Disabled athletes. Ten World Famous People with Disabilities Athletes with Disabilities

Sport is good for everyone, without exception, people. It strengthens the immune system, muscles of the body, arms and legs. Running in the morning, hardening, pulling up and pumping the abs is not only useful, but also necessary for human health. However, there are people for whom sport has become a means of rehabilitation and the meaning of their life. Some of them do not know how to walk, dress and care for themselves, do not have legs or arms, but achieve amazing results in sports. We are talking about Paralympians who became heroes for their country during their lifetime - even healthy citizens are equal to them. For several years now, competitions in Paralympic sports have been held in Russia and abroad. The Russian national team is considered one of the strongest teams in the world. Ksenia Ryabova, the absolute champion of Russia in Paralympic dressage and an expert in hippotherapy, tells MedAboutMe how it all began and when the first world games for the disabled were held.

Paralympics: a little history

Strong-minded people have always been. There are known cases from the history of the Russian cavalry of the XIX - early XX century, when the commanders, who lost their legs, again sat in the saddle and led their soldiers into battle. Saddles were altered for them, supplying them with various fasteners and straps so that a person without legs could stay on horseback. It is not surprising that the first competitions among disabled people, even before the appearance of the Paralympic Games, were held for the participants of the Great Patriotic War. But first things first…

The founder of the Paralympic movement, the famous neurosurgeon Ludwig Gutmann (1899-1980), lived and worked in Germany. While working in one of the hospitals during and after the Second World War, he came to grips with the problem of rehabilitation of disabled people. Applying new developments, Gutman returned servicemen to a full life after severe wounds and injuries. Adaptive sports played an important role in the rehabilitation process. The first competitions in this area were organized in 1948. Then only 18 former military men who suffered severe wounds took part in them.

In 1952, the International Sports Federation for the Disabled was created, and a little later the first international tournament for the disabled was held, which was already held in several sports. A few years later, in Tokyo, at the 1964 Olympics, after the main games, large sports games for disabled people were organized, which were called the Paralympic Games. At the same time, the first rules for various sports with the participation of disabled people appeared.

Disabled people and sports rehabilitation

Now athletes with musculoskeletal disorders (MAD), cerebral palsy (cerebral palsy), amputated limbs, visually impaired and deaf and dumb athletes participate in the Paralympic competitions. According to the rules of invasport tournaments (sports for the disabled), they are divided into groups, according to diseases and the degree of damage to a person. Depending on the impairment, the athlete may use ancillary equipment. These can be racing wheelchairs, monoski, special equipment (in equestrian sports), sports lightweight carriages, orthopedic prostheses for running. Also, in some cases, voice assistance is allowed, but only a coach can help his athlete.

The Paralympic Games are held a couple of weeks after the end of the Olympic Games and, like the last, are subdivided into summer and winter.

Some sports, such as weightlifting and athletics, archery (sitting), swimming, sailing, cycling, are almost indistinguishable from Olympic sports by their names. In most of these disciplines, athletes who have become disabled for various reasons can compete.

Other Paralympic disciplines, already in their name, contain a clarification about the specifics of this sport. People forced to move in wheelchairs have long conquered sports such as tennis and fencing, basketball, rugby and even dancing. When watching their performances, you can forget that we are talking about wheelchair users. The speed, the sharpened movements, the lightning-fast reaction are so mesmerizing that it is difficult to break away from their performances. And dancing in wheelchairs is generally a very difficult and at the same time beautiful sport. To the music, the participants - combined pairs, or pairs, where both performers in wheelchairs - are able to demonstrate a violent passion and whirl the audience in the rhythm of Latin or rock and roll, no worse than healthy dancers.

Sitting volleyball stands out separately - a breathtaking sight, despite the fact that the players really sit all over the court.

Visually impaired people can fight for victory by participating in judo and football (5X5) competitions. There is also a seated handball for the visually impaired, (3x3), where disabled people with black blindfolds catch the ball, relying only on their hearing.

Another version of football (7X7) is intended for people with cerebral palsy, and athletes with various forms of the disease, mild and moderate, can take part in this discipline.

For athletes with severe cerebral palsy, hyper - and spastic tone, moving in wheelchairs, in 2004 a new discipline was introduced - bocce. The game is similar to the English ball game popular during the Renaissance. Its meaning is to throw your ball closest to the white ball from three attempts.

