Age: 25
Occupation: Sprinter
After winning a protracted legal battle that could have kept him from competing against able-bodied athletes — critics argued that the prosthetics of Pistorius, whose lower legs were amputated at age 1, were an unfair advantage — the South African sprinter is on track to qualify for the London Olympic Games. A Paralympic world-record holder known as the Blade Runner, Pistorius continues to break barriers, showing that physical impediments are far from impossible to overcome.