World-class blade runner Blake Leeper recently paid his mother a surprise visit at her Tennessee home after smuggling himself away in a Teleflora van. Before Leeper made his presence known, his mother was shown a tear-jerker video in which he credits her with much of his success.
AMERICAN BLADE RUNNER
Leeper has a congenital defect that caused him to be born without legs beneath the knees. He’s been getting about on prosthetics since he was just nine months old. Encouraged by his parents, Leeper took up youth baseball and even played on his high school’s varsity basketball team.
“You see me... yes, I do have two disabilities. But I still have a thousand more abilities to show the world why I'm a truly special person.”
In college, Leeper received a grant for state-of-the-art running prosthetics and he quickly became a world-class sprinter. At the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, Leeper finished second to Oscar Pistorius in the 400-meter T44 event, and claimed the bronze in the 200 meters.
PAYING IT FORWARD
Leeper is currently training to compete in 400-meter event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Off the track, he spreads the same message of positive thinking first instilled in him by his father and mother.
Leave A Comment