Bettina Dolinsek is used to going hard in the gym. She’s used to elite athletic competitions.But she has never climbed 165 feet up the side of a building.That’s just what she did Saturday in the Sky Race held in Des Moines. And she did it all without the benefit of eyesight.”I don’t honestly see it any different than you scaling the building next to me. I just look at it as, no, we’re doing the same thing. We have the same capabilities. I don’t need to see to go up the building. You don’t need to see to go up the building,” Dolinsek said.Dolinsek was one of 10 athletes to scale the 17-story Elsie Apartments.Dolinsek says Crossfit competitions motivated her to show what she can do.”A lot of people always tell you all your life you can’t. And when I found a sport I could participate in and do it exactly like everybody else did with no modifications, I thought, there you go. That’s something I want to continue doing,” Dolinsek said.Joe Hogan is helping her train for this moment. He’s the founder of Train to Inspire, a Des Moines nonprofit which aims to make the impossible a reality for people with disabilities.”It’s really amazing to have somebody that’s been told their entire life that they can’t or you shouldn’t and then we come in and we say yes you can, and we show them that,” Hogan said.Dolinsek showed herself and others that a 17-story building is just another obstacle she can overcome.”I’m going to keep going. I mean, I don’t see any reason to stop,” Dolinsek said.Train to Inspire raised more than $40,000 on Saturday and plans to put that money into helping more dreams come true.
Bettina Dolinsek is used to going hard in the gym. She’s used to elite athletic competitions.
But she has never climbed 165 feet up the side of a building.
That’s just what she did Saturday in the Sky Race held in Des Moines. And she did it all without the benefit of eyesight.
“I don’t honestly see it any different than you scaling the building next to me. I just look at it as, no, we’re doing the same thing. We have the same capabilities. I don’t need to see to go up the building. You don’t need to see to go up the building,” Dolinsek said.
Dolinsek was one of 10 athletes to scale the 17-story Elsie Apartments.
Dolinsek says Crossfit competitions motivated her to show what she can do.
“A lot of people always tell you all your life you can’t. And when I found a sport I could participate in and do it exactly like everybody else did with no modifications, I thought, there you go. That’s something I want to continue doing,” Dolinsek said.
Joe Hogan is helping her train for this moment. He’s the founder of Train to Inspire, a Des Moines nonprofit which aims to make the impossible a reality for people with disabilities.
“It’s really amazing to have somebody that’s been told their entire life that they can’t or you shouldn’t and then we come in and we say yes you can, and we show them that,” Hogan said.
Dolinsek showed herself and others that a 17-story building is just another obstacle she can overcome.
“I’m going to keep going. I mean, I don’t see any reason to stop,” Dolinsek said.
Train to Inspire raised more than $40,000 on Saturday and plans to put that money into helping more dreams come true.