This year saw the racing events expanded, with the addition of a true downhill event, featuring the Adaptive Sports' Center's 4-wheel "gravity machines" which are wheel chairs dedicated to downhill racing. Also new this year, was the opportunity for all disability groups to race off-road, which is an expansion of the main event: The hill climb and cross country handcycle races at CBMR, which was contested on the amazing One-Off Handcycle, designed for serious off-road work by Mike Augspurger, who is also a co-organizer of the event and sponsor.
It's unfortunate that Ernst Van Dyk (RSA) may be best known to the general public following this years London marathon when pictures of his collision with Joshua George (USA) where carried by newspapers and TV stations worldwide. The two elite wheelchair racers crashed together just yards from the finishing line and ended up in the crash barriers, and the news
On Saturday 16th August 2008, Darol Kubacz achieved his dream of becoming the first paraplegic to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro purely under his own power. Reaching 18,400ft, Darol completed the grueling climb in 10 days and sat higher than any other paraplegic has climbed without help.
The new course is the toughest in the history of the event, with an overall climb of over 16,000ft, organisers are keen to ensure participants have prepared adequately for the world's toughest wheelchair and handcycle race. A list of qualifying events is due to be released by the start of November, with upcoming events in both the USA and Europe counting towards qualification.
Challenge Alaska, organisers of the famed Sadler's Alaska Challenge are getting set to make an announcement about the 2009 extra special 25th Anniversary race known for being the world's hardest wheelchair and handcycle race.
Darol Kubacz is back on Kilimanjaro with his Freedom For Life team having launched another attempt to become the first paraplegic to make it to the summit of Africa's highest mountain. 2 years ago, during his first summit bid, Darol was forced to turn back with 'just' 3,000ft to go when he developed pulmanory edema (altitude sickness) and came close to death, he's spent these last two years training and preparing for another attempt and started out from the base on 7th August.
Each time the Paralympics roll around there is a little more press interest and recognition for the athletes taking part, hopefully this year will see some events aired at prime time on national TV stations. Though we wont hold our breath for that one. One way China has gone further than previous host countries is by making a pretty impressive website dedicated to the Paralympic Games themselves.
You may of noticed the little Flickr RSS feed in the sidebar, well this displays random photo's from our group on Flickr and we want you to join us in showing how you push the limits in a wheelchair.
"Former" quadriplegic Aaron Baker is hitting the road, in style. The world youth motocross champion and professional biker who broke his neck to join the quad club in 1999 has gone on to defy the odds and make a remarkable recovery. Able to walk with a cane, the paralysis still affects him physically (technically he is still a quadriplegic, with severe muscle weakness) but not to the extent that he had feared when lying in the dirt after a crash, with no feeling below his neck. Or indeed to the extent that his doctors told him, their diagnosis was that the quadriplegia and paralysis would be irreversible.
Hilary has been a quadriplegic for the last 7 years thanks to a progressive degenerative disease called reflex sympathetic dystrophy and has no movement below her neck, but she's already set sailing records. She became the first quadriplegic sailor to cross the English Channel to France in 2005, and then last year she completed a solo circumnavigation of the Isle of Wight.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
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