Brave Afghan athlete gets new limb after race of his life

AN Afghan teenager who lost his left leg and part of his right foot in a landmine explosion ran the race of his life yesterday despite being in excruciating pain caused by his ill-fitting prosthetic limb.

Delegation assistant James Fegan said 14-year-old Sardar Sardar had to endure severe discomfort from sores and abscesses around the site of his knee while competing.

Yesterday, the courageous teenager took silver in the 100 metre race before being fitted for a new prosthesis by specialist Dr Tony Conlon, at Dublin’s Blanchardstown Hospital.

The teenager has already been fitted with a special insole for his right foot but will have to wait until Monday until his new artificial limb is ready.

Sardar, who was badly injured in the landmine explosion two years ago, will continue competing using his ill-fitting prosthetic limb but efforts have been made to make it less painful for him.

He is due to run the final of the 200 metres today and will be participating in the 400 metres relay tomorrow.

Sardar is just one of over 5,000 special Olympics athletes who have taken part in the Healthy Athletes programme at the RDS in Dublin. They are benefiting from badly needed care from hundreds of volunteer health professionals from Ireland and around the world.

Mr Fegan said he had not noticed that Sardar, a talented athlete with a strong fighting spirit, was in pain.

“It was only when clinical director Mary Moore who designed the Fit Feet programme examined him that we realised how badly he was suffering,” Mr Fegan said.

Meanwhile, an RTÉ radio crew have pitched in to help a 22-year-old Guatemalan athlete to pay for his bike.

Luis Canel, who has won medals in every cycling competition that he entered in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, still owes half the cost of his bike, the other half having been met by fundraising.

Special Olympics Guatemala agreed to pay for his ticket to Ireland but were not in a position to pay for his bike. The shop owner let Luis take the bike with him to Ireland on the basis that he would pay the balance when he returned.

Unfortunately, there is very little prospect of Luis, one of a family of eight, being able to pay off his debt.

His mother died eight years ago and his father has abandoned his family. Because of his disability, he has been disowned by all but two of his siblings.

Despite his predicament, Luis couldn’t hide his happiness this week when he stood on the podium to receive one of his medals.

“I love it here,” he said, “It makes me feel good.”

Damien O’Reilly of RTÉ Radio said they did not want Luis to be anxious about having to pay for his bike when he got home.

“The athletes here have given us so much. It really is a small price for us to pay,” he said.