Two other disciplines of the Paralympic Games should also be mentioned: adaptive rowing and Paralympic dressage - one of the most beautiful shows that demonstrate the abilities of athletes with disabilities. Both athletes with various forms of cerebral palsy and people without arms and legs can participate in these sports.

The most spectacular winter disciplines are biathlon, downhill skiing, sledge hockey. The most important qualities for an athlete in these sports are endurance, precision of movement and balance.

There are no clear criteria on which types of Paralympic sports are recommended for which diseases and which are not. But here, too, there are rules. For example, athletes with cerebral palsy can go in for swimming, equestrian sports, jogging and some types of athletics, but people with cerebral palsy will not be able to engage in fencing, weightlifting, cycling, archery and skiing, that is, those sports that require clear coordination of movements. and balance. For PODA and other groups of diseases, there are also restrictions on some types of Paralympic sports. And it is better for an athlete to choose the kind of sport that will be useful to him for his own disease. Sport should be beneficial, not detrimental to health.

Sports rehabilitation in Russia

The Paralympic Movement has been operating in Russia for about 20 years. Accordingly, there is the Paralympic Committee and the Disabled Sports Federation. For the first time, Russian athletes with disabilities from the USSR went to paragames in Seoul back in 1988. Then came the "dashing 90s", and the development of the Paralympic movement in Russia was suspended. Only in the late 1990s did Russian Paralympians again begin to regularly travel to international Paralympic competitions, where they immediately attracted attention.

At the Paralympic Games in Sydney, paraathletes from Russia received the 14th team place, despite the fact that 125 teams from the participating countries competed in the Paralympics. And in 2014, Russia hosted the Sochi Olympics, as well as major international Paralympic competitions, which ended in triumph. The result of the Russian team of paraathletes is 80 medals, of which 30 are gold. These results have surpassed all the records of the other teams in all years.

Unfortunately, today in our country only a small part of the total number of disabled people go in for sports - only 0.7%. This is due to the lack of access to gyms, swimming pools, sports complexes, the inability to leave the house and get to training, ignorance and fear of relatives, as well as the lack of qualified trainers in wheelchair sports - they are, but there are very few of them. Although these circumstances do not prevent Russians from setting their own records, because Paralympians live and breathe sports and for the sake of sports.

Today, Russian Paralympians have become hostages of political games. And only the inner core - a character trait of any Paralympic athlete - is what gives strength to disabled athletes to survive the removal from the main event in their life.

For 50 years, adaptive sports have received worldwide recognition. The benefits of sports activities are obvious. Disabled athletes not only strengthen their leg and arm muscles and health in general, but also open up internally, find themselves in sports, overcoming their illness and blows of fate. And the achievements in tournaments of athletes with disabilities are amazing. The number of Paralympic disciplines is growing every year. The further development of the sports movement of the disabled forms on this basis a positive opinion about people with disabilities and their hobbies, useful for the realities of the Russian and international community. This means that we should wait for new competitions and new victories for Russian Paralympians.

Russian Roman Petushkov is a five-time world champion in cross-country skiing and biathlon in the sport of persons with musculoskeletal disorders in 2013.

Multiple winner of the World Cup stages, silver and bronze medalist of the Paralympic Games, twice the best athlete in the world according to the International Paralympic Committee.

Mikhalina Lysova- Honored Master of Sports of Russia, Paralympic champion in the ski relay and bronze medalist in the biathlon pursuit among visually impaired athletes at the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver. According to her, she became interested in sports as a child, in her native Nizhny Tagil, and did not even dream of such great achievements in the future.

A native of the Bashkir village of Kairakovo Kirill Mikhailov actively went in for sports back in 1993. Kirill is the Honored Master of Sports of Russia in cross-country skiing, as well as the GQ Sportsman of the Year. He is married, the spouses have two sons - Daniel and Cornil. Kirill Mikhailov showed by his example that sport is destiny. He dreamed of making a sports career and showed good results, but a serious injury in an accident put an end to his hopes for medals in sports. However, Cyril was able to gather his will into a fist and decided

Paralympic cross-country skiing champion and silver medalist in the visually impaired biathlon pursuit at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Paralympics Lyubov Vasilieva- Honored Master of Sports of Russia. Since childhood, Vasilyeva was surrounded by sports - while practicing with healthy children, Lyuba skied, ran and danced. No matter how hard it was, she always strived to be the first. Love was successful not only in sports, but also in art - she drew very well.

