No Limited Abilities: Georgia’s Paralympians

In Georgia people with disabilities, which in Georgian literally translates as “people with limited abilities,” face a daily uphill battle against stigma and negative attitudes. And yet Georgia boasts a thriving paralympic scene, which has produced athletes capable to win significant hardware. Irma Khetsuriani and Nino Tibilashvili who landed golden and bronze medals, respectively, at Wheelchair Fencing World Championships in Italy in 2017. It was a kind of a slow start. The Georgian Paralympic Committee was established in 2003 and the country sent its first athletes to compete to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. In 2013 the Parasport Development Centre was opened in Tbilisi and two years later it expanded with a new training and physiotherapy facility. It currently welcomes 194 athletes from all over the country - out of which 18 are women - and conducts trainings in 16 different disciplines. This photo project portrays some of Georgia’s paralympians, bringing this diverse group of men and women into the limelight - some of them are already experienced sports people, others are beginners, some have won medals, others are still without significant sports achievements. With interests as diverse as criminology and folk music, they all share stories of resilience and iron-willed focus - and the dream to compete for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.