Jami Goldman
American sprinter (1968 - )
- || At The Bottom
1988 -- As she struggled through a snowdrift that reached up to her knees, 19-year-old Jami Goldman didn't realize these were the last steps she'd ever take. While driving home from a ski trip to spend the holidays with her family, Goldman and her friend Lisa Barzano had skidded off a deserted road in northern Arizona. Stranded inside a Chevy Blazer, the pair had no food or water, no source of heat, and no way to contact the outside world. After three days inside the vehicle, they tried to make an escape; unable to move more than a few feet from the car, Goldman and Barzano retreated. But those few minutes in the snow would prove devastating, as frostbite began to set in. When the young women were finally discovered after a maddening eleven days of being trapped, they were dehydrated and near death. Goldman's legs were in terrible shape; after three weeks of futile therapy, they were amputated below the knee.
- || At The Top
2000 -- It was July 14, and Jami Goldman looked up into the crowd of 25,000 people in Sacramento, all buzzing with excitement as they watched the field of Olympic hopefuls as they prepared for their qualifying heats. At 32 years old, Goldman was there with other physically disabled athletes, readying for an exhibition race at her best distance, the 100-meter dash. Jami had hoped to secure a slot in the Paralympics, to be held in Sydney later that year, but she was not among those who qualified; though she was a double amputee, she competed against athletes who might only have lost one leg or part of a leg. Even so, Goldman was an elite runner in her sport, setting a world record for a double-BK ("below the knee") amputee in both the 100-meter and 200-meter events. She had also appeared in a commercial for Adidas and would eventually go on to appear in two Steven Spielberg films. But on this day, Jami Goldman turned in the race of her life, shattering her own world record by more than half a second.
- || The Comeback
Nine years after losing her legs, Goldman had learned to use artificial limbs but was still adjusting, physically and mentally, to her status as a double amputee. She moved to Southern California and earned a degree at Cal State-Long Beach. Then, in 1996, her prosthetics fitter urged her to try running. Wearing newly designed, J-shaped prosthetics known as "Cheetahs," Goldman -- who had never enjoyed exercise before her accident -- suddenly found her calling. "Running has changed my life," Goldman recalls. "It was hard work and it still is, and a lot of wonderful things have happened to me because of my running. It's helped me become more accepting of myself as an amputee." Not only did Goldman enjoy running, but she also became exceptionally good at it and began entering competitions. Within a few years, she had caught the eye of Barbara Edmonson, a former Olympic medalist and former world record holder in the 100-meter dash. She began training alongside able-bodied Olympic hopefuls, pushing herself to be faster each day.
