Not many noticed American cyclist Michael Farrell, the slowest of all eight riders yesterday in the men's 1km CP4 time-trial cycling final, when Japan's Ishii Masashi won gold, setting a new world record.

But no one could call Farrell a loser.

Michael Farrell of the United States competes in the men's individual pursuit (CP 4) at Laoshan Velodrome on Sunday. [Agencies]

"I'm a little bit disappointed about that (result), but personally I did pretty well for myself," Farrell told The Paralympian right after the race. "I'd like a medal in the time-trial of the road race. It's my favorite event for which I do most of my training."

The 30-year-old has trained his entire life to get to Beijing. It all began one fateful day back in 1977, when a bizarre accident forever changed his life. The newborn was resting on a couch at home with his mother, who raised English Springer Spaniels. Suddenly, one of the male dogs leaped forward, attacking Farrell on the head.

The 30-year-old suffered a fractured skull and nerve damage that manifested in partial paralysis contained to the right side of his body. As a result, he walks with a slight limp and has little control of his right hand.

"As you move along my limbs, it gets worse and worse," said Farrell. "My circuitry is basically busted. My hip works okay, my shoulder works okay, my elbow a little less. My wrist is pretty much atrophied and turned in.

"My knee works. But I can't rotate my ankle, or flex it upwards. My toes are pretty much useless."

Despite the disability, Farrell made the most of his childhood. As the middle child of three brothers, he grew up surfing and playing pickup games like football and competitive racquetball.

"I never felt I was left out," said Farrell. "There was never a time where I thought people were treating me bad because I'm disabled. But there were definitely times where I had to figure things out to keep up with them."

At age nine, he learned to ride a bike and started racing competitively in high school. In the school's bike club, he met Pamela Welch, now one of the top amateur triathletes in the US -- and his wife since 2007.

In two years, he was riding with the US Paralympic national team and won a pair of gold medals at the 2007 US track nationals.

His Paralympic debut already makes him feel like a winner, even if he finishes last in every race. Farrell is proud of competing in his first Paralympics, and calls it "the biggest race of my life".

He will compete in another track event and two road races.

Agencies contributed to the story