'Fierce and adventurous spirit': Taunton paralympian lost a leg then climbed a mountain

TAUNTON — By her athletic achievements alone, Taunton native Sarah Doherty was an inspiring figure.

At age 13, Doherty lost her right leg to a drunk driver while riding her bicycle one day on Winthrop Street.

This only motivated her further to be more active and not be held down by her disability.

“Sarah was an incredible role model for girls everywhere. Like many of those who came in contact with this phenomenal woman we feel grateful to be touched by her light,” Girls Incorporated of Taunton said in a Facebook post on Jan. 11 regarding Doherty’s death at the age of 63.

Doherty graduated from Boston University in 1982 with a degree in occupational therapy.  She continued her active practice as a pediatric occupational therapist throughout her adult life.

While living in Seattle in 1984, Doherty became the first female uniped to climb to the peak of Mount Rainier in Washington State. She would later climb to the peaks of Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa, all without a prosthetic limb.

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Previously active in track as a kid, Doherty switched to another sport after the crash: skiing.

Using outrigger ski poles, she competed in regional races in New England before moving to Colorado briefly in 1985 to pursue professional skiing full-time. She eventually moved to Canada in 1986 to pursue skiing further and settled in British Columbia where she would live permanently, all while maintaining dual-citizenship.

In 1988, Doherty was part of the first U.S. paralympic ski team, and attended the Olympics in Calgary that year for an exhibition of adaptive ski racing, which would become an official sport at the following Winter Paralympic Games.

Doherty was an alumnus of Girls Inc. and was recognized as its Woman of Achievement by the organization in 2014.

Upon receiving the recognition in 2014 Doherty told the Gazette that Girls Incorporated “gave me a nice space and the programs to help develop my identity and the strength and skills that I have taken into womanhood.”

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In 2003, Doherty ventured into entrepreneurism, co-founding Sidestix, a company that produces adaptive, high-performance crutches meant to sustain and support one through athletics and other intense physical activity.  As explained on the company’s website, the idea came from her growing up, after the accident, and “she began exploring ways to live life more fully, creating tools to help her walk further, ski faster and climb higher.”  The product itself wouldn’t officially launch until 2010.

“She was, and will always be, a truly phenomenal woman with the kindest heart, the brightest smile, and the most fierce and adventurous spirit. She refused to let external limitations and conventions define her. She lived life to the fullest and wanted the same for everyone,” a statement on Sidestix's social media page said.

Back in February 2010, Doherty accomplished another milestone in her impressive life:  being a torch-bearer for the Olympic Flame when the Winter Olympics came to Vancouver, British Columbia.  She lit the ceremonial cauldron when the flame passed through her town of residence, Sechelt.

Said Doherty to the crowd when she lit the cauldron: “I believe in the dreaming spirit and the possibilities that follow.”

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton paralympian and mountain climber Sarah Doherty dies at 63