On Easter Saturday, 19 April 2014, Jeremy Hazell made history by becoming the first person, at age 62, to complete the 56km Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon in a regular self-propelled day wheelchair, fitted only with a third accessory wheel for improved steering and manoeuvrability. He did this despite the absurd OMTOM Ultra Marathon Wheelchair Policy at the time, finishing proudly well ahead of the 7-hour cutoff time, in 6h40m.
In doing this, he raised more than R85 000 for The Rachel Swart Fund , enabling motorised wheelchairs to be purchased for needy applicants.
Jeremy was an active outdoorsman and lover of the mountains when he was paralysed in a fall on Table Mountain in 1998 at the age of 46. He has been a wheelchair user ever since. After 13 years of inactivity and declining health Jeremy was inspired in 2011 by a Tim Noakes article on the now famous LCHF (low-carb high-fat) Banting diet to revitalise his health and start exercising seriously, losing 30 kg in the process.