Meet George Quarcoo: The Ghanaian-Born Canadian Blind Runner

He is visually impaired but 22 year old Ghanaian-born Canadian, George Quarcoo, is not letting his imperfection in life takes the better side of his bubbling life. Like the saying goes, just because a man lacks the use of his eyes, doesn’t mean he lacks vision and it comes as little surprise that George has taken his destiny into his hands and gradually moving to greater heights with his passion in sports. Know as the ‘GOLD STEVE’, George, who was born on 3^rd December, 1994 in Ghana says, the power to achieve greater things in life doesn’t necessarily depend on the physical state of an individual but rather, the mentality desire of the individual in his quest to attain greater heights.

LIFE
George migrated to Canada at the age of 12 from the capital city of Ghana, Accra. Had he not made the move to Canada, George might have probably been on the busy streets in Accra; selling or begging for arms as Ghana has a poor policy that enhances the life of the physically impaired. He speaks two Ghanaian languages [ Ga and Twi] and in addition to his great African values, says patience is the key in life that solves all problems.

The second-born amongst three other siblings, the Quarcoo family headed by Mr. Robert Quarcoo, has been extremely supportive of his new love for sports and for George, the price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination that whether win or lose, it’s our desire to succeed is what becomes paramount.

ATHLETICS AND VISUALLY IMPAIRMENT
It was at age 16 that George made that great move to start running and it has really paid off for him as his desire to make it to the top has made him the current holder of both the Canadian records for the T12 100m and 200m. On how everything started, George says it was after he was introduced to a guide runner that easily informed his decision to compete at the highest level.

He said: “I have always loved to run but because of my visual impairments, I was limited but when I got introduced to the possibilities of running with a guide runner, that was when I started to look at the possibilities of running at the highest level. It wasn’t easy though because the vision that I have doesn’t enable me to go about doing what normal people do, so, it was important to train myself to adapt to the prospects of running with a guide runner. It has been good so far for me as I keep on improving everyday looking at the kind of efforts and determination I put forth everyday.”

Come September 7th to September 18, the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games will take off under the theme, “Um Mundo Novo/ A New World”, and George is hoping to use the platform to showcase what he is made off. He said: “I want the world to know what I have in me and I believe this year’s Summer Paralympics will be good for me because I have this desire of being at my best self during the games in Brazil. I wasn’t too happy with my timings during the Toronto 2015 Parapan-Am Games but I have put that behind me to focus more on the Olympics. My biggest goals are to break the world records in my categories but as you know, it will take time with hard work and determination but I wouldn’t stop working towards that too.”

In his own words, you have to love yourselves and appreciate who you are FIRST before others can and for someone who is visually impaired, you will either come across people who understand your situation [and willing to lend a helping hand] and at times, people who will just treat you as if you don’t exist but you have to be emotionally strong to adapt to all these kind of situations. “ Most at times when I am out and I mistakenly bump into people, some are kind enough to help you get to where you going but others tend to get mad and start to swear at you and even though I say am sorry, but in all these, you have to be strong. I must also put on record that, getting introduced to sports has really help me built my confidence and now, I am active in hockey, baseball, swimming and did wrestling in the past but in all these, the individual also needs the support of his family as well.”

One thing amazing about Gideon is his DJing [DJ] abilities and his love for Azonto [a dance and music genre from Ghana]. He reveals: “Music has been part of my life and as you are aware, music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent. After I moved to Canada and got introduced to a software called Virtual DJ, I discovered my other side of my musical talents and now, I have a turntable and a DJ controller which enables me to come up with great mixes and I must confess, I love to do Azonto mixes.”

Currently, George ‘GOLD STEVE’ Quarcoo is preparing for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games; which will be his 2^nd major tournament after the Toronto 2015 Parapan-Am Games for Canada.

*** George was talking to Edmund Agbeko in an interview for the Ghanaian News Canada.