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Kenny Herriot is much more than a wheelchair athlete. He was not only one of the best wheelchair racers in the world, he also flies planes, wheelchair boxes, teaches fitness, climbs mountains, shoots rifles, skydives and on top of it all, he’s an inspirational speaker.
A man who shows how to reclaim life better than anyone, read on to learn about one of the greatest wheelchair athletes to come out of Great Britain, Kenny Herriot.
Why He’s Fearless
Growing up in Scotland, Kenny didn’t set out to be a wheelchair athlete. He was a physically active kid and loved being outside. He had boxing lessons, loved playing soccer, ran marathons, lifting weights and one of his biggest loves was racing motorcycles.
After high school, Kenny decided to enlist in the Parachute Regiment of the Scottish army where he served for 5 years. After leaving the army, he opened his own fitness club and taught aerobics and ballroom dance for several years, all while being a single parent.
However, when he was 38, his life came to a halt when he crashed his motorcycle after hitting a patch of gas spilled on the road, causing him to skid and tearing his spinal cord. An athlete who worked hard for his physical abilities, one of the biggest sorrows he says was how years of training can go down the drain in a split second.
The thing about Kenny however is that he didn’t allow himself to wallow in depression. Within four weeks, he was already in his wheelchair and learning how to walk with braces, and 11 months after his injury, when Kenny competed his first road race – the Aberdeen Baker Hughes 10K.
In the years that followed, Kenny became one of the most well-known and decorated wheelchair racers in the world He broke the Scottish marathon record in Thailand in under 2 hours, as well as other Scottish marathon records in cities all over the world, from Barcelona to Berlin. In 2005, he was ranked the 4th fastest wheelchair racer in the world.
But Kenny wasn’t satisfied. In 2009, he set out for the ride of a lifetime – he cycled from San Francisco to New York City in 42 days to raise $500,000 for childhood cancer research, which he did. He’s also represented Team GB in racing in the European and World Championships over the years.
And one of the coolest things he’s done that’s not wheelchair racing-related – Kenny became the first wheelchair user to climb the tallest mountain in Great Britain, Scafell Pike, which he did in August of 2010, to raise money for SCI research.
What Happened Next?
Kenny may be considered past his prime in the world of wheelchair racing, but that hasn’t stopped him from continue to push, and occasionally race. He frequently shoots and hunts with other paraplegics in Scotland as well, and loves to go skydiving and fly planes.
“I have lived more of a life than most of us,” Kenny likes to say, and you know what, I think we have to agree.
ideas@spinalpedia.com
