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I see these billboards when I'm driving all the time. I feel very inspired every time I do.
Posted 13 days ago by Angelina R from Meriden, Connecticut, USA

HANDS DOWN TO YOU MARLIN SHIRLEY. VERY INSPIRING AND MOVING. YOU ARE A GREAT EXAMPLE OF NEVER GIVING UP NO MATTER WHAT. -VERO13
Posted 26 days ago by VERONICA N. from VENTURA, CA

生活永远只属于坚强的人 (Google translation: Life will forever be part of a strong man.)
Posted about 1 month ago by JEFF C. from Jiangsu, China

MARLON SHIRLEY; YOU ARE MY HERO. YOU SHOWED ME TO NEVER GIVE UP AND TO GIVE YOUR BEST ON EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE.
Posted 4 months ago by PABLO M. from NORTH CAROLINA

Marlon, I so saw you at Bear River Bowl. You are my hero. You never gave up and weren't going to let anything take your dreams away from you! I love it!
Posted 5 months ago by Shaunie O. from Utah

Marlon's story is very moving and inspirational. How he can overcome his past and his disability is something we should all learn from.
Posted 10 months ago by L.S. from Oregon

I do the high jump in high school and this is a total inspiration. I'm a freshman girl, 14, and my pr. is only 5'ft. If a guy with not a full leg can do it then I think I could too. This story is amazing.
Posted 10 months ago by Kelsa N. from Oregon

Marlon Shirley didn't have parents and lost his leg from an accident. He work hard and ran track. I think Marlon person with extraordinary talent
Posted 10 months ago by Josue M. from Jefferson City

Working hard, looking at the positive side of things and learning from your experiences- you will overcome.
Posted 10 months ago by Danny A. from Sparta

Hey I'm sorry that happened to you but I see it as a good thing also you met some really nice people from that and you WILL get through this. I had a similar experience and know how it feels. Anything is possible if you believe in yourself. GOOD JOB AND GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!
Posted 11 months ago by Edwin M. from MIAMI , FLORIDA

I'm happy Marlon got up and ran. YOU ROCK DUDE!!!!!!!!!!
Posted 11 months ago by Edwin M. from MIAMI , FLORIDA

We just met Marlon in Las Vegas and it was a total pleasure. What an awesome inspiring person. Thanks for telling us your story first hand Marlon, we are lucky to have met you!

Posted 11 months ago by Jeff & Tisa from New Jersey

That is cool how he can still RUN!! He like a hero... WITH SUPPER POWERS!
Posted 11 months ago by Elizabeth W. from Canada, ON

I have no words to express my admiration for his strength. Thank You for showing us examples like this.
Posted about 1 year ago by Hector V from New York City

I know a 13 year old boy who just had a leg amputation. This sign was printed off and hung in his hospital room. I truly believe this sign has been very inspirational for him as he is an athlete. It's amazing how signs such as these can touch someones heart in such powerful ways.
Posted over 2 years ago by A.B. from Wisconsin, USA

I have been recently laid off from my job. I was feeling a little down about my circumstances. Then I came across this billboard of Marlon in Charlotte, NC. I immediately found this website and downloaded the picture in my phone. It is now the screen saver on my cell phone. Everyday I look at it and it gives me hope. This billboard touched me because it let me know that I could choose to be sad and depressed OR I could choose get off my butt and take back my life. Well as of yet I do not have another job HOWEVER I know that I shall OVERCOME.
Posted over 2 years ago by R.C. from Charlotte, North Carolina USA

Marlon,

You are an amazing person with extrodinary talent. You Rock!
Posted over 2 years ago by Miranda N. from Burnt Hills, New York USA

I noticed the For a Better Life posters several years ago when living in New York City. I was moved and when I became a teacher thought that the posters and message would be great for students. My room is now covered with For a Better Life posters. The messages are powerful and inspirational. I am thrilled to share them with my students ever day.
Posted over 2 years ago by Elsa B. from Madison, Wisconsin USA

this has inspired me
Posted over 2 years ago by Bob B. from Mexico

Sweet!
Posted over 2 years ago by S.E. from

Inspirational for our Special Olympics...

