Short description
The inspirational story of the first paralympian ever to compete against able-bodied runners in world-class events.
Oscar Pistorius's legs were amputated below the knee before his first birthday. At 17 months, he received his first pair of prosthetic legs. Later, with the help of "running legs," Oscar began sprinting in competitions--and winning them; eventually the International Association of Athletics Federations invited him to compete in international meets. Blade Runner is the story of the indomitable strength of human will and the extraordinary development, from immobilized child to world class sprinter, of one of the most gifted sportsmen on the planet.
Long description
At eleven months old, Oscar Pistorius had both his legs amputated below the knee. His mother wrote a letter to be read by Oscar when he was grown up: 'A loser is not one who runs last in the race. It is the one who sits and watches, and has never tried to run'. On discovering that their son had been born with no fibulae, Oscar's parents made the difficult decision to have both his legs amputated, giving him the best possible chance of a normal life. Oscar received his first pair of prosthetic legs at just seventeen months, made specifically for him.From then on he became invincible: running, climbing and, with the encouragement of his older brother, getting into any mischief he could. Throughout the course of his life Oscar has battled to overcome extraordinary difficulties to prove that, with the right attitude, anything is possible. Now, a world-renowned athlete holding two Paralympic world records for the 100m and 200m, Oscar faces his ultimate fight: to fulfil the dream of competing at the 2012 Olympics. Blade Runner charts the extraordinary development of one of the most gifted sportsmen and inspirational figures on the planet - from immobilised child to world-class sprinter.