Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to scale Mount Everest, once said, “People get trapped into just one way of doing things.”
People don’t think outside the box. They don’t think an athlete without legs can compete in the Olympics. They don’t expect a man with a shattered spine to ever walk again.
Taking away an athlete’s ability to make a fast break down the hardwood or dive into the end zone can be compared to banning a child from going down the slide at recess. There are the athletes who experience some form of deprivation at the peak of their career, but are then blessed with some miracle. But what about the NFL hopefuls or marathon runners who were born with a competitive spirit and possess the will to win but were hindered only in their ability to participate on the same playing field as their peers?
What about the blooming children who press on to become high school champions and Olympic medalists without an arm or leg? What about the athletes who were dealt an unfortunate hand forcing them to pursue their dreams with an unfair advantage?
When Buffalo Bills tight end Kevin Everett was nearly paralyzed after fracturing his spine, doctors were skeptical if the University of Miami grad would ever walk again.
Losing the ability to walk is unthinkable for anyone. But what if you didn’t have a choice? Everett was not supposed to step foot on turf again, but his will to walk and overcome his disability carried him across the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium just three months after a player from the Denver Broncos delivered the career ending tackle.
Everett was proof that miracles can and do happen in the world of sports. Everett may never play football again, but his story is an inspiration to any handicapped athlete who shares the dream to play under the lights.
Kyle Maynard was born without arms or legs. His parents never expected him to win an ESPY Award for best athlete with a disability. He wasn’t supposed to become a collegiate athlete. After all, how many high school state champions do you see hoist themselves into a wheelchair proceeding their final match?
Suffering from a rare form of congenital amputation, the Georgia High School Wrestling Championship contender to this day continues to live his life lacking the major joints most other people take for granted. Those who don’t know him would call Maynard handicapped. Those who have been fortunate enough to meet him don’t know that such a word exists.
Using his altered appearance to intimidate his opponents, Maynard went on to with 12th place in the National High School Wrestling Championship. Now, Maynard serves as a mentor to other disabled athletes, inspiring children of all ages to compete in the sport they love no matter what obstacles stand in their way. He’s even a member of the University of Georgia’s wrestling team. And no, he’s not the team’s manager.
Most people expect models to be tall, toned and look perfect at all hours of the day. But for Maynard it’s his inspirational speeches as a member of the Washington Speaker’s Bureau that attracts people’s attention. It’s his smiling, courageous face and two-foot frame gracing covers of Abercrombie magazines and glossy Vanity Fair pages that make Maynard a truly talented athlete.
African native, Oscar Pistorius is the double amputee world record holder in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races. He’s never experienced what it feels like to run on real legs. The pounding across the pavement has instead been felt through a pair of Cheetah Legs.
Never mind his carbon fiber legs, “the fastest man on no legs” made the decision to try out for the 2008 Beijing Olympics among hundreds of hopefuls. The catch? His opponents all had normal limbs.
Olympic officials feared Pistorius would meet qualifying times and soon accompany his opponents in Beijing. For once, coaches and athletes were afraid a man with no legs would come out on top.
While the “blade runner” failed to qualify for the South African team, Pistorius, 22, captured the Gold in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in the 100, 200 and 400-meter races. Because of his outstanding achievements and overwhelming athletic ability, Pistorius, as if to prove he belongs in the ranks of Olympians, made Time magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential people.
On the brink of excellence, Pistorius is an athlete who provides continuous proof that a person should never give up on his dreams. Refusing to give up on his dreams, the young man is currently training to compete in the London Olympics in 2012. It is his courage, unwavering dedication, and will to win that make Pistorius the perfect example of a man who turned his disability into an advantage.
Adults are expected to carry themselves differently than a child would. One would expect a child to cry, complain and pout. Such is not the case for 15-year-old Samantha Gandolfo, the youngest member of the Australian Paralympic Swim Team.
A below-the-knee amputee, Gandolfo has already broken the world record for the 50m backstroke and clinched one silver and one bronze medal at the 2007 U.S. Paralympic Championships. Age is just a number for the Melbourne, Australia native.
The young woman feels no shame in shedding her prosthetic and jumping head first into the deep end. At the end of her race, she is no more ashamed of re-attaching her leg in front of thousands before joining her competitors in the locker room to await the results.
These athletes seem to take on an attitude if they stand out physically, why try to “fit in” and conform to everyone else?
As Weihenmayer said, “Through birth or circumstance, some are given certain gifts, but it’s what one does with those gifts, the hours devoted to training, the desire to be the best, that is at the true heart of a champion.”
