Provo - Marlon Shirley has only been running the 100- and 200-meter sprints since 1999. Since picking up the events, Shirley has turned into the fastest Paralympian in the world and is the only person to run the 100-meter dash in under 11 seconds (10.97). What makes Shirley’s feat that much more incredible is that he had his lover left leg amputated at age 5. He now runs on a Flex-Foot Carbon Fiber foot that has the ability to store and release energy.

“Sprints are the glamour events of the games,” Shirley said on his decision to run sprint events. “You find out who is the fastest in the world, and that is something I sought after.”

Now he has slowly begun to reap the rewards of his six-to-seven-hour-a- day practice sessions.

Along with being the world record holder in the 100 meters, Shirley is one of the fastest Paralympians in the 200 meters. He is also the world record holder in the long jump at 22 feet and 3 inches and is know as a renowned high jumper.

Shirley’s abilities on the track have bridged the gap between what amputees can do and what able bodies can do. Last year, at a meet in preparation for the World Championships, Shirley placed second in the 100-meter dash against world-class athletes without any disability.

As time goes on Shirley hopes that gap becomes smaller and smaller. After the Paralympics this summer, Shirley said he is going to focus on running the 100 in under 11 seconds on a consistent basis.

In the Paralympic games in Athens this summer, Shirley expects to bring home gold medals in the 100, 100, long jump and 400-meter relay.

On Friday, he was at BYU competing in the Pre-trails Sprint and Power Meet.

He ran the 100 sprint and posted times of 11.13 and 11.15 in his two races.

Impressive times, but Shirley know he could have done better. After looking at film of his first run, he realized he started to slow down after 60 meters.

“I should have beat some of those guys,” he said.

Last week he ran his fastest time of the year at the Utah Summer Games by posting a time of 10.98 seconds.

“My boy went into shock after that,” he said. “Hence the reason I could barely run today or walk.”

Friday’s race at BYU also served as a valuable training session for Shirley. In February, he blew out his abdomen, and Friday was only his third meet since the injury. In two weeks, he will compete in an exhibition race at the U.S. Olympic trails in Sacramento.
“Any extra race I can get, I’ll take,” Shirley said.

The world-class runner also has strong ties to the state of Utah. After being bounced around several orphanages at an early age, he was adopted by the Shirley family from Tremonton.