Valerie Hirschfield is a South African expat living in France who loves competing in endurance events for charity, being an amputee doesn’t hold her back either.
Paris, France – Valerie Hirschfield (54) lost her leg but refused to let it stop her from living life to the fullest. Despite being differently-abled, she competes in a number of endurance events on behalf of charities.
Competing against able-bodied athletes only drives her to push herself further. Her most recent event was to climb the 1665 steps to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The event was in support of a charity that supports women fighting cancer.
The South African expat was born and raised in Gauteng. She had undergone a number of surgeries on her leg and after one of them, contracted a staph infection which led to her having her leg amputated above the knee. Working through the rehabilitation process, she found a love for competing in endurance events. It has been 14 years since she lost her leg but she has never let it get in the way of her adventurous spirit.
She has a love for a number of sports including stand up paddling, windsurfing, flyboarding, surfing, snowboarding and tower runs.
“I do all sorts of sports with and without my prosthetic leg. I usually, take part in charity events and always with able-bodied people. My latest challenge was climbing the 1665 steps of the Eiffel Tower together with 130 able-bodied athletes. I climbed the stairs two by two all the way.”
The event, known as the la Verticale de la Tour Eiffel, took place on the 13th of March and as mentioned above, was in aid of women fighting cancer.
Valerie hopes to compete in tower runs all over the world someday for charities across the world.
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