11-Year-Old Girl Wears Bandage Instead of Shoes And Wins 3 Gold Medals, Twitterati Ask Nike to Help

Internet is full of incidents that tell you that the world is now rapidly moving towards doom very soon. However, once in a while you come across something that restores your faith in humanity and makes you think ‘it’s not all that bad, eh!’ Case in point this girl from the Philippines who happened to be an exemplary athlete but didn’t have money to buy shoes and the internet helped her get a pair.

As revealed by Indian Express, an 11-year-old track athlete from the Philippines won three gold medals in an inter-school running meet while participating in 400 meters, 800 meters and 1500 meters competitions. She ran barefooted or if you are willing to consider a makeshift pair of shoes made entirely out of bandages! The photos of the girl named Rhea Bullos went viral on social media. It showed Rhea covering her foot with bandages in the shape of shoes and even putting a hand-made logo of Nike on her foot.

@Nike This is Rhea Bullos of Balasan, Iloilo, Philippines. She won 3 golds in the 400, 800, and 1500 meter run at the Iloilo Schools Sports Council Meet 2019.

📷 | Predirick B. Valenzuela pic.twitter.com/lTu8FklbTl

— mis_ter_e (@_mis_ter_e_) December 10, 2019

Many people tagged Nike and asked the popular sports brand to gift a pair of shoes to the young athlete and help in encouraging her to do well. After the photos went viral, CEO of basketball store Titan 22, Jeff Cariaso, helped the girl. He asked Twitter users to help him get in touch with the girl.

Later, another sports store named SM City reached out to Rhea and gave her a new pair of shoes, socks and a sports bag. The smile on little Rhea’s face showed just how much these things meant to her.

LOOK: SM City buys new shoes for Rhea Bullos, a Balasan runner who has been trending on social media after her picture wearing makeshift ‘Nike’ shoes went viral.

Rhea was taken to the SM Store in SM City Iloilo where she was bought a new pair of shoes, socks and a sports bag. pic.twitter.com/EXo879Gbg5

— Daily Guardian (@dailyguardianph) December 11, 2019

It gets important to encourage young girls to nurture their ambitions and fulfill their dreams in a time when women are fighting gender discrimination and crimes like harassment and rape all over the world.