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Saturday, November 24, 2007

Team Hoyt - a story of Human Spirit

Just when I get terribly dismayed at the devilish architecture of the world and seem to succumb to the pessimisms of hell, humanity throws another story of great human spirit at me ... to inspire, to cherish! Who says Forrest Gumps are just feel-good story?

Wiki-copy follows -

Team Hoyt is a father (Dick Hoyt) and son (Rick Hoyt, b. 1962) in Massachusetts who compete together in marathons, triathlons, and other athletic endeavors. Rick was disabled at birth by a loss of oxygen to his brain because his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and he also suffers from cerebral palsy. Dick carries him in a special seat up front as they bike, pulls him in a special boat as they swim, and pushes him in a special wheelchair as they run.

Thanks to his parents, who ignored the advice of doctors that he would live life in a persistent vegetative state, and Tufts University engineers, who recognized that his sense of humor indicated intelligence, at the age of 12, Rick was able to learn how to use a special computer to communicate, using movements from his head. The first words he typed were, "Go Bruins!", and the family learned he was a sports fan. They entered their first race in 1977, a 5 mile benefit run for an injured lacrosse player who was a schoolmate of Rick's.

Dick is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Air National Guard. Rick earned a college degree from Boston University in special education, and now works at Boston College. They continue to compete in races, and are also motivational speakers.

As of December 31, 2006, Team Hoyt had participated in a total of 942 events, including 216 Triathlons (6 of which were Ironman competitions), 20 Duathlons, and 65 Marathons, including 25 consecutive Boston Marathons. They also biked and ran across the USA in 1992 — a 3,735 mile journey that took them 45 days.

When asked what one thing Rick wished he could give his father, his reply was "The thing I'd most like is that my dad would sit in the chair and I would push him once."





1 comment:

Indian said...

I think I know you, Sayan do you remember your fellow quiz mate Preetam in the Thursday evening sessions?

This is my id-pritambera@gmail.com and sorry for this post but this seemed to be the easiest way to contact you rather going to all those sites you have listed ;-)