Blake Leeper to speak accomplishments
KINGSPORT – Blake Leeper will speak at the Kingsport Renaissance Center from 6pm – 8pm on December 29th 2011.‚ ‚ Leeper of Church Hill, Tennessee will be speaking on the hardships and triumphs of becoming a US Paralympic athlete. His will to compete and his never give up attitude has pushed him to obtain the following awards:
2011: Silver medal, 4x100m relay (T42-46) – IPC Athletics World Championships, Christchurch, New Zealand
2010: Second place, 100m T43, 400m T43; third place, 200m T43 ‚¬ U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships, Miramar, Florida
2009: First place, 100m, 200m, 400m ‚¬ The Endeavor Games, Edmond, Oklahoma
2009: Second place, 200m; third place, 100m ‚¬ International Meeting Lotteries, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ever since Blake Leeper was a child, hes been determined to be a star athlete. Growing up playing basketball and baseball, Leeper competed on his high schools varsity basketball team.
Leeper is a bilateral below-the-knee amputee and has been using prosthetics since the age of nine.‚ He recently obtained a grant from Challenged Athletes Foundation to receive a pair of running prosthetics. Since receiving his running legs, Leeper has been unstoppable. Hes competed at several events, including Endeavor Games and the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field National Championships. Leeper has chosen track & field as his sport of choice because he loves to run and enjoys competing in a sport that is extremely intense and competitive.
Being a member of Team USA is an honor to Leeper. He said, It gives me a sense of importance, and a chance to compete and to be a competitor. Leeper is also currently training to qualify to compete at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He has been training daily as well as competing in as many competitions as he possibly can.