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| “Pardon the pun, but technology has really allowed me to run with my talent,” says Connor. |
Earle Connor is proving to be a champion for the 21st century. In 2000, he won gold and silver medals at the Sydney, Australia, Paralympic Games, where he also set a world record in the men's 100-meter T42 event. In 2001 he racked up three more world track records. Connor had one spectacular summer in 2003 when he broke four world records: the 100 meters (12.14 seconds), 200 meters (26.66 seconds), and 400 meters (1 min 7.32 seconds) on the same day in Germany. Six days later, in Milan, he lowered his own 200-meter record to 26.40 seconds.
On May 10, 2004, he was the recipient of the coveted 2004 Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award (www.laureus.com/awards/index.php). That puts him in the same elite athlete class as Tiger Woods, Marion Jones, Lance Armstrong, Jennifer Capriati, and Pele, whom Laureus had previously recognized.
High-Tech Helps a Winner
But unlike those inspiring athletes, Connor has become a winner with the help of 21st-century technology. Having undergone surgical amputation above the knee when he was just three months old, Earle has been running on a Flex-Foot® Flex-Sprint" prosthetic foot and wearing a Ceterus" prosthetic foot for everyday use.
Both feet are made by Ossur, which has been sponsoring Connor since 1999, as well as a team of exceptional athletes, talented performers, and professionals from around the world who excel in their chosen sport or career. Team Ossur members include Marlon Shirley, the world's fastest amputee, who broke the 11-second barrier last summer by running the 100-meter event in 10.97 seconds; and Paul Martin who, on successive weekends competed in the Ironman in Hawaii, the Xterra World Championships on Maui, the San Diego Triathlon Challenge in California, and the Triathlon World Championships in Cancun, Mexico.
Talent Blooms Early
Connor involved in able-bodied sports until the age of 21 and was the first amputee ever drafted into an able-bodied junior hockey league. Then, "While watching the 1996 Paralympics, I saw the finishing time of the athlete who came in eighth in a track and field event and was convinced I could beat it," he says.
Sure that he could compete at that level, Connor packed his bags two weeks later and drove the 3,000 miles from his home in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, to Hamilton, Ontario, to train. He eventually settled in Calgary, Alberta, where he currently lives. He still trains four to five hours a day and works as a personal trainer, helping others achieve their goals.
Connor credits prosthetic technology for helping him to attain his own goals. Over the years he had used all types of prosthetic feet, from those with only the basic elements to the high-tech designs and engineering available from Ossur today. "In the next ten years, I know that amputees like me will have prostheses with even greater benefits," he says.
