An Ivybridge fitness instructor has set her sights on climbing the legendary Machu Picchu site to raise funds for a special charity.
Olivia Chapman, 26, a personal trainer at Fusion Lifestyle’s Ivybridge Leisure Centre, was born without fingers on her right hand.
As a long-time supporter of LimbPower, a charity that specialises in working with people with a limb difference, she decided to take up the challenge of climbing Machu Picchu, one of Peru’s most famous historic landmarks.
The Inca citadel and Unesco World Heritage Site is located at the top of a mountain ridge, 2,430 metres (almost 8,000 feet) above sea level.
The Inca citadel is located at the top of a mountain ridge, 2,430 metres above sea level (Wiki Commons)
The climb and descent normally takes about three hours, and Ms Chapman is hoping to join 30 other individuals later this year to undertake the trip.
She is only a whisker away from raising enough money for the trek, after well-wishers, friends, relatives and colleagues managed to raise £3,573 – just shy of the £3,680 target, which she needs to reach before October 18.
Ms Chapman said: “I have done a lot of work for LimbPower over the last four years, both as a personal trainer and as a person living with a limb difference.
“I feel very passionate about the work we do. My class attendees are more like friends now and have been amazing! They’re such a brilliant bunch to coach and are always telling me how much they are improving, which is what makes my job worth-while. They’re so appreciative and I am so grateful that I get to help them improve and grow.”
Alex George, general manager of the Ivybridge Leisure Centre, said: “Liv is such an inspiration to us and anyone with a limb difference. We are all fully behind her challenge and will support her all the way.”
