Landstown wrestler Adonis Lattimore won a state championship. Then his life changed.
Overwhelming.
That’s the best word to describe how life has changed for Adonis Lattimore and his father, Jerrold.
It began last Saturday when Adonis, born without a right leg and with a partial left leg, defeated Lake Braddock’s Korlan Tran 5-1 to win the Class 6 state wrestling championship at 106 pounds.
A video of Adonis’ victory — shot by Pilot and Daily Press staffer Ray Nimmo — along with his coach’s joyous reaction and a post-match hug from his father, quickly went viral.
The next day, Adonis and Jerrold were watching ESPN.
“He was the second news feed on ESPN,” Jerrold said. “The only story that was ahead of his was the fight with (Michigan basketball coach) Juwan Howard in the game.”
Adonis, who grew up watching ESPN, was in disbelief.
“It was pretty surreal,” he said. “To be on there was really unreal.”
The attention, however, didn’t stop there.
Within a few days, Adonis’ accomplishment caught the attention of national news networks in the U.S. and beyond. The Pilot’s video of Adonis’ state championship match victory currently has more than 650,000 views.
Jerrold has become Adonis’ manager — and Uber driver — as he has fielded more than 75 phone calls over the past week for interviews.
Besides ESPN, Adonis’ story has been featured by CNN, CBS Sports, USA Today, People and many other national networks, newspapers and magazines. His story also has been followed in many international publications, including in Indonesia, Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic.
At The Buzzer, an online publication, recently ranked its most current inspirational athletes of 2022 and Adonis came in at No. 14. The top three were tennis player Naomi Osaka, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and NBA star LeBron James.
Not bad company.
“I was surprised that I got this much attention,” said Adonis, who had just finished doing another television interview. “It’s been a lot more busier than it was before.”
Jerrold agreed.
“To be honest, none of this has sunk in yet,” he said. “Then there’s been the other side of this because it’s been demanding trying to deal with the interviews and phone calls. For me, it’s turned into a business. So, I honestly haven’t had a chance to sit back and digest what has taken place.”
There could be more. The family recently received a phone call from the “Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“They reached out and did an interview. They have an interview before the interview,” Jerrold said. “We haven’t heard anything back from them yet. There’s a possibility.”
Adonis and Jerrold are thankful for everything that has happened since Adonis won the state title.
“I succeeded all odds,” said Adonis, who has received more than 300 direct messages on Instagram. “I accomplished one of my biggest dreams that I had for a long time. I’m pretty proud.”
He and his father said they have so many people to thank for this opportunity, including family, coaches and teammates — both present and past.
“We serve a great God, that’s all I can say,” Jerrold said. “What we think and what God is able to actually do, our vision is so small. So anything that we’re witnessing now, it’s beyond our wildest dreams. I knew things were going to change, but to this level and national outreach, I would have never imagined this.”
Larry Rubama, 757-446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com Follow @LHRubama on Twitter.
