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Lead Stories: Friday, July 18, 2008

Pisorius sets new WR; Tom Hanks reportedly set to bid on rights to his life story

Posted March 14th, 2007 at 3:15 PM by Martin Kennedy

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Success Stories, Track & Field, Columns, SPOTLIGHT

Oscar Pistorius, the elite South African amputee runner, is now a step closer to becoming the first amputee and/or physically handicapped-runner to qualify for the able-bodied Olympics.

Last Friday, Oscar set a new P.R. and broke his own 400m Paralympic world record (47:34) with a time of 46 seconds flat at the Yellow Pages Track and Field series meet. If Oscar is able to run the 400m about a second faster, he should be able to qualify for South Africa’s Olympic team.

Two days later, The Times reported that Tom Hanks, who won an Oscar for his leading role in Forrest Gump, will bid on the rights to Oscar’s incredible life story with the intention of producing a film via his Playtone label.

Forrest Gump (1994), a modern classic that earned six Oscars, demonstrated the obstacles faced by amputees through Gary Sinise’s portrayal of Lt. Dan Taylor and a love for running via Forrest Gump (Hanks).
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Join TFS in supporting the Challenged Athletes Foundation!

Posted February 18th, 2007 at 2:14 PM by Allyson Rosen

Section: Announcements, Motivation, Resources

TheFinalSprint.com is proud to be an official sponsor of the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF).

CAF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that helps people with physical disabilities pursue an active lifestyle through physical fitness and athletics.

CAF’s mission is clear: give those with the desire to live active, competitive lifestyles every opportunity to compete in the sports they love.

Click here to learn more and to watch a short video about how CAF is changing the lives of athletes with disabilities!

Join us in supporting CAF!

Make your next race more meaningful by registering for the Challenged Athlete Foundation’s Race for a Reason!

Race for a Reason enables you to enhance the experience of training to reach your own personal goal by helping challenged athletes reach theirs. When you raise funds for CAF through the Race for a Reason program, you can run the race of your choice and also earn great incentive prizes!
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Podcast 16: Exclusive interview w/ Oscar Pistorius, the amputee runner on the verge of making history

Posted February 16th, 2007 at 6:00 PM by Adam Jacobs

Section: News & Results, Motivation, Success Stories, Track & Field, Columns, Success Stories, Olympics, Special Features, Podcasts

The Final Sprint and I have the utmost respect and admiration for handicapped athletes and are proud to be official sponsors of the Challenged Athletes Foundation. These gifted individuals demonstrate incredible resolve and the power of the human spirit by successfully participating, competing and excelling in athletics despite their physical disabilities.

Today’s podcast features an interview with one such hero and TFS’s February 2007 Success Story honoree. His name is Oscar Pistorius and he is a 20-year old South African Paralympic runner known as “The Fastest Thing on No Legs”.

After having both of his legs amputated below the knee when he was only 11-months old, Oscar has exemplified the astounding spirit of these challenged athletes. Oscar is sponsored by Ossur and with the aid of their Cheetah Flex-Foot prosthetics, Oscar has ran his his way to multiple Paralympic gold medals and set world records in the 100, 200 and 400m events. He has also gone on to break his own world records 19 times in a single year and has successfully competed against able-bodied runners.

Having already attained unparalleled success, Oscar is now on the verge of making history once again – but this time by becoming the first amputee to ever compete in the able-bodied Olympics.

However, even if Oscar is able to run a qualifying time, he could still sadly be denied the opportunity to compete in the Olympics because he has attracted a number of critics who believe his prosthetics provide him with an unfair advantage. No able-bodied sports federation, including the International Olympic Committee (IOC), has ever been forced to consider rules for athletes with prosthetics. As the IOC struggles to make decision, Oscar has kept his head-up and pushed forward despite the uncertainty that surrounds his future.

Download the podcast to hear my exclusive interview with Oscar where we discuss his life, historic achievements, the controversy, how he deals with the critics and the very real possibility of him redefining society’s concept of human potential.

Listen In
[MP3] Direct Download (Right click, select “save as”).
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Host: Adam Jacobs
Guest: Oscar Pistorius
Producer: Greg Cherniet
Music: Ryan Ahlwardt & Darnell Perkins
File size: 29.4MB
Length: 00:42:55