Internet Desk: In the midst of thousands of runners pushing to finish the Boston marathon, India’s Sagar Baheti achieved the rare feat of completing the 42.2 km course in the visually impaired category, not letting his deteriorating vision get in the way of his goal.
Boston marathon is the world’s oldest, hardest and most competitive annual marathon. Only the fastest qualifiers in their gender and age are allowed to register first. Among 30,000 participants, Baheti overcame all odds and crossed the finish line in 4 hours, 14 minutes and 7 seconds.
Sagar 31 has been running for three years now, a little after he was diagnosed with Stargardts disease which ultimately leads to blindness. Sagar trained twice a day and completed the marathon with the help of experienced, sighted guides – Vincent Hau, a retina specialist from California and Jamie Cohen from Boston, who’ve run the annual marathon many times before.
It was while playing cricket that he noticed something was wrong with his vision. He had problems catching the ball. After consulting several experts, it was concluded that he couldn’t identify objects beyond a meter.
His inspiring tale doesn’t end at the finish line though. Working to raise awareness about visual impairment in India is what led him on the marathon’s path, and he continues to stay on it. “I am raising funds for Massachusetts Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired (MABVI), an association for the blind and visually impaired. They are one of the oldest associations and do some really good work to make it easier for the visually impaired people to become independent. I hope to bring back some of this learning to India,” says Sagar. The Bengaluru-based businessman who runs a flying import and export business of natural stones is also working with an NGO called CEGR that is involved in research to find solutions to genetically caused rare eye diseases and support to those affected, along with his doctor Rajani Battu.