Paralysed man walks 205 kilometres in robotic exoskeleton
Simon Kindleysides, 36, already has a world record to his name after completing the London Marathon in a similar suit
March 2, 2021
A man paralysed from the waist down walked 205 kilometres for charity in an exoskeleton gifted to him by an anonymous benefactor.
Simon Kindleysides, 36, from Norwich in eastern England, has so far raised more than £13,000 ($18,166) for his local National Health Service trust, the Norfolk and Norwich University Foundation Charity Trust.
Donations will fund a new intensive care unit and an operating theatre for young patients.
His goal last month was to walk 8,000 steps a day to achieve a daily target of four miles – 6.4km.
This would allow Mr Kindleysides to cover a total of 180km over the month.
But he exceeded his target by almost 400 steps a day and walked a total of 125 miles – 205km.
“It took 81 hours and 32 minutes total of walking time for 125 miles,” Mr Kindleysides told The National.
“Next, I want to climb the stairs in a skyscraper. As my exoskeleton suit is the only one in the world that can climb up and down stairs, I want to set a new world record attempt.”
Mr Kindleysides relies heavily on his local hospital after suffering an inoperable brain tumour in 2013, which left him unable to walk. The father of three is prone to seizures.
Before his illness cut his career short, Mr Kindleysides had been a trained dancer.
Undeterred, he became the first paralysed person to walk the London Marathon with the aid of an exoskeleton he borrowed. He set a Guinness World Record in the process, recording a time of just over 37 hours.
Shortly after he achieved the feat, a mystery donor bought Mr Kindleysides a suit of his own.
Updated: March 2, 2021 11:13 PM
