Double amputee successfully climbs Africa’s highest peak

One evening in September 2022, Sarah de Lagarde's life changed dramatically as she was on her way home from work. After slipping on the platform at High Barnet tube station, she was hit by two trains. She survived the accident but suffered several injuries, including the loss of an arm and a leg.

Two years later, on August 14, 2024, de Lagarde achieved the tremendous feat of climbing Africa's highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, making her the first woman to climb Kilimanjaro with two prosthetic limbs.

However, this was not her first time climbing this mighty mountain. In fact, de Lagarde stood on the summit of Kilimanjaro shortly before her accident in 2022.

“All I remember thinking, as I lay in that dirty ditch in High Barnet, was that I didn't climb Kilimanjaro to die here in the cold, wet gravel. I'm not going to die here. No way. I need to be with my daughters,” de Lagarde told the New Journal after the accident. “One minute you're on top of the world, the next you're devastated.”

With endless determination and a strong support team of guides, medical staff, her husband and two young daughters, de Lagarde spent several days on the mountain until she finally reached her monumental moment when she once again stood on the summit, this time with two prosthetic limbs.

“Standing on the summit of Kilimanjaro was a moment of triumph over adversity, not just for me but for everyone who has faced and overcome challenges,” she explained.

Kilimanjaro is 5,890 metres high and continues to attract climbers from all over the world. To conquer this mountain, you have to climb at high altitudes and over difficult terrain. For de Lagarde, giving up was not an option.

Along the way, she raised money for a charity called STAND, which helps amputees in conflict zones and developing countries. Her trip also included a stop in Moshi, the capital of the Kilimanjaro region, where there is a prosthetics and rehabilitation center for amputees.

De Lagarde hopes her rise will provide a sense of hope and inspiration to people around the world who may be facing similar challenges.