A quadruple amputee and paralympic athlete from County Durham is aiming to raise £10,000 in order to once again ‘achieve the impossible’.
Lyndon Longhorne has shared news of his latest venture - attempting to become the first quadruple amputee to complete the Ironman Triathlon in under 24 hours.
The event comprises a 2.4-mile open water swim, a 26.2-mile marathon, and a 112-mile bike ride - roughly the distance between Newcastle and Edinburgh. But Longhorne is no stranger to doing the impossible.
Despite contracting meningitis at eight-and-a-half months resulting in the amputation of both legs, his right arm, and left fingers, Lyndon hasn’t let this hold him back.
He competed in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics and was set to compete in this year’s Paris Olympics until injuries meant that he had to step down.
Lyndon, now aged 28, said: “It was a blow to miss the games and I’ve since retired from swimming. It would have been so easy to just sit back now, but easy isn’t what I’m about. I’m always looking for new, bigger challenges so when the Ironman Triathlon was suggested I just thought ‘sign me up’”.
He added: “I’ve been told breaking the 24-hour barrier is medically impossible, but I’m living proof that nothing is impossible”.
Lyndon, from Crook, County Durham, is partnered with Liverpool John Moore University for medical research, who have warned him that it will take at least 12 months of training to crack the 24-hour mark. But his biggest obstacle is not the training or his disability.
He cannot complete the Ironman Triathlon in his goal of less than 24 hours without specialist equipment which is set to cost £10,000 and is now appealing to local businesses for their support.
Lyndon said: “There are used hand cycles available on there for a few thousand pounds, which are far cheaper than buying one brand new – and they are just as good. However, the chair has to be specially adapted in order for me to do this and that’s a lot more expensive.
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“But once the equipment is there, it opens the floodgates when it comes to doing more charity fundraising challenges like this in the future.”
To find out more about the challenge, visit: https://lyndonlonghorne.com/fundraising/
Visit Lyndon’s GoFundMe page HERE.
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