It takes an enormous amount of hard work and dedication to become a legend in sports, but some athletes have to overcome more obstacles than others in their quest for greatness. Some athletes are born with physical disabilities, and others develop them later in life, but each athlete is able to work with their disability and excel at their sport. Here are a few athletes who have risen above their physical disabilities and become sports legends.
Alana Nichols: Olympic skier and wheelchair basketball player
At age 17, Alana Nichols was paralyzed from the waist down after hitting her spine on a rock during a snowboarding accident. But Nichols didn’t let the accident or her disability stop her love for sports. Nichols was first introduced to the sport of wheelchair basketball in 2002, two years after her accident. Nichols soon discovered she was incredibly talented at the sport and was offered a scholarship to the University of Arizona, where she played wheelchair basketball and earned a degree in communication.
Over the next few years, Nichols built up her career as a wheelchair basketball player, competing with the U.S. Women’s team in events such as the 2006 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, in which she won a silver medal. In 2008, Nichols made her Paralympic debut at the Beijing games, where the United States earned a gold medal in wheelchair basketball.
Immediately after the completion of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, Nichols shifted her focus from wheelchair basketball to learning alpine skiing. Much like wheelchair basketball, Nichols immediately excelled at alpine skiing. Throughout her alpine skiing career, Nichols has won two gold medals, one silver and one bronze medal at the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games in Vancouver, as well as another silver medal in the 2014 Winter Paralympic Games in Sochi. Nichols ultimately overcame any obstacles associated with her paralysis and became the first American woman to win medals in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
Baxter Humby: World champion kickboxer
Baxter Humby grew up with only one arm after needing to have the limb amputated below the elbow, which had become wrapped in the umbilical cord during birth. Humby didn’t let his disability stifle his interest in sports; instead, he began running track at the age of 11 and qualified to run with the Canadian National Paralympic Track Team in 1992 and 1994.
After much success in track, Humby began learning martial arts at the age of 17. In 1996, Humby won the Canadian Super Welterweight Kickboxing Championship and decided to pursue a professional kickboxing career, specializing in Muay Thai. Humby is currently the International Muay Thai Council World Super Welterweight Champion. He also holds a large number of title belts, including IKKC USA Kickboxing Champion, WBC Super Welterweight National Champion and the IKBA International Kickboxing Champion. As of 2015, Humby is the only man in the world to win a world title with only one hand.
Natalie du Toit: International swimming star
Natalie du Toit began swimming internationally at age 14 and quickly established herself as one of South Africa’s finest swimmers. But at the age of 17, she faced a setback in her career when she was hit by a car on her way to swim practice and had to have her left leg amputated at the knee. Du Toit decided to not let her accident end her swimming career and continued training without the aid of a prosthetic leg.
Du Toit competes against able-bodied athletes, as well as other athletes with physical disabilities. Since 2004, du Toit has earned a total of 29 medals in the Paralympic Games and the International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championship and a total of seven medals while competing against able-bodied athletes. She has not only competed in Paralympic events, but also in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She was the first female amputee swimmer to qualify for the Olympic Games and placed 16th out of 24 athletes in the 10,000-meter swim.
In 2012, du Toit officially retired from swimming during the 2012 Paralympic Games and now serves as a motivational speaker for the youth and other athletes with disabilities.
