The latest generation of sport-specific prosthetics allow elite amputee athletes to run faster and climb higher than ever before

by Courtesy Warren Macdonald Double-amputee climber Warren Macdonald uses customized prosthetics for activities as diverse as ice climbing and scaling Kilimanjaro. Courtesy Warren Macdonald

Click the Video icon to the left to see these amazing athletes and their high-performance sports prosthetics in action

Today´s most driven disabled athletes are revolutionizing prosthetics by turning their limbs into sport-specific power tools. From hands shaped like ice axes to blade runners for feet, these prostheses are smarter, lighter, stronger and sexier than ever before. And talk about extreme athletes-the men and women using them have overcome enormous physical challenges to climb the world´s tallest mountains, cross finish lines with record speeds, and change the world´s perception of what´s possible.

After having both legs amputated at mid-thigh, Warren Macdonald knew he would have to invent a way to continue mountain climbing. With the mere six inches of natural femur he had left on each leg, it was impossible for him to effectively maneuver full-length prosthetic legs up rock faces. So he and Hanger Prosthetics designed miniature, carbon-fiber climbing legs to purposely keep his center of gravity low, thus making it possible to power the prostheses around technical maneuvers. The legs are spring-loaded, with three settings for shock-absorption to withstand jolts. The team also designed coordinating, one-of-a-kind climbing feet that consist of cut-down Vibram boot soles with a rotator, so Macdonald can place the rubber-coated feet into small crags and footholds. Standing only 4 feet 4 on his climbing legs, Macdonald is the first double-leg amputee to summit Africa´s tallest peak, 19,563-foot Kilimanjaro, and scale the longest vertical rock face in the U.S., Yosemite´s El Capitan. Next, Macdonald plans to climb Mount Kenya, knocking off Africa´s second highest mountain. (partanimal.com)




Page 1 of 4 1234next ›last »
Want to learn more about breakthroughs in electronics, medicine, nanotech, and more?
Subscribe to Popular Science and enter to win $5,000!

0 Comments



Download Our iPhone App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed



Become a Fan On Facebook

Share links with friends, comment on stories and more


December 2009: Best of What's New

In our December issue, Popular Science names the 100 best innovations of the year: bombproof wallpaper, self-parking cars, the fastest helicopter, and 97 more. Plus inventor profiles and videos.

Check out the best of what's new here.

Popular Science Photo Pool


Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
tags_sprite.png
POP_embeddedForm_cover_May09.jpg