| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 1 June 2005 Los Angeles, California, United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.86 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 150 lb (68 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | T63 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Events | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Ezra Frech (born 11 May 2005) is an American Paralympic athlete who competes in high jump, long jump and sprinting events in international level events. He is a double silver Parapan American Games medalist and is also a motivational speaker and disability rights advocate. [1]
Frech is the eldest of three sons of actress Bahar Soomekh and Clayton Frech. His mother is an Iranian Jewish immigrant, and his father converted to Judaism. He was born without most of his left leg (missing a knee and fibula) and missing fingers on his left hand. When he was two years old, Frech had surgery to remove his lower left leg and transplanted a toe from his amputated foot onto his left hand at Boston Children's Hospital. [2] He received a prosthetic leg when he was eleven months old. [3] [4]
He was a 2014 finalist for Sports Illustrated Sportkid of the Year.
In 2006, Frech and his family founded Team Ezra to provide financial resources to organizations that serve people with physical disabilities. And in 2013, Frech and his father, Clayton Frech, founded Angel City Sports to provide free, year-round access to sport training, equipment, and competitive opportunities for kids and adults with physical disabilities. Angel City Sports is one of the fastest growing adaptive sports programs in the country and hosts one of the largest events in the country, the Angel City Games presented by The Hartford.
He is also a motivational speaker and started speaking to schools at the age of four to raise awareness for people with impairments as part of his organisation's project. [5]
Frech has played basketball, baseball, soccer and karate before focusing on track and field athletics in 2013. His first athletics meet was the Endeavor Games in Edmond, Oklahoma. In Oklahoma as an 8 year old Frech broke a few national youth records and was inspired to continue in T&F. His father was also inspired at the Endeavor Games with a vision to create a similar event in Los Angeles, to be named the Angel City Games (and ultimately sponsored by The Hartford).
His first international meet was at the 2019 World Para Athletics Junior Championships where he won one gold and two bronze medals, he participated in his second international meet at the 2019 Parapan American Games where he won two silver medals, he also took part in the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai but did not medal. He was, however, the youngest athlete in the world to compete at the 2019 World Championships and made the finals in all three of his events. [6] [7]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics Frech ranked 5th in the high jump event with a personal best of 1.80 m and 8th in the long jump event with 5.85 m.
At Paris 2023 Para Athletics World Championship, he won the gold medal in High Jump T63 and set a new world record at 1.95m.
Bahar Soomekh is an American former actress. She is best known for her roles in Crash and the Saw franchise.
Donald James William Elgin is an Australian Paralympic amputee track and field athlete who won four medals at three Paralympics.
Evan George O'Hanlon, is an Australian Paralympic athlete, who competes mainly in category T38 sprint events. He has won five gold medals at two Paralympic Games – 2008 Beijing and 2012 London. He also represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, winning a silver medal and a bronze medal respectively. In winning the bronze medal in the Men's 100m T38 at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, O'Hanlon became Australia's most successful male athlete with a disability. His bronze medal took him to 12 medals in five world championships – one more than four-time Paralympian Neil Fuller.
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The 2018 World Para Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Berlin, Germany and took place between 20 and 26 August 2018 at the Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. 596 athletes from 35 countries competed during the championships.
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Mateus Evangelista Cardoso is a Brazilian Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy. He competes in several T37-classification athletics events. He represented Brazil at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won the silver medal in the men's long jump T37 event. In 2021, he won one the bronze medal in the same event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
Mauricio Valencia is a Colombian Paralympic athlete with cerebral palsy. He represented Colombia at the Summer Paralympics in 2012, 2016 and 2021. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, he won two medals: the gold medal in the men's javelin throw F34 event and the bronze medal in the men's shot put F34 event. In 2021, he won the silver medal in the men's javelin throw F34 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan.
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Tobi Fawehinmi is an American Paralympic athlete competing in long jump and triple jump events. He is a gold medalist at the 2017 World Para Athletics Championships held in London, United Kingdom and the 2019 Parapan American Games held in Lima, Peru. He also represented the United States at the Summer Paralympics in 2012, 2016 and 2021.
