Wrestler Without Legs Wins State Championship

Adonis Lattimore was born without a right leg and he has a partial left leg. On Saturday, he checked another item off his list of fulfilling his aims, no matter how impossible they may appear. He won the Class 6 wrestling championship.

At the Virginia Beach Sports Center, he defeated Lake Braddock’s Korlan Tran 5-1 to win the Class 6 wrestling championship at 106 pounds. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I knew what it was, and to finally have it happen is just — I don’t know how to explain it,” Lattimore, who has just one finger on his right hand, said.

“Really if you work hard, you can do anything — even win a state championship without legs.”

This season, Lattimore went 32-7 and won his first state championship, finishing his high school career. He finished second in the Region A tournament last week, losing in the final against Ian Arnett of Kellam. On Saturday, Lattimore overcame Robinson’s Caden Smith 4-3 in the semifinals, while Tran defeated Arnett 8-2. In the last seconds of the game, Eagles coach James Sanderlin applauded passionately as the audience yelled their appreciation.

“Amazing,” Sanderlin praised Lattimore and concluded, “He did all the work. I just get to be a part of the journey. It’s an amazing feeling to watch him do it and have the support of the crowd. It was awesome. He’s a hard-working young man. I’m just speechless. It was a goal four years ago, and this year it finally came to fruition. It was a long journey worth everything that we did.”

The opening period of the final ended in a scoreless draw. After the second period, Lattimore had a 2-1 lead. He escaped to start the third for a 3-1 lead, then sealed the deal with a late takedown for two points and a total 5-1 score.

However, when asked about how Lattimore was feeling after his championship run, he said, ” A little exhausted, but great.”

This is certainty the kind of inspirational story that we needed today, how about you?

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