'One Revolution' provides new prosthetic leg for climber disabled by rockslide


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SALT LAKE CITY — In 2009, Chris Waddell summited Mt. Kilimanjaro without the use of his legs. The 13-time Olympic medalist used a specialized hand-pedaled vehicle to carry himself to the top of Africa's tallest peak. Now he works to change the way the world sees people with disabilities through his foundation, One Revolution.

One of the porters on that 2009 ascent was a man named Tajiri, who lost a leg in a rockslide. One Revolution brought Tajiri to the Hangar Clinic in Utah from Tanzania to be fitted with a new prosthetic that will improve his mobility.

"Our mission with One Revolution is to turn perception of people with disabilities upside down. Tajiri is the first Tanzanian amputee to summit Kilimanjaro. So in a place where disability often makes you totally outcast, he's someone who is totally flipping that upside down.

"People said 'It's impossible, he'll never make it to the top.' Well, it is possible, because he made it to the top. That's really the hope of what we're doing as an organization, but also what's he's doing as an individual," Waddell said.

Tajiri hopes to climb again after receiving his new prosthetic leg.

A documentary of Waddell and Tajiri's journey to pedal and climb to the top of Kilimanjaro is called 1 Revolution and will be shown on Wednesday, July 31, 2013 at 5:30 p.m. at Brewvies Cinema (677 S 200 W, SLC). Tickets are $5.

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Jennifer Hardman

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast