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Date of Birth: March 11, 1973 Amputation Level: Below the Knee Main Events: 100m, 200m and Long Jump Competitive Class: T44 Össur Products: Iceross® Liners, Ceterus®, Flex-Foot® Cheetah®, Vari-Flex® (opens in a new window)* Nationality: USA

April Holmes has always worked hard and played hard. "I had a life-altering incident in January 2001 that changed my life, and by the grace of God, I've been able to get back to doing what I love, and that's track and field."

She had been a high school 400m champion, later securing multiple NCAA All-American and CIAA honors as a sprinter at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, VA, where she earned her BS in Mass Communication. Raised with a hard work ethic which she has honed with a will of steel, she was still in a hospital bed recovering from a below-the-knee amputation following a train accident, when she made up her mind to become a Paralympian.

Today, this Paralympian owns the world records (women's T44 classification) in the 100m, 200m and 400m dashes. At the 2008 Paralympics she came back from a bad fall in the 200m to win a Gold medal in the 100m. She has become a successful athlete and role model at home and abroad. April wears the Flex-Foot Cheetah^® made by Össur for all track and field competitions. For everyday walking, Holmes wears Össur's Ceterus^® and Vari-Flex^® feet. She enjoys the Ceterus^® for the rotation it offers - as well as the ability to adjust shock absorption - and the Vari-Flex^® for its exceptional energy return, which allows her to get around effortlessly.

My schedule is dictated by competitions, so I sit down at the beginning of the season with my coach of two years now, Al Joyner (brother of Jackie Joyner, he won a gold medal in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games in the triple jump), and set some goals, look back at the last season and determine my strengths and weaknesses, said April.

• For more information on April's inspirational story, visit www.aprilholmes.com
• Follor April on Twitter: www.twitter/aprilholmes

Competitive Highlights: