Limbs of Steel

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)