Double amputee named Vertical Run ambassador

Chinese double amputee Xia Boyu is encouraging sports lovers to “run for charity” after the Laureus award winner was named the ambassador for the 2019 SHKP Vertical Run.

This year’s vertical run will be held at the Shanghai International Financial Center in Pudong on October 20. Runners will climb the 1,460 steps to reach the finish line on the 57th floor.

“As a professional sporting event, the vertical run provides participants with a chance to compete together with international climbers,” said Xia. “As a charity event, it raises people’s awareness while passing on the climbing spirit to all.”

Xia is the winner of the 2019 Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year for his unswerving challenge of scaling the world’s highest peak Qomolangma or Mount Everest.

Xia had lost both his legs in 1975 during his first attempt to reach the summit due to frostbite. He had attempted the summit in 2014, 2015 and 2016 as well, but his dreams were shattered owing to avalanche, earthquake and bad weather, respectively.

Xia finally made it on his fifth attempt on May 14 last year, becoming the first Chinese double amputee climber to reach the summit of Qomolangma.

The vertical run this year will feature international runners and employees from dozens of enterprises in Shanghai. All income from the event will be donated to the Shanghai Children’s Health Found to help young patients at the Shanghai Children’s Medical Center. According to the organizers, more than 160 children from poverty-stricken areas around the country have benefited from the project in the past six years.

Ti Gong