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sports: Blake Leeper

Through the whole mix of family, Leeper started researching the
sports, perseverance, and humor—his blades. A pair, he found, could cost up

goofy side gained him class clown to six figures—meaning he wouldn’t
notoriety in high school—Leeper came be buying them himself. After a lot of

to see his lack as a gift, one he wouldn’t phone calls to potential sponsors and
know the full extent of until years a lot of “No”s, Leeper connected with

later. “At times as a child, it was hard the Challenged Athletes foundation, a
to understand—why me?” says Leeper. nonprofit out of San diego, California.

“I came to the conclusion that, instead With their help, his blades were on
of asking ‘why me?,’ ask ‘why not me
their way.

in this situation?’ I’m strong enough Leeper’s family and his prosthetist
for this battle, or this challenge and joined him at the track to try out his

obstacle in my life.”
new “running legs.” According to the
Leeper played sports throughout owner’s manual that came with the

high school, but he eventually accepted blades, Leeper needed about three
that his future would not include the months to work up to a good run.

NbA. “but sports and being athletic Leeper didn’t go by the book. he
was still true to my heart,” says Leeper. sprinted that day. “The way the wind

What he really wanted to do with his was hitting my face made me feel like
life, though, was help people. So he a little kid again,” says Leeper. “I was

entered the university of Tennessee in actually going faster than I’d ever
Knoxville as a pre-med physics major. been in my life. It was crazy for me to

“I really wanted to be an orthopedic think that just a pair of legs can change
surgeon, to help in situations for kids anything, can actually make me fast for

like myself,” he says. “how cool would once in my life.”
it be for a child to go into the operating In 2009, just a year and a half after

room knowing the doctor had experi- the whole process began, the Leeper
enced exactly what he’d experienced?”
family packed their bags and drove

And physics? Leeper’s choice of 14 hours to oklahoma for blake’s first
major traces back to sports, too. he race. he won and qualified for the u.S.

couldn’t have played like he did with- Paralympic team.
out prosthetic legs, which he’d worn from there, the path has been short

since 9 months of age. Those legs relied but furiously paced to silver and bronze
on physics. “Applied physics is part of medals at the London 2012 Paralympics

me. Every single day I lived it, and I re- and three silvers and a gold at the 2013
ally wanted to learn more about it.”
IPC Athletics World Championship in

So when ESPN highlighted a Lyon, france. Leeper runs 100-, 200-,
Paralympic track and field race back
and 400-meter events. he ponders

in 2008, Leeper noticed the athletes’ whether he would be able to compete
prostheses. They weren’t legs. Not
on the world stage if he had legs. Who

like he used, anyway. The carbon fiber knows? but, Leeper says, “It’s amazing
running blades, more widely recog- to think that for me to be one of the

nized since oscar Pistorius ran with fastest runners in the world, it’s be-
them in the 2012 olympics, are springy, cause I have no legs. It is a blessing. I’m

heel-less Js that mimic the movements a true believer that everything happens
of biological legs, ankles, and feet. for a reason.”

They’re made for running. Each blade Leeper credits his past endeavors in
is molded so precisely to its owner that so many sports with helping him reach

even slight body weight fluctuations the point he’s at now in track. Not
can skew the fit.
only did he develop muscles a runner

[top] Leeper uses his experiences and his infectious conidence to help others learn to use

prosthetic limbs. [middle] Leeper has been wearing prosthetic legs all his life—but it took his
running blades to give him speed. [bottom] after qualifying for the u.S. Paralympic team on his
irst try, Leeper has won bronze, silver, and gold medals for his country—and himself.

80 cityviewmag.com maRcH aPRiL 2014