Seoul Gazette - US Paralympic star Frech wants to take stigma out of disability

Frech was born with missing bones in his left leg and just one finger on his left hand -- aged two he had to have his left leg amputated and one of the toes from that foot transplanted onto his hand.

"When I was younger I used to be really upset why was I born like this and get really down on myself," the Californian told CBS KCAL9 in 2020.

"Then I realised as I got older I was born this way and (there was) no need to sulk in the sadness." Instead he resolved to "make the most of my life, be the best athlete and student I can," the T63 high jump world record holder added.

He easily won that event at the Paralympics in Paris on Tuesday, having claimed a surprise gold in the men's T63 100m the night before.

His parents -- father Clayton and Iranian-born mother Bahar Soomekh -- readily embraced his positivity, but his mother said he was named Ezra for a reason.

"It was hard, I have to admit, my first baby and I had never heard of a child being born missing limbs," Soomekh told the same media outlet.

"It was a complete and total shock for me but there was this belief that there was a purpose and reason for this child to be here hence why we named him Ezra.

"Ezra means to help, to teach."

Her son has lived up to his name. Along with his parents, they created Angel City Sports, a not-for-profit entity which holds some 250 adaptive sports clinics a year for disabled athletes.

Frech is mindful of "how many barriers there are to engaging in disabled sport", such as prosthetic blades costing $15,000, expensive racing wheelchairs. After all, children with a disability "cannot just roll up to a YMCA and play basketball."

"I am most proud of me and my family organising Angel City Sports because sports can last only so long but the impacts it makes on children and veterans' lives lasts forever," Frech told CBS.

- 'Can bring light' -

Frech, who has two younger brothers, experienced just how sport can provide a safe haven for those with disabilities.

"Roughly 15% of Americans have some form of disability, (but) everywhere you go you felt like an outsider," he said.

"I was the only kid at school with one leg and I was stared at, had fingers pointed at and underestimated everywhere I went.

"Sports was almost like an escape from all that and it is somewhere I did not feel different anymore."

Hence why Frech wants to use sports as a vehicle for changing long-held cliches about disabled people.

"I think what serves as my north star, my real motivation, is the disabled community at large," Frech told Olympics.com in May.

"Life with a physical disability is really difficult, yes, (but) my overarching goals are to normalise disability, to change the way society views disability, destigmatize it, take away this taboo that is surrounding this community, which really shouldn't be there.

"I believe that through proper representation, promotion, and awareness of the Paralympic Games, children around the world won't have to be abandoned by their parents just because they were born different."

While his proud father worries he "might be putting too much on his shoulders", French's enthusiasm mirrors that of Soomekh, who was a successful actress and starred in 2005 Academy Award Best Picture "Crash".

"I want to build these families up," she said in 2019.

"When they see just darkness, we can bring light and show them that there's an amazing world out there for them."

Frech, who recalls that watching the 2016 Rio Paralympics as a child drove him to become a Paralympian, says differences can be turned to one's advantage.

"Whether we think different, look different or act different we all have some sort of challenge," he said.

"We should embrace the challenge and obstacle using it to our advantage to be a better student, athlete or person."

E.Ma--SG