He's running for more than just a country

I was born with Spina Bifida.

I am not a double amputee like South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who was born without two fibulas and had to have his legs amputated when he was 11 months old, but our challenges have been similar.

I have spent my fair share of time in the sporting arena, playing wheelchair basketball and throwing the shot put and discus while attending Schaumburg High School.

As you may know, Pistorius won an appeal in May to the Court of Arbitration. The court overruled a decision that suggested his J-shaped blades gave him an unfair advantage.

Nicknamed "Blade Runner" because of his carbon-fiber prosthetic legs, Pistorius finished fourth this week in a 400-meter race in Milan with a time of 47.78 seconds. His lifetime best in that event is 46.36.

He's trying to reach the qualifying time of 45.55 seconds. He holds the Paralympic record of 46.56 in the 400-meter event.

He'll get another chance to make the qualifying time at the July 11 Golden Gala meet in Rome and again in Lucerne, Switzerland, five days later. He also could make it to Beijing as a member of the South African relay team, but that would depend on how his fellow countrymen perform.

Pistorius would not be the only amputee representing South Africa. Swimmer Natalie Du Toit will be com-peting in open-water swim event being held for the first time in Beijing.

And if Pistorius doesn't get to wear Olympic colors this summer, he's aiming for the 2012 games in London.

No matter what country that you find yourself cheering for in August, you must admire the achievements, time and energy that Pistorius and Du Toit have put in, not only in training but in fighting against those who told them that they would never achieve their goals.

In the end, it doesn't matter if Pistorius qualifies for the Olympics or Du Toit wins a medal because both have already shown they can achieve great things against huge odds.

I believe they are truly role models for amputees around the world. Hopefully they are for the rest of society as well. They embody the true meaning of what it means to be an Olympian.

When we come upon something we think we can't achieve, we can instead look at these heroes. With their help, we can remind ourselves that nothing is as bad as it seems and that, with the proper outlook, almost anything can be achieved.