The First Athlete with Cerebral Palsy to Sign Deal with Nike
A runner from Oregon, Justin Gallegos, has been struggling with his disability his whole life. Cerebral palsy makes it difficult to walk, eat, or speak normally, and yet Gallegos has managed to not only keep up in University of Oregon’s running club alongside his abled-bodied peers, but also sign a professional contract with Nike.
Justin Gallegos, a runner at Oregon with cerebral palsy, thought he was just finishing another cross country race. Little did he know, Nike was waiting at the finish line to offer him a pro contract (via @kabdullah360 / Elevation 0m) pic.twitter.com/FIXFoHQYI3
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 10, 2018
On October 6, which coincidentally was National Cerebral Palsy Day, Gallegos competed in a cross-country race with his running club and was filmed by a crew from production company Elevation 0m. Nike will use the footage to not only spread awareness of cerebral palsy, but to emphasize Gallegos’ achievements and inspire others to follow in his footsteps. Gallegos expressed his elation at the realization of his dream in his Instagram post, which read:
Today on world Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, I reached a milestone in my running journey! Today I made Nike history and became the very first athlete with Cerebral Palsy to sign a contract with Nike! You don’t realize how realistic and emotional your dreams are until they play out before your very eyes! Signing this contract was a huge success for me and I would not have made it without my friends and family and teammates! This was perhaps the most emotional moment in my seven years of running! Growing up with a disability, the thought of becoming a professional athlete is as I have said before like the thought of climbing Mt. Everest! It is definitely possible, but the odds are most definitely not in your favor! Hard work pays off! Hundreds of miles, blood, sweat, and tears has lead me here along with a few permanent scars! But the journey is damn sure not over!!! Looking back, I would guess there is only a few select people who would see me were I am today! I have gone through just about everything in the book to be where I am today! I was once a kid in leg braces who could barely put on foot in front of the other! Now I have signed a contract with Nike Running! Trust the process! And most of all trust in God! God is good! Thank you to all my friends, family, and teammates on running club, and now a brand new atmosphere on teammates with Nike! This moment will live forever! Thank you everyone for helping show the world that there is No Such Thing As A Disability!
Gallegos emphasizes that he will continue chasing his dreams and his career as a professional runner. He will be participating in a half-marathon in the future, and has expressed his dream of finishing it below the two hour mark.
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Reuben Friedlander describes himself as “genius, attractive, and not particularly modest.” Reuben joined Different Brains in 2017. He enjoys video games, fantasy reading, hats, Dwarf Fortress, and writing silly humor. Reuben writes all kinds of articles for the website, while assisting with video editing and transcription.
