"I jump into a sand pit for a living"

Jonathan Edwards, World record triple-jumper

Boston Marathon 2014

8 days after finishing third in the London Marathon, Ernst van Dyk won the Boston Marathon for the tenth time. He has also won the Los Angeles, New York and Paris marathons. He has won silver and bronze medals in the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics for wheelchair racing and a gold in 2008 for hand-cycling.

Ernst

When I talked to him at a previous London Marathon, he told me: “I was born with a congenital birth defect which means that somewhere along the line a switch did not flip and my legs did not grow. So from my knees down I have no legs and my right arm is a bit affected”.

Faith is important to Ernst: “I am a Christian. When you have been dealt the cards I have been dealt in life, you have to make sense of it. Faith is one of the ways to do that and to reach an understanding with your maker and to figure out what is your purpose in life.

Stuart interviewing Ernst

“I thought I was given a disability to overcome it and that was part of my process of growing up and how the Lord wanted to teach me to be a better person. I realized he had given me a talent. And the talent is to perform well on the world scene and to inspire people and to make people realize that when they think there is no way out, that there is actually a way out.

“I travel a lot and I am on the road a lot and am alone a lot. Having Jesus is like having a friend on the road with me. When things get too much for you or you feel alone or get down, because you are not getting the results, it is so easy to talk to him and be there and get guidance and feel the warmth”.

The women’s wheelchaire race was won by Tatyana McFadden – who also won the 2014 London Marathon race.

Read more about the 2014 London Marathon

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