Two-time Paralympic champion and silver medalist at the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver Maria Iovleva started skiing at the age of 10. Currently, Maria is in the status of Honored Master of Sports and is preparing to compete at the Paralympic Games in Sochi.

Medalist of the 10th Winter Paralympic Games Anna Burmistrova- Winner of 5 gold awards, as well as 4 silver ones. In March 2010, she was awarded the Order of Honor for her great contribution to the development of physical culture and sports, as well as for high achievements at the 10th Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. According to Anna, she began to play sports at the age of 6. First, her mother gave her to swimming for general development (Anna has bilateral plexitis, Erb's paralysis (partial immobility of the arm caused by a trauma to the brachial plexus during childbirth). Doctors unanimously told the athlete that it was impossible to train, but the girl's mother insisted on her. at the age of 14, Anna Burmistrova joined the national team and performed at the international level.

Skier Irek Zaripov- champion in cross-country skiing and biathlon. Irek lost his legs in 2000 after being hit by a truck on a motorcycle. For two years after that, he lived, according to him, like a plant, not understanding why it was needed in this world. It was only through the sport that his parents convinced him to go to that he regained the ability to enjoy life. To get back in shape, Irek began to train hard. As a result - 4 gold medals at the 2010 Games in Vancouver. Irek devotes his victories in Vancouver to everyone, as he himself said: “who contributed to my formation, who was rooting for me — these are my parents, my wife, and my son”.

Alexandra Frantseva- champion of Russia in alpine skiing, winner of the European Cup stages, participant in the Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Alexander was born on April 24, 1987 in the Kamchatka Territory. Performs in the category of visually impaired athletes. In 2013, at the final stage of the 2013 IPC Alpine Skiing World Cup, she won gold in speed disciplines and won the title of the absolute winner of the World Cup in her category. Alexandra Frantseva - “Own Champion“ Sochi 2014 ”since 2012, represents the Far Eastern Federal District in the project. The athlete plans to take part in the Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi.

Those who doubt their own abilities should definitely familiarize themselves with the achievements of famous people with disabilities. True, most people with disabilities who have achieved success can hardly be called inferior. As their inspiring stories prove, nothing can stop a person from achieving high goals, leading an active life and becoming a role model. So let's take a look at the great people with disabilities.

Stephen Hawking

Hawking was born an absolutely healthy person. However, in his youth, he was given a terrible diagnosis. Doctors diagnosed Stephen with a rare pathology - amyotrophic sclerosis, also known as Charcot's disease.

The symptoms of the disease quickly gained momentum. Closer to reaching adulthood, our hero became almost completely paralyzed. The young man was forced to move in a wheelchair. Partial mobility was preserved only in some of the facial muscles of the face and individual fingers. To ease his own existence, Stephen agreed to undergo throat surgery. However, the decision did only harm, and the guy lost the ability to reproduce sounds. From that moment on, he could communicate only thanks to an electronic speech synthesizer.

However, all this did not prevent Hawking from entering the list of people with disabilities who have achieved success. Our hero managed to earn the status of one of the greatest scientists. This person is considered a real sage and a person who is able to translate into reality the most daring, fantastic ideas.

Today, Stephen Hawking is engaged in active scientific activities in his own residence away from people. He devoted his life to writing books, educating the population, and popularizing science. Despite the physical disability, this outstanding person is married and has children.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Let's continue our conversation about people with disabilities who have achieved success. Without a doubt, Beethoven, the legendary German author of classical music, deserves a place on our list. In 1796, at the height of world fame, the composer began to suffer from progressive hearing loss caused by inflammation of the internal ear canals. Several years passed, and Ludwig van Beethoven completely lost the ability to perceive sounds. However, it was from this time that the most famous works of the author began to appear.

Subsequently, the composer wrote the famous "Heroic Symphony", amazed the imagination of classical music lovers with the most complicated parts from the opera "Fidelio" and "Ninth Symphony with Chorus". In addition, he created numerous developments for quartets, cellists, vocal performers.

