A charity campaigner who completed a marathon in a bionic suit after being paralysed in a riding accident has died, aged 44.
Claire Lomas, who raised nearly £1m competing in events across the country, died following an accident in Jordan on 22 August, her family said.
In a statement provided to the Melton Times, they said: “We are absolutely devastated to lose Claire. We would ask people to respect our privacy in the coming days to allow us to grieve in peace.”
Lomas, who lived in Melton, Leicestershire, began raising money for charity after an accident at the Osberton Horse Trials in Nottinghamshire in 2007 that left her paralysed from the chest down. Her horse threw her off while taking part and she broke her neck, back and ribs and punctured a lung.
She made headlines for running the 2012 London Marathon in 17 days while wearing a bionic suit. She was chosen to light the Paralympic cauldron in Trafalgar Square later that year in front of David Cameron and Boris Johnson, who were prime minister and mayor of London at the time.
In 2016, she took part in the Great North Run while pregnant, adorned again with her bionic suit. It took her five days to complete. She joined the half marathon after being denied a place on the Vitality London 10k. Organisers said this was because her bionic suit would have given her an unfair advantage, adding that they were bound by the rules of World Athletics, which recognised the event.
In 2017, she was made an MBE in the New Year honours for charitable and voluntary services to spinal injury research. Later that year, she conquered her “toughest challenge to date” after she walked the 10-mile Great South Run in 24 hours.
She was married to Dan Spincer, with whom she had two daughters, born in 2011 and 2017.
Tara Stewart, the chair of the Spinal Research charity, said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened to hear of Claire’s death.
“She was a great supporter of ours, and other spinal injury charities, and a guiding light to the entire community. This is a devastating loss and our thoughts are with her family.”
One of her beneficiaries, the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, said Lomas was “fantastic”.
“She was a real champion of paralysed people and an exceptional motivational speaker”, a spokesperson said.
“She had a way of using her own story to change people’s thinking and focus on the positive. We felt very fortunate and proud that Claire was one of our patrons and supporters.”
Tim Webster, the mayor of Melton, said: “Her drive and passion for this cause helped change the lives of many people who have suffered spinal injuries, and she will be sadly missed. Our thoughts and sincere condolences go out to her family and friends at this sad time.”
The Melton Times said it had been asked by Lomas’s family to “advise other media outlets not to contact them until further notice”.
The Foreign Office added it had supported the family of a woman who died in Jordan.
