Bahar Soomekh worried how her newborn son, Ezra, would thrive in the world. Born in 2005, Ezra was missing four fingers and bones in his left leg. The circumstances seemed overwhelming—but Ezra was otherwise healthy, and an orthopedist told Soomekh and her husband, Clayton Frech, that amputation and use of a prosthetic leg would give their son the mobility he needed.
Sure enough, Ezra was an athletic child who enjoyed sports. And since there were few opportunities for children with disabilities to play sports competitively, in 2014, Soomekh and Frech founded Angel City Sports. The Los Angeles–based adaptive sports nonprofit facilitates athletic experiences, bringing together people with a range of abilities. The following year they hosted their first Paralympic-style event, Angel City Games, that attracted 150 athletes competing in track and field and wheelchair basketball.
Last month, the 2026 Angel City Games hosted 300 athletes supported by hundreds of volunteers, competing in more than 20 sports.
Beyond the competition, Angel City Sports builds community through year-round activities for children and adults of all ages. Athletes connect with others who understand their journey, families find support, and people discover adaptive sports for the first time—sometimes changing the trajectory of their lives.
Soomekh, a former actress, today works as an agent with Nourmand & Associates in Beverly Hills, Calif., and manages the Angel City Sports’ youth council, which helps school children volunteer and raise money for the nonprofit. Her husband is vice chair of the board.
“What I’m most proud of is that we have become one of the biggest nonprofits serving the physically disabled community,” says Soomekh, who was a finalist for NAR’s 2019 Good Neighbor Award. “We have families, veterans and kids come to our games from around the world. Everyone deserves to play and be active.”
Meanwhile, Ezra (one of Soomekh and Frech’s three kids) has intensified his athletic endeavors. In addition to his role as a mentor and volunteer with the nonprofit and an athlete on the track-and-field team at the University of Southern California (the first above-the-knee amputee to be recruited by a NCAA Division 1 school), Ezra competed in the 2020 and 2024 Paralympics. In Paris 2024, he won gold medals in both the 100 meters and high jump. He is currently training for the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles, his hometown.
Despite the limb differences he was born with, Ezra certainly has shown that every body can succeed.