So he flew - to a bronze medal in the 400m hurdles at the World Youth Championships in Athletics. A kid who liked to be silly, joke, and do imitations. The help of his extended family, the community that he built, and the success as an athlete allowed Charles the space to be himself. The company turned to courage, the courage to be the best I can be every day.вЂќ When I found out how fast I was, I was blessed with a new company. I stood high on the podium, getting the gold medal in track and field. When I competed in the Special Olympics, I found out just how fast I was. вЂњThat's right, the Special Olympics gave me my first chance to discover the talent I did not know that I had. 'When I was 10 years old, I had a chance to compete in the Special Olympics,вЂќ Charles said. Charles was the youngest of 32 grandchildren, but formed a special bond with the matriarch, Mazelle, known to all those kids as вЂњBig Momma.вЂќДЄnd then Charles discovered something that changed his life - вЂњI learned I could fly.вЂќ Growing up in the midst of poverty in Port Arthur without his father, Charles was an вЂњawkward, sensitiveвЂќ child who was teased by his peers for his instinct to cling to his mother and his maternal grandmother, the most important figures in his life.

In a heart-warming speech delivered at the Special Olympics in 2015, Charles described how his life changed at 10 years old. The story of how he earned the opportunity to become a national champion on the biggest stage in the sport was remarkably unlikely. The needed catharsis with a heavy dose of the uncanny elusiveness and speed possessed by Charles.Д«y the end of the national championship run that culminated with arguably the greatest college football game ever played against USC in the Rose Bowl, Charles had scored 11 touchdowns and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Using the elite track speed that allowed the Port Arthur product to run a 10.13 100m the following year, Charles was gone and the Horns never looked back. The вЂHorns handed the ball to an electric young running back who had already approached or surmounted the 100-yard yard mark rushing in three of his first four games.ДЇrom this writerвЂ™s viewpoint in the upper deck, Charles entered a mass of huge human bodies at the line of scrimmage, then somehow emerged into the open field on the other side. Late in the first quarter, Oklahoma had just closed an early scoring gap to 7-6 after two short drives that resulted in field goals. With the expectations high in 2005 with junior quarterback Vince Young and future pros across the rest of the entire team, what the Longhorns needed was the cathartic release of victory against an unranked Sooners squad. The scoring margin during that interminable stretch? Dominance by Oklahoma - 189-54. One of the fiercest rivalries, but one that had swung in favor of the interlopers from north of the Red River for five long years. One of the biggest stages in college football. To understand the moment, one has to reflect back on the context. The play was one that many Texas Longhorns fans likely remember, the first moment when freshman running back Jamaal Charles cemented himself into the lore of Longhorns football - Octoin the Cotton Bowl against the Oklahoma Sooners.

Jamaal charles