Bork Wins High Jump At U.S. Paralympic Championships

MIRAMAR, FL - In his first time competing at the U.S. Paralympic Championships, Dakota Wesleyan University track and field athlete Hunter Bork experienced immense success.

Bork competed in three events at the championships, which ran June 17-19 in Miramar, Fla. The Mount Vernon, S.D., native took first in the high jump, third in the long jump and eighth in the 100-meter dash.

Bork, who will be a junior at DWU in the fall, started competing in the high jump and long jump this season for the Tiger track and field team and was able to hit the qualifying standard for the U.S. championships in both events. Friday afternoon, Bork won the high jump competition with a leap of 4-feet-10.25 inches.

Saturday, Bork competed in the long jump, where he finished third with a mark of 13-01.25. He also competed in the 100-meter dash, where he finished eighth in 16.45 seconds. Heading into the weekend, Bork was unsure if he would be able to participate in the 100 because he had to order a new running prosthetic and was unsure if it would be ready on time, but doctors got the prosthetic ready and Bork was able to compete.

The U.S. Paralympic Championships are open to all male and female athletes with amputation or limb losses and other physical disabilities. Bork lost his left leg to osteosarcoma, a cancerous bone tumor, when he was 18. He and DWU track and field coach Pat Belling made the trip to Florida early last week. Bork was able to fundraiser the money needed to make the trip thanks to donations from people in the Mitchell and Mount Vernon communities.