Inspirational Runners - Oscar Pistorius Edition

If you are watching the Olympics at all, you will have heard this man's name. Oscar Pistorius is the first Paralympian ever to compete in the Olympics. Did you catch that?! EVER! Pistorius competed in the Men's 400m and the 4x400m Relay for his home nation of South Africa. In the 400m he made it all the way to the semi-finals and while he came just short of making the finals, he is no less a champion. In a moment that demonstrates the true spirit of the Olympics, winner of the semi-final heat, Kirani James asked Pistorius to trade bib numbers with him in the finishing area of the track.

Pistorius is a 4-time Paralymic gold medalist and dons the nickname Blade Runner thanks to his carbon-fibre prosthetics. Following his Olympic debut, Pistorius has now adopted another nickname, The People's Champion. Both of his legs were amputated just below the knee when Pistorius was 11-months old. He attended his first sprint session in January of 2004 and won his first Paralymic gold in September of that same year. O ya, he also set the Paralympic record too. NBD!

Now here's something that really pisses me off. Critics of Pistorius (ya, I have no idea how this man has critics, but he does) say that his carbon-fibre prothetics give him unfair advantage in competitions. I'm not even going to acknowledge that process with any more commentary.

Some wise words from Oscar Pistorius: "You are not disabled by the disabilities you have; you are able by the abilities you have."

This guy is simply amazing and you know what else would be amazing?! A donation to the cause I am running for - I run because they (refugees) have to.