1994 World's Fastest Time A.K.A. [above knee amputee] over Marathon Leighton Smith 5 hours 58 minutes 13 seconds Christchurch New Zealand

I believe I was the first lower limb amputee in the world to compete in an able-bodied Half Marathon using crutches here in New Zealand in 1991. [1991 Arrowtown to Queenstown Half Marathon] The previous year; 1990 I competed in the same event as an able-bodied runner and finished in 15th Place in a time of 1 hour 15min. And then of course 2 weeks later I had my near-death motorcycle accident on 27 April 1990. So it was exactly one year between being an able-bodied runner and an amputee athlete.

 

I completed my 1st Marathon as an amputee on crutches in November 1992 in our local Speight's Riverton to Invercargill Marathon. I finished in a time of 6 hours 28 minutes 6 seconds.

 

I went on to complete a total of 6 Half & 6 Full Marathons as an amputee [hemipelvectomy] athlete using standard hospital issue crutches between 1991 and 1998 [8 years] here in New Zealand aged 28-35. I weighed around 70-72kg, height: 172cm/5ft8in, and was optimally fit in muscle strength, endurance, and elasticity/flexibility, plus cardiovascular [aerobic] endurance. My body fat percentage was around 10-12%. That enabled me to achieve such extreme athletic performance. I trained in the gym for muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility. I trained mainly on hard grass, sand, and gravel surfaces when 'crutching'. I believe I would have crutched around 1 million hops in training & racing over my lifetime. 1 crutch hop is equal to around 800-900cm or just short of 1 meter. Work it out: a full Marathon is 42.2km...so for me that equated to around 42,000 hops. My technique was a 2-step-skip/hop.

 

I don't believe there is another hemipelvectomy amputee anywhere else in the world who has achieved that feat. And I have paid the ultimate price for such extreme athletic performance. In 2010 I had my good right leg hip joint replaced.

 

I also competed in the 1993 New Zealand Disabled Sporting Championships in Auckland. I won 7 gold, 1 silver, and 1 bronze medal/s and broke 5 New Zealand records in the Men's S9 category in Swimming. I represented the Otago-Southland provinces. It was a great moment in my sporting career.

 

Today now aged 58 I enjoy learning to use my new prosthesis. I will upload pics of it a.s.a.p. I ride my Diamondback mountain bike for exercise - I tilt the seat to 40 degrees to the left of center so that my one gluteus maximus [cheek butt] of my good right leg can sit on the seat safely without slipping off under hard acceleration. I still swim. And I still exercise regularly in the gym.

 

Read more here: www.flickr.com/photos/35707376@N00/51986446472/in/album-7...

Done