Sebastian ‘Zuko’ Carrasco crowned Kilimanjaro with his hand bike
Sebastián ‘Zuko’ Carrasco, the Ecuadorian sportsman with disabilities, planned this feat for two years. Now look for new challenges.
When his friend Gissela Toledo proposed to raise the Kilimanjaro aboard his hand-driven bicycle, the Ecuadorian mountaineer Sebastián “Zuko” Carrasco considered it crazy, but two years later he made what began as a dream come true.
At 06:30 (Ecuador time, 14:30 from Tanzania) on Thursday, September 12, 2019, and after covering a distance of 36 kilometers from the Marangu route, the “tricolor” reached the summit of the highest mountain in Africa (5,895 meters).
The path chosen by the national climber, 38, is considered one of the least difficult to climb, but also has its risks. It takes people without disabilities five to six days to reach the top.
Carrasco finished in eight. To touch the “roof” of Africa, the climber did not need extra help and that is even more remarkable.
Mountaineer since the age of 11, the Quito accepted the challenge as a sign that people with disabilities can achieve everything they set out.
“Zuko” lost the mobility of his legs in a rope accident while climbing in 2015.
That new circumstance was a blow in his life, but the support of his family and the fascination he feels for climbing, made him return to the activity he loves and now places him as one of the great athletes in the country.
That attachment with their loved ones was important to overcome this difficulty, but most of all the affection of their two daughters: Kiara, 7, and Bianca, 4. “They have been a pillar for my life and I want to show you that everything you can, ”he said in July 2018 in a previous interview with this newspaper.
The member of the department of Social Responsibility of Diners Club, where he spends his time outside of sport to promote inclusion, also likes other disciplines, such as wheelchair athletics or bicycle competitions.
In fact, he participated in the prestigious marathons of Miami and New York in 2018. While in this he competed in the IV National Games of Adapted Sport Cuenca 2019, in the discipline of hand bike.
While practicing sports, Carrasco promotes the creation of accessible mountain routes for people with disabilities.
The project has the name of One More Summit, with which he has worked in sectors near Quito, such as Yunguilla, located one hour from the capital; the Metropolitan Park and another one in the south of the city.
He also works in the manufacture of hand bikes, which in the international market have a cost of $ 15,000, so through the Sebastián Carrasco Zuffi Foundation, he hopes to offer them in the country at a lower value.
After fulfilling the objective, Carrasco poses new challenges in which inclusion is the engine that moves them.
Source: El Telégrafo