Chloe Manning
Mrs. Galaviz
English 12
5 March 2015 Aimee Mullins Could you imagine running without legs below the knee or discovering you would have to live with a serious disability for the rest of your life? Aimee Mullins has been living a life without legs since she was about a year old. Many people suffer with disabilities, but the way Mullins handles her disadvantage is what makes her so amazing. Mullins has moved people in many ways, from her modeling career to her astonishing performance in the 1996 Paralympics. The story of Aimee Mullins is inspiring because of the positive, upbeat way she lives her life. This is illustrated by her accident, rehabilitation, and who she is today. Mullins was born on July 20, 1976, in one of Pennsylvania’s most populated cities, Allentown (“Biography” 1). Growing up in Allentown her whole life, Mullins grew to love the city and most of all, the United…show more content… Although at first Mullins was not always winning, she had the speed and talent to succeed. Mullins was given her first pair of sprinting legs while brainstorming with doctors. She began wearing a new pair of legs that no one had ever seen before. Mullins was the first person to be outfitted with woven carbon-fiber prostheses that were modeled after the hind legs of a cheetah (“Paralympics” 2). She began winning and determined she would work towards the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta, Georgia. Mullins began running on her new legs for Paralympics placement, and then her greatest fear came true. It was very warm summer in Washington D.C., and Mullin’s leg began to slip off and out of their sockets causing her to lose races (“Aimee I” 1). Gagliano kept pushing Mullins to get over the fear and forced her to compete in the 200 meter race. Mullins began to forget about the slipping leg and realized that true bravery is not the absence of fear, but the ability to conquer it (“Paralympics”