Both my inclination and profession, I'm a compulsive newsreader.  In Biden's America, though, reading the news is an endlessly depressing exercise, whether following the domestic disasters or the ones that invariably unfold abroad when there's a weak person in the White House.  All that grimness is why I cannot tear myself away from the story of Adonis Lattimore, a young man born missing one and four fifths of his legs and four fingers.  Yet this extraordinary high school student is the Virginia state wrestling champion — and no, he didn't get there by affirmative action.  He got there by being the best.

I did Brazilian jujitsu for many years (not well, but I did it), so I actually have a fairly good feeling for what's involved in wrestling, whether it's Brazilian or Greco-Roman.  Most fighters get a lot of their dynamic strength from their legs, which propel their bodies forward from the starting position.  In addition, they use both legs and arms to tangle and immobilize their opponent until the opponent taps out.

If you have no legs — or, in the case of Adonis Lattimore, only part of one leg, ending at the mid-thigh — I have no idea where that initial propulsion comes from.  And while you might have an advantage in that your opponent cannot use your own legs against you to pin you down, you have the singular disadvantage that you cannot use your legs against your four-limbed opponent.  Add in having only one finger on your right hand, which affects your grip, and you shouldn't be wrestling at all.  And if you are crazy enough to wrestle, you shouldn't be winning.

But for 17-year-old Lattimore, things are a bit different.  After a 4-3 victory in the Virginia state wrestling championship semifinals, he went on to outscore his opponent 5-1 in the finals.

Image: Adonis Lattimore (edited).  YouTube screen grab.

According to The Virginian-Pilot, Lattimore has always been driven:

"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," said Lattimore, who also has just one finger on his right hand. "Really if you work hard, you can do anything — even win a state championship without legs."

[snip]

During the final, Eagles coach James Sanderlin cheered wildly in the final seconds, while the crowd roared its approval.

"Amazing," Sanderlin said. "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."

You really must click on the linked article and look at the picture of the winners to get a sense of just what Lattimore accomplished.  These videos, too, shine a light on this extraordinary young man:

As I look at creeping (galloping?) totalitarianism in Canada, our terribly sick economy, our missing southern border, and the train wreck unfolding around the world as the world's dictators relive the glories of the Obama years, when they knew America would do nothing to stop them, watching Lattimore overcome extraordinary hurdles is balm to my soul.  We are still a great nation with great people who overcome real hurdles — as opposed to the leftists and their wallowing in imaginary ills while demanding that society bends to their feelings.

Congratulations to Adonis Lattimore!  You are the American spirit.