Blake Leeper
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![]() Leeper (left) at the 2012 Paralympics Men's 400m T44 victory ceremony. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | August 31, 1989[1] Kingsport, Tennessee, USA | (age 34)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Blake Leeper (born August 31, 1989) is a United States Paralympic athlete, eight-time Paralympic Track and Field international medalist, world record holder and three-time American record holder.[2]
Biography
[edit]Blake Leeper was born in Kingsport, Tennessee with both legs missing below the knee, and has worn prosthetics since nine months of age.[citation needed] In his childhood, Blake participated in various sports, baseball, basketball etc. with his dad coaching.[citation needed] Blake credits his outstanding positive attitude to his family.[citation needed] He studies medicine at the University of Tennessee.[citation needed]
Leeper made his international debut in 2009 at Rio de Janeiro.[citation needed] In 2011 he won a silver medal in the World Championships 4 × 100 m relay T42–46 classification with a time of 42.84.[citation needed] In the 2012 Paralympic Games, he won an individual silver medal in the 400 meter T44 event and a bronze medal in the 200m T44 event with a time of 22.46.[3]
On Feb. 1, 2016, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that Leeper tested positive for benzoylecgonine from a sample collected on June 21, 2015, at the U.S. Paralympic Track & Field National Championships held in St. Paul, Minn.[citation needed] Benzoylecgonine is a metabolite of cocaine, a substance in the class of Stimulants prohibited under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing and the International Paralympic Committee Anti-Doping Code, both of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code ("Code") and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.[citation needed] It was determined that Leeper's use of cocaine was not intended to enhance performance, and in consideration of other mitigating factors, he was deemed eligible for a reduced, one-year sanction.[citation needed]
Blake Leeper returned to the world of track and field at the U.S. Track & Field Championships in 2017, becoming the first double-leg amputee to compete at the event.[citation needed] After qualifying for semifinals with a time of 45.52 seconds in the 400m, Leeper was able to break Oscar Pistorius' world record in the event with a time of 45.25 seconds the next day.[citation needed] This time bested the previous record of 45.39 seconds.[4]
On 2019, Leeper made an appearance as a contestant on the fourth episode of the first season of Netflix's Awake.[citation needed] He made it until the last round, winning a prize of $191,011.25, leaving the competition right before the million dollar Buyout, his count being off by $373.50.[citation needed]
Leeper also appeared on the Jan. 4, 2021, edition of Let's Make a Deal, in which he competed in the game "0 to 80" for a chance to win a new car.[citation needed] Leeper was unsuccessful in his quest to win the car, instead leaving with $50 from host Wayne Brady.[citation needed]
Sporting career
[edit]Leeper started his medal run in 2011 at the Parapan American Games where he took silver in the 100-meter dash.[citation needed] He went on to compete in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, where he picked up two more medals, a bronze in the 200-meter dash and silver in the 400-meter dash, losing to South African Oscar Pistorius, whose world record of 45.39 seconds is the one Leeper was chasing.[citation needed]
In 2013, Leeper also took four medals at the Paralympic World Championships in Lyon, France, where he ran as part of the world record-setting 4x100-meter relay gold medal team.[citation needed] At the same event he took the silver medal in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and 400-meter dash.[citation needed] Leeper's medal collection includes one gold, six silver and one bronze.[citation needed] Over his career, he hopes to win more medals than any Paralympic athlete in track and field.[citation needed] In addition to the medals he has already won, Leeper holds one 2013 Paralympic world record in the 4 × 100 m relay and three American records in the 100-meter dash (10.91), the 200-meter dash (21.7) and the 400-meter dash (44.42-Prague 2018).[citation needed] Leeper's world record for his part in the 4x100-meter relay still stands today.[citation needed] He served a one-year ban through June 2016 because he tested positive for cocaine.[citation needed] Leeper received official notification from the United States Olympic Committee's Paralympic Track and Field High Performance Director confirming his spot in the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials that commenced June 30 in Charlotte, North Carolina.[citation needed] The notification also recognized a one-year suspension agreement that Leeper and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) had previously entered into.[citation needed] With the official notification, Leeper stepped closer to his quest to break the 400-meter Paralympic world record set by Oscar Pistorius.[5] He has also set an example for many children and adults.[citation needed]
Leeper completed a one-year suspension and set a new American record in the double-amputee (T43) 200-metre race with a time of 21.49 seconds at McMaster University Summer Twilight track series in Ontario Canada, June 21, 2016.[citation needed] He also set an American record in the 400-metre race with a time of 46.54 seconds.[6]
Leeper was then chosen by the US Paralympics to represent Team USA in Rio 2016.[citation needed] At the Paralympic trials, he set a new American record in the 200m with a time of 21.5 and a new America's record in the 400m at 46.1.[citation needed] He took silver in the 100m despite losing a prosthetic leg crossing the finish line live on NBC.[7]
Prosthetics
[edit]World Athletics formed The Mechanical Aids Review Panel in January 2021 to research the passive-elastic carbon-fibre running specific prostheses Leeper wears in competition.[citation needed] The report found the devices gave Leeper a leg length of 104 cm and a standing height of 184 cm, almost 10 cm above the Maximum Allowable Standing Height established for paralympic athletes.[citation needed] The report found that "there is a direct relationship between leg length and running speed."[citation needed] "The only conclusion that is open is that Mr Leeper is running unnaturally tall in using his new RSPs."[citation needed] On April 26, 2021, it was ruled Leeper cannot compete in major World Athletics meets or the Paralympics in the RSPs.[citation needed] He can wear them in other International Competitions although his results will be listed separately and not recognized.[8]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "LEEPER Blake". Athlete Biographies. paralympic.org. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
- ^ insidequest (September 8, 2016). "Adversity, Redemption, and Becoming the Fastest Man Alive – Blake Leeper". inside Quest. Retrieved April 21, 2016.
- ^ Bensch, Bob (September 8, 2012). "Pistorius Wins 400 Meters for First Paralympics Individual Gold". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ "American Blake Leeper breaks Oscar Pistorius record in 400 metres". June 24, 2017. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
- ^ Scott, Smith (September 8, 2016). "Paralympic Gold Medalist Patrick "Blake" Leeper Leaps Back Into the Race After Receiving Letter From U.S. Olympic Committee". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ Steve Milton (July 3, 2016). "Patrick Blake Leeper sets a new record". The Hamilton Spectator. The Hamilton. Retrieved July 3, 2016.
- ^ David McAvoy (June 2, 2016). "Blake Leeper named to Team USA Paralympic team". WJHL. Retrieved June 22, 2016.
- ^ "World Athletics panel decision on application from Blake Leeper | PRESS-RELEASES | World Athletics".
- 1989 births
- Congenital amputees
- Living people
- Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States
- Paralympic silver medalists for the United States
- American male sprinters
- World record holders in para-athletics
- Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships
- World Para Athletics Championships winners
- University of Tennessee alumni
- African-American track and field athletes
- 21st-century American sportsmen