Tuesday, September 20, 1988/The Battalion/Page 5
&M graduate races in wheelchair
By Ron Pippin
Reporter
i 6 Sam George has put many miles
j hi| wheelchair, and at the age of
)m , he intends to run the tread off of
any a tire before he’s finished.
^lIGeorge, a father of three and
^■father of four, has been racing
£ i wheelchair for more than four
George received his master’s
i He in educational psychology
ijj.HTexas A&M in 1978. He has
pipped in five and ten kilometer
din pesj and even 26 mile marathons.
Hes been the Austin Marathon
toiljaippion twice, with a best time of
14. He’s also won over 13 trophies
omjraces in Bryan-College Station,
Diiston and Dallas. He says there
ffl9 '^Bpproximately 200 wheelchair
cers in Texas.
“Ml but three of the races were no
e anpetition,” George said with a
ft! ugh “By the way, I always try to
Of'^Mn A&M outfit when 1 race. Ev-
watching seems to get a kick
it of it.”
George said he became involved
i wheelchair racing after a friend of
n . |, former Texas A&M student Jim
legladenski, let him take a ride in a
Btonti/.ed racing chair.
“I rode Jim’s chair once around
ob^Bfield ,” George says. “Once 1
it going I’d never had such a neat
H It was a real kick to make a
tair go that fast. I’ve been hooked
/er fince.”
|: l BB)rge likes to train in the eve-
ipgs and said he rides about 50
i; ijles per week.
"1 like to go around the baseball
fip-eldpnd freshman parking lot,” he
“I rode Jim’s chair once around Kyle Field. Once I got
it going Fd never had such a neat thrill. It was a real
kick to make a chair go that fast. I’ve been hooked ever
since. ”
— Sam George
says. “All the lady Aggies practicing
softball and the bus maintenance
crews have become friendly with me.
They all know me. The bus drivers
will not run over me.”
George readily admits his
strengths and weaknesses.
“I know my coat size has increased
over time,” he says. “I’m no arm
wrestler, and there are a lot of guys
out there who can roll a chair longer
than me, but not many grandfa
thers.”
George said wheelchair racing re
quires a special chair — one that
weighs less and tracks better than a
standard chair. For instance, his
standard chair weighs 60 pounds,
and is one of the sturdiest chairs
available. His racing chair, however,
weighs 15 pounds and is more aero
dynamic.
He said two engineering students
are designing a more sophisticated
chair for him as a class project.
“They’re going to design a chair
with a hand brake that stops both
wheels,” George said.
The idea came about following
last year’s Boston Marathon, when
one racer was seriously injured.
“The racer had to brake hard,”
George said. “Because of the single
brake and wet pavement, one wheel
slid while the other locked up, toss
ing the man from the chair and mes
sing him up pretty bad.”
George feels the new brake system
will alleviate a lot of injuries.
Wheelchair racing has become a
big money-maker and most racers
are customizing their own chairs, he
said.
“Some of the more high-tech
chairs may cost between $2,800-
$3,000,” George said. “It’s become a
booming business — sports and
sports equipment for the disabled.”
Although there are more sports
and competitive opportunities avail
able for the disabled today than in
the past, George doesn’t feel there is
enough participation at A&M.
“Back in 1980 or ‘81, Megladenski
and I set up the Association of
Handicapped Athletes,” he said.
“We had about 10 guys show up and
we played wheelchair basketball in
DeWare for a while. But, people quit
coming and it sort of fizzled out.”
Last spring he and Megladenski
composed a list of 80 disabled peo
ple in the area and sent letters to
each of them encouraging partici
pation in organized sports-archery,
tennis, bowling and basketball. Only
two of the 80 people responded.
“I wish we could get more people
involved in athletics for the disab
led,” George said. “But, it’s going to
have to be done by the students. We
also need more interest from the
people of the community.”
Recently, George and the Texas
Games’ Committee contacted 17
wheelchair basketball teams across
the state, trying to get at least eight
to participate in a tournament. Only
two teams responded, so wheelchair
basketball was canceled.
“I don’t understand it,” George
said. “We were all very enthusiastic
about the tournament here. I guess
people have other things they would
rather be doing.”
George works as the division man
ager for the Bryan-College Station
branch of Goodwill, which opened
in Bryan in May.
“We’re doing good things here,”
he said. “We have 11 employees. Out
of 11, only three are non-disabled.
We’re here to serve the disabled,
mostly through offering job oppor
tunities. As we grow we will make
more services available for the hand
icapped.”
Although George keeps busy witj^
the Goodwill program, he intends to
increase his training in the future.
“It’s every racer’s dream to go to
Boston,” George said. “I’ll need a
2:20 to qualify. Hopefully when I get
my new chair I can get serious about
it (Boston). My times keep dropping.
Who knows?”
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