Published: August 21, 2008 12:00 am            

Paralympic athletes get their shot

A year ago, Jim Bob Bizzell's life changed. When the day started, the Odessa, Texas, native was an active young man on two legs. Then in the blink of an eye, he wasn't.

"I got in a motorcycle accident March 26, 2007," Bizzell said. "I was riding a wheelie, gave it too much gas and it came back on top of me and the ground just chopped my foot off. I knew on the way to the hospital that it was going to get amputated."

Instead of feeling sorry for himself or thinking his life was over, the 22-year-old Texan decided while his body may have changed, his life was not going to.

"I was laying in the hospital room the next morning when I told my family I was going to run track again," Bizzell said. "I knew instantly."

With the help of Scott Sabolich Prosthetics -- Research of Oklahoma City, Bizzell has been able to do that.

"I became an all-American at McMurry University," Bizzell said, "became an All-American in the mile relay and sprint relay."

Now Bizzell has his sights set on an even bigger prize. Tuesday Sabolich had Bizzell, Katrin Green and Earle Connor at Oklahoma's Everest Training Center preparing for the upcoming 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games. They will be part of the more than 300 athletes from around the world competing in the games, which start Sept. 6.

Sabolich and his Oklahoma-based clinic were selected as the prosthetic support team for Team USA for the Paralympics. This is his fourth time attending the games, but the first time working for Team USA.

"Not only do I have USA athletes, but I also have German and Canadian athletes," Sabolich said. "And this is sort of our last week that all my top athletes fly in and we do all of our testing, tuning and tweaking. We pack everything up in crates and we ship it to Beijing."

Team USA will have nearly 60 athletes competing. Sabolich will be in charge of keeping all of them up and running.

However, Sabolich's clients span beyond the borders of the United States. Even though she lives in Edmond, Green is competing for her native country of Germany and Connor is on the Canadian squad.

This will be Connor's third trip to the Paralympics, and maybe his last. As a 32-year old, he doesn't know how much longer he will be able to keep holding off the new breed of 100-meter sprinters.

"Things hurt that never used to hurt," he said. "It's time to maybe close that chapter."

Connor, born without a left foot, has reached the point where he can be called a dominant athlete. He has not lost a race in 11 years.

"For me, going to the Paralympics is the culmination of four years of work. This will be my third games. On a personal front, it means so much to get to the top. And I will be going there trying to defend my crown from four years ago and eight years. It's basically keeping that title as the world fastest amputee."

Connor holds the world record in the 100-meter at 12.08 seconds. He hopes to break the 12-second mark during this year's games.

"It's not so much about the glory," Connor said, "it's just keeping that title as the world's fastest until I retire. It signifies my place in the sport and is a good way to go out."

While Connor is a Paralympic veteran, Green is making her first trip.

"It's the fulfilling of my dreams. I have been working for this for eight years. I am now at my peak performance and I hope I get to prove what I have been training for."

Green lost her leg at age 5 while working on a farm in Germany. She said they were testing a new mower when a blade detached and severed her foot.

"When you lose your foot at age 5, you really don't ever worry about will I be able to find a husband, or a job or anything like that," the 23-year-old Green said. "You just want to climb trees and run with the other kids in school."

However, Green is now using her until recently untapped athletic abilities to travel the world, meet new people and live a life she might never have had.

"I love doing this, but it is more like a big hobby," Green said. "It would be an amazing achievement, something I can tell my children. But in life I have bigger goals ... my husband, a family and getting college done. For me sports is just one part of my life, not the whole thing."

Regardless of why they are going or how they got there, the athletes competing in the games have one thing in common.

"Just the same as Michael Phelps, and all the other Olympians, to get to represent their country at the Olympics, it's the same thing for the Paralympics," Sabolich said. "It's a huge honor. These are the best of the best of the physically disabled people."

Michael Kinney 366-3537 mkinney@normantranscript.com

        

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