A double amputee with a kidney transplant wowed the crowd at Dens Park when he completed a one-mile racewalk in a personal best time.
A Dundee FC fan since childhood, Ronnie McIntosh hopes to raise over £2000 for the club by his efforts.
The 61-year-old athlete had tears in his eyes when he appeared in the stadium on two prosthetic legs and completed his racewalk with a circuit of the pitch at half time during the game with Stirling Albion.
“I got a standing ovation all the way round,” said Ronnie. “It was amazing. The whole crowd was standing and cheering and stamping their feet.”
He completed the measured mile from the Centenary Bar in Clepington Road to Dens Park in 14 minutes 58 seconds, shaving 12 seconds off his previous best time for the distance.
Ronnie is the British double amputee record holder for the 5k racewalk, a title he gained last year with a time of 48 minutes 33 seconds.
A former distance runner, Ronnie took up the sport, which involves heel-toe contact with the ground, after he lost both legs and could no longer compete in half marathons and other road races
Ronnie has Sjogrens Syndrome, a rare auto-immune disease which can attack any organ in the body. His kidneys have been affected and he battled renal failure for over 20 years before getting a transplant in May 2009.
The previous year he lost both legs below the knee due to a gangrene infection. But Ronnie never lost his desire to compete in sport and found new challenges in racewalking.
Exactly how much his effort will raise in sponsorship and through bucket donations at the match has yet to be counted but Ronnie expects the total to be in excess of £2000.
He will present the cheque to a representative of Dundee FC Supporters’ Society at Dundee’s last home game of the season on April 30 against Partick Thistle.