Arjola Dedaj Explained

Arjola Dedaj
Nickname:Arj, Duracell
Sport:Paralympic athletics
Disability:Retinitis pigmentosa
Disability Class:T11
Event:100 metres
200 metres
Long jump
Club:Fiamme Azzurre
Partner:Emanuele Di Marino
Birth Date:26 November 1981
Birth Place:Tirana, Albania
Residence:Milan, Italy
Height:1.67m

Arjola Dedaj (born 26 November 1981 in Tirana, Albania) is a blind Italian Paralympic athlete who competes in sprinting and long jump events in international level events. [1]

Personal life

Dedaj was born in Albania, she was discriminated by her visual impairment which she has had since the age of three years old because there were no schools in Albania that could provide her an education. She immigrated to Italy in a rubber dinghy in 1998 along with her father and brother to join her mother who was in Milan.[2] [3]

She and her partner Emanuele Di Marino, who is her training partner and also participates in Paralympic track and field events are referred to as "La coppia dei sogni" ("the dream couple" in Italian).[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Arjola Dedaj - IPC Athlete Bio. 4 May 2020. ipc.infostradasports.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210602220055/http://ipc.infostradasports.com/asp/lib/theasp.asp?pageid=8937&sportid=513&personid=1271231&wintergames=-1&refreshauto=1 . 2 June 2021 .
  2. Web site: Dedaj: a Paralympian's tale of discrimination and pain. 9 September 2016. aljazeera.com. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160910134148/http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/09/dedaj-paralympian-tale-discrimination-pain-160909111539194.html . 10 September 2016 .
  3. Web site: The work behind the training for the Rio 2016 Paralympics. 4 May 2020. TechnoGym.
  4. Web site: Arjola Dedaj's family affair. 13 March 2019. World Para Athletics. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20200808185603/https://www.paralympic.org/news/arjola-dedaj-s-family-affair . 8 August 2020 .