Esther Vergeer

The girl has the status of the strongest tennis player in the world, who got her titles while sitting in a wheelchair. In her youth, Esther required spinal cord surgery. Unfortunately, surgery only made the situation worse. The girl's legs were taken away, making it impossible to move independently.

One day, while in a wheelchair, Vergeer decided to try playing tennis. The incident marked the beginning of her extraordinarily successful career in professional sports. The girl was awarded the title of world champion 7 times, repeatedly won high-profile victories at the Olympic Games, won prizes in a series of Grand Slam tournaments. Moreover, Esther holds an unusual record. Since 2003, she has managed not to lose a single set during the competition. At the moment, there are more than two hundred of them.

Eric Weichenmeier

This outstanding man is the only climber in history who managed to conquer Mount Everest while being completely blind. Eric became blind at the age of 13. However, thanks to his innate focus on achieving high success, Weichenmeier first received a quality education, worked as a teacher, was professionally engaged in wrestling, and then devoted his life to conquering mountain peaks.

About the high achievements of this athlete with disabilities, an artistic picture was shot, which was called "Touch the Top of the World." In addition to Everest, the hero climbed the seven highest peaks on the planet. In particular, such terrifying mountains as Elbrus and Kilimanjaro conquered Weichenmayer.

Alexey Petrovich Maresyev

In the midst of World War II, this fearless man defended the country from invaders as a military pilot. In one of the battles, Alexei Maresyev's plane was destroyed. Miraculously, the hero managed to stay alive. However, severe injuries forced him to agree to amputation of both lower limbs.

However, getting a disability did not bother the outstanding pilot at all. Only after leaving the military hospital, he began to seek the right to return to aviation. The army was in dire need of talented pilots. Therefore, soon Alexei Maresyev was offered prostheses. Thus, he made many more combat missions. For his courage and military exploits, the pilot was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Ray Charles

Next on our list is a legendary man, an outstanding musician and one of the most celebrated jazz performers. Ray Charles began to suffer from blindness at the age of 7. Presumably, this was caused by the negligence of doctors, in particular, improper treatment of glaucoma.

Subsequently, Ray began to develop his creative inclinations. The reluctance to give up allowed our hero to become the most famous blind musician of our time. At one time, this outstanding person was nominated for as many as 12 Grammy awards. His name is forever inscribed in the jazz, rock and roll, blues and country music hall of fame. In 2004, Charles entered the top ten most talented artists of all time according to the authoritative edition of Rolling Stone.

Nick Vuychich

What other people with disabilities who are successful deserve attention? One of these is Nick Vuychich - an ordinary person who, from birth, suffers from a rare hereditary pathology under the definition of tetraamelia. At birth, the boy did not have upper and lower limbs. There was only a small ridge of the foot.

In his youth, Nick was offered surgery. The purpose of the surgical intervention was to separate the fused fingers on the only process of the lower limb. The guy was extremely happy that he got the opportunity, at least with grief, to manipulate objects and move without assistance. Inspired by the change, he learned to swim, surf and skateboard, and work on a computer.

In adulthood, Nick Vuychich got rid of past experiences associated with a physical disability. He began to travel the world with lectures, motivating people to new achievements. Often, a man speaks to young people who are experiencing difficulties with socialization and finding the meaning of life.

Valery Fefelov

Valery Andreevich Fefelov is famous as one of the leaders of the social movement of dissidents, as well as a fighter for the recognition of the rights of people with disabilities. In 1966, while working as an electrician at one of the Soviet enterprises, this man suffered a work injury that led to a fracture of the spine. Doctors told Valery that he would remain in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. As often happens, our hero received absolutely no help from the state.

In 1978, Valery Fefelov organized an Initiative Group to protect the rights of people with disabilities throughout the Soviet Union. Soon the public activities of the organization were recognized by the authorities as such that they threaten the security of the state. A criminal case was opened against Fefelov, accusing him of resisting the policy of the country's leadership.

Fearing reprisals from the KGB, our hero was forced to move to Germany, where he was granted refugee status. Here Valery Andreevich continued to defend the interests of people with disabilities. Subsequently, he became the author of a book entitled “There are no disabled people in the USSR!”, Which caused a lot of noise in society. The work of the famous human rights activist has been published in English and Dutch.

