Jean Driscoll can go faster in her wheelchair than the world's best marathoners  can run! In April, Jean finished the Boston Marathon in 1 hour 34 minutes 22 seconds. That's about 33 minutes faster than the winning male runner! She competed on the track, too. She was second in the 800 meter wheelchair race at the 1992 Olympics. Jean doesn't like to be told she's brave. "I'm in sports because I'm a competitive person!" Jean was born with spina befida , a birth illness that damages the spine . She began to use a wheelchair to get around in high school. Then she tried wheelchair race and was amazed." Players crashed into each other and fell out of their chairs," she says, "It was fun." Jean tried other wheelchair sports. At the University of Illinois, her wheelchair basketball team won two national titles. Now Jean coaches and teaches. She tries to get people to set goals. "When I sign my a utograph ,says Jean, "I write, dream big and work hard." What made Jean take part in sports?
She was competitive. She was brave. She was strong. She was disabled.