The Most Inspiring Olympic Athlete?
Aly Raisman. Michael Phelps. Hope Solo. Usain Bolt. Andy Murray. Ashton Eaton. As we near the end of the 2012 Summer Olympics, these are all names we’ve become pretty familiar with – and rightfully so; they’re all gold medalists! Thanks to countless hours of practicing, training, working, and improving, these athletes are capable of incredible things. As talented and impressive as these folks might be, though, there’s another athlete I’m just starting to learn a little more about. Maybe there’s already been lots of chatter about him or maybe he’s just been under the radar, but I think 25-year-old Oscar Pistorius is my new favorite person. Both of his legs were amputated below the knee shortly after birth, due to the fact that he’d been born without a fibula (“long, slender bone running along the outside of the leg from below the knee joint and down to the ankle”) in either of his legs. He grew up to become an athlete, anyway, and ended up at the Olympics (for more on his story, check out his <a href=”http://www.oscarpistorius.com/about”>website</a>). No big deal, right? Ohmygosh. Seriously?! He may not be a gold medalist yet, but I can’t stop watching videos of him competing. The next time I feel tired after work and don’t want to get up and move, I’m going to think of Oscar and I’m going to get inspired. “You are not disabled by the disabilities you have,” Oscar says. “You are able by the abilities you have.” Unreal.
Tell me – have I been living in a bubble the last two weeks? Does everyone <em>but</em> me already know about this guy? Is it strange that I’m so moved by what he’s accomplished (not that I care if you think it is – just asking)?