Biography

Biography:

Over the last 28 years, Marlon Shirley has endured many challenging situations, including many which would have caused an average person to break down. But Marlon Shirley is no average person. In 2000, Marlon became the 100 meter Gold Medalist at the Sydney Paralympic Games. This kicked off an incredible journey that would result in Marlon not only being the fastest amputee in the world but also a world class athlete with three World Records...in the 100 meter, 200 meter and Long Jump. In fact, Marlon not only has become the first amputee to break the 11 second barrier but he has run it in an astounding 10.97 seconds.

At the age of five when kids should be playing and laughing with friends and family, Marlon Shirley was on the streets of Las Vegas finally being moved in and out of orphanages. While living in the Nevada Children’s home a tragic accident with a riding lawnmower resulted in the amputation of his left foot at the ankle. Despite this trauma in his life and so much working against him, Marlon felt blessed when to he was finally connected with a loving family through his adoption by the Shirley family in Northern Utah. From that time to the present Marlon persisted from one challenge to the next, and, with the support of his family, friends, coaches and fans, he has not only developed into a highly disciplined and successful athlete, but has raised the bar in the development of prosthetic technology while dedicating himself to helping others less fortunate than himself.

Marlon rounds out his success on the track with many other dreams and hobbies, including being an avid pilot with schooling in Aeronautical Engineering. His other interests include golfing, off-road racing, R.C. modeling, photography, snowboarding and anything that people tell him he can’t do.

Marlon lives in San Diego and trains at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA, currently training with the High Performance Paralympic Team under coach Juaquim Cruz and Troy Engle. His current focus is on the 2008 Beijing Paralympic games, where he plans on going for five medals, thus, “The Drive for Five”. This feat would be unprecedented in his sport given the level of excellence in competition that has developed in the Paralympic program.

Marlon has won several awards for his accomplishments including ‘The Role Model of the 21st Century” in 2003, the 2005 ESPY Award and the US Olympic Spirit award.

Follow Marlon on his “Drive for Five!”……… www.marlonshirley.com