Louis Braille

As a child, this man suffered an eye injury, which developed into severe inflammation and led to complete blindness. Louis decided not to lose heart. He devoted all his time to finding a solution that would allow visually impaired and blind people to recognize text. This is how the special Braille was invented. Nowadays, it finds widespread use in institutions that are involved in the rehabilitation of disabled people.

Everyone knows about the Paralympic movement now. Some Paralympic athletes are as famous as their healthy counterparts. And some of these amazing people challenge ordinary athletes and not only compete on a par with them, but also win. Below are 10 of the most striking examples of this in the history of world sports.

1. Markus Rehm. Germany. Athletics

As a child, Marcus was involved in wakeboarding. At the age of 14, in a training accident, he lost his right leg below the knee. Despite this, Markus returned to the sport and won the German Youth Wakeboarding Championship in 2005.
After that, Rem switched to athletics and took up long jumping and sprinting, using a special prosthesis like that of Oscar Pistorius. In 2011-2014, Rem won a lot of tournaments among athletes with disabilities, including the 2012 Paralympics in London (gold in the long jump and bronze in the relay 4x100 meters).
In 2014, Rem won the long jump at the German General Championships, ahead of ex-European champion Christian Rife. However, the German Athletics Union did not allow Rem to participate in the 2014 European Championships: biomechanical measurements showed that, due to the use of a prosthesis, an athlete has some advantages over ordinary athletes.

2. Natalie du Toit (Natalie du Toit). SOUTH AFRICA. Swimming

Natalie was born on January 29, 1984 in Cape Town. Since childhood, she has been swimming. At the age of 17, returning from training, Natalie was hit by a car. Doctors had to amputate the girl's left leg. However, Natalie continued to play sports, and competed not only with the Paralympians, but also with healthy athletes. In 2003, she won the All-African Games in the 800m and took bronze in the African-Asian Games in the 400m freestyle.
At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, du Tois competed in the 10 km open water swim alongside healthy athletes and finished 16th out of 25 participants. She became the first athlete in history to be entrusted with carrying her country's flag at the opening ceremonies of both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

3. Oscar Pistorius. SOUTH AFRICA. Athletics

Oscar Pistroius was born on November 22, 1986 in Johannesburg to a wealthy family. Oscar had a congenital physical disability - he was missing the fibula on both legs. So that the boy could use prostheses, it was decided to amputate his legs below the knee.
Despite his disability, Oscar studied in a regular school and was actively involved in sports: rugby, tennis, water polo and wrestling, but later decided to concentrate on running. For Pistorius, special prostheses were designed from carbon fiber - a very strong and lightweight material.
Among athletes with disabilities, Pistorius was unmatched in the sprint: from 2004 to 2012, he won 6 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medals at the Paralympic Games. For a long time, he sought the opportunity to compete with healthy athletes. Sports officials initially discouraged this: at first, it was believed that the springy prostheses would give Pistorius an advantage over other runners, then there were concerns that the prostheses could injure other athletes. In 2008, Oscar Pistorius finally won the right to participate in competitions for ordinary athletes. In 2011, he won a silver medal with the South African national team in the 4x100 meter relay.
Oscar Pistorius's career ended on February 14, 2013, when he killed his model girlfriend Riva Stenkamp. Pistorius claimed that he committed the murder by mistake, mistaking the girl for a robber, but the court considered the murder deliberate and sentenced the athlete to 5 years in prison.

4. Natalia Partyka. Poland. Table tennis

Natalia Partyka was born with a congenital disability - without a right hand and forearm. Despite this, since childhood, Natalya was engaged in table tennis: she played, holding a racket in her left hand.
In 2000, 11-year-old Partyka took part in the Sydney Paralympic Games, becoming the youngest participant in the games. In total, she has 3 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze Paralympic medals in her piggy bank.
At the same time, Partyka participates in competitions for healthy athletes. In 2004, she won two gold medals at the European Cadet Championships, in 2008 and 2014 at the Adult European Championships, she won bronze and in 2009 - silver.

5. Héctor Castro. Uruguay. Football

At the age of 13, Hector Castro lost his right hand as a result of careless handling of an electric saw. However, this did not prevent him from playing great football. He was even nicknamed El manco - "One-armed".
As part of the Uruguayan national team, Castro won the 1928 Olympics and the first World Cup in 1930 (Castro scored the last goal in the final), as well as two South American championships and three Uruguayan championships.
After completing his football career, Castro became a coach. Under his leadership, his native club Nacional won the national championship 5 times.

