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9-Year-Old Amputee Aims to Complete Three Peaks Challenge in Under 24 Hours

Nine-year-old amputee Albie-Junior Thomas aims to complete the Three Peaks challenge in under 24 hours, raising funds for Holywell Town FC. Born without a fibula, he has already climbed each peak individually and is training intensively with his father.

·3 min read
Daniel Thomas A four-year-old boy wearing a red coat, blue snood, orange hat and black gloves, is pictured at the summit of a mountain alongside a man in an orange coat and black hat, with a short brown beard. The boy is being held up on to the trig pillar by a person in a black coat whose face can't be seen. Both the boy and the man are smiling. It is misty and snowy in the background and there is snow on the boy's gloves and hat.

Young Amputee Sets Ambitious Three Peaks Challenge Goal

Albie-Junior Thomas, a nine-year-old boy from Holywell in Flintshire, who became the youngest amputee to climb Wales' highest peak, is now preparing to complete the Three Peaks challenge. Born without a fibula in his left leg, Albie-Junior had his foot amputated at 15 months old.

Despite this, he broke records at the age of four by scaling Yr Wyddfa, also known as Snowdon. His new objective is to climb the tallest peaks in Scotland, England, and Wales within 24 hours to raise funds for Holywell Town FC.

He has already climbed each peak individually with his father, Daniel Thomas, and they are currently engaged in an 18-week training programme leading up to the challenge scheduled for 18 August.

Daniel Thomas A man in his 40s with short dark hair and a short dark beard and wearing a blue waterproof coat stands at the summit of the mountain Yr Wyddfa with his arm around a boy of 9 who is wearing a black coat and black trousers, he also has a prosthetic leg on the left side. Both are wearing rucksacks and the boy is giving a thumbs up to the camera. The sky behind is a mix of blue and cloud and the mountains are visible stretching into the distance.
Albie-Junior and his dad Daniel are training by climbing up Yr Wyddfa most weekends

Training and Preparation

Albie-Junior shared insights into their training routine:

"We're training a lot, we go to [Yr Wyddfa] every week and we go to the gym,"

The father-son team has also undertaken a nighttime ascent of Yr Wyddfa to practice navigation in the dark.

"We went about [midnight] to see where we were with navigation as that's kind of roughly the time we'll be hitting Snowdon," said Daniel, a fitness trainer. "Each week we're beating our time as well, to try and just push ourselves."

The challenge will begin with climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, followed by a drive to Scafell Pike in Cumbria, and concluding with Yr Wyddfa in north Wales. Throughout the climbs, their energy will be sustained by noodles and Albie-Junior's favourite sour sweets.

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Motivation and Inspiration

Albie-Junior described the prospect of becoming the youngest amputee to complete the challenge as "quite unusual" and expressed pride in his commitment.

He also noted that some of his friends have been inspired by his accomplishments.

"One of them went up when they were six and they were really proud of themselves and they were sat there [saying], 'how does he do it when he was four?'"

Medical Background and Challenges

Albie-Junior was born with fibular hemimelia, resulting in his left leg being 5cm (2 inches) shorter than the other and a deformed foot. His father described the decision to amputate as "massive," but noted that using a prosthetic has never hindered his son’s mobility, as Albie-Junior learned to walk on a blade.

A boy stands on a residential street in the sunshine with two cream coloured houses in the background and a large bush behind a brown fence. He is smiling at the camera and wearing a grey and yellow patterned sports top and grey shorts. He has a prosthetic blade on his left leg and on his right he is wearing a blue and white trainer.
Albie-Junior says to him his blade is just like a normal foot
"It just felt like a normal foot," said Albie-Junior.

However, the demanding downhill sections of mountain hikes can cause discomfort where the prosthetic attaches and exert pressure on the knee. To manage this, Albie-Junior will be medically assessed between each stage and will require essential rest periods during the challenge.

Future Aspirations and Family Support

Albie-Junior aspires to become a Paralympian in the future. His father views the upcoming challenge as a natural progression for his son.

"You just have to go one better, don't you? We've done all three, we're just topping up each time,"

Albie-Junior’s family, including his mother Rachel Kyrki, sister Sienna, and new baby brother Roman-Lee, support his endeavours.

Daniel Thomas A picture of a young boy with a prosthetic limb on the left side on a mountain path in the dark. The image is taken from behind. He is wearing a navy padded coat and a black hat and the way in front of him is lit by a head torch that he is wearing. He is also carrying a navy rucksack.
Albie-Junior and his dad have carried out night time training to test their navigation abilities in the dark

A picture of a mum and dad on a sunny street with cream semi-detached houses in the background. The man, with dark hair and a short dark brown beard is wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, and is holding a newborn baby and the woman, who has dark hair tied up, is standing behind two children, a boy and a girl, with her hands on their shoulders. The boy has a prosthetic leg and is wearing shorts and a t-shirt and the girl, who has long brown hair and glasses, is wearing a school polo shirt, cardigan and shorts.
Albie with dad Daniel Thomas, mum Rachel Kyrki, sister Sienna and new baby brother Roman-Lee

This article was sourced from bbc

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