Paralympic Greats

Paralympic Greats

Yes, I know the Olympics are over, but I wanted to share a few stories the boys and I read this summer. 

Trischa Zorn

Blind from birth, this swimmer from the United States competed in her first Paralympic Games in 1980 and her last in 2004.

Over that span, she earned 55 total Paralympic medals, 41 of which were gold. Following the 2000 Games, she was the world record holder in eight swimming categories.

Oscar Pistorius

A double amputee runner from South Africa, Pistorius is known as "the fasted man on no legs." Pistorius was born missing bones in his lower legs; and before he turned one, both legs were amputated below the knees. Through the use of artificial lower legs, Pistorius grew to be an incredible athlete who excelled at rugby, tennis and water polo. He actually didn't begin training as a runner until January of 2004, but he qualified for the Paralympic Games in September of that year! He took the 2004 Games by storm, breaking the world record in the 200-meter run even though he was competing against athletes who had only one artificial leg. In 2008, Pistorius tried to qualify for the able-bodied Olympic Games, but was just seven-tenths of a second too slow to meet the requirement. Instead, he went on to win three gold medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games.

Reach High!