Jim MacLaren’s legacy will live on in the continued support of challenged athletes everywhere.
Jim MacLaren, who was at one time the world’s fastest amputee triathlete, passed away Monday, August 30.
MacLaren’s life was short but amazingly impactful. He suffered a unilateral transtibial amputation in 1985 after getting hit by a New York City bus while on his motorcycle. The former Yale football player went on to reinvent himself, running a marathon in 3:16 and completing the Ironman in Kona, Hawaii, in 10:42.
Tragedy struck MacLaren once again in June 1993. While competing in a triathlon in Orange County, California, he was on his bicycle when a van went through a closed intersection, hit the back of his bike and propelled him into a pole. When he arrived at the hospital, he was told that he was a quadriplegic and would never move again from the waist down.
After the accident, a number of his friends from the sport of triathlon, including Bob Babbitt, Jeffrey Essakow, and Rick Kozlowski, organized a fundraising triathlon in San Diego to buy MacLaren a vehicle that he could drive with his hands. The goal was to raise $25,000. The triathlon ended up raising $48,000 through what is now known as the San Diego Triathlon Challenge (SDTC). “At that event,” Babbitt recalled, “a number of other amputee athletes came up to us to thank us for what we did for Jim, but to also let us know that there were so many other athletes out there that needed help. Insurance would cover a walking leg, but anything having to do with sport was considered a luxury item.”
From Jim’s second tragedy, the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF) was born, and in the 17 years since, CAF has raised more than $28,000,000 to help athletes by providing grants to help purchase the equipment they need to stay in the game through sport.
To honor his life and allow his legacy to live on, his family has established the Jim MacLaren Memorial Fund. For more information about the fund, visit www.sdtc10.kintera.org/jimmaclarenmemorial
“CAF is Jimmy’s legacy,” Babbitt said. “I’m proud to say that, through the athletes that we help every day, his impact will live on forever.”
