Vision is a very important factor for sports people - track, field or otherwise.

However, for one man in the US the problem of sight is more complex, as although in certain circumstances he can see fine, he is legally blind.

Jacob Griffin was born with bilateral congenital cataracts and had to have his first eye operation at just two weeks old - he has been wearing special contact lenses since.

Speaking to The Hawk Eye, Griffin told of his experiences as a runner.

"I can see everything fine, but sometimes if the sun is out, I have trouble seeing, especially if it is shining right in my face," he said.

"Sometimes if the lines on the course are faded, I have a hard time seeing the lines. If I didn't have my sunglasses on, I couldn't even open my eyes. I couldn't even go outside."

Although for many sports players ortho k lenses would be a great option to deal with shortsightedness, Mr Griffin doesn't have the choice and has found that his sunglasses sometimes cause aggravation on race tracks.

"One time a team tried to get me disqualified because I was wearing sunglasses," he told the publication.

"Last year a starter started yelling at me after the race because I was wearing sunglasses. I showed him the note, but he was still pretty mad."

For the average runner who suffers with shortsightedness, orthokeratology can help eliminate the problems of wearing sports goggles or contact lenses while on the track (dust sticking to lenses etc).

Ortho k lenses are worn at night, so a runner can wake up in the morning with great natural vision as the cornea has been reshaped while asleep and need not think about their vision again until they head to bed in the evening.

By Steve Leng
ADNFCR-2387-ID-19397296-ADNFCR

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