Anyone from Sheffield will gladly tell you just how intense the rivalry between the two steel city teams, Wednesday and United, is, but try telling that to terminally ill Wednesday fan Ian Toothill, who just put his dislike for the Blades aside to plant their flag atop Mount Everest in the name of charity.
Fourty seven-year-old Ian was diagnosed with bowel cancer in June, 2015, but was then told he had beaten the disease in 2016.
Tragically, the cancer has returned and Ian was told recently that he only has 'several months to live'.
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When hit by news as crushing as that, climbing the biggest mountain in the world isn't usually something that would cross most people's minds.
Ian, however, decided to use a portion of his remaining time on earth to give something back, and subsequently set about raising £31,500 in sponsorships to ascend Everest. Some of the sponsorship money was used to cover the costs of the trip, with the rest being donated to Macmillan Cancer Support.
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The 47-year-old reached the top of the North Col route on 16th May and then became the only known cancer sufferer to reach the summit of the 8,848 metre (29,029 ft) mountain, two days ago.
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Before Ian's ascent, however, a Sheffield United supporting mate offered him a £1,000 donation to plant a Blades flag at the summit, rather than one from his beloved Owls. In an incredibly sporting gesture, Ian agreed to do so.
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Originally from Sheffield, the 47-year-old personal trainer now lives in Willesden Green in London and has previously climbed in the Himalayas. He undertook part of his phenomenal climb with Leslie Binns, from Rotherham who saved the life of a fellow climber on Everest, last June, abandoning his own ascent in the process.
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Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield in February, Ian said he wanted to prove that 'anything is possible'.
Safe to say, he's done just that. An incredible achievement for an incredible cause.
(H/T BBC, Who Ate All The Pies)
Topics: Sheffield Wednesday, Football, Sheffield United
