Two years after falling 45 meters from a Krabi cliff as she attempted to escape from her sexual assailant, New York native Hannah Gavios this morning completed the city’s annual marathon on two crutches.
In a video released by ESPN at 9:30am today, the 25-year-old sexual assault survivor can be seen swinging her lower half on two crutches as she crosses the finish line, her face beaming and hundreds cheering her on.
https://twitter.com/espn/status/1059269506097467392
Gavios’ participation in the New York City Marathon was to raise money for spinal cord research through the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, as she is partially paralyzed from the waist down following the horrific attack on Sept. 1, 2016.
Gavios, then 23, was backpacking through Thailand while on vacation from her teaching job in Vietnam. The young tourist was lost and had gone into a local tourist shop asking for help finding her way back to the hotel. The shopkeepers told her to follow store employee Apai Raingworchai, 28, who would show her the way.
Instead, he chased her into the woods in the dark, causing her to plunge 45 meters from a cliff near Railay beach. He then climbed down the mountain, where he sexually assaulted the helpless Gavios for hours, though, according to her testimony, stopped short of raping her.
The Thai national was later sentenced to five years in prison on charges of sexual assault and assault causing injuries. That number was reduced from 10 years because he confessed.
Left with partial paralysis from the waist down, Gavios set about learning to walk with crutches and leg braces after a year of intensive physical therapy.
“When people see me today, they are in immediate shock [because of] my leg braces and canes. However, the severity of my injury is often misinterpreted. Many assume I will recover fully, but in reality this is a very long haul. I believe hard work on my behalf and valid research toward a cure will make full recovery possible. Today, I not only accept and embrace my physical disability at its current state, but also believe this is all temporary,” she said via a statement on the foundation’s website.
Although still unable to feel her feet and ankles, she trained up to 16 miles a day in preparation for what was the first marathon of her life.
As of this morning, Gavios has raised US$19,505 toward a goal of US$25,000, that will benefit research that will help Gavios and 5.4 million other Americans who live with paralysis to a full recovery.
“This year, I am crutching the marathon, but soon you’ll see me running it,” she said.
Related:
45-meter fall, sexually assaulted backpacker Hannah Gavios shares story from hospital bed
Police move quickly to trial for man who confessed to sex attack on American backpacker
Krabi man jailed five years for sexually assaulting American backpacker