Cathy
Posted over 2 years ago by Cathy D.M. from Atlanta, Georgia

Wow, that is amazing. That shows incredible will and a very positive attitude. Your dad and Marlon (on this billboard) are great examples. How many of us complain, without such loss! Another inspiration is Heather Mills. She is currently on Dancing with the Stars, competing with an artificial limb. Honestly, I was choked up when I saw her go for it last night. Wonderful composure and resilience, I thought. She is a good example beyond this accomplishment as well--as she does a lot of charity work (Adopt-a-Minefield, and animal rights activism.) To your dad, Marlon, and Heather--way to go!
Posted over 2 years ago by from

My father, at 83 developed an infection in his leg while WINDSURFING! He was forced to lose his leg above the knee. Not once does he complain about what he now cannot do. He only looks forward to his new possibilities. This billboard confirmed his inspiration and motivation. I saw it at Kennedy airport. Thank you!
Posted over 2 years ago by from

Overcoming

About This Billboard

Marlon Shirley saw his fair share of struggles as a young boy, living with his mother who was gone a lot and moved frequently to keep trouble from catching up with her. Marlon was five years old when he was picked up by social services and dropped off at an orphanage where he began the "pinball life of an institutional orphan.” In 1984, Marlon lost his foot in an accident with a lawnmower. The caretaker of the orphanage was letting the kids jump on an off the riding lawnmower while he mowed the lawn around the facility. Marlon slipped and the caretaker ran over his leg where the damage was done. Marlon later woke up with an amputation above the ankle.

Marlon bounced around to various foster homes over the years until he was adopted by a family from Utah in 1987. He took the Shirley’s last name and feels blessed to have been found by them.

Marlon struggled through high school, trying to overcome the habits and tendencies of his past—of simply trying to survive. Mid-way through his senior year in 1997, close to flunking out and humiliated, Marlon had had it. He decided to do something with his life and signed up to participate in the Simplot Games in Idaho, the largest open high school indoor track meet west of the Mississippi. He hoped to get offered a college scholarship, but the odds were against him. Marlon had little track experience and was hobbling on crutches due to a fractured bone in his leg he obtained from dunking a basketball a few weeks earlier.

Marlon felt he had to do it. He entered the high jump, where he hopped over on his good leg and dove headfirst over the bar. He cleared 6’6”, which just happened to be the Paralympic world record. A month later, Marlon competed in the Disabled Sports USA track meet in California, where he left $13,000 richer.

Marlon Shirley has endured many situations which would have brought the average person to shambles. He has not only found a way to prevail, but has also found a way to be a world class athlete. He owns two world records: the 100-meter dash and the long jump. In 2000, at the Para-Olympic Games in Sydney he won the 100m dash and took silver in the high jump. Since then, not only has he become the first and only lower leg amputee to break the 11.00 seconds mark (10.97), Marlon has also run the fastest 200m dash to date.

At the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Marlon Shirley won the Paralympic 100-meter gold medal for the second straight time. He has been called “the world’s fastest amputee.”

Marlon said, “It’s something I train for every single day. It’s almost just like an automatic movement of my body springing down the track. We all have our own type of disabilities—mine just happens to be physical, and you can see it very easily when I run. But you can’t tell it by the time I get done racing.”

Shirley’s prosthetic foot is made of carbon fiber titanium, materials developed in the aerospace industry. He is clearly testing the limits of what a prosthetic foot can do.

“The feet? They’ve lasted me forever,” he said. “I remember running around on crutches just like I’d run around if I had another foot,” he said. “I definitely never looked at myself any differently than anyone else.”

Marlon is a 10-time World Champion and Olympic Champion. He is the spokesperson for the Paralympic Movement and other sponsors. Marlon’s biggest and most desirable goal is to be the first amputee to qualify for the 100m dash at the US Nationals against athletes with all limbs.