The Stories Of These 5 Athletes Will Motivate Everyone Of You

1. Kieran Behan, gymnast.

Imagine being told that you will never walk again! That was what doctors told Kieran after they removed
a cancerous tumor from his thigh at the age of 10. The operation went badly, so badly in fact, that he
woke up screaming in pain from massive nerve damage. Up to then, he had been crazy about gymnastics
and was determined to become an Olympic champion. But how could he do that when he could not
even walk now and was confined to a wheelchair?

Kieran was going to show them and he started on the long road to recovery. He was 15 months in a
wheelchair but he persevered and was back in the gym. But within a few a months he slipped from the
high bar and sustained a terrible head injury. He was so badly injured that frequent blackouts happened
when he literally blinked. He missed a whole year at school but the gym was beckoning again. This time
though, he had to overcome the challenges of that awful injury. He had to retrain his brain and get back
his co-ordination. He returned to school using a walking stick and was cruelly taunted by his classmates.

It then took him three years to get back to where he had been before the awful accident. But he
suffered several fractures. Then another blow came when his knee snapped just after he had been
selected for the European Championships. Behan has said that was when he was about to give up.

But he never gave up and succeeded in becoming the Challenge World Cup floor champion.in 2011, and
his greatest moment of glory was when he qualified for the London 2012 Olympics. He had become an
Olympic athlete after being through terrible pain, trauma and setbacks. A glorious example of the
Olympic spirit.

3. Bethany Hamilton, surfer.

Bethany Hamilton grew up in Hawaii so it is not surprising to learn that by the age of 7, she was already
able to surf waves. In 2003, a terrible tragedy struck when a shark bit off her left arm. As she recovered,
she made two promises to herself. The first was that she would not moan about her terrible misfortune
and the second was that she would get back on the surfboard. Another person would have been
resigned to failure. But not Bethany Hamilton. After only 26 days, she was surfing again! She is now
ranked as among the top 50 female surfers in the world. She also won first prize in the Explorer
Women’s Division of the NSSA National Championships.

She overcame many obstacles before becoming successful as a one armed surfer. She had moments of
sheer frustration when adjusting to her disability. The accident was instrumental in helping her
overcome difficult moments but above all taught her how to defeat her fear in scary moments. She has
dedicated much of her life to being a role model for young amputees. She has become an inspiration for
many girls going through amputation and adolescence through her Friends of Bethany charity.
AnnaSofia Robb and Dennis Quaid have starred in the film Soul Surfer (2011) which was inspired by
Bethany’s amazing story.
5. Michael Phelps, swimmer.

Michael Phelps is considered the greatest Olympian swimmer of all time. Everyone thought that no
swimmer would be able to win 8 gold medals in just one Olympic Games. Michael did just that and he
has 19 Olympic medals, 15 of which are gold! The remarkable thing about him is that as a child he
suffered from ADHD and was on medication for some of that time. Most people assume that people
with ADHD suffer from restlessness, impulsiveness and a very short attention span. But they also have
an incredible capacity to remain hyperfocused on an activity they are passionate about. Michael has
been able to use this with enormous success. By channelling his energy and focus, he has been able to
exploit the positive side of ADHD.

Phelps has shown that he can beat the most disciplined and strongest swimmers in the world and is an
inspiring example to anyone who suffers from a mental disorder or other disability. He has another
secret in that he uses the power of visualizing success before he starts any swim. He started this process
when he was only 7 years old. He realized there were no limits to success and once you are passionate
about your objective, nothing can stop you.

“Nobody is going to put a limit on what I’m doing. I’m going to do what I want to do, when I want to do
it. That is how I have always worked. If I want something I am going to go and get it.”- Michael Phelps.
If you feel exhausted or discouraged after your next marathon, just think about one of these inspiring
champions before you actually give up!