Strength, desire and confidence mixed in with some anxiety can be ingredients for the merits of athletic achievement. It means much more for those in training for next summer’s Beijing Paralympics.
The goals are lofty, but two world-record-holding athletes with prosthetic assistance are undergoing strenuous drills at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista.
Sprinter and long-jumper Marlon Shirley, 29, and high jumper Jeff Skiba, 23, spoke in tandem of their abilities with prostheses below the knee before a December luncheon audience at San Diego’s Hall of Champions in Balboa Park.
The world travelers have faced competition in Sweden, England, France, Australia, Brazil and the Netherlands. Now a gold medal is the primary prize.
Through tremendous hard work and dedication to rehabilitation, Shirley rebounded from knee surgery for the 2006 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships, where he earned gold in the long jump and 4-by-100 meter relay. With a healthy knee and 100 percent of his focus, he’s back on track.
“Everything in life can be keyed to athletics,” he said. “You learn true dedication. When you’re out on the track, you can’t hide your adversity. If you step back and think about it, it can cost you a gold medal. People may not understand it, but I still want to be a better athlete.”
Competition is tough. Since he won by only three one-hundredths of a second in setting the record of 10.97 in the long jump he has reached an incredible 24 feet.
Abandoned by his mother at age 3, Shirley found a way to survive by living with other kids on the streets of Las Vegas. He eventually found his way into the foster care system.
Tragedy struck again at age 5, when he lost his left foot in a lawn mower accident. Several years later, a high school football injury resulted in further amputation of the lower part of the same leg.
“As long as I prepare myself I don’t feel the pressure,” said Shirley, who has had prostheses since 1997. “When I blew out my knee in a long jump, I did have moments of doubt.”
He wants to work more with his program, called Champions in Life for foster kids and the homeless, and look for methods to sell his story.
“I lived in the orphan system,” he said. “I found a way to overcome it and it never held me back.”
Skiba, who is from Sammanish, Wash., spoke of his training full time. He is a two-time defending world champion, the 2004 Paralympic silver medalist and current Paralympic world record holder for the high jump, at 6 feet, 10 and three-quarter inches.
In Boston last February, Skiba became the first Paralympic athlete to compete at the U.S. Indoor Track and Field National Championships against able-bodied athletes.
His lower leg was amputated because of a childhood disability. He, too, learned of more obstacles when he fractured a leg.
“Coming to Chula Vista [Olympic training site] was a real transition in my life, particularly because it was a sacrifice being away from my family,” he said. “I never feared about failure and making changes. I wanted to reach my full potential. Unless you set your goals high, you’ll never know what you can accomplish.
“It’s in your mind about what you want to achieve. In growing up I never thought of myself as being disabled. I have great response from the prosthetic and get plenty of bounce. If I nick it, I take it to the shop and have it bumped out.”
For more information on the International Paralympic Committee, visit www.ipc-athletics.org.