David Henry Abrahams (born May 3, 2001) is a blind American

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

. He represented the United States at the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Early life and education

Abrahams attended

Haverford High School Haverford Senior High School is the public high school of Haverford Township, Pennsylvania, United States, operated by the School District of Haverford Township. It is at 200 Mill Road in Havertown. The school serves the entirety of Haverford To ...

Havertown, Pennsylvania Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...

. He earned NISCA All American honors in 2018 and 2019. Abrahams attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

where he was a member of their swim team.

Career

Abrahams represented the United States in the 100 metre breaststroke SB13 event at the

and won a silver medal. On April 29, 2023, Abrahams was named to the roster to represent the United States at the

2023 World Para Swimming Championships The 2023 World Para Swimming Championships was the 12th edition of the World Para Swimming Championships, an international swimming competition for swimmers with disabilities. It was held in Manchester, Great Britain from 31 July to 6 August 202 ...

. During the World Championship he won a bronze medal in the 100 metre breaststroke SB13 event. In January 2024, Abrahams announced that the

2024 Summer Paralympics The 2024 Paralympic Games, Summer Paralympics (french: Jeux paralympiques d'été de 2024), commonly known as the Games of the XVII Paralympiad, and commonly known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international Multi-sport event, multi-sport paraspo ...

will be his final major international event. He will then start work full-time as a quantitative researcher with an investment management company.

Personal life

Abrahams began losing his vision when he was 13 and was diagnosed with

Stargardt disease Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease. In terms of the first description of the disease, it follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, which has been later linked to bi-allelic ABCA4 gene variants (S ...

References

External links

* * * 2001 births Living people American disabled sportspeople American male freestyle swimmers American male breaststroke swimmers American male butterfly swimmers American male backstroke swimmers American male medley swimmers Swimmers from Pennsylvania Paralympic swimmers for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Harvard Crimson men's swimmers People from Haverford Township, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Delaware County, Pennsylvania S13-classified para swimmers 21st-century American sportsmen {{US-swimming-bio-stub