Only at 15 months of age, David Brown was diagnosed withKawasaki disease. He eventually sufferedglaucoma and complete blindness by the time he was 13 , but that didn’t prevent him from overcoming the obstacles and becoming a Paralympian champion .
Bornon October 19, 1992, in Kansas City, Missouri, her mother Francine decided to relocate the family to St. Louis so that David could attend a specialized school, the Missouri School for the Blind, where his journey at track and field would begin.
But before that, he got involved in other sports and hobbies – until he won an essay competition to attendthe 2008 Beijing Paralympics. From then on, Brown began to pave the way to becoming the world’s fastest blind athlete.
David Brown’s world record as the fastest blind runner
David Brown (left) running alongside guide Jerome Avery in Rio 2016 Paralympics. (Getty)
Sports usually present us inspiring stories of overcoming adversity. But the Paralympics go way beyond by showing there are no impossibles in lifeand how one can overturnhardships to write history .
David Brownmay havebeen under a lot of sufferingwhen he lost his sight as a kid, but eventually he found histalent and went on to cement a legacy. In 2014, he became the first completely blind athlete to run 100m in less than 11 seconds, establishing a world record 10.92.
The 28-year-old hastasted Paralympic Games glory in Rio 2016 when he brought home gold in the 100m final. Now, he heads into Tokyo 2020 as the world’s fastest blind runner hoping to keep on sparking inspiration.
