Multi-sport Paralympic Athlete will attack the feat on October 7, 2018.

FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, USA, August 1, 2018 /EINPresswire.com/ -- ------ Paralympic cyclist and blind multi-sport athlete Shawn Cheshire is a fearless woman. The roundtrip trail crossing of the Grand Canyon (Rim to Rim to Rim) is not a challenge for the faint of heart and yet Shawn doesn’t use words like “attempt.” She states, “I’m not going to attempt this. I’m going to crush it.” Her conviction leads one to believe that no other option is possible.


She’ll be doing the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim on Sunday, October 7, 2018. The Guinness Book of World Records has been contacted so that the record for a blind woman making this journey can be chronicled and established.


Because she is blind, Shawn will have two guides for this journey. One guide will lead Shawn wearing a bell for her to follow and the second guide will trail her giving verbal feedback. She will also use a rigid hiking cane.


The Grand Canyon is considered one of seven natural wonders of the world. It is 18 miles wide and attains a depth of approximately 6,000 feet. Hiking rim-to-rim (21 miles) is considered one of America's most dangerous hikes, causing 350 heat-related rescues in the park every year. Shawn is doing Rim to Rim to Rim (roundtrip) making the journey 42 miles in total.


This journey contains other perils. Approximately 5 hikers on average die every year. The challenge is accentuated by hellish-heat combined with 20,000 feet of vertical change.Backpacker.com states that, “The dark grey schist at lower elevations absorbs and radiates heat like a cast-iron frying pan, so when thermometers read 110°F in the shade, hikers endure 130°F ground temps on the trail.” Flash floods can also occur anytime of the year, the National Parks Service reports that hikers have died from floods generated by thunderstorms as far as 25 miles away.


No stranger to the Grand Canyon, Shawn Cheshire hiked a much shorter version of the trails earlier this year. She regretfully never saw the Grand Canyon when she had her sight. Her other heightened senses plus the accomplishment will no doubt bring about a tremendous appreciation of this beautiful natural resource.


Shawn endures a rigorous training routine and is a successful cyclist with multiple national titles. Overcoming obstacles has become somewhat routine for Shawn. She is suing the United States Olympic Committee in a California federal court after sustaining a concussion at a mandatory training camp because the USOC prohibited her from using her seeing eye dog.


Shawn participated in the Paralympic Games in 2016 and is working hard to qualify for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020.


About Shawn Cheshire

Shawn Cheshire served in the US Army as a helicopter armament systems mechanic. Following her years in the service, Shawn became an EMT-Paramedic fueling her passion to care for others. In 2009, while working on an ambulance, she sustained a traumatic brain injury which resulted in total loss of vision. Shawn confronted her blindness and ignited her competitive spirit through experiencing and competing in parasports. For the last three years, Shawn has raced with the US National Paralympic Cycling Team in 20 domestic and 20 international races, including representing the USA at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. Shawn is an 11 time US National Champion.

Shawn doesn’t limit herself to just cycling. She snowboards, cross country and downhill skis, paddle boards, hikes and runs.

Website:
http://www.shawncheshire.org

Social:
https://www.facebook.com/shawn.cheshire.9

For more information, contact: Mike Mena at: 310-913-0625 or mike@ileanainternational.com
 
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Mike Mena
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Ileana International