By Tamas Mondovics
Brandon resident below-knee amputee, David Prince, 29, and member of the 2012 U.S. National Paralympic Track and Field Team, which sported its best talents during last year’s London Paralympic games, made some headlines last month.
Prince, an IMG Academy trainee, set a new world record to win the men’s T44 200-meter at the U.S. Paralympics Track & Field Championships.
IMG Academy is a private athletic training institute for youth, high school, collegiate and professional athletes located in Bradenton. The T44 category is for athletes who have a single below knee amputation or who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs.
Heading into the event with the season’s fastest time, Prince’s 22.47 bested South African, Arnu Fourie’s, 22.49 record set at the London Olympics men’s 200m final.
As the reigning Paralympic 400-meter bronze medalist, Prince successfully continued his momentum and annexed his second U.S. Paralympics title in the T44 400-meter race.
Clocking a 49.87, Prince set another world record performance to eclipse his 50.61 world record from the 2012 Paralympic Games and has become the first T44 to break the 50-second barrier in the 400-meter under his speed coach and IMG Academy’s Director of Track & Field and Cross-Country, Loren Seagrave.
Prince’s next stop is a competition in Birmingham, England to prepare for the upcoming IPC Athletics World Championships hosted by France in July.
