Doctors told Hunter Woodhall's parents he'd never be able to walk on two legs.
The now-high school junior from Syracuse, Utah, was born with a congenital defect called fibular hemimelia, which means he was born without fibulas in his lower legs. The choice: go through surgery and grow up in a wheelchair, or amputate both legs and learn to walk on prosthetics.
With their son scarcely a year old, Woodhall's parents made the decision to have both of his legs amputated.
At the time, they did not know they had jumpstarted the career of one of the world's best paralympic athletes.
"Running took a hold of my life," the lifelong athlete said. "I love training."
MileSplit caught up with Woodhall at the Great Southwest Classic last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Team Utah was disqualified in the 4x200m, but the junior came back from that disappointment to place third in the morning session's 400m in 48.06 and anchor Team Utah to a third-place finish in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:14.71.
Watch Hunter Woodhall race the 400m at the Great Southwest Classic:
It's been an exciting spring for Woodhall. He won his first Utah state title in the 400m in a new PR of 47.63. He also placed third in the 200m and set a new PR of 22.01 in the preliminary round.
He's not only the best 400m runner in the state of Utah, he's one of the best quarter-milers in the world for his disability category, regardless of age.
As a 16-year-old, Woodhall brought home bronze in the T-44 200m and silver in the T-44 400m at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha, Qatar.
The T-44 category includes athletes with lower-limb disabilities and is inclusive of all ages.
Next up for Woodhall are the U.S. Paralympic Team Trials from June 30-July 2, and the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin, Germany, from July 16-17. He hopes to run well enough to represent Team USA at the Paralympic Games in Rio this September.
The International Paralympic Comittee (IPC) named Woodhall one of 10 athletes to watch for the fall championship.
Read the 2015 MileSplit feature on Hunter Woodhall: Paralympic Star Runs World's Top 400m Time
