Azerbaijani Paralympian makes bungee jump -VIDEO
By Amina Nazarli
Azerbaijan’s Paralympic Committee celebrated its 20th
anniversary in the Skypark Sochi, Russia on October 14.
The ceremony was attended by First Vice President of the national
Paralympic Committee Natig Gasimov, Paralympic athlete Kamal
Mammadov and representatives of the Azerbaijani Youth Organization
of Russia, Danya Dadashova.
Mammadov’s bungee jump in a wheelchair from a height of 69
meters became an exciting moment of the event.
Commenting on his stunt, the paralympian noted that such jumps are
an effective way of treating stress, depression and anxiety.
“After the first jump I feel that I need another dose of
adrenaline, what gives me the incentive to live on. I want to show
public that people in wheelchairs are capable of anything. They
just need people to believe in them, and lend a helping hand. Then
together we can achieve everything,” he said.
This is not the first extreme act by the paralympian. In 2013, he made a parachute jump on the "Moscow-Ryazan” highway together with his counterpart Vusala Karimova.
After the bungee jump he admitted that it was very scary. “Here, there is more adrenalin than in a parachute jump. While parachuting you believe that nothing will happen because your trainer is with you. But here, you realize that you're alone. There is only you and your wheelchair,” he explained.
Inspired by Mammadov’s act, Gasimov and Dadashova also jumped.
After that, representatives of the committee set a record feat. The "Megatroll" attraction, for the first time, launched three people, one of whom was in a wheelchair.
Mammadov has been engaged in sports for quite some time. In
1996, when he was healthy, he became a world champion in
shooting.
He admitted that the first years after the injury were very
difficult for him and he had to adapt to new conditions of
life.
Even though Mamadov was confined to a wheelchair, he did not
lose faith and came to lead an active lifestyle.
He created a public organization to provide assistance to athletes
with disabilities. At the same time he joined the Paralympic
Committee and became infatuated with fencing and in wheelchair
dance sport.
Earlier in 2013 Mammadov took a gold medal at the Paralympics and became the Azerbaijani champion in fencing. He took the bronze in the dancing competition among the disabled in 2012.
The Azerbaijan Paralympics Committee includes hundreds of athletes, many of whom have achieved many successes since 1996 as a result of sound policies. In the same year for the first time, the country was represented in Atlanta Summer Paralympics Games with two athletes, representing two sports.
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Amina Nazarli is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
Twitter: @amina_nazarli
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