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✓ for NIKE! First EVER cerebral palsy signee is here

16/10/2018
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Justin Gallegos has made history by being the first cerebral palsy runner to be signed by Nike on the 6th of October 2018, which happened to be World Cerebral Palsy Day. Like the greats; Neymar and Serena Williams, Justin now joins the list of professional athletes sponsored by giant sportswear.

The 20-year old runner thought he was just finishing another cross country race but Nike Insight Director, John Douglass was waiting at the finish line to offer him the contract. It was a whirlwind of emotions when the athlete received what could be the biggest surprise of his life – a three year contract with Nike.

In an emotional post on Instagram he said:

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Today on world Cerebral Palsy Awareness Day, I reached a milestone in my running journey! Today I made Nike history and became the very first athlete with Cerebral Palsy to sign a contract with Nike! You don’t realize how realistic and emotional your dreams are until they play out before your very eyes! Signing this contract was a huge success for me and I would not have made it without my friends and family and teammates! This was perhaps the most emotional moment in my seven years of running! Growing up with a disability, the thought of becoming a professional athlete is as I have said before like the thought of climbing Mt. Everest! It is definitely possible, but the odds are most definitely not in your favor! Hard work pays off! Hundreds of miles, blood, sweat, and tears has lead me here along with a few permanent scars! But the journey is damn sure not over!!! Looking back, I would guess there is only a few select people who would see me were I am today! I have gone through just about everything in the book to be where I am today! I was once a kid in leg braces who could barely put on foot in front of the other! Now I have signed a contract with Nike Running! Trust the process! And most of all trust in God! God is good! Thank you to all my friends, family, and teammates on running club, and now a brand new atmosphere on teammates with Nike! This moment will live forever! Thank you everyone for helping show the world that there is No Such Thing As A Disability! #ProfessionalAthlete #SWOOSH #Nike72 #NikeTrackandField #NikeXC #ThereIsNoFinishLine #StrongerEveryMile #NoSuchThingAsADisability #NikeRunning #Limitless #Breaking2 Video Credits: @elevation0m

A post shared by Justin "Magic" Gallegos (@zoommagic) on

“You don’t realize how realistic and emotional your dreams are until they play out before your very eyes! … This was perhaps the most emotional moment in my seven years of running! Growing up with a disability, the thought of becoming a professional athlete is as I have said before like the thought of climbing Mt. Everest!” said Justin.

“I was once a kid in leg braces who could barely put on foot in front of the other! Now I have signed a contract with Nike Running! Trust the process! And most of all trust in God! God is good!” he added.

The athlete who at one point in his depended on a walker to help him move around expressed his excitement of being part of the Nike family.

Kenyan long distance runner and current marathon world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge congratulated Justin on his new contract.

This new partnership has proven that there is nothing like inability. If anything, it embodies and redefines what Nike means when they say ‘Just Do It.’

Just Do It, even when the odds are stacked against you.

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