Mario Lemieux

Picture of Mario on the ice. (http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b355/THExCROW/Pittsburgh%20Penguins/MarioLemieux.jpg)

My hero is Mario Lemieux. Mario Lemieux is a professional hockey player who retired in 2006. Mario played 17 seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins, led them to two Stanley Cups and scored 690 goals and 1,033 assists. Mario was born in 1961 in Montreal, Quebec. Currently he is the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins and he lives in Sewickley, which is a Pittsburgh suburb.

My hero has not only been an outstanding hockey player, he has also battled through many health issues like spinal disk herniation, Hodgkin's lymphoma, chronic tendinitis in his hip flexor and chronic back pain. This is what makes him so amazing, because he managed to be one of the best hockey players to ever live even with all the obstacles he had to overcome and battle through. He also led the Canadian national team to an Olympic gold medal and two World Cups of Hockey. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000 and many have said that if Lemieux hadn't been plagued by so many health issues his on-ice achievements would have been even higher than they already are. In the same year that Mario was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, (1993) he created the Mario Lemieux Foundation. The purpose of the Mario Lemieux Foundation is to fund medical research projects, mostly for cancer. Then in 2007 Lemieux, along with 12 other professional athletes founded the Athletes of Hope organization, which is a charitable organization that helps professional athletes get involved with charitable causes.

My hero lives in an affluent suburb of Pittsburgh called Sewickley. He lives with his wife and four children and is the owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before Lemieux played in the NHL he grew up and lived in Montreal, Quebec, with his three brothers.

My hero is still alive and he was born in 1961. He played hockey his whole life from the age of 3 years old.

The reason Mario Lemieux is important to me is because, first of all, he was an amazing hockey player and I look up to him because anyone would want to be as good as he was when they get older, but I also look up to him because even though he had numerous health problems, he battled through them and continued to be an outstanding hockey player. He has made a difference in my life because he gives me that never give up and battle through all obstacles in life attitude. Once I heard the story of Mario Lemieux I had the attitude in life to never give up at something no matter how hard it gets.