Page 26 - August2012GoodNewsEdition

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SPORTS
Jonathan Ebanks
Good News
The 2012 London Summer Olympics will
allow the entire world to put their differences aside
and compete for dominance in athletic
competition. Everyone will get the chance to see a
glimpse of a united world. Under this contradictory
guise of peace and fierce competition, many people
do not understand the lengths these athletes have
to go through to compete on the world’s grandest
stage of competition. On top of training for hours
nearly every day, many Olympians have gone
through mountains of adversity to achieve their
athletic success. Culture, poverty, physical disability
and even war are some of the large obstacles these
athletes sometimes battle against. The following are
some amazing stories of triumph that stand as a
testament to the God-inspired tenacity of the
human spirit.
Lolo Jones
60mand 100mhurdling specialist Lolo Jones has
gone through a range of trials to reach this point in her
career. In the third grade, her family had to live in aDes
Moines SalvationArmy church’s basement. According
to the
Des Moines Register
, while her father spent his
days in and out of jail, Jones often worked two jobs as
a teenager inorder to help support her large, struggling
family. Despite her hardships, the 2008 and 2010
World Indoor Champion in 60m hurdles still
managed to excel athletically and academically in her
scholastic career. Interestingly, the toughest issue that
Jones, a devout Christian, says that she struggles with
is her maintaining her virginity. On a recent “Real
Sports with Bryant Gumbel “television appearance,
Jones said, “Harder than training for the Olympics.
Harder than studying for college, has been staying a
virgin before marriage,” After suffering a devastating
seventh-place finish in the 100m hurdles Beijing in
2008, Jones is determined to go for the gold in the
100m hurdles once again, in what will most likely be
the 29-year-old’s final Olympic appearance.
Oscar Pistorius
Double leg-amputee Oscar Pistorius will run for
South Africa in the 400 meters and the 4X400 relay.
The athlete was chosen by the nation’s Olympic
committee to run in both events despite not qualifying
for the 400 meters. The 25-year-old is known as the
“Blade Runner” because of the carbon fiber blades he
runs on in place of his legs, which were amputated
when he was just 11 months old. Pistorius was born
with congenital absence of the fibula in both legs,
meaning that a band of fibers was formed instead of
the fibula bone. This often results in deformed legs or
feet as well as absent parts of ankle joints. According
to
USA Today
, Pistorius is expected to draw as much
attention as superstars UsainBolt andMichael Phelps
But Pistorious is just excited to compete in both
Olympians Overcoming Adversity
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26
August 2012
The Good News - Broward Edition