Three-time Paralympian – and 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist – Mohamed Lahna has achieved quite a remarkable feat: he completed a triathlon totaling approximately 5,300 kilometers right across the United States. Lahna accomplished this already mind-boggling distance using a leg prosthesis, raising over $166,000 for Save the Children and the Challenged Athletes Foundation in the process.
The Moroccan-American para-athlete spent 47 days on his triathlon journey. He started with a 46-kilometer swim around Manhattan Island in New York. Next, he biked roughly 4,800 kilometers from New York to Las Vegas, riding through no fewer than sixteen states and tackling over 30,000 meters of elevation gain. As the final stretch, Lahna ran another 480 kilometers from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, cutting straight through loose sand and scorching desert heat.
Lahna, who was born with a condition in his right leg and did not receive his first prosthesis until the age of 20, wanted to demonstrate through this initiative that physical circumstances do not have to define your future. He hopes to raise at least $250,000 for Save the Children and the Challenged Athletes Foundation. At the time of writing, the counter stands at more than $166,000.
Lahna will now refocus on significantly shorter distances; he hopes to claim gold at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
Understandably, Lahna is not the first athlete to complete an extreme triathlon covering thousands of kilometers. The most famous example is Jonas Deichmann, who previously completed a “Triathlon around the World” involving vastly greater distances.