Visually impaired athlete runs half-marathon, inspiring others along the way

A visually impaired athlete completed the La Valette Half Marathon on Sunday, aided by his 16-year-old guide. Jesper Mathiesen, who ran accompanied by his guide Tommy Wallbank, completed the race in two hours, three minutes and 37 seconds.  "I was really happy to cross the finish line, especially as the last 5km was a big struggle for me," Jesper Mathiesen told Times of Malta. "It was a great feeling to finish the race. I was really happy because I had my doubts if I could finish on the last kilometres."

The 29-year-old Danish runner was born with a serious eye condition that left him with only five per cent of normal vision as a child, worsening as he got older. Despite this, Jesper caught the running bug, and took part in a number of road running races and half marathons throughout the years. In 2019, he even hiked up Africa’s tallest mountain peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

He is the first known visually impaired athlete to take part in a Malta marathon race.“There were a lot of mixed emotions when we crossed the line,” 16-year-old Wallbank told Times of Malta. “We were both extremely happy to have finished the race. Considering all of the training we have done together; we...