For Abdulrahman Alqurashi, reaching the Paralympic podium once was never going to be enough. The Saudi wheelchair racer has spent more than a decade building a career that has taken him from a disability club in Makkah to the very top of world para-athletics.
Along the way came an accident that almost stopped his career, a Paralympic bronze medal, world and Asian titles, and eventually the achievement he had spent years chasing. His journey to Paralympic gold, however, began far away from the lights of Paris.
The Beginnings
Born on December 25, 1997, Abdulrahman Alqurashi grew up in Makkah as the third of four siblings. He was born with hemiplegia, a physical disability that affected his movement. He also lost his father at a young age, with his mother later becoming one of the biggest influences on both his life and sporting career.
Sport was always something Abdulrahman was interested in, but wheelchair racing was not where he started. He first tried different sports, including volleyball and basketball, before eventually finding athletics.
In 2014, Abdulrahman joined Makkah Club for People with Disabilities and began training in wheelchair racing. It did not take long for his talent to show. Only a few months after starting, he was selected to represent the Saudi national team, taking the first major step in what would become an international career. He had found the sport that would eventually change his life.
Finding His Place in Athletics
Abdulrahman began competing mainly in the T53 classification, which includes athletes with strong arm and shoulder function but limited control of the lower body and trunk. Racing requires upper-body strength, technique, rhythm, and specially designed racing chairs built for speed.
His rise was quick. Abdulrahman began representing Saudi Arabia in regional and international competitions, gaining experience and establishing himself as one of the Kingdom’s promising para-athletes. What had started as a sport he had only recently discovered was becoming something much bigger. Then, just as his career was moving forward, everything stopped.
Starting Again
In 2016, Abdulrahman Alqurashi was involved in a serious traffic accident that left him with burns and kept him in hospital for months. After progressing so quickly in his first years as an athlete, he was suddenly forced away from training and competition for around a year. Returning was not easy. He had spent years building momentum, and after the accident, he had to find his way back into the sport almost from the beginning.
One of the people who pushed him to return was his mother. Abdulrahman has spoken several times about how important she has been throughout his life, especially after losing his father at a young age. During his recovery, her support and encouragement helped him return to athletics, and he has since credited her as one of the main reasons behind the athlete he became.
By 2018, Abdulrahman was back on the international stage, competing at the Asian Para Games in Jakarta. His return was already an achievement on its own, but it ended up becoming the start of the strongest years of his career.
A First Paralympic Medal
Over the next few years, Abdulrahman Alqurashi continued competing internationally and working toward the biggest stage in para-sport: the Paralympic Games. His chance finally came at Tokyo 2020, which was held in 2021 after being postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The delay also affected his preparations, with Abdulrahman having to adjust his training and work remotely with his coach during parts of the pandemic.
When the Games finally began, he reached the men’s 100m T53 final. Facing some of the best wheelchair racers in the world, Abdulrahman finished in 14.76 seconds to win bronze behind Thailand’s Pongsakorn Paeyo and Canada’s Brent Lakatos.
It was his first Paralympic medal and one of the biggest moments of his career at the time. For an athlete competing at his first Paralympic Games, reaching the podium was already a major achievement. He returned from Tokyo with bronze and a new goal. By Paris 2024, he wanted gold.
Chasing Gold
The three years after Tokyo saw Abdulrahman Alqurashi reach another level in wheelchair racing. At the Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, he won gold in the 100m T53 in 14.56 seconds, breaking the Asian Para Games record. It was another major title and showed just how much he had progressed since Tokyo. His success then continued on the world stage. At the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, Abdulrahman won silver in the 100m T53, a result that also secured his place at the Paralympic Games the following year.
At the 2024 World Para Athletics Championships in Kobe, Japan, Abdulrahman became world champion in the 100m T53, winning the race in 14.86 seconds. Only a few months before Paris, he had become the best in the world in his event. Three years after leaving Tokyo with bronze, Abdulrahman was heading into his second Paralympic Games as a world champion, and the goal he had set for himself was getting closer.
The Promise in Paris
Abdulrahman Alqurashi began Paris 2024 by competing in the 400m T53, where he recorded a personal best of 48.96 seconds and finished fifth in the final. But the race he had been waiting for was still ahead.
In the 100m final, he once again lined up against Pongsakorn Paeyo, the Thai athlete who had beaten him to gold in Tokyo. Three years earlier, Abdulrahman had finished behind him with bronze. This time, the result was different. Abdulrahman crossed the line first in 14.48 seconds, setting a new personal best and winning the Paralympic title. The victory also made him only the second Saudi athlete in history to win Paralympic gold.
It was the medal he had been talking about since Tokyo. Between those two Paralympic Games came an Asian title, a World Championship silver, a world title and years of preparation. What had started as a goal after winning bronze had finally become reality.
Beyond Paris
Winning gold did not mean Abdulrahman Alqurashi was done. He continued competing internationally and returned to the World Para Athletics Championships in 2025, this time in New Delhi, where he won silver in the 100m T53 behind longtime rival Pongsakorn Paeyo.
His achievements also brought recognition away from the track. In 2025, Abdulrahman was named to Forbes Middle East’s 30 Under 30 list in the Social Impact, Sports and Lifestyle category. That same year, he was received by HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in recognition of his Paralympic gold medal. During the meeting, the Crown Prince congratulated him on the achievement and encouraged him to continue representing Saudi Arabia internationally, a moment Abdulrahman later spoke about with great pride.
Even with the medals and recognition, Abdulrahman has always made a point of thanking the people around him. His coaches and family have remained a big part of his story, especially his mother, whose support has followed him from his earliest years in sport to the biggest moments of his career.
Still Racing Forward
Abdulrahman Alqurashi's journey has not always been straightforward. From making his way into the Saudi national team at a young age to an accident that forced him away from the sport, his career has had its share of setbacks, but each time he found his way back.
His journey also reflects the growing ambitions of Saudi para-sport, showing what Saudi athletes can achieve when talent is met with opportunity, support, and the determination to keep moving forward. Tokyo gave him his first Paralympic medal, and Paris gave him the gold he had been working toward for years. For Abdulrahman, bronze was never the finish line. It was only the beginning of the road to gold.
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