6. Murray Halberg. New Zealand. Athletics

Murray Halberg was born on July 7, 1933 in New Zealand. In his youth, he played rugby, but during one of the matches he suffered a severe injury to his left hand. Despite the best efforts of the doctors, the hand remained paralyzed.
Despite his disability, Halberg did not give up sports, but switched to long-distance running. Already in 1954, he won his first national title. At the 1958 Commonwealth Games, he won gold in the three-mile race and was named New Zealand's Athlete of the Year.
At the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Halberg competed in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. He won the first distance, and took 5th place in the second.
In 1961, Halberg set three world records for distances over 1 mile in 19 days. In 1962, he again took part in the Commonwealth Games, where he carried the New Zealand flag at the opening ceremony and defended his title at a distance of three miles. Murray Halberg ended his sports career in 1964 after participating in the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, finishing seventh in the 10,000 meter race.
Leaving the big sport, Halberg took up charity work. In 1963, he created the Halberg Trust for Disabled Children, which became the Halberg Disability Sport Foundation in 2012.
In 1988, Murray Halberg was awarded the honorary title of Knight Bachelor for Service to Sports and Disabled Children.

7. Takács Károly. Hungary. Pistol shooting

Already in the 1930s, the Hungarian soldier Karoi Takacs was considered a world-class shooter. However, he could not take part in the 1936 Olympics, since he had only the rank of sergeant, and only officers were taken to the shooting team. In 1938, as a result of the explosion of a faulty grenade, Takachu tore off his right arm. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, he began to train, holding a pistol in his left hand, and the very next year he was able to win the Hungarian Championship and the European Championship.
In 1948, at the London Olympics, Takach won the pistol shooting competition, surpassing the world record. Four years later, at the Olympic Games in Helsinki, Karoi Takach successfully defended his title and became the first ever two-time Olympic champion in rapid-fire pistol shooting.
After finishing his career as an athlete, Takach worked as a coach. His pupil Szilard Kuhn became a silver medalist at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki.

8. Lim Dong Hyun. South Korea. Archery

Lim Dong Hyun suffers from severe myopia, with his left eye seeing only 10% and his right eye 20%. Despite this, the Korean athlete is engaged in archery.
For Lim, targets are just colored spots, but the athlete fundamentally does not use glasses or contact lenses, and also refuses to use laser vision correction. Through extensive training, Lim has developed a phenomenal muscle memory that allows him to achieve amazing results: he is a two-time Olympic champion and a four-time world champion in archery.

9. Oliver Halasshi (Halassy Olivér). Hungary. Water polo and swimming

At the age of 8, Oliver was run over by a tram and lost part of his left leg below the knee. Despite his disability, he was actively involved in sports - swimming and water polo. Halashshi was a member of the Hungarian national aquatic team - the world leader in this sport in the 1920s - 1930s. As part of the national team, he won three European Championships (in 1931, 1934 and 1938) and two Olympics (in 1932 and 1936), and also became the silver medalist of the 1928 Olympics.
In addition, Halashshi showed good results in freestyle swimming, but only at the national level. He won about 30 gold medals in the Hungarian championships, but at the international level, his results were weaker: only in 1931 he won the European Championship in the 1,500 meters freestyle, and at the Olympic Games did not compete in swimming at all.
At the end of his sports career, Oliver Halashshi worked as an auditor.
Oliver Halashshi died under very vague circumstances: on September 10, 1946, he was shot dead by a Soviet soldier of the Central Group of Forces in his own car. For obvious reasons, this fact was not advertised in socialist Hungary, and the details of the incident remained unclear.

10. George Eyser. USA. Gymnastics

Georg Eiser was born in 1870 in the German city of Kiel. In 1885, his family emigrated to the United States, and therefore the athlete became known under the English form of the name - George Eiser.
In his youth, Eiser was hit by a train and almost completely lost his left leg. He was forced to use a wooden prosthesis. Despite this, Eiser played a lot of sports - in particular, gymnastics. He took part in the 1904 Olympics, where he won 6 medals in various gymnastic disciplines (exercises on uneven bars, vault, rope climbing - gold; exercises on horseback and exercises on 7 apparatus - silver; exercises on the bar - bronze). Thus, George Eiser is the most titled amputee athlete in the history of the Olympics.
At the same Olympics, Eiser participated in triathlon (long jump, shot put and 100 meter snatch), but took the last, 118th place.
After the Olympic triumph, Eiser continued to perform in the Concordia gymnastics team. In 1909, he won the Cincinnati National Gymnastics Festival.

