Amazement, admiration… are the words that describe Lamin Manneh, an athlete who lost both legs and one arm, who caused a sensation with his tremendous achievements at the 2017 games for military personnel with disabilities.
Lamin Manneh comes from Gambia, and served in the 1st Battalion with the Irish Guards. In 2010, he was deployed to Afghanistan to provide security for farmers who were having trouble with Taliban insurgents.
Unfortunately for Lamin Manneh, the very next day a bomb exploded, leaving him critically injured. After 2 weeks in hospital, where the doctors did everything they could to treat him, a miracle came. The Gambian soldier woke up to see his wife beside him, her face full of sadness as she told him that he had lost both legs and one arm.
In the days that followed, Lamin Manneh felt as though everything had collapsed. He cried a great deal. But with extraordinary determination, Manneh overcame that painful time and gradually found his motivation to live again through sport.
At the 2016 games for military personnel with disabilities, Lamin Manneh won 2 bronze medals, and from then on he grew ever stronger. At this year’s games for military personnel with disabilities, this athlete shone brilliantly with 4 medals, including a gold medal in the shot put, a bronze in rowing, and 2 silvers in the discus and volleyball.
The story of Lamin Manneh has spread everywhere, becoming a great inspiration for many people with disabilities around the world. In an interview with the BBC, he himself passed on the message: “Just keep chasing your dreams, however hard life is. Come to sport, come to the games for people with disabilities, and you will find inspiration for life”.
According to Nhat Quang (Compiled from the BBC) (Kham Pha) – http://www.24h.com.vn