Utahns celebrate 'dream come true' for Syracuse Paralympian

Utahns celebrate 'dream come true' for Syracuse Paralympian

(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)


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SYRACUSE — For Hunter Woodhall, it is fun to celebrate something as great as winning two Paralympic medals on his own, but it has meant even more to him to have a whole community turn out in support of his accomplishments.

"It's definitely a special feeling to be the center of all this attention," the double-amputee Paralympian said Saturday during a celebration at Syracuse High School, where he's a senior this year.

A couple hundred community members were there to honor the medalist.

"This kid works hard and deserves what he gets," proclaimed his long-time running coach Roger Burley.

Hunter was born with a congenital defect called fibular hemimelia, which meant the bones in his lower legs never formed. At 11 months old, doctors amputated his legs below the knee and relegated Hunter to life in a wheelchair. Though, with help from prosthetists at Shriners Hospitals for Children, Hunter never did need a wheelchair.

Brendan Woodhall, Hunter's oldest brother, said Hunter "didn't ever believe he was disabled."

"What he believed was an ordinary life led him to pursue an extraordinary life," he said. "Watching him go through this journey has been incredible."

And Hunter, 17, concedes "it has been a long journey."

He remembers times when he felt helpless among his peers, being different than all of them — once an entire stadium clapped for Hunter when he lost a race and he realized "people don't see me as an athlete, but rather someone who has overcome something."

It was then he learned that his differences are what makes him special and from then on, he was driven, he said, "to be the best at something — whatever that was."

That something turned out to be running and while it was rough at the start, learning how to use prosthetic running blades, Hunter got better and better, said Burley.

"I always dreamed of coaching an Olympian," Burley said, adding that Hunter's drive and determination is unparalleled. Whatever advantage Hunter might have, the retired coach said, "it's not a physical advantage."

Hunter Woodhall walks back to his seat during a ceremony at Syracuse High School on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. The Syracuse student won two medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
Hunter Woodhall walks back to his seat during a ceremony at Syracuse High School on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2016. The Syracuse student won two medals at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)

Hunter competed at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, helping the men's 4x100 relay team to a world-record time, won a silver medal for his personal-best time of 21.12 in the 200-meter sprint final, and brought home a bronze medal finish in the men's 400-meter final.

And the city of Syracuse named an entire day for him.

"It was the most amazing experience," Hunter said of participating in the games on the world-class stage. "It's hard for me to explain how it all felt. I had an overwhelming sense of pride for my country."

Hunter plans to take some time off training and then get back at it leading up to the World Championship competition in the spring. But, he said, he's enjoying "all the things I've missed in the last few months being a teenager."

"I was born in a hard place, growing up was hard," Hunter said. "I was underestimated my whole life."

To look back at where he came from, he said, he's overcome.

"I'm not the first who's done this," Hunter told the crowd gathered to honor him. "I'm not the first who has succeeded. You can do whatever you want to do. You just have to find the dream and the goal and fight for it."

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