Snowdon wheelchair record

Piece for the South Wales Echo:

PROVING disability is no barrier to sporting achievement, a disabled Welshman is racing up Wales’ highest mountain next month - in his wheelchair.

Rhys Llewellyn of Claude Road, Roath, broke his neck in a freak mountain biking accident in 2000 aged just 21 but is set to defend a remarkable title he claimed last year.

In only their second attempt, Rhys and eight teammates won the Snowdon Push, an annual wheelchair race up the highest peak in England and Wales raising money for the Back Up Trust.

The charity provides opportunities for spinally injured and able-bodied individuals to experience the buzz of outdoor activities together and increase self belief, independence and motivation.

Rhys, a bike mechanic with Halfords before his accident, now works for the charity helping people with spinal injuries adjust to life in a wheelchair.

He said: “It’s about proving to people what is possible. I used to do a bit of climbing and after the accident I didn’t think I would be in the mountains ever again.

“But then last year I climbed Snowdon! You think, if I can get up Snowdon in a wheelchair then it’s no trouble getting around Tescos.

“It helps you pick yourself up when the weather’s terrible and you’re struggling in your chair.”

This year he is aiming to set a new record and break the three-hour barrier for the route from Llanberis to the summit and back down again.

“I’m confident, but it’s going to be hard,” said the 29 -year-old who celebrates his 30th birthday today. "The only place we can save time is on the way up. It was hell for leather coming down last year. I was hanging on for dear life. My brother, who is in the army, reckons it was harder than anything he did in his basic training.”

Walkers are advised to leave seven hours to safely scale the highest mountain in England and Wales (four hours up and three down) and most able -bodied runners would be hard pushed to do it in under three hours, but Rhys and his team have been hitting the local hills to ready themselves for the challenge.

“We’ve been training every Saturday in the valleys and will do some sessions on Pen-y-Fan before the event. The boys are up for it,” he said.

Starting at intervals of five minutes, 15 teams, each including one wheelchair user, will be scaling the 3,650ft mountain on May 24.

Rhys will be supported by eight friends pushing, pulling and encouraging him in his specially adapted “chariot”: his brother Gethin Llewellyn, James & Joe Jones, Gibbo, Paul Nicholas, Matt Bowring, Tom Edwards and Kevin Duncan.

The team hope to raise £2,500 for the Back Up Trust.To support Rhys please go to www.justgiving.com/3hours