Nika Tvauri

Member of Georgia’s national paraolympic team in swimming

World Paraolympic Games, silver medal (2015)

IBSA World Games, silver medal – first international medal in the history of independent Georgia (2011)

"For 10 years I lived under the illusion that my sight would return to me and I would continue my old life. Then there was despair. I realized that even if I regain my sight, nothing would come out of it because I was no longer an accomplished person. At this turning point, I decided to rediscover myself - so I started swimming and found myself in parasports.

I have been blind since I was 16. I spent 10 years of ineffective rehabilitation treatment at home because I also believed that blind people do nothing. I myself had this stereotype towards people with disabilities and I pitied them.

And then I rediscovered swimming as my way back to life. On March 23, 2010, after my coach signed a waiver, I was able to step inside the swimming pool area for the first time - this was the first precedent of a blind man being allowed into a pool. I was amateur swimmer before and I was not afraid of water, but I fainted the first day because I was not used to such intensive work. However, swimming was not as difficult for me as it was to take a step towards change. I was still firmly determined to use every opportunity to change my old everyday life.

One year after I started training, I was at my first Olympic game and I won the first medal in the history of Georgia. It was a historic and most important victory for me. 10 years have passed since then and my sports career has already seen up to 10 international competitions and medals. Sport has given a purpose to my life. I have even been in a situation where I wanted to die, and now I am really happy.

Meanwhile, parasports developed in the country. Today I am already training at the base of the national team. I learned a lot there and my condition is viwed as absolutely normal. Meanwhile, public attitudes towards people with disabilities have also changed. However, even now many people are looking at us with pity. This is really a stereotype and in order to break it, it is very important to perceive diversity of the world since childhood. Diversity should be considered as wealth and not as a problem, because in this world everyone should have an opportunity to show their potential."