an online magazine from eyeway.org
an online magazine from eyeway.org
issue 1 
september-october 2004
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other sections in this issue: by george | perspectives | profile | headlines | forum
An athlete remembers
"I was not really concerned with the results. I ran because I enjoyed running"
I have been passionately involved with athletics since the age of 8. My first-ever race was in Class 4, a 6x100m relay in which my team finished last. Since then, I started participating in the school athletics meets with great enthusiasm but the results continued to be poor.
Since I was on the heavy side, I always found myself competing with older boys. I invariably finished last. I was not really concerned with the results. I ran because I enjoyed running. I loved speed and greatly relished the feel of the cool morning breeze on my face. Morning exercises and runs became part of my daily routine.
After six years of persistent trying, fortune finally smiled at me. I was in Class 9 and I won my first prize ever in athletics, 2nd in the 100m and 2nd in the 1500m. I was thrilled. My friends and teachers were surprised. From this point on, I went onto become the top athlete of the school.
Concentrating on the sprints, I won several prizes at the District, State and Regional level athletics meets. Once I established myself as a sprinter, I received coaching from the school P.T.I. (Physical Training Instructor). He told me that as a sprinter, I needed to focus my training efforts on getting a powerful and quick start, maintaining a steady acceleration and putting in the final burst at the end. He told me, “You begin the race with short steps; as you accelerate, the strides become higher and longer and the arms begin pumping harder.”
I believe that being visually impaired was certainly no handicap. It was the love for the short distance sprints, discipline, persistent practice and the never say die attitude that brought me results. Though my tryst with athletics ended with my schooling, the learning from it are still as real and relevant.
Related stories:
Run, Marla, run
Jyoti Maggu: "Blindness is not a handicap"
Sports associations for the blind
Assistance for blind sportspersons