Olympic athletes that beat the odds

If you live in the United States and plan to watch the 2008 Summer Olympics you will certainly hear inspiring, and deservedly heart warming stories of althletes that succeeded in spite of significant challenges.  In the sport of swimming alone you’ve likely already heard about Dara Torres and Eric Shanteau.  Torres, coming out of retirement at the age of 41 is setting records and Shanteau is battling testicular cancer but plans to postpone treatment until after the games.

Looking outside the US one can also find tremendous stories of athletes achieving their dreams while overcoming tremendous obstacles.

The BBC has a series online titled “Against the Odds” which profiles such inspiring athletes.   Follow these links to see the following stories:

Nery Brenes
Costa Rican sprinter who left behind a town hit by gang violence to get to Beijing

Bernadett Baczko
Neither family tragedy nor serious injury deterred this Hungarian judoka

Hem Bunting
A crumbling Cambodian athletics stadium is home to marathon runner Hem

Ziad Richa
Meet the Lebanese clay pigeon shooter training in the hills around Beirut

Vijender Kumar
An unsung boxing champion fights for recognition in cricket-mad India

Samiya Yuusf Omar
A 16-year-old’s amazing journey from war-ravaged Somalia to the Olympic Games

The BBC should be lauded for creating such a compelling series.

Young boy plays baseball despite cancer

Inspirational stories and people can be found in towns and cities around the globe.  One particular young man of note is Hudson Davis of Lafayette, CA.

The Contra Costa Times provided an in-depth article chronicling Hudson’s efforts that one would find truly inspirational.

The 12-year-old from Lafayette is nearing the completion of a Little League season in which he helped pitch and hit his team to first place and was named to his league’s all-star squad. That would be a distinguished achievement for any youngster.

What’s especially remarkable about Hudson is that he did all that while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments for a malignant brain tumor discovered long before his season started.

Nothing was going to stop Hudson from playing baseball.  His persistence inspired his parents, coaches, friends, teammates and even Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins.

For Hudson, the motivation was simple.  He wanted to play baseball.

“The only time you saw a smile on the kid’s face was when he was on the baseball field,” said Greg Davis, Hudson’s father.  “It was the only time he could really escape all the things that were happening to him.  He’s been through hell and back with all the stuff he’s been through.  But playing baseball definitely helped him get through it.”

The best news is that the tumor is gone, and that Hudson had his final radiation treatment on Wednesday. He will continue long-term care for the foreseeable future, but the worst appears to be over and his prognosis for survival is excellent.

Read the entire Contra Costa Times article here.

Near the beginning of his treatment Hudson was befriended by Jimmy Rollins of the Philadelphia Phillies.  Jimmy Rollins was named Major League Baseball’s National League MVP of 2007.  Jimmy dedicated his first homerun of the 2008 season to Hudson.

On May 11, with the Phillies visiting San Francisco to play the Giants, Jimmy invited Hudson down onto the field during batting practice so they could meet and talk face-to-face for the first time.  Jimmy has been a real inspiration for Hudson.

hudson

Sources: contracostatimes.com, abeldogs.com

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