A Pennsylvania teen is defying all odds after losing his legs and most of his arms due to an illness at just 3 years old.
Chase Mayweather, 16, has been winning big on the track field and dreams of becoming a track star and one of the few quadruple-amputee athletes competing in the Paralympic Games.
“I want to win a gold medal,” the high schooler from Ambler, PA told ABC 6.
Mayweather, who uses running blades to race, said he’s managed to play baseball, soccer, and football — but track has been his true calling after the health crisis that forced doctors to remove his limbs as a small child.
“This year has been my most successful year because I’ve finally placed in one of our dual meets. I just ran at districts, and now I’m running at states. It feels amazing to accomplish this much,” he told the local ABC affiliate station.
Now the teen — a high school sophomore — is eyeing the world’s biggest stage for athletes with disabilities: The Paralympics, which will be held in 2028 in Los Angeles.
Few athletes with disabilities in both their arms and legs have competed in the Paralympics. Mayweather aims to join standouts like Ellie Challis, a swimmer who represented Britain in 2024, and Brazilian swimmer Gabriel Araujo, who competed in 2002.
Mayweather was only 3 years old when he went into septic shock at an amusement park. Removing his arms and legs was the only way for doctors to save him.
“If you keep going and never stop trying, you will always chase that dream and will eventually get it,” he told the local station. “You just gotta run your race. I gotta run mine.”
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