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THE TRACK — I very clearly remember library days in elementary school. I was always excited because there were some cool books that I'd be able to check out and pour over at home.
My parents likely wished those books were literary classics or texts on academia, but they were actually "Where's Waldo?" and "Magic Eye" books.
There was another book I always ran to in hopes of being the first one to get it, but it was usually checked out and I'd be added to a waiting list of what felt like months. Eventually, however, my turn would come and I'd bring home "The Guinness Book of World Records."
This book had it all, from the human with the longest fingernails to the fattest dog in the world. This book captivated me, and obviously many others because the darn thing was always gone. I always thought it would be cool to be in the book for some record. I started trying to think of records that no one had ever attempted and I could just be a world record holder.
I thought about feats like: The fastest 10-year-old named John to finish a bowl of Lucky Charms. World's longest-standing jump while holding a fishbowl with at least one living goldfish inside. Most consecutive jump ropes while blindfolded and wearing a backpack filled with coconuts.
I never did any of these, and I never ended up in the book. But Zion Clark is an amazing human being who is now in the "Guinness Book of World Records" as the fastest man on two hands.
Clark was born with a rare genetic disorder called caudal regression syndrome. Clark has no legs, but he has never let that stop him from achieving his athletic dreams. Clark says he hopes to one day to become a multi-time Olympic champion, and he is training to do just that. But before he breaks those Olympic records, he set his sights on a Guinness World Record.
To set the record for fastest man on two hands, Clark ran 20 meters — over 65 feet — on his hands in under 5 seconds. For anyone wondering, I know some people who can't run that fast with their legs. And it doesn't matter if I'm that person.
Clark is an inspiration, and his confidence and attitude are infectious. Keep it up, Clark, and congrats on living out my dream of getting in that perpetually checked-out library book.
