Biography

Marathon History Made

Meet John Tartaglio who has continued to inspire people with his positive attitude and continuous courage. He has received an overwhelming amount of support from people all over the country. John’s story has received national attention by being featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show as a two time guest. People see his courage, relate to his challenges and admire his determination.

On August 22nd, 2004 John was diagnosed with an extremely rare bacterial infection. At 17 years old, John was only 1 of 35 people in medical history to be struck with the disease. To save his life doctors had no choice but to amputate his legs and left bicep that night. John survived although he was only given a 20% chance to live. He endured two months of rehabilitation to get him ready for life back at home. At home and outpatient rehabilitation John focused on regaining his strength and independence. From the very start John set a goal of walking at his high school graduation despite being told that he would never walk again by medical professionals. In only 4 months, John was able to walk a quarter of a mile. John easily met his goal in June of 2005 and walked to receive his diploma at his high school graduation.

Through rigorous workouts consisting of weight training, swimming, cycling, walking, and running John is able to compete in various endurance events. In the fall of 2005 John enrolled into Fairfield University studying biology. Training just as hard as he was working in the school, John was the first person in history to run and complete a 5k and a 10k road race with no legs. John has competed in triathlons including a half iron man (70.3 mile) triathlon. John finished college in 09' and made his mark by making running history again. On November 1st 2009, John ran the NYC Marathon (26.2 miles) in 15 hours 59 minutes, becoming the first person in history to run and complete a marathon with no legs. Still competing in triathlons, cycling events, running events, and exceeding in school John has shown that “How far you fall doesn’t determine who you are, it’s how hard you work to get back up”.

Visit www.johntartaglio.com

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