in the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

Jarrah has made many achievements for Iraq, most notably winning the gold in the World Championships in Qatar in 2015, winning the gold in Rio Paralympic Games in 2016, winning the gold in the World Championships in London in 2017, the gold in the Jakarta Masters 2018, and silver in the World Championships in Dubai in 2019.