Against all odds, disabled teen gymnast in Bosnia excels

VISOKO – Sara Becarevic was calved without a little near limb successful Bosnia, a mediocre Balkan state notorious for the large-scale societal and economical exclusion of radical with disabilities. Still, it ne'er occurred to her that that could halt her from pursuing her imagination of becoming an internationally recognized rhythmic gymnast.

Sara says the athletics has enchanted her since she was a toddler and watched the satellite championships connected television. It didn't instrumentality her agelong to effort to imitate the moves astatine home. Fast guardant astir 11 years and Sara, who turns 14 connected Dec. 16, is winning medals for her club, Visoko, named aft the tiny Bosnian metropolis wherever she was born.

“Some radical said that it was impossible, that I couldn't bash it, but I can,” Sara said.

“I don't attraction astir what others say, my ain consciousness of what I tin execute is the lone happening that matters."

Neither rhythmic nor creator gymnastics is represented successful the Paralympics, truthful successful bid to vie successful her chosen sport, Sara has nary prime but to vie against able-bodied athletes. She handles the instrumentality utilized successful the athletics with her close limb and the remaining portion of her near arm, turning cartwheels with easiness contempt her disability.

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Before choosing Visoko arsenic a rhythmic gymnastics nine suitable for her girl and enrolling her astatine the property of 9, Sara's parent Sanela was “worried astir however she would beryllium accepted.” But they “had the bully fortune” to travel crossed an open-minded, young coach, Amina Lepic-Mlivic.

It was not a tiny feat successful a state where, according to the U.N. children’s agency, UNICEF, “children with disabilities and their families inactive look discrimination, their rights are often not afloat met and they inactive look constricted entree to basal services.”

“At first, it was unusual, I won’t accidental difficult, conscionable unusual, due to the fact that it was a caller acquisition for maine arsenic well. As we were getting acquainted, we were learning from 1 another,” Lepic-Milavic recalled.

It did not instrumentality her long, she added, to recognize that Sara was different, "but what made her antithetic was her unsocial resolve, dedication to practice” and talent.

So far, Sara has brought location medals from respective nationalist and planetary rhythmic gymnastics tournaments, but she sees that arsenic conscionable the beginning.

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“I thought it would beryllium difficult, but erstwhile you signifier hard and effort adjacent harder, it becomes easy,” she said, her eyes filling with the glitter of a shy, yet confident, smile.

“My eventual extremity is to vie successful the World Championships and the Olympics, to vie with the champion (rhythmic) gymnasts" successful the world, she added with resolve.

Lepic-Milavic said she has religion successful her young disciple who has already proven susceptible of making her dreams reality. She is little definite that Sara volition ever get the enactment she deserves successful Bosnia.

Although the Visoko nine was founded by the metropolis and competes internationally nether the Bosnian flag, its apparatus, uniforms and question expenses are typically bankrolled by its members — oregon alternatively their parents.

Nevertheless, she rapidly added: “I truly bash person religion successful this girl, successful Sara, and I americium arrogant that she chose maine to beryllium her coach. ... I judge that she is susceptible of 1 time entering the European oregon World Championships.”

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