Jason Lester
When 12-year-old Jason Lester was hit by a car and suffered,
among many things, a paralyzed arm, he could never have dreamed that
decades later, he’d be a world-class endurance sports champion. Today,
he can swim faster, ride further and run incredible distances as an
Ironman and Ultraman, and he does it all without the full use of his
right arm. In 2009, he was named the ESPY award winner for "Best Male
Athlete with a Disability" and the first male triathlete to win such an
honor. In addition to numerous championships, he’s also the author of
Running on Faith,
the autobiography that chronicles his rise to fame and how his belief
in God got him there. His relentless message is summed up well when he
wrote, “If you don’t stop, you can’t be stopped.”
Melissa Stockwell
She is a war veteran with the U.S. Army, Purple Heart recipient,
paralympian, paratriathlete and an above the knee amputee. In 2004,
Melissa Stockwell lost her leg when a roadside bomb exploded during a
convoy. A diver in high school, she began to swim at Walter Reed
Hospital as part of her physical therapy. Eventually, she trained to
compete in the 2008 Paralympic Games for the U.S. team in which she
became the record holder for the 100 meter butterfly and the 100 meter
freestyle. She gained national attention when she became the face of the
Hartford U.S. Paralympics Partnership ad campaign. “I can really do
anything I want to do, missing leg or not,” she says.
Anthony Robles
Anthony Robles was born without a leg, but he didn’t let that
stop him from becoming a national high school and college wrestling
champion. He began his career on the mat in his high school. Although he
tells the
Wall Street Journal, his first match as a small
90-pound freshman was less than epic, he got better and then became the
best. In March of 2011, the All-American Arizona State University
student won the NCAA championship title for the 125-pound weight class
division. While
USA Today quotes the young athlete as starting
his retirement from wrestling, he remains an inspiration to underdogs
everywhere. He told the
WSJ, "I didn't get into the sport for
the attention. I wrestle because I love wrestling. But if I can help
change somebody's life for the better…"
Jim MacLaren
"Dead on arrival". That was the diagnosis when Jim MacLaren was
rushed to Bellevue Hospital after being hit by a bus on his motorcycle.
When he woke from his coma, he was missing his left leg below the knee.
He’d previously been a Yale University lacrosse and football player, but
after the accident, life as he knew it was full of questions. Undetered
by his accident, he took up swimming and learned how to run on a
prosthetic leg. He eventually competed in the New York City Marathon and
the Ironman triathlon. Although he later suffered another accident that
left him paralyzed, MacLaren turned his tragedy into triumph by
becoming a motivational speaker and life coach encouraging others to
live their life to the fullest no matter what it takes.
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