Today I'd like to post about a figure skater who should be an inspiration for many. I've seen him competing, also saw an interview with him that made me thinking.
His name is Zoltán Kelemen, born in Romania and he's special. Even though he hasn't won much, he's exceptional in my eyes.
He is an eight-time Romanian national champion. He qualified for the free skate at the 2014 Winter Olympics, the 2014 World Championships, five European Championships, and two World Junior Championships. source
If you look at what he has achieved, you may say he hasn't got any titles and it's true. He has qualified for major events but hasn't got any medals. Now you may ask why on earth would I mention someone like him. The answer is simple. Because given his condition, this is a huge achievement.
He lost the sight in his right eye when he was seven years old. If you don't know what it means to live with one eye, cover one of your eyes and try to live a day, just one day with one single eye. If you don't want to do that, I'll tell you what it means. Estimating distances becomes automatically difficult and you only have half of the image you used to see. Many people live with just one eye, you can get used to it, that's a fact but life is more difficult. You have to pay more attention to everything and there are things you can't do. I know these things as I have a cousin who is in the same situation.
However, despite the difficulties, he started skating. I'm always supportive of those who are competing with disadvantages but it looks like not everyone is like that. Romania requires athletes to do a yearly physical and because of his eye condition, Zoltán wasn't ineligible for government funding for his training and coaching. In other words he got zero support from the government. He had to do it on his own.
When I first heard of him it was at the Olympics. The commentator told us his story and I was shocked. Before you make any conclusions, you need to know that Romania is nowhere in figure skating. There were a couple of skaters in the past but no one has managed to win anything so far. Now knowing this, imagine a Romanian skater that has been denied any funding and help in Romania, who's blind on his right eye, qualifies to the Olympics.
How did he do it? He moved to the US, started coaching kids in order to earn a living and be able to pay for his training. Imagine how hard it must have been to work and train. Usually athletes are full time athletes, their only job is to train. He has been denied that chance because of his medical condition and had to figure out a way to do it. In 2012 he decided to train and work in Switzerland.
He placed 29th at the 2010 Olympics and 23th at the 2014 edition.
I was wondering what have the Romanian Skating Federation have thought when they saw him competing at the Olympics, the only Romanian skater participating at the event. He's definitely a hero in my eyes. He has proven everyone wrong and proved it's possible if there's will.