The Fastest Man On No Legs
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20-year old Oscar Pistorius is known by many names - some call him "The Fastest Man on no Legs" others "Blade Runner" - we call him AMAZING!
Oscar was born without a fibula - the long thin bone that anchors the calf muscle and forms the outside of the ankle - in both his legs. When he was just 11 months old, his parents had to make a decision of either confining Oscar to a wheelchair, or amputate (cut off) both his lower legs and give him artificial legs. They chose the latter and six months later Oscar was walking on his first pair of artificial legs made of fiberglass.
Perhaps this is why Oscar has never thought of himself as "disabled" - at school he played rugby, water polo and tennis. He even tried wrestling. In 2004, after suffering from a serious rugby injury, he was introduced to running.
He fell in love with it and in just three years has won many gold medals in the Paralympic Games (for athletes with disabilities) and currently holds the world record for 100m, 200m and 400m.
The only thing that bothers Oscar is that people think of him as "disabled", because he believes he is not. His biggest wish is to compete in the normal Olympic Games. Recently however, the Olympic Committee rejected his application, because they thought his "running" legs do not get as tired as "real" legs and that he may have an unfair advantage over the other runners.
While this is a bummer, Oscar says he will try again at the next Olympics, but meanwhile we believe that nothing can hold back this amazing man whose motto in life is:
"You're not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have."
Sources: Time.com, sportsillustrated.cnn.com
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