Ezra is the inaugural recipient of the foundation’s Amir Ekbatani Paralympic Scholarship, awarded to a Paralympian attending USC or UCLA. He was just 14 years old in 2019 when he made the US National Track & Field Team. Two years later he competed at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games where he placed 5th in the high jump and 8th in the long jump. He set a new world high jump record at the U.S. Trials in July and will compete this summer in the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

He was born with one finger on his left hand and missing his left knee and shin bone. When he was 3 years old, his lower left leg was amputated, and the big toe was transplanted onto his left hand. He emerged from the 15-hour surgery with two fingers, allowing him to pick up and hold things and a stump that provided a better fit for a prosthesis and opened a new world of mobility for the rising athlete. Playing sports gave him confidence, friends and community, and was his refuge. In 2015, he and his father launched the first Angel City Games, and provides sport clinics and competitions in 15 Paralympic sports. It is one of the largest adaptive sports organizations in the country with year-round sport programming for kids and adults with physical disabilities.  

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