Designer legs

These ain't no pirate peg-legs... Aimee Mullins is an athlete, an actress, and a model. While she was an undergraduate at Georgetown University (I spotted her once on campus), she competed against able-bodied athletes in NCAA track and field events and set Paralympic world records in the 100-meter dash (15.77 seconds) and the long-jump (3.5 meters). She has been featured in several books and has acted in five films. She also delivers motivational speeches and when I watched one on Ted.com last night, I knew she would be the subject of my next post. The lady has 12 pairs of legs! Born without fibulas, which required double-amputation at the age of 1, she has used prosthetics as more than functional devices. Her designer legs give her superpowers: speed, beauty, an extra 6" of height. She uses them to redefine her body, both showing and telling how they have transformed her "disability." Aimee has been named one of the fifty most beautiful people in the world by People. She wore the hand-carved wooden legs, made from solid ash, on the runway in 1999 while modelling for British fashion designer Alexander McQueen.