Steven Bradbury, age 28, of Australia hasn’t always been known for his prowess on ice. In fact, you might say he is an accident waiting for a televised event to happen.
In 1994, Bradbury cut his leg in a World Cup skating competition and almost bled to death, losing four liters of blood and receiving 111 stitches. Just a year and a half ago, he crashed headfirst into the boards while training and broke his neck. He chose to defy doctors, who told him that if he skated again he risked permanent paralysis. He staged a comeback in time for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
Steven Bradbury was, in many commentators’ opinions, the least likely skater to win a medal–any medal–at the games. And yet he won gold.
Bradbury’s victory is remarkable not only because he had encountered so many setbacks and defeats, but because he won it after the other four skaters in the event fell down just before the finish.
You could almost see Bradbury thinking, “I’m still standing up. I’m crossing the finish line. I just won the race!”
He skated from last to first in a split second.
Adapted from Reuters.com (2-17-02) and the “Sydney Morning Herald;” submitted by Clark Cothern, Tecumseh, Michigan