Paralympic cyclist Colin Lynch has taken to Indiegogo to raise money for a new prosthetic leg which will help propel him towards Rio 2016.
Initially born in Macclesfield to an Irish father and an English mother, Colin spent most of his adult life in Canada after moving there at the age of four.
His connections to Ireland enabled him to join the Irish Paracycling team in 2008 and he finished fourth in the the London 2012 Paralympic games – missing out on first place by a tenth of a second.
“While it was a great experience I probably didn’t give it as much respect as it deserved, I wish I could have given it more both physically and mentally,” he told MM.
“This time around, I think the external trappings will be removed and I can focus on the competition.”
Colin discussed how his current leg had worn down over the years, stating that it doesn’t fit him as well as it once did which causes him great discomfort.
He tries to train as much as he can at the Manchester Velodrome but finds that the issues with his leg prevent him from training for the hours required to be ready for Rio.
“Rio is still a year away. Right now I am just trying to get through qualification and I don’t feel fully prepared for the games,” he said.
“I can’t train the number of hours necessary as if I do too much exercise on the leg it causes me pain. I want to do four or five hours a day but if I do too much on the ill-fitting leg it could cause injury.
“It’s like walking in the most uncomfortable pair of shoes you have ever had.”
Colin’s troubles with his leg started when he broke his foot playing rugby aged 16, but he had no pain from the injury at first.
“I actually walked around with it broken for a few weeks, before the doctors figured out I had a problem,” he said.
“They discovered I had a tumour on my spinal cord that had caused me to lose feeling in my legs.”
Doctors put a cast on the broken foot and removed the tumour, but the cast was so tight that they found it had caused serious damage to the tissue in Colin’s foot.
After seven years of failed plastic surgery efforts to fix the problem, they had to amputate the leg.
The 44-year-old had always loved being on a bike growing up, adopting it as his main form of transport after becoming an amputee.
While Colin does receive some sponsorship this comes in the form of discounts, bike parts and nutritional supplements, so he turned to crowdfunding as a new way to raise money for his prosthetic.
“I was looking around for ideas on how to raise the money and found that a lot of people were doing it and it seemed a great way to reach a broader audience of people.”
The paralympian will be happy with any donations from as low as a pound though donations over £350 allow you to claim a signed jersey from the athlete.
Anyone who donates is also entered into a competition to win a signed jersey which Colin wore in the World Championships.
For a £750 donation, Colin will come to your office to give a group motivational talk about achieving success against all odds and lead a bike ride for the staff.
Colin hopes that if he can raise the money for a new prosthetic he will be able to achieve his goals and win the gold in Rio De Janeiro.
Image courtesy of Colin Lynch via YouTube, with thanks.
You can donate to Colin’s campaign by clicking here.
