Less than eight hours after losing a leg, Zoltan Szakacsi set a goal to cycle from London's Athenaeum Hotel & Residences to Brighton
A year after trainee maintenance supervisor Zoltan Szakacsi lost his leg in a life-changing accident, he has completed a gruelling 60-mile cycle to Brighton supported by a group of colleagues from London's Athenaeum Hotel & Residences.
In July 2022 Zoltan Szakacsi had been accompanying a new colleague to a hardware store in Mayfair when a van mounted the pavement and hit him. Szakacsi, who has worked at the Athenaeum on Piccadilly since 2020 and had been signed up for his supervisory apprenticeship just days before, was crushed into railings and then a wall before falling into a lightwell. He suffered extensive injuries and his leg had to be amputated below the knee at the scene.
Szakacsi spent time in intensive care, receiving treatment for injuries that included a shattered pelvis, broken ribs and a punctured lung. But even while lying in the lightwell, knowing his leg couldn't be saved, he was determined to make his way back onto his bike.
He says: "Even at the moment of the accident I knew I was going to cycle again. Just a few weeks earlier I had seen someone with a prosthetic leg on a bike and he was so fast I couldn't keep up. When I knew I would lose my leg that person came into my mind, and I thought, I'm going to be like him."
That evening Szakacsi called Joanne Taylor-Stagg, general manager of the Athenaeum – also a keen cyclist – from his intensive care ward. After enquiring about her wellbeing – which Taylor-Stagg says is typical of him – he told her: "I'm alive, I've lost my leg, but that's OK and I'm going to get a sexy new leg."
The general manager told him that when he had his new leg, they would go for a cycle around Hyde Park together.
She then began to suspect the intensity of his medication as he told her: "No Joanne, we are not cycling around Hyde Park. I've always wanted to cycle to Brighton, so we're going to cycle to Brighton." In that moment, less than eight hours after he lost his leg, a commitment was made to undertake the 60-mile cycle, including the formidable Ditchling Beacon climb.
Bike to Brighton
On Wednesday 26 July Szakacsi, Taylor-Stagg and five colleagues marked the anniversary of the accident by undertaking the challenge. They set out from the Athenaeum at 7am, with more members of the team joining them along the route to cycle in support of the trainee supervisor. At 5pm, with a total riding time of around six hours, and having conquered the Ditchling Beacon, they rolled into Brighton.
Szakacsi says: "I'm very happy. It went very well. It was easier than I expected, although the last bit was hard. That hill [the Ditchling Beacon] was hard, it was a challenge, but we did it – all of us went up. "I was so happy to reach Brighton and be next to the sea. Last time I was there, I had two legs and to be back with the bike was a huge experience for me. I'm never going to forget that day or that amazing feeling. It's a huge achievement with my colleagues and my friends there. The support was incredible – I cannot describe how amazing the team are."
The team celebrated at the Grand hotel in Brighton where general manager Andrew Mosley welcomed them into the town to enjoy a celebration of Champagne and fish and chips.
Szakacsi adds: "We all sat around a big table, all tired but happy, and we laughed telling the stories from the day. I'm proud of the team and happy to know them as my friends. I'm proud of myself… I did it."
Taylor-Stagg adds: "It was an incredible day. It could have been a sad, melancholy day remembering what Zoltan lost, but instead he inspired us to turn it into a celebration of what he has achieved and all he will still achieve. Zoltan is incredible."
Completing the ride just a year after the accident and some eight months since receiving his first prosthetic is a huge achievement, and Taylor-Stagg explains that Szakacsi's colleagues have been in awe of his overwhelming positivity and drive over the past 12 months.
Szakacsi explains his determination: "My family are my first motivation; I have two girls [aged nine and four], so they are always front of mind and I wanted to show them that despite challenges you always carry on, follow your goals and follow your dreams."
Taylor-Stagg found out Szakacsi was testing his prosthetic on the bike via an update on cycling, running and hiking app Strava. The trainee supervisor explains that he loves getting out on his bike and had learned to ride again by cycling the Regent's Canal route early in the morning.
Ahead of the ride he had said: "I know I'm going to make it no matter what. I'm expecting it will hurt my leg, but that's OK, I must make it. I want to prove to myself and to the world that just because you suffer a trauma, you can still carry on with your life."
The past year has seen Szakacsi undergo several operations, many hours of physio and the challenge of learning to walk and cycle with a prosthetic leg. Throughout this journey he was supported by the Athenaeum, his colleagues and the wider hospitality industry.
He received his first prosthetic in November and in January began his return to work. His recovery continues with more physio and every few months he receives a new prosthetic leg, the latest giving him some ankle movement for the first time. He is now back at work for three or three-and-a-half days a week. He says: "I love it, I enjoy being part of the community. This hotel is my second family, it's full of friends and we work together for the guests."
Support Zoltan
A Go Fund Me Page has been set up to support Zoltan's continuing recovery
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