Challenge Extended, Ep: 005 – Jami Goldman Marseilles
Jami Goldman Marseilles is an elementary school teacher, a motivational speaker, an author of two books, and has been featured in two major motion pictures, (including one produced and directed by Steven Spielberg), as well as a highly acclaimed Adidas foot wear tv commercial. Her remarkable chronicle of redemption began on a fateful day in December 1987. At the age of 19, she was driving home from a ski trip in New Mexico with her friend Lisa when they found themselves on a deserted Arizona logging road in a blinding snow storm. After sliding into a snow bank the women found themselves stranded and alone, huddling for warmth in their stalled, now buried vehicle while the storm raged on. Rescued but severely frost-bitten, Jami ultimately had to have both of her legs amputated below the knee. But relearning how to walk again, with her prosthetics, was not enough. In 1996, after watching the Paralympics Games, Jami wanted to become an elite runner herself. Fitted with “Cheetah” legs, she took naturally to running, and soon began to compete internationally. Not only is she the holder of numerous world records and gold medals, Jami is currently the only “double below the knee amputee” woman in the world to have successfully completed a half marathon and full marathon.
