E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
Kerim Okten / EPA
Blind Brazilian runner Terezinha Guilhermina and her guide Guilherme Soares de Santana react after crossing the finish line to win the Women's 100m T11 final at the Paralympic Games in London on Wednesday night.
Blind or partially-sighted athletes are permitted to use a guide runner in Paralympic races, but the guide is never permitted to cross the finish line before the blind runner. At the 2012 Games, guides became eligible for medals for the first time.
Video: Team USA guns for Oscar Pistorius in 100m showdown
24 hours earlier Guilhermina's bid for 400m glory was derailed when Soares de Santana tripped on the home straight, a moment captured in a series of heartbreaking images published on PhotoBlog.
But their despair was replaced by joy as Guilhermina took the 100m gold in a world record time of 12.01 seconds, adding to the 200m title she won on Sunday.
Suzanne Plunkett / Reuters
Kerim Okten / EPA
Julian Finney / Getty Images
Julian Finney / Getty Images
Related content:
- Oscar Pistorius sorry for timing, not content, of angry outburst at Paralympics
- Iraq vet: 'Now it's time to win' at Paralympics
- Ex-Marine Angela Madsen on her journey from homelessness to Paralympics
- Nightly News: Representing Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games
- 'Meet the Superhumans': Paralympians burst onto world stage
- More images from the Paralympic Games on PhotoBlog
Leave a Comment:
Kinda weird, but I get it I guess.
What is weird? These are beautiful pictures.
not weird at all. It's wonderful to see so many athletes competing. I am in awe of these folks, their determination and effort to be the best.
I wish it was on TV - we should be celebrating these folks accomplishments rather than seeing all the steroid cheaters who cry foul.
It looks a little odd to me also, not because I'm trying to make fun or anything. I've never seen a picture of a blind runner, maybe you others see this kind of thing all the time but it's new to me and like all novel things it seems weird or unusual at first, that's all-no cruelty intended.
Yes it for now does seems new/novel, but one day MAINSTREAM.......Praise be....These athletes are beautiful, talented, and brave.
The human spirit, thank you for showing us how far we can go!
This is a great story. The pictures of the fall are devastating.
Cheers to two of the most beautiful human beings on the planet.
Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. Thank goodness this had the outcome it should have!
My God - the undefinable human spirit - has no end - is buried deep within us just waiting to break free and run like the wind! Am in awe of this.
Beyond cool.
Whatever you are smoking, I hope you saved enough for the rest of us.
Scott, clearly by your comments listed a bit further, you are a pragmatist. To watch one give their best with what they have to work with is always to be held in the very highest regard - is all relative. You do your best with your basketball - I applaud you - you work at it for hours on end - don't make a single basket - I will stand an applaud your effort. What a shame we look at so much - with a try or two - give up - naw - just can't do it. That is where that deep human spirit comes in - and yup - it's there - just like any rock under the sediment - wash it - clean it - have no idea what might be. As a people we must have the hope in ourselves and each other. Pollyanna? Peter Pan? Dorothy and with a click of my heels?? Perhaps. Don't think so tho.
Hey Scott, I wish it was something I smoked - would be only to happy to share.
Wow. A very fair response that makes me feel bad about my sarcasm earlier. As Paul Simon's lyrics go "I want to rid my heart of envy, and cleanse my soul of rage ,before I'm through." Never stop trying.
Scott - don't be so hard on yourself. Like you, I learned it from another and since, I've never stopped trying. Ha! It doesn't always work out - but that has not stopped me nor will I ever let it. I don't need to be better than anyone else - I need to be the best for me. Think you will find when we focus on that - it only gets better. PS - Like Paul Simon too.
Now those... are REAL thunder thighs!!! The ground quakes beneath her awesomeness!!!
I thought I'd read the 5 comments posted just to see if some a$$ w7p3 would have something negative to say. Sad. 2 out of 5, but I'm not the least bit surprised. Your name fits you like a surgeon's latex glove...convenient for you to pull your head out.
12 seconds for 100m is awesome for those who can see... phenomenal for those who can't...
@Checkeredpasttag, Well stated! Thank you!
checkeredpasttag@aol.com,
I suppose in your rush to type out such a pathetic attempt to mock my comment you missed,
She has HUGE muscular thighs. Sure! I less than eloquently pointed that out. Sure! What I wrote may not have been the best... But your comment takes the cake! Seriously? Calling me an ass wipe? I'd be damned if you don't get smacked with the Code of Conduct Ban-Hammer, despite your Jr. High-ish attempt to censor your words.
Now take your impotent rage, along with your surgeon gloves, and go find your flashlight... You'll need them to find where you need to pull your head from.
Oh, and Jessie... on my behalf, you are NOT welcome!
I got the impression that Chris was quite impressed with those thunder thighs. I did not think it was meant in a negative way. Some folks seem to be a bit trigger happy in here.
This beautiful. This is the defining spirit of competitive sports. ViVa Brazil! ViVa Guilhermina!
Very cool.
that guys going to get some tail tonight.
This is the nicest and most pleasant article I have read on the internet in a very long time.
Get rid of the articles about lying politcians and politics in general and give us more articles to read about REAL people.
That top picture has got to be one of the weirdest looking pictures in sports history but more power to them.
To each his own - what I see is a human being captured at the the zenith of a path they have fought and worked for - having given their best - having achieved. We can talk about it - the camera captured it to share with us, if only from the sidelines. Brilliant.
PJ-547553 - I agree. I could be wrong but I suspect that picture is taken right at the line and it shows how the guide knows they have won. She can't see where the other competitors are so she is pushing through the finish with no idea of the result. It takes a special determination to push oneself to the limit when you don't know where your competition is.
I remember a time when the Olympic were about human triumph and the purity of the sport(s). Now it is about professionals and endorsements. It is good to know and see that the Paralympics has not lost its way.
Awesome story! These people are not letting their disability make their life miserable.
Absolutely awesome! Congrats to both of them!
How cool is that!
Sweet!!!
Sheesh ...The Main Photo Is WEIRD Looking
Why? Because of the mask? The incredible leg muscles that prove she isn't just faking being an athlete? She is strong and gorgeous. Good on her.
maybe if she took off the blind fold she wouldnt be blind?
Looks like the guide runner needs his own Olympics. The Parahelperlympics.
Amazing, awesome. Bravo.
is it just me or does this picture look like a saturday night skit?
It would be a lot more fun to watch if they didn't give them guides and we got to see them run into each other, go the wrong way, and just generally fail.
Ha-ha! YES Scott - much like you do...with your 20/20 vision! Ha-Ha!
I've always wanted to be a multimillionaire basketball player. But I have been unfairly held back by my complete lack of any athletic ability whatsoever. So, I had a choice - wait until they came out with a Gimp Basketball league in which I could excel, or devote my life to something I might actually be objectively good at.
Self-esteem is great - really! Good job! But this whole phenomenon of lauding the legless dancer or blind runner is ridiculous. What is next - Science Fairs for the stupid? Why should they be denied the opportunity to excel at something just because they aren't any good at it?
Brings tears to my f*cking eyes!
12.01 for the 110m is just fabulous, blind or sighted. I should not be, but I am still shocked at the number of folks who find it humorous to make fun of those with disabilities. Remember - it may be your turn tomorrow.
What an absolutely awesome and inspiring story!
Awesome!