Marines carry boy across finish line after his prosthetic leg breaks during triathlon
 

Pensacola Beach, Florida — During the 2012 Sea Turtle Triathlon in Pensacola, Marines helped carry a young boy over the finish live after his prosthetic limb broke.
The boy, 11-year old Ben Baltz of Valparaiso, Florida, was diagnosed with bone cancer in his right leg, his fibula and his tibia had to be removed, according to CNN iReport. He walks with a mechanical knee and a prosthetic walking leg, which he switches out when he plays sports.
On Sunday, Ben competed in the Sea Turtle Kids Triathlon in Pensacola. He had completed the 150-yard swim, 4-mile bike ride and half of the one-mile run when a screw on his leg came loose and his prosthetic leg broke in half.
As the boy lay on the ground, Private First Class Matthew Morgan picked up the boy and put him on his shoulders. Surrounded by his fellow Marines, Matthew carried Ben on his back so he could finish the race.
Ben’s mom told CNN he was discouraged he wasn’t able to finish on his own, and a bit embarrassed that he had to be carried. However, his parents told him he was an inspiration to a lot of people that day.
“We want to give him the message that he can do anything, and he has an inspirational story, and he just needs to be thankful that he is able to do it because there are a lot of kids out there that are still fighting cancer. We just want him to get out there and participate in life.”
http://myfox8.com/2012/10/10/marines...ing-triathlon/

Dang allergies

Love these happy side of sports stories. Thanks for sharing.

That's cheating!

Something good happened in floriduh!

We see more and more of these stories, but do they ask for permission before they pick the person up? If I'm half a mile from finishing, I'm going to hop or crawl or do something to get it done. I'd be ticked off if someone grabbed me and hauled me in a fireman's carry across the line.

Maybe I'm not normal in that attitude, but it makes me curious.

The boy really had trouble with the last leg of the race.
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Then the marines ate him.

ROFL

FAX

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO WINNING AND LOSING? GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH@@1!!11

ESPN reports that Chief fans boo'd the boy for falling down.

And they blackballed the marine for taking his side

Prior to the game, the boy's supporters had his sister pull a banner behind her radio flyer tricycle that read "we deserve better. Fix the malfunctioning prosthetic screws"


The Boy's family is reportedly upset due to their reaction to the known mechanical issue that the leg vendor refused to fix.

OT Winston is reported to have said "I have never been more embarrassed to be gimpy than I am right now."

Eric Winston is a gladiator. Had his prosthetic leg broken apart in mid-air, he'd have finished the race walking on his hands.

That's an awesome story! Made my shitty day 100% better! You go grunt!

He carried the kid a half mile? Pffftt.


I am half kidding. Carrying an 11 year old a half mile isn't exactly a monumental feat of courage, but it a nice story.

From my angle the boy looked to be faking not having a leg. /cp

Pretty insensitive to make a pun in a story like this. You obviously have no idea what it's like tibia kid with only one leg.

I saw it from another angle, and you can tell his leg never even hit the ground.

:LOL:LMAO

LMAO