Page 40 - ABILITY Magazine - Avril Lavigne Issue

“I know what I need to do,” Leeper said. “I know where I need to be. I know how to recover better. I know how to rest. Everything is a factor. When I went to London, I was 21 about to turn 22. I was excited with so much energy. Now, I’m older and know how to bottle up the energy and conserve it.”
Leeper is clear, however, that the Paralympic competition should not be considered second-tier.
Leeper is hoping to spread that energy a bit wider. He has big plans for the Paralympic Games, but his goal is to duplicate Pistorius’s feat and compete in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as well.
Eight runners make the final of the 400-meters event. Pis- torius’s Paralympic winning time of 46.88 was slower than the Olympic race’s eighth-place time of 45.14. Leep- er’s silver medal time in the Paralympic race was 50.14, about 5 seconds slower than the Olympic eighth-place finisher. So clearly, Leeper’s times need to drop.
“I’ve got to develop better mechanics to become a better runner,” Leeper said. “The 200 and 400 are my main goals. I want to get my 400 time down to potentially competing against able-bodied runners. That’s my goal.”
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Pistorius ran a quali- fying time of 45.44 to earn a spot in the Olympics, rank- ing him 16th among 23 qualifiers. That gives Leeper hope in himself and hope in showing that Paralympic sport is indeed elite competition.
If Leeper’s times qualify him for the Olympic Games, he would be the first American Paralympic sprinter to compete as a double-amputee in the Olympics. Leeper sees it as an opportunity for himself to compete on
“I just think it’s a great chance for me to shed some light on the Paralympics and the stories of the US Para- lympics,” Leeper said. “For me to say I want to be one of the fastest runners in the world, legs or no legs, that will be a true testament to the Paralympics in that we produce champions. The standards to be a Paralympian are at a high level.
yet another big stage, but also as an opportunity for Paralympics overall.
“When Pistorius crossed over, at the beginning it brought so much good publicity to the Paralympics,” Leeper said. “People would see him in the Olympics and ask him about the Paralympics. I saw that first-hand. It’s a chance for the world to know more about Paralympics.”
by Josh Pate
USOC got a great shot of Leeper at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Nationals
“I’m not saying that Paralympic competition is not as good as the Olympics,” Leeper said. “Our times are just as fast as able-bodied runners.”
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