Elexis (Lex) Gillette, has been blind since the age of 8,and graduated from ECU. Congratualtions to Verdina & Rickey Gillette Simms of Raleigh…. WE are proud of your son Lex. God Speed to him in the Paralympics!!!!
Listen to our interview:
Lex Gillette is an American track and field athlete who has proved to the world that there are absolutely no excuses. Retina detachments in both eyes have left him with the challenge of living life with no sight. Fortunately for Lex, once he lost his sight, he gained a vision.
August 29, 2012 marks the beginning of the Paralympic Games being held in London, England. As the 2008 and 2004 silver medalist in the Paralympics and currently the fastest totally blind American athlete over 100 meters, Lex has one goal, winning gold in the Paralympics for the United States of America in 2012.
About Lex
Elexis “Lex” Gillette has proved to the world that there is absolutely nothing that can deter us from realizing our dreams. As a totally blind track and field athlete, Lex has acquired a world record, two Paralympic silver medals, eight American records and twelve national championships. Think it came easy? Think again.
The average eight-year-old child can be seen riding a bike, shooting baskets or playing at a nearby playground, but Lex was far from being your average child. In 1992, Lex witnessed his eight years of vision fade away due to recurrent retina detachments. Ten operations couldn’t stabilize what little vision he had. After the final operation, Verdina Simms, Lex’s mother, had the difficult task of telling her son that he most likely would not see again. As tough as this was, Simms vowed to teach her son everything that he would need to know in order to be successful in life. Her efforts are seen today through the excellence of her son.
At 19, Gillette saw his dreams come true when he won a silver medal in the long jump at the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Since that performance, Gillette has solidified himself as a top-notch international competitor for Team USA by achieving another silver medal performance at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China. The Paralympic Games are the highest pinnacle of competition for athletes with a physical or visual disability. It’s extremely difficult to succeed at such events; however, Gillette has managed to medal at both Games at which he has competed. In May of 2011, Gillette reached a major milestone by breaking the world record in the long jump for totally blind athletes by jumping 6.73m (22 ft. 1 in) at the Desert Challenge Games. This had been a record that stood for 19 years.
Although his life has been severely altered, Gillette believes that it was meant for him to be blind. Through his Christian faith, he believes that God is allowing him to serve as an example to the world that there is no task that is too difficult. As an athlete, motivational speaker and singer/song writer, Gillette exemplifies the phrase, “No Need for Sight When You Have a Vision”.
Lex Gillette’s vision for London 2012 is nothing but gold. We would like to invite you to become part of Team LEX and follow his journey to the London Paralympics by donating to his training fund, following his blog or staying in touch with him on twitter.
