Wheelchair Athlete Stops In Philadelphia, Nearing Goal of Cross-Country Roll
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By John Ostapkovich
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There will be a rally tomorrow morning at Love Park (JFK Plaza) in center city Philadelphia, to mark the latest stage in an amazing journey: the cross-country exploits of man in a wheelchair.
It's not your grandfather's wheelchair that Ryan Chalmers has been rolling across the United States, but a sleek racing model.
Chalmers, 24, is certainly not letting spina bifida slow him down. He has rumbled through Death Valley, along country roads and city streets, aiming for Central Park in New York City a couple of days from now.
Why?
"One, to raise awareness of person with disabilities, show people what wheelchair racing is all about, what adaptive sports is all about," he tells KYW Newsradio. "Because that's really what it's about: awareness. But another thing is to show people, able-bodied or not, if you're passionate about something, (and) you set a goal for yourself, you can achieve anything."
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Chalmers was on the US Paralympics team last year, but this cross-country roll may put him in the record books.
More information at pushacrossamerica.org.
