Photo courtesy of Juliana Buhring
We covered all kinds of trailblazing athletes in March from a group of 80 and 90-year-old’s setting a new world record to a former NFL safety who was accepted into Harvard’s neurosurgery residency.
Have a look at these amazing folks and our top stories from the month:
5. Former NFL Safety Myron Rolle To Start Neurosurgery Residency At Harvard
Football has always been secondary for former NFL safety and Florida State All-American Myron Rolle, and that approach to life really paid off on Friday when he learned he would start his residency in neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School.
“Seven years of neurosurgery is a big deal, something I wanted for a long time, really excited about it. Today is just great, it’s remarkable,” Rolle told WCTV in Tallahassee. “… Saving lives and helping people live a better life, that’s going to make life worth living.”
4. How Drinking Out Of A Prosthetic Leg Is Helping Amputees Play Soccer And Run Marathons
Imagine drinking your favorite beer out of someone’s prosthetic leg. That’s the “glass of choice” at Legapalooza, an annual fundraiser for the Dallas Amputee Network (D.A.N.), the largest and most active amputee support group in the U.S.
The idea came from bar manager, Tommy Donahue, 57, who for 30 years, has been running the day-to-day operations at Milo Butterfingers, one of the oldest sports bars in Dallas.
Donahue lost his leg in a hit-and-run in 1981. Since then, he’s been doing his part to support other amputees in their quest to “move forward” and fulfill whatever dreams they have whether it be running a marathon on two prosthetic legs, building a disc golf course for special needs people, or playing on the U.S. National Amputee Soccer Team.
3. Relay Swim Team Comprised Of Athletes In Their 80’s And 90’s Set New World Record
There’s aging like a fine wine, and then there’s aging like John Corse, 93, Ed Graves, 92, Betty Lorenzi, 89, and Joan Campbell, 84.
The four of them are Masters swimmers who recently broke the world record in the 200-meter freestyle relay in the 360+ division.
2. Juliana Buhring Grew Up In A Religious Cult Then Became The First Woman To Cycle Around The World
There aren’t many people who decide to cycle the world on “a whim,” or frankly, six months after learning how to ride a bike in the first place.
Then again, there aren’t many people like Juliana Buhring, a 35-year-old British-German cyclist, who lives outside of Naples, Italy. On her 18,000-mile expedition in 2012, Buhring became the first woman to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle, and her record (152 days, including flight transfers) still holds strong today.
She rode unsupported from east to west with relentless headwinds, covering 19 countries and averaging about 124 miles per day. Her bike broke down more times than she can count, she was extremely low on money, and she didn’t have the correct clothing. You’re probably wondering what the big draw was for her. That’s an easy answer: Freedom.
1. 7-Year-Old Girl With Incredible Handles Has Sights Set On The NBA
Meet 7-year-old Jaliyah Manuel. She has more than 100,000 followers on Instagram, and that’s for one good reason: She’s a basketball phenom.
The New Orleans girl wants to be the first woman to play in the NBA (she also wants to be a nurse), and with her ball-handling skills right now, she very well could make it to that level.
Manuel told Bleacher Report that she models her game after LeBron James, Steph Curry, Michael Jordan, Brittney Griner, and Diana Taurasi.
Her dad put a ball in her hands when she was just a year old, before she could even talk. Here’s what she can do today.
