Even the fact that he was an amputee wouldn’t stop him from competing.

That day Shirley went on to clear the Paralympic World Record for high jump. His exceptional performance caught the eye of Brian Hoddle, a coach at the event that introduced Marlon to the Paralympics. He invited Shirley to train at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. After only a month at the training facility, Shirley entered a meet in southern California and cleared yet another high jump world record.

Marlon Shirley has never been one to let obstacles get in his way. As a young child who moved from foster home to foster home, he lost his leg when he was five years old after an accident with a lawn mower. It wasn’t until he was nine years old that he moved in with a permanent family from Utah; a nice Mormon family named the Shirley’s. Though he had trouble adjusting to his new life, often in trouble with school and the law, his life began to change with a new opportunity…sports.

Shirley soon moved to Washington where he began training, and then qualified to compete in the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia. His “disability” was one no longer, as he broke the Paralympic World Record in the 100 meters and took silver in the high jump.

“My leg is my greatest strength and my greatest weakness,” said Shirley, who became a superstar overnight and was coined the “golden boy” of the Paralympic Games.

Soon after the Paralympic Games in Sydney, Shirley returned to the Chula Vista Olympic Training Center to begin training for the next Paralympic Games. He decided to shift his focus from high jump to the 100 meter sprint.  Since making that decision, he has gone on to equal or break world records, gaining him the title of world’s fastest amputee.

At the Olympic Training Center, Shirley trains alongside other Paralympic athletes, as well as able-bodied athletes that share the same intensity and desire to compete in the Olympic or Paralympic Games.  In fact, Shirley does that and more, proving his world class athlete status by continuously racing able-bodied sprinters and often times, beating them.

“I consider my self like everyone else,” he explained about his ability in comparison to able body athletes.

Shirley has managed to turn what most people would consider a tragedy into a successful career, earning sponsorships with major companies such as McDonald’s, Visa, Oakley, and Home Depot.

“(It’s) one of the best things that happened to me,” he said about the accident that happened so long ago.

Shirley, who is now training for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, is confident in what the future has in store for him.

In ten years of competing, he has yet to lose in a major competition, making him a pivotal force in raising the level of elite competition in Paralympic track and field.

“I believe that what I have is something you’ve never seen before and something you’ll never forget,” he said.