Golf, skiing, diving and running. Our top five stories in March certainly covered a wide range of sports. But, it was the athletes and their stories that made them worth reading.
Here’s a look at our top stories, as measured by pageviews:
5. Meet the combat vet who ran 31 marathons in 31 days on prosthetic legs
Rob Jones lost his legs in Afghanistan in 2010 while working as a combat engineer in the Marine Corps. He was clearing out a dangerous area on his second deployment when an IED found him before he could find it. Now a double above-the-knee amputee on prosthetic legs, Jones isn’t sitting still. Most recently, he ran 31 marathons in 31 days in 31 cities.
His mission? To raise money for three charitable organizations that support military veterans and first responders, and their families.
4. The Ultimate Clutch Shot: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the AT&T Byron Nelson’s Big Move
At the time of this writing, it’s just 68 days until the AT&T Byron Nelson tees off at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas, Texas. It’s the first year that this popular PGA TOUR event will be held at the new venue, making the move after a 35-year run at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. But, despite the monumental task of moving a 280,000-spectator tournament to a part of Dallas that few Nelson devotees have ever frequented before, Tournament Chair Eddy Moore isn’t breaking a sweat.
Brandon Canesi ready to tee off. Photo:
hole__high/Instagram
3. Brandon Canesi doesn’t have hands, but sinks a hole-in-one
Brandon Canesi was born without hands, but that hasn’t stopped him from making incredible shots on the golf course.
Most recently, he sunk a 150-yard hole-in-one on the 17th hole at the Wizard Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. In late-February, he posted the video on his Facebook page with the caption, “Goes to show you can do anything you set your mind on!”
2. SheJumps co-founder Claire Smallwood is a skier, chef and so much more
If you ask Claire Smallwood the key to success when taking on a new challenge, she’ll quickly tell you that being okay with “looking foolish” will make all the difference.
It’s advice worth listening to. The 32-year-old who lives in Salt Lake City, Utah and speaks four languages is an accomplished private chef, a passionate skier and the co-founder of SheJumps, a 10-year-old organization that cultivates community initiatives and education programs for women and girls to harness the power of outdoor adventure, and gain momentum in the things they love to do.
1. Partially paralyzed college diving coach dives on his birthday every year
Cliff Devries, 44, loves the sport of diving so much that despite being paralyzed on his right side, he climbs up the ladder of the three-meter springboard each birthday, walks to the edge of the board and takes the head-first plunge with lifeguards waiting to pull him out.
Devries, who coaches the diving team at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), might tell you he takes the once-a-year dive to give the lifeguards practice, but truly, it’s to quench his proverbial thirst.
