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Profile: Marlon Shirley—Paralympic star
Profile Marlon Shirley—Paralympic star Lancet 2005; 366: S12
Angela Pirisi
c/o The Lancet (A Pirisi BA) Correspondence to: Ms Angela Pirisi [email protected]
An accidental run-in with a lawnmower left Marlon Shirley an amputee at age 5 years, but he has only allowed calamity to frame his success. Turning adversity to fierce advantage, Shirley rose from street kid to world-class athlete, and garnered a reputation as the fastest amputee in the world. He has set and broken countless world records, his victories including winning gold medals in the 100 m sprint at the Paralympics in Sydney, Australia (11·09 s), and in Athens, Greece (11·08 s). He also set the current world record for long jump (6·78 m) at the 2003 World Championships in Lille, France. Shirley hasn’t let terms such as disabled and disadvantaged brand him. In 2005, he made the difficult decision to drop out of the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, UK, because of a hamstring injury: “It was the first time I’ve ever pulled out of a competition”, he says, pointing out that he once ran a race with two broken arms. For someone who was “never really that into sports”, the 27-year-old managed to casually break a world record while competing in a local track and field meet in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1997, and became the first amputee to run a sub-11 second 100 m (he ran it in 10·97 s). That event launched his career, since US Paralympics National Program Director for Track and Field, Bryan Hoddle, S12
witnessed the feat and invited Shirley to train with him. “He went from never running the 100 m to being the fastest amputee in the world in 3 short years. To me, that’s amazing”, says Hoddle. But even more impressive is that Shirley lay down some crutches to break that record. He had fractured his left leg during a game of basketball, but decided to join a friend and compete nonetheless. His former coach adds, “Shirley isn’t satisfied with mediocrity [. . .] He’ll run through a wall if that’s what is necessary”. Born the son of a prostitute and a pimp, abandoned at age 3 years to fend for himself on the streets of Las Vegas, then adopted by a Utah family when he was 9 years old, Shirley’s life reads like a heart-wrenching TV drama. His tough luck hasn’t soured his outlook, though he is the first to admit that his dishevelled childhood has made him very independent. Shirley is both articulate and analytical about his success to date and his future plans. To him, “competing isn’t just about running down a track [. . .] Lots of opportunities and responsibilities go along with the sport”; Shirley—who was named United Nations Role Model of the 21st Century—does talking engagements to help motivate children, delivering the message that: “The only person that can make things happen is you”. He advises the children who attend to surround themselves with people who will help them get where they are going. The key people who have guided his own success include Hoddle and his adoptive parents. Shirley credits his parents with infinite patience: “Against most odds, they took me into their home [. . .] My parents are the reason why I am able to see life in a new light.” His proudest moment was having his parents watch him compete in Athens: “It meant a lot to have them there and to have them see what they helped to mould.” Technology has helped shape his success. “[It] has allowed me not to run faster, but not have to work so hard. Athletic ability and tenacity of the human spirit will always drive technology”, observes Shirley. Thanks to his own input, he wears a prosthesis for sprinting that is a world away from the cumbersome mass any amputee would wear to go shopping. Despite his overwhelming success, Shirley believes that there is life after sport and besides it and, when he retires from running, he hopes to become a designer of high-performance prosthetics. “For me, [running has] been a means to an end. If it were taken away from me tomorrow, I could live without it”, he insists. However, it has been a “foundation for my life and what I hope to become someday. Much like a carpenter has his tools, track is my tool to make something great.” He wanted to be a fighter pilot, but that changed after his accident. He has, however, held a pilot’s licence for 6 years, and is working towards a degree in aeronautical engineering: “I’ve got a PhD in track and field. Now I’d just like a degree in something else.” www.thelancet.com Medicine and Sport Vol 366 December 2005
Angela Pirisi
c/o The Lancet (A Pirisi BA) Correspondence to: Ms Angela Pirisi [email protected]
An accidental run-in with a lawnmower left Marlon Shirley an amputee at age 5 years, but he has only allowed calamity to frame his success. Turning adversity to fierce advantage, Shirley rose from street kid to world-class athlete, and garnered a reputation as the fastest amputee in the world. He has set and broken countless world records, his victories including winning gold medals in the 100 m sprint at the Paralympics in Sydney, Australia (11·09 s), and in Athens, Greece (11·08 s). He also set the current world record for long jump (6·78 m) at the 2003 World Championships in Lille, France. Shirley hasn’t let terms such as disabled and disadvantaged brand him. In 2005, he made the difficult decision to drop out of the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, UK, because of a hamstring injury: “It was the first time I’ve ever pulled out of a competition”, he says, pointing out that he once ran a race with two broken arms. For someone who was “never really that into sports”, the 27-year-old managed to casually break a world record while competing in a local track and field meet in Pocatello, Idaho, in 1997, and became the first amputee to run a sub-11 second 100 m (he ran it in 10·97 s). That event launched his career, since US Paralympics National Program Director for Track and Field, Bryan Hoddle, S12
witnessed the feat and invited Shirley to train with him. “He went from never running the 100 m to being the fastest amputee in the world in 3 short years. To me, that’s amazing”, says Hoddle. But even more impressive is that Shirley lay down some crutches to break that record. He had fractured his left leg during a game of basketball, but decided to join a friend and compete nonetheless. His former coach adds, “Shirley isn’t satisfied with mediocrity [. . .] He’ll run through a wall if that’s what is necessary”. Born the son of a prostitute and a pimp, abandoned at age 3 years to fend for himself on the streets of Las Vegas, then adopted by a Utah family when he was 9 years old, Shirley’s life reads like a heart-wrenching TV drama. His tough luck hasn’t soured his outlook, though he is the first to admit that his dishevelled childhood has made him very independent. Shirley is both articulate and analytical about his success to date and his future plans. To him, “competing isn’t just about running down a track [. . .] Lots of opportunities and responsibilities go along with the sport”; Shirley—who was named United Nations Role Model of the 21st Century—does talking engagements to help motivate children, delivering the message that: “The only person that can make things happen is you”. He advises the children who attend to surround themselves with people who will help them get where they are going. The key people who have guided his own success include Hoddle and his adoptive parents. Shirley credits his parents with infinite patience: “Against most odds, they took me into their home [. . .] My parents are the reason why I am able to see life in a new light.” His proudest moment was having his parents watch him compete in Athens: “It meant a lot to have them there and to have them see what they helped to mould.” Technology has helped shape his success. “[It] has allowed me not to run faster, but not have to work so hard. Athletic ability and tenacity of the human spirit will always drive technology”, observes Shirley. Thanks to his own input, he wears a prosthesis for sprinting that is a world away from the cumbersome mass any amputee would wear to go shopping. Despite his overwhelming success, Shirley believes that there is life after sport and besides it and, when he retires from running, he hopes to become a designer of high-performance prosthetics. “For me, [running has] been a means to an end. If it were taken away from me tomorrow, I could live without it”, he insists. However, it has been a “foundation for my life and what I hope to become someday. Much like a carpenter has his tools, track is my tool to make something great.” He wanted to be a fighter pilot, but that changed after his accident. He has, however, held a pilot’s licence for 6 years, and is working towards a degree in aeronautical engineering: “I’ve got a PhD in track and field. Now I’d just like a degree in something else.” www.thelancet.com Medicine and Sport Vol 366 December 2005