Aron Anderson

Aron Anderson
Anderson in 2014
Born
Aron Karl Riggert Anderson

(1988-01-26) January 26, 1988 (age 36)[citation needed]
Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation(s)Athlete, motivational speaker, adventurer

Aron Karl Riggert Anderson (born 26 January 1988) is a Swedish adventurer, motivational speaker and a paralympian-athlete. Anderson was the first wheelchair user to summit Sweden's highest mountain, Kebnekaise, and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.[1]

Biography

In January 1996, Anderson and his parents were told by doctors he had cancer in his lower back.[1] He was treated with chemotherapy and radiation throughout 1996 and early 1997.[2] The treatments did not work, and in late 1997 the cancer was removed surgically, at which time Anderson lost function in both legs.[2][3]

He competes as a celebrity dancer in Let's Dance 2022, which is broadcast by TV4.[4] He is also the first dancer to use a wheelchair on the show.[5]

Athletics

Aron Anderson at Vasaloppet in 2015

Aron Anderson became a para-athlete in three different sports, sailing, athletics and sledge-hockey and has participated in four Paralympic Games.[6] Between 1999 and 2005, he competed in sailing, he stopped competing after the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece.[7] He instead started fully competing in athletics and sledge-hockey.[7]

In 2012, he was forced to stop competing in athletics as he had to undergo a hip operation which made it impossible for him to compete at elite level.[8] He also stopped playing sledge-hockey after the World Championships in 2013, to set his mind on only adventures and lecturing.[9]

Adventuring

On 1 August 2013, he was the first wheelchair user to climb to the top of Kebnekaise, Sweden's highest mountain,[8] using crutches and "crawling" with his arms.[3] He is also the first person in a wheelchair to have climbed to the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro.[8] The expedition was led by adventurer Johan Ernst Nilson.[10] He reached the peak at 15.00 (CET) on 1 August 2013.[11] In 2014, he decided to complete a Swedish Classic, in which he competed in and finished the long-distance endurance events of Vasaloppet, Vätternrundan, Vansbrosimmet and the Lidingöloppet during one year, this also as the first wheelchair user.[12] On 7 August 2015, he swam in 14 degree water for 37 kilometers over the sea of Åland between Grissleham to Åland, a swim that took him 13 hours to complete.[13] In 2019, Anderson competed in the competition show Vinnarskallar which was broadcast on TV4, where he competed against other Swedish para-athletes.[14] He won the show.[15] He has also skied through Antarctica, a monthlong journey and the first person in a wheelchair to do it.[16][17][18] In December 2018, Anderson joined with singer Peg Parnevik to be ambassadors for Musikhjälpen which was broadcast on SVT and on radio for Sveriges Radio.[19]

Anderson works as a motivational speaker.[20][21] He is also an ambassador for Barncancerfonden, a children's cancer foundation, and has through his adventures also helped to raise money for the cause.[22][17] In 2017, Anderson presented an episode of the radio show Sommar i P1, speaking about his struggles and successes in life.[23][24]

References

  1. ^ a b "Patients acting as consumers, demanding more ease, better tools". MobiHealthNews. 25 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Aron Andersson tar rullstolen med sig till toppen". Lokalnytt. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  3. ^ a b McCoy, Jenny (27 November 2017). "How Paralyzed Adventurer Aron Anderson Climbs Mountains". mensjournal.com. Archived from the original on 25 December 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  4. ^ Lindqvist, Johan (27 February 2022). "Här är alla deltagarna i årets "Let's dance"". Göteborgs-Posten. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Aron Anderson hyllad för insats i "Let's Dance"". Svenska Dagbladet. 19 March 2022. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  6. ^ Lindblad, Anders (24 April 2004). "Aron tillhör världseliten – i tre idrotter". Svenska Dagbladet. SvenskaDagbladet. Archived from the original on 22 March 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2019 – via www.svd.se.
  7. ^ a b TT (9 February 2016). "Från Paralympics till Lilla Sportspegeln". Göteborgsposten. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  8. ^ a b c Radio, Sveriges (August 2017). "Aron Anderson – Sommar & Vinter i P1". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  9. ^ "Östersund arrangerar kälkhockey-VM – Svenska Handikappidrottsforbundet". Svenska Handikappidrottsförbundet. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 26 May 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  10. ^ "Aron bestiger Europas högsta berg – i rullstol". Nyheter24. 3 July 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Här är fem saker du vill veta om idrottaren Aron Anderson". Nyheter24. 5 March 2019. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  12. ^ "Klassikern under 24 timmar – i rullstol". Runner's World. 29 September 2014. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  13. ^ "Aron Anderson simmade till Åland – ICA Hälsa". ICA.se. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  14. ^ "Aron Anderson om cancern och att aldrig ge upp – Vinnarskallar – tv4.se". tv4.se. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  15. ^ Här koras vinnaren av Vinnarskallar Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 9 June 2019
  16. ^ Radio, Sveriges (22 December 2016). "Aron Anderson the first person to reach the South Pole in a wheelchair – Radio Sweden". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 23 December 2016. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  17. ^ a b Glusac, Elaine (25 September 2017). "Wheelchair Racer Aron Anderson Has Another Mountain to Climb". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 March 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
  18. ^ Staff, Our Foreign (22 December 2016). "Swedish man claims to be first to reach South Pole in a wheelchair after 300km trek". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  19. ^ Radio, Sveriges (26 November 2018). "Peg Parnevik och Aron Anderson är årets ambassadörer – Musikhjälpen". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  20. ^ "Strategic Tech Coaching: EP – 32 Aron Anderson adventurer, speaker and entrepreneur". strategictechcoaching.libsyn.com. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  21. ^ Föreläsare Aron Anderson Archived 2021-04-20 at the Wayback Machine laraforlivet.se Retrieved 9 June 2019
  22. ^ "Facebook-klick hjälpte Aron att dra in 246 000 kronor till Barncancerfonden". Barncancerfonden. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  23. ^ Radio, Sveriges (14 June 2017). "This year's Sommar radio hosts announced – Radio Sweden". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  24. ^ Radio, Sveriges (August 2017). "Aron Anderson – Sommar & Vinter i P1". Sveriges Radio. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aron Anderson.