Oscar Pistorius

Who would have thought that when his legs were amputated at the age of 1 that South African, Oscar Pistorious would be earning medals at every paralympic athletic event he participated in and becoming the fastest man with no legs.

It must be one of the hardest things in the world for any parent to hear that your 11-month old son needs to have both his legs amputated. Oscar Pistorious was born without fibulae or calf bone, which in general are needed to walk.

“A loser is not the one who runs last in the race, but the one who sits and watches and has never tried to run.” These are the inspirational words Oscar received in a letter from his mother which she wrote when he was a baby. He has most definitely lived them out. At 17 months Oscar received his first pair of prosthetic legs.

There have been challenges in Oscar’s life, during his time as a Paralympic athlete, but he has remained positive, going from strength to strength. The Blade runner, as he is known because of the equipment he uses to run in, has proven that anything is possible and coming through with flying colours.

There are many Paralympic athletes who have had their legs amputated and have turned out to be extremely accomplished athletes, but none like Oscar who is a double amputee.

In 2007 he was given the award by BBC sports personality of the year for courage and achievement in the face of adversity.

He holds world records in the 100m, 200m and 400m (sport class T44) sprints. In the 2008 Paralympics he was the first athlete to win gold in all three events. He has broken his own record more than 25 times.

Oscar took his career one step further and began competing in able-bodied events in 2007. There were complaints as he began his new venture that he had a slight advantage to the rest of his competitors and that his blades went in his favour of him.

He was ruled out by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) and from competition. This was the challenge that lay ahead of him.

Fortunately for Oscar and his fighting spirit this was rectified in court and there was not enough evidence against him. Studies showed that he uses less oxygen and a tremendous amount of strength from his upper leg whilst other athletes are using their calves and ankles more.

Unfortunately he did not qualify for the Olympic team in 2008, but he won three gold medals in three sprint events. He came third in his event, but missed his qualifying time. This could have been due to the fact that he was so focused on the court case and didn’t have time to concentrate on running. The competitive athlete is now focusing on the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Oscar quotes he does not see himself as being disabled or handicapped. This shows what it means to use your gifts to the best of your ability.