Many athletes with disabilities not only compete with their healthy colleagues, but also successfully defeat them.

Marcus Röhm (athletics)

In Germany, the trial of the case of one-legged long jumper Markus Röhm, who was officially recognized as the champion of the country, was completed. When he won this resounding victory in July last year, experts challenged it, since Rem could have gained an advantage with a carbon prosthesis. On this basis, he was not admitted to the European Championship, but managed to prove the justice of his victory. In 2012, Rem became the winner of the London Paralympic Games, and since then has improved his result by almost a meter and challenged healthy athletes.

Oscar Pistorius (athletics)

The infamous South African runner, last year chronicled as the killer of the beauty Reva Stenkamp, ​​lost his legs at age 11. Subsequently, he became the most titled runner with prostheses, winning six gold medals in three Olympics, while in London he also competed with healthy athletes, becoming the first amputee runner in the history of the Games. To do this, he also had to prove that prostheses do not give him an advantage over healthy athletes, after which he successfully qualified for the Games and went to the semifinals of the 400 meters race.

Nick Newell (MMA)

The 28-year-old American has become famous in a sport where one mistake can lead to serious injuries, and participation in competitions is considered a manifestation of courage. Deprived of his left arm below the elbow, Newell made his debut in mixed martial arts in 2009, after which he won 11 victories in a row and even won the champion title of one of the local organizations. This July he

suffered his first career defeat in a fight for the title of the third world league World Series of Fighting (). Surprisingly, Newell with hand disabilities is adept at painful and choke-hold techniques.

Michael Constantino (boxing)

Almost a colleague of Newell's role from birth does not have a hand on his right hand. This flaw did not prevent him from bandaging his hands, wearing gloves and entering the ring against professional boxer Nathan Ortiz in 2012. To do this, he had to convince a strict athletic commission that his disadvantage would not cause health problems for him or his opponent. The fight ended with a technical knockout in the second round in favor of Constantino, but since then, the disabled boxer, who has a good amateur career, has not entered the ring.

Anthony Robles (freestyle wrestling)

The successor of the glorious brotherhood of martial artists "without borders" for unknown reasons was born with one leg. Since childhood, he refused to wear a prosthesis and began to play sports in order to be "like everyone else." The struggle helped him not only to achieve this goal, but also to become the best. In 2011, Robles became the NCAA (US Collegiate Wrestling Association) Flyweight Champion. In his spare time from sports, Robles acts as a motivator for people with disabilities and has written the book From Weak to Invincible: How I Became a Champion.

Natalie du Tois (swimming)

A South African marathon competitor lost her leg at the age of 17 in an accident. Heavy surgery and physical disability did not discourage her desire to go in for sports, and already three months after the accident, she began training. In 2004, she became a multiple Paralympic winner, and four years later became the first disabled swimmer to compete in the Olympic Games. Du Tua was entrusted to carry the South African flag at the opening ceremonies of both Games, making her history as well.

Natalya Partyka (table tennis)

The Polish athlete was unlucky to be born without her right hand, which did not prevent her from playing table tennis at the age of seven. Four years later, she became the youngest participant in the history of the Paralympic Games, and at the last Olympics in London, Natalia competed with healthy athletes and made her way to the top 32. At one time, Partyka was even one of the 50 best rackets in the world, and in 2009 she won silver in the European Championship as part of the Polish national team.

Bettany Hamilton (surfing)

Surfing in itself is a very dangerous sport, and in Hawaii, where you have to deal with sharks, even doubly. At the age of 13, the budding athlete had a chance to meet one of them. As a result, the girl, who lost 60 percent of her blood, was miraculously saved her life, but the doctors failed to save her shattered hand. Someone in Betty's place would have lost the desire not only to cut the ocean waves, but also to come close to the sea coast, and Betty not only returned to sports, but also became the vice-champion of the world among juniors. Now she is quite successful at the adult level.