"It was 14 years ago that doctors told him he would never walk again after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing his vehicle, leaving him paralyzed below the waist."
Posted on 01/16/2020 8:41:41 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
Adam Gorlitsky hit the wall hard during his second marathon attempt around the mile 20-mark this past Saturday at the Charleston Marathon in South Carolina. The only other time he had ever run this far was during his first marathon attempt last March at the Los Angeles Marathon.
While battling against pain in his wrists and legs and pushing the limits on the motors on his ReWalk Robotic Exoskeleton, Gorlitsky fought on, not only hoping to capture his first marathon finish, but also better the world record for fastest marathon in a robotic walking machine.
He did just that after starting on Thursday night at 10:34 p.m. and finishing around 7:50 a.m. on Saturday, giving him the record with an official time of 33 hours, 16 minutes, 28 seconds.
This has been the 33-year-old’s goal for four years, ever since he purchased the $80,000 device. It was 14 years ago that doctors told him he would never walk again after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing his vehicle, leaving him paralyzed below the waist.
Determined to regain his independence, Gorlitsky slowly worked toward that goal in his wheelchair until he realized he wanted to do more. That’s when he found the exoskeleton and made it his goal to walk 1 million steps in races for his nonprofit I Got Legs, which enables athletes with physical challenges by providing opportunities, programs, and grants that unlock an improved quality of life.
Gorlitsky has completed roughly 50 races so far in the suit, mostly at the 5K and 10K distances. But the marathon has been on his mind since he started. That’s why he signed up for the L.A. Marathon last year.
(Excerpt) Read more at runnersworld.com ...
DANG!
The extraordinary human spirit at work!
Good. This man kicked some ass.
Very inspiring!
Wow...good for this gentleman...perservering to the end...
"It was 14 years ago that doctors told him he would never walk again after falling asleep at the wheel and crashing his vehicle, leaving him paralyzed below the waist."
That's impressive right there. All day, all night and another half day?
Reminds me of the stories of Indians (and Kalahari hunters) that ran down their prey over the course of a day.
That is great to see. I could use something like that to help me jog. Probably more like ride a bike since he’s carrying 100% of its weight.
This IS *IMPRESSIVE*! I’d give it today’s POR (Press On, Regardless) award.
I can just imagine all of the machine faults, glitches and the human problems (chafing & others) that he has gone through! And there are the normal human functions that need to be accommodated over a 33 hour period, how much of that stuff needs to be unstrapped?
Kudos to him AND his support team!
Something something Ironman Triathlon
“Something something Ironman Triathlon”
Only from the waist down. That is just a Half-Ironman.
“Get away from her, you B*TCH!”
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