Arizona State’s, Anthony Robles, has just won the National Wrestling Championship in the 125lb weight class. What makes this feat a big deal? Anthony only has one leg. USA Today reports:
Born with one leg, Robles took the 125-pound title Saturday night with a 7-1 win over defending champion Matt McDonough of Iowa. Robles’ three-day performance here earned him the Outstanding Wrestler award.
For Robles, it was the finish to a 36-0 senior season and a journey begun when he took up wrestling as a high school freshman in Mesa, Ariz. He was anything but a dominator at the start.
“I was a terrible wrestler, only about 90 pounds, but my mom told me God made me for a reason, and I believe that reason was for wrestling,” says Robles, who was given a standing ovation on the podium by a sellout crowd of 17,687 at the Wells Fargo Center.
“I wrestle because I love wrestling,” he said. “But it inspires me when I get kids, even adults, who write me on Facebook or send me letters in the mail saying that I’ve inspired them, and they look up to me, and they’re motivated to do things that other people wouldn’t have thought possible.”
This story is really what sports – and life, to some extent – is all about; overcoming adversity, pushing one’s own limits and acheiving what so many would believe to be impossible. Well done, Anthony. You’ve not only inspired the disabled, but you’ve shown the rest of us that we really have no excuses the next time we decide we can’t accomplish something.
[PhotoSource: gcobb.com]
