Oscars Obstacles

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 Known as the "fastest man without legs," Oscar Pistorius is a well known South African Blade Runner. Pistorius is a world champion sprinter who has broken his own world record some thirty times, and is a four-time Paralympic champion. During this summers 2012 Olympic games in London, he became the first differently-abled athlete to compete in both the Paralympics and Olympics in the 400m dash. Finishing second with a time of 45.44 seconds in his preliminary heat during this years 2012 summer Olympics.
Growing up Oscar had both legs amputated when he was just 11 months old after being born with Fibular Hemimelia, which is a congenital absence of the fibula, in both legs. Oscar was born on November 22, 1986 in Sandton, Johannesburg South Africa to Henke and Sheila Pistorius. He grew up in a Christian home, and has an older brother, Carl, and a younger sister, Aimée. Pistorius' mother has had an immense  impact on his life after dying at the age of 43. During high school he partook in rugby, water polo, and tennis. He also participated in club Olympic wrestling. After a serious rugby knee injury in June 2003, he was introduced to running in January 2004 while undergoing rehabilitation at the University of Pretoria's High Performance Centre. Oscar has been running ever since, and has never looked back.
Oscar Pistorius interests me because I truly believe that he is one of the most devoted and determined people in this society, who has overcome numerous obstacles. Reading further into this blog you will experience Oscars latest accomplishments, how he lost his legs, the history of prosthetics, and a little bit more of who Oscar is as a person.