Achilles Track Club Reaches 25
Wheelchair, Blind, Amputee, Disabled Athletes Hail Anniversary
Jun 2, 2008
The Achilles Track Club, founded in 1983 in New York by amputee Dick Traum, celebrates a quarter-century of achievement this year. The group enables people with all kinds of disabilities, such as visual impairment, stroke, cerebral palsy, paraplegia, arthritis, amputation, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, cancer, and traumatic head injury, to enjoy mainstream recreation.
Achilles Helps Runners, Triathletes, Seniors, Kids
Achilles participants include New York’s legally blind governor, David Paterson, the "Central Park Jogger," Trisha Meili, and many others. Its runners participate with crutches, in wheelchairs, on prostheses, and without aids. Now with 40 chapters in the United States and over 110 chapters on 6 continents, Achilles sponsors events and trains runners and triathletes as well as disadvantaged children with disabilities.
In New York, Achilles conducts programs for over 300 seniors over 65 with disabilities at 7 senior citizen centers throughout the region. They run and train for fun and events. Achilles also helps to run the largest non-elite wheelchair basketball league which serves over 120 young people in the South Bronx. A more competitive wheelchair basketball team is fielded in the Northeast in which 15-20 people compete.
Hope and Possibilities Race
Achilles team members also are taking part in triathlons, with non-impaired partners guiding swimmers and runners as well as acting as captains (front seat partners) in cycling. Achilles is a sponsor of the Hope and Possibilities 5K race that takes place in June in New York’s Central Park.
What more inspiration can Achilles come up with? It knows no limits. This year the New York Achilles is starting a tandem bicycle group.
Freedom Team of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans
After visiting the young soldiers at Walter Reed, Achilles formed its Freedom Team.
Since February 2004, the club has been aiding wounded soldiers from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan by introducing them to running. Its program provides motivation, training, and the opportunity to rebuild strength and endurance while healing through distance running events.
Gunrunners Are Wheelchair Racers
Over 200 wheelchair users in New York are known as The Gunrunners. This is a group of Achilles athletes who have been shot and permanently injured. It was formed to raise awareness and promote the removal of guns from inner-city neighborhoods. Members work out as a team and make presentations at local schools.
Beyond events, the club also helps provide eye surgery for blind runners, below the knee prostheses, and sports wheelchairs for Achilles members. For more information, visit Achilles online.
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