After Long And Windy Journey, Blake Leeper Returned To The Paralympics As ‘One Of The Old Guys’

Everything sunk in for Blake Leeper during the Closing Ceremony of the Paralympic Games Paris 2024.

When Leeper accepted the Paralympic flag alongside Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass, suddenly every sacrifice he’d made in the last 12 years felt worth it.

“I had to take a moment for myself. It was surreal,” Leeper, a double amputee sprinter, said. “I still don’t know to this day how I got picked to do that. I don’t know if I hit the lottery or what.

“For me to be on stage at the end of the Games in front of nearly 70,000 people, I was standing there thinking of my whole career — the ups, the downs, the hard workouts, all the people in my life who supported me. Those all made that moment in my life so worth it to be a part of the handover ceremony.”

Now a two-time Paralympian, Leeper’s previous experience came in 2012 in London. Making his return this summer in Paris, the Kingsport, Tennessee, native finished the men’s 400-meter T62 in 47.32 seconds, just off the podium in fourth, with the three medalists ahead of him all under 30 years old and all clocking under 47 seconds.

“Obviously I wanted the podium, but I was happy with the results in terms of time as it was a personal best for me,” Leeper, 35, said. “The main difference this time was I was one of the old guys now. There are so many young, new amazing Paralympians competing really well and running really fast. It was really awesome to see the development of Paralympic sport from London 2012 to Paris 2024.”

The road from London to Paris over the last dozen years had as many turns in it for Leeper as all his training runs around the oval.

In 2012, Leeper won a silver medal in the 400 — finishing second behind South African Oscar Pistorius, the superstar sprinter who inspired Leeper to pursue Para track and field — and bronze in the 200, introducing himself to the world as one to watch for years to come.

However, the International Paralympic Committee deemed Leeper ineligible to compete in the Rio 2016 Paralympics due to a two-year suspension following a positive cocaine test, which he said was a result from his vicious battle with alcoholism leading up to those Games.

At the time, Leeper told USA Today that he lost his entire identity due to his alcohol use. He often threw up at training after a night of drinking, then would drink once he got home from that day’s training session.

While the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency determined the use of cocaine was not intended to enhance his performance, resulting in a reduced sanction period, the IPC denied his appeal as it had no obligation to recognize it, forcing Leeper to serve the full two years.

Leeper then spent the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic cycle battling for the chance to compete at the Olympics against able-bodied runners. The Court of Arbitration for Sport determined he could not because his prosthetics provide an unnatural advantage.

Another Games missed.

During that timeframe, Leeper moved to Los Angeles and had a baby girl, Thea, who is now 4 years old. His mindset shifted from supporting himself to giving back. His days started filling up with purpose-driven opportunities — such as inspiring Thea to run, becoming a motivational speaker at schools and companies, and engaging in documentary and acting projects in order to motivate others to break boundaries, too.

That’s why bringing the Paralympic Games to Los Angeles in 2028 is going to be so important to Leeper now, and why being selected as the U.S. athlete for the flag handover ceremony was so special.

“For sure I want it to be the best Olympic Games, but my biggest focus is that I want it to be the best Paralympic Games that have ever happened in the world in history. To be a part of that would be the cherry on top of my career,” Leeper said.

“I encourage people to come out and support. Let’s give the world a show. Be excited. Do your research. It’s a great opportunity as there are so many Paralympic athletes out in the world and in your own backyard.”

Stuart Lieberman has covered Paralympic sports for more than 10 years, including for the International Paralympic Committee at the London 2012, Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022 Games. He is a freelance contributor to usparatf.org on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.