OSCAR 'VICTORIOUS'

‘You’re not disabled by the disabilities you have, you are able by the abilities you have’ – Oscar Pistorius

This comes from a man who has shown to the world that grit, determination and courage can take one to places. South African sprint runner Oscar Pistorius, Blade Runner for the world, has become the first differently-abled person to qualify for Olympics. Yes, you read it right, Olympics and not Paralympics!  

London Olympics will see a unique participant in form of Pistorius this year. He will compete in the men's 400m and 4x400m relay at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Pistorius was born with congenital absence of the fibula (calf bone) in both legs and both his legs were amputated between the ankle and knee at the age of 11 months. Then on, he could have lived a life of oblivion as a man fretting and frowning over his fortune, but he decided otherwise.  He rewrote his life course, set examples for others and achieved what even normal humans only think of. He got the artificial limbs, must have struggled hard and reached the place he is today.

Oscar Pistorius holds the world records for the 100m, 200m, and 400-meter sprint events in the T44 sport class (reserved for disabled athletes). At the 2004 Athens Paralympics, he won gold with a record time of 21.97 seconds. Pistorius competed against able-bodied athletes at the South African Championships in 2005, and in the same year he won the 100m, 200m, and 400m events at the Paralympic World Cup. At 2008 Summer Paralympics: he won gold in the 100m, 200m, and 400m events, completing the 400m race in a world-record time of 47.49 seconds.

Imagine a person achieving these feats, without legs; a runner without legs! Though there has been controversy over his prosthetic limbs, as some critics claim that he has an advantage over able-bodied athletes.

But Pistorius emerged a winner in this battle as well. In 2007 International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), felt Pistorius had advantages over normal runners due to his prosthetic limbs. IAAF gave a ruling that prohibited him from participating against able-bodied athletes. But Oscar won the appeal against the IAAF, resulting in revocation of the rule.

This Olympics, watching Pistorius compete with the other athletes, would be a delight. Whether he wins or lose will be a different tale altogether. For millions of his fans out there, he is already a winner.  

At times when abled-bodied humans are depressed, distressed and feel that life is not fair to them, they must have a look at this man’s life; surely they’ll feel life has never been fairer.