Sarmad Tariq (17 December 1975 – 30 April 2014), also known as "the chairman", was a storyteller and motivational speaker from Islamabad, Pakistan.[1][2] After meeting a swimming accident at the age of 15, he was paralyzed from the left shoulder down and began using a wheelchair (hence his nickname).[3] He also holds the world record of longest non-stop drive by a quadriplegic by driving his hand controlled car for 33 hours, covering a distance of 1,847 km from Khyber to Karachi.[4]
Sarmad Tariq سرمد طارق | |
|---|---|
| Born | 17 December 1975 Islamabad, Pakistan |
| Died | 30 April 2014 (aged 38) |
| Occupation(s) | Life coach, motivational speaker, writer |
| Years active | 2005–2014 |
| Spouse | Zehra Kamal |
| Website | Facebook page |
On 30 January 2005, he was the first wheelchair-using athlete to participate in the Lahore Marathon. By completing the race in seven and a half hours, he qualified to represent his country in ING New York City Marathon 2005 and made history for Pakistan by returning with a finisher's medal.[5]
Among his other accomplishments, he learned to drive a specially adapted automatic car, and obtained a job with a software firm by the age of 23. Soon afterward, he married Zehra, his childhood neighbor from the southwestern city of Quetta.[6]
On 30 April 2014, Tariq died at the age of 38.
References
edit- ^ Qureshi, Faisal. "Giving up? Don't even think about it!". Social Movement. Azm-e-Alishan. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ^ Kapadia, Faisal. "From boredom to sheer inspiration". News/Journalism/Media. Dawn.com. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
- ^ Abbasi, Shahid. "Sarmad Tariq: Amazing Pakistani with inspirational story for youth". News/Journalism. The News Tribe. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ^ Ebrahim, Zofeen T. "One step at a time…". Dawn News. Retrieved 13 July 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Haleem, Sohail. "Overcoming marathon obstacles". News website. BBC News | South Asia. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
- ^ Kemp, Danny. "'Reckless' paraplegic helps quake survivors". Taipei Times. Retrieved 14 July 2012.
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