When a Blade Runner ran on the wrong track!

We always look for stories / life that inspire us. In a world full of "selfies" - in terms of the selfish lives, that is - a motivating life is just a fantasy. We live in shades of grey. There are moments of greatness followed by moments of madness. How else can we explain the recent trend of suicides, especially those who are known and followed? A popular politician's wife (not yet confirmed if its suicide), an ex-superstar of the south and a corporate biggie - all powerful enough to motivate us succumbed to one moment of madness and scarred their life imprint beyond recognition!

There was this child, born on 22nd November 1986. He had a certain deformity in both legs (fibular hemimelia) that forced both his legs to be amputated when he was barely 11 months old. He didn't give up. He was passionate towards sports. He participated in sporting events and played all the games he can play despite the obvious disability. He continued growing and improving in this sporting culture and went on to represent his country, South Africa, in various Paralympics and even Olympics events. In 2012, he become the first double amputee to participate in Olympics. He is known by the name "Oscar Pistorius" - popularly known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest runner with no legs". 

Isn't that an inspiring story of a sports athlete overcoming all odds to conquer the world and motivating everyone to achieve their dreams. He once said - You are not disabled by the disabilities you have. You are able by the abilities you have. These are the stories we seek and stories that inspire us to overcome our hurdles in life and achieve the dreams we dreamt for.

What's described above are his moments of greatness. Now comes the moment of madness. On the 14th of February 2013, ironically on Valentines Day, Pistorius was accused of killing his girlfriend at his home. One side of the story was that he intentionally killed his girlfriend by firing 4 shots through the bathroom door, three of which hit her. The other side of the story was that Pistorius thought his girlfriend was in the bed and the person inside the bathroom was an intruder and shot at him / her so as to defend him and his girlfriend. Whatever the truth is, it became Oscar's moment of madness and has now deprived him of the greatness he well and truly deserved. Its almost one year since the unfortunate incident and the case is yet to be resolved. This post is not intended to delve deeper into the murder case and its only appropriate that the law takes its own course and charge the criminal, if at all there is one. 

One bad decision in a life full of success is all its needed to etch a mark that can't be erased at all! Sports stars are no different here. Take Tiger Woods for example. He had everything going for him. A successful golfer, brands lining up with World Record deals, best of the best in sports. One indecisive phase - and that too in his personal life - robbed him of everything he had. But that's not the end of the story right? He came back and how! He regained the confidence of his fans and sponsors and, guess what, they all are behind him now. Isn't that a wonderful comeback story, personal life notwithstanding?

If success can happen again for Tiger Woods, I don't see any reason why it can't happen to Oscar Pistorius. The only condition here is - if he comes out of the murder trial. And if Oscar does makes a comeback and starts winning the way only he can, we will have another successful story to motivate us.