There is always a goal to conquer but often the challenge is another. It is valid for the great champions, it is valid for everyone. It is valid for John Stone, 55 years old from Ischia, Italian Paralympic athlete in Rio in 2016 and holder, among his many world records, also of the one for the marathon on crutches. A few days ago he completed the Camino de Santiago, in just over a month and a half he concluded this journey that had begun on July 9th from Saint Jean pied Deport, in the French Pyrenees. Not only that. Once he arrived in Santiago he did not stop but continued on to Finisterre, where for the men of the Middle Ages the world ended and the scallop was collected, the Pecten jacobaeus shell symbol of the Camino. A thousand kilometers to raise awareness among everyone, from the institutions, to the federations to the sponsors to buy handbikes for disabled people who would like to do sports and do not have the means, which, in these Paralympic days is a more current issue than ever and that should be addressed because often (still too often) the practice of sports for those with a disability is not an acquired right. A thousand kilometers of walking, about ten hours a day, a demanding distance for anyone, let alone for someone who faces it with only one leg, with crutches and with a backpack of about ten kilos on his shoulders. Not a sporting feat but, as he tells it, a “fantastic and magical story” to bring a message of urgency and brotherhood to the world, to ensure that those who can lend a hand to people with serious disabilities to make them feel better, to launch a fundraiser that will serve to purchase machinery and equipment to improve the condition of those who daily, and not only in sports, come across barriers and prejudices. His new life began several years ago. Sasso lost his left leg in a scooter accident: he was sixteen and with a friend were hit by a car. He learned to move with crutches, to play with them and then to do sports. They call him the man of records because in his new life as an amputee he decided that with sports he had to exaggerate. Italian paracycling time trial champion, Italian champion and European bronze medalist in paratriathlon, mountaineer, marathon runner, top scorer in the Italian amputee football championship, world champion in Mexico with the national amputee team, marathon record holder in 2005 at the New York City Marathon in 5 hours 5 minutes and 44 seconds. Years ago, in 2019, he returned to New York to accompany a group of disabled athletes in the marathon, whom he had coached but above all set as an example: “It’s impossible to realize how difficult it is to run a marathon on a pair of crutches,” he said at the time. “Everything counts. What counts is the head, the thought, the desire to live, to prove above all to oneself that nothing is impossible, that fate can be beaten, that the limits for someone who lost a leg in a car accident at sixteen are those set by others. You are there to show everyone that there is always a road to take and that it’s worth it.” And this time the road took him to the Camino de Santiago to conquer a dream.
Jack Williams
Jack Williams established himself as the editor-in-chief of The Vermilion with rigorous journalistic traits and an incessant quest for truth. His career began as an investigative reporter, where he quickly gained a reputation for his in-depth research and insightful articles. Williams takes his role at The Vermilion very seriously. Since he became editor-in-chief, he has set an editorial line based on impartiality, factual accuracy, and context relevance; this has established The Vermilion as a reference for political, economic, and global news. Under his leadership, the media continues its mission of reporting news with accuracy and equanimity, giving a voice to those who are often overlooked by large-scale media. Jack dedicates himself to fulfilling this mandate with passion, rigour, and unwavering determination.