Timothy Brian Frasure

In September 1992, at age 19, he slipped while hopping between trains travelling through the North Carolina State University campus. He landed under the wheels of the train, which led to his left leg being amputated below the knee. (alumniblog.ncsu.edu, 09 Oct 2012; iwalk.com, 27 Jul 2012; oandp.com, 01 Nov 2008)

HELPING HIS RIVAL
He began working in the prosthetics industry following his accident and made the blades for South African athlete Oscar Pistorius. At the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, Pistorius won gold in their 100m race while Frasure had to settle for bronze. "Of course it is bittersweet. As an athlete I hate to lose, but as a friend and his prosthetist, it made me feel good inside that I've been able to help him achieve his goals." (iwalk.com, 27 Jul 2012; abc.net.au, 10 Sep 2008)

DOPING BAN WITHDRAWN
Following the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, he was given a four-year ban after testing positive for nandrolone. The International Paralympic Committee [IPC] later ruled that it was an accidental use and the ban was dropped. Once reinstated, the IPC wanted to increase the number of times he was to be tested. "It gave me vindication for me to show up at Athens four years later, 31 years old, and run about 0.3 seconds faster than I ran in Sydney." (oandp.com, 01 Nov 2008)