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Scott Rigsby  

First Double-Leg Amputee to Complete the Ironman Triathlon; World Record Breaker & Motivational Athlete

Scott Rigsby is a world record holder as a marathon and Ironman triathlon champion, and a sought-after speaker and bestselling author. He also happens to be a double below-the-knee amputee.

"Doing the Unthinkable" is a motto Scott Rigsby embraced when he decided in 2006 to change the world by breaking down barriers for physically challenged athletes. Little did Scott Rigsby know that the inspirational journey he would take would soon impact generations of able-bodied people as well.

He completed 13 triathlons and 5 road races in one year on his way to setting world records for a double below-the-knee amputee in the ING Georgia Full Marathon, Half Ironman, and International Distance Triathlon, earning him a spot on the 2006 USA Triathlon Team. As his accomplishments mounted, so did Rigsby's desire to do the unthinkable and take his mission to the next level. He would tackle one of the toughest endurance tests of them all, the Hawaiian Ironman, to raise the bar and inspire wounded warriors and challenged athletes to reach beyond their circumstances.

On October 13, 2007, after enduring the elements for 16 hours and 43 minutes, Scott Rigsby became the first double amputee in the world to finish an Ironman distance triathlon with prosthetics at the 140.6-mile World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Rigsby used "swim legs" to navigate the difficult 2.4 mile ocean swim, "bike legs" to cycle 112 miles through the heat and gusting winds of the Big Island lava fields on a standard road bike, and "run legs" to complete the marathon segment in darkness and intense pain.

Scott Rigsby is used to overcoming major obstacles. At age 18, he was thrown from a truck while working a summer job and dragged over 300 feet under a 3-ton trailer. After losing his right leg, Rigsby endured over 26 surgeries in 10 years before finally deciding to "free" himself from being a professional patient and remove his left leg. Rigsby spent years fighting his personal demons before making the commitment that if God opened a door for him, he would go through it. He busted down those doors on his way to setting 4 world records and winning the 2007 Physically Challenged Athlete of the Year Award presented by Competitor Magazine and awarded the 2008 "Star of the Year" by the Atlanta Sports Hall of Fame.

To expand his mission worldwide, Rigsby launched the Scott Rigsby Foundation designed to inspire, educate and enable people with loss of limb or mobility to live an active lifestyle.

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