Pumping his arms, his feet hitting the ground in quick succession, Gavin O'Sullivan is a rising Toronto high school track star with dreams of gold.
The West Humber Collegiate Institute student was training on Thursday for the high school provincial track-and-field championships. O'Sullivan will be running the 100-metre dash on Friday – and he'll be doing it with his partner Linden Bennett right by his side. That's because O’Sullivan is blind.
The high school sprinter lost his vision during childhood. Last May, O'Sullivan moved to Toronto from Jamaica and has since become a celebrity at his school.
Thursday's practice was attended by some of his peers, many of them watching and cheering from the bleachers while O'Sullivan and Bennett sprinted down the track. They were joined together by a figure-eight shaped rope, which they each hold onto while running.
"He's a great trainer," O'Sullivan said of Bennett. "When I'm going slow he says, 'Come on, come on, you can do it.'"
O'Sullivan, however, doesn't need much encouragement. Off the track, he encourages other students with disabilities to follow their dreams.
"I want to say to all students who have a disability, 'You can do everything; you should not limit yourself,'" he said.
O'Sullivan is also an accomplished pianist. He says music is his first love, and he often listens to a song while prepping for a race.
"When I'm warming up, I like to have a song playing," he said.
O'Sullivan will be competing in the visually impaired 100-metre race on Friday. His coach is hoping for a top three finish, but O'Sullivan says he plans on taking the top prize home.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Scott Lightfoot
