Lex Gillette: A leap in the dark

The Documentary Podcast

• Episode: Lex Gillette: A leap in the dark
• Website: The Documentary Podcast
• Feed URL: http://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p02nq0lx.rss
• Duration: 00:27:29
• Published: 2021-07-20 05:30

Lex Gillette was seven years old when his eyes stopped working. At first, things were a little blurry, a little distorted. Then, after 10 operations to treat the retinas that kept detaching in both his right and his left, he saw nothing but darkness. But that did not stop him: Lex learned to ride a bike. He learned to run around. And eventually, he learned to to jump - jump farther than any other blind person in the world. Lex Gillette - world record long jumper, four time Paralympic medal winner - is on his way to Tokyo in 2021 to get the gold medal he has wanted since he was a child. The other half of the Lex Gillette Paralympic success story is his guide coach, Wesley Williams.