Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s spotlight. I’m Liz Waid.
Voice 2
and I’m Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
The Ironman Triathlon. It is a race for only the best sports athletes. It is almost four kilometres of swimming, more than one hundred eighty [180] kilometres on a bicycle, and over forty-two [42] kilometres of running. Only then do the athletes reach the finish line. The race takes anywhere from ten [10] hours to fifteen [15] hours to complete. Most athletes cross the finish line alone. But Team Hoyt always crosses the finish line together.
Today’s Spotlight is on Dick and Rick Hoyt, the father and son racing team.
Voice 2
Rick Hoyt was born in 1962. But when he was born something went wrong. His brain did not receive enough oxygen. This damaged his brain. Doctors thought baby Rick would not live long. If Rick did live, he would not develop normally.
Voice 1
As a child, it was clear Rick had many physical problems. He had no muscle control. He could not control his arms or legs. He could not walk. And he could not speak words. But Rick’s parents decided to raise Rick like any other child.
Voice 2
His parents had trouble getting Rick into school. Teachers thought that since Rick could not talk, he also could not understand words. But this was not true. Rick’s parents taught him letters and words. Rick understood the world around him. His parents wanted him to be in school with all the other children. So, when Rick was ten years old, his parents asked a group of university engineers to help them.
Voice 1
The engineers used five thousand [5000] dollars from the Hoyt family to build a special computer. The computer let Rick write his thoughts. By moving his head, Rick could select letters on the computer. Rick’s family did not know what words he would first write. They expected him to say “Hi Mom” or “Hello Dad.” But the first thing Rick wrote was “Go Bruins.” The Bruins are a professional hockey team. Rick enjoyed watching sports with his family. He had watched this team his whole life. His parents now knew Rick loved sports.
Voice 2
Rick started school in 1975. Two years later, he told his father that he wanted to compete in a local race. The race was to help a local young man who had suffered a bad accident. The young man became paralyzed. He could not move his body. Rick’s father agreed to help Rick compete in the race. Dick had not run in any races before, but he agreed to push Rick in his wheelchair.
Voice 1
Dick and Rick competed in the eight [8] kilometre race. They did not do very well. They finished second to last. But they still felt good about the race. The night after the race, Rick told his family that he did not feel disabled when he and his father were racing.
Voice 2
Dick and Rick Hoyt continued to race. Many people were very surprised to see a disabled person in a race. Some people did not want to race with Dick and Rick. Now Dick says that many people were not educated about people with disabilities. They did not know how to react to his son. But over time, Dick says, people began to see that Rick was a person. Rick wrote about how people responded to him racing:
Voice 3
“In the beginning, nobody would come up to me. However, after a few races, other athletes began to talk to me. Now, many athletes will come up to me before the race ... to wish me luck”
Voice 1
Some people may look at Team Hoyt and only see Dick pushing his son. They may think that Rick is not really competing in the race. But Dick disagrees.
Voice 4
“My strength comes from Rick. He gives me the desire. He gives me the power to perform. It is just something that builds up in me. It comes from his body into mine. I am just out there letting him use my arms and legs so that he is able to compete…Rick to me is the competitor. He really wants to win. He is a fighter and he is never going to give up. ...When I am pushing him, I can go faster. I can do all these things and I do not know exactly what it is.”
Voice 2
After four years of running races, Team Hoyt was ready to try something new. This time instead of just running, they would compete in a triathlon. A triathlon is a race where a person first swims, then rides a bicycle and then finishes the race running. To compete in the race, Dick first had to learn how to swim! He also had to practice riding a bicycle. He had not ridden a bicycle since he was very young.
Voice 1
But Dick also had to figure out a new way to carry Rick in each part of the triathlon. First, he had a special bicycle made. Rick rode in the front of it. Second, for the swimming part of the race, Dick pulled Rick in a floating raft. Dick tied a rope around his waist and pulled his son through the water.
Voice 2
Team Hoyt competed in their first triathlon in 1985. Again, they finished the race second to last. But that did not stop them from competing in more triathlons. They became better at racing. They finished the races faster than most people. Today, Team Hoyt has competed in over nine hundred [900] races. They have even ridden a bicycle across the United States.
Voice 1
Although Dick and Rick spent much time racing, Rick also attended college. After finishing high school, Rick went to Boston University. After nine years of college, Rick graduated with a degree in special education, education for people with disabilities. Today, Rick works at Boston College helping to develop a computer for disabled people. Dick says that his son teaches other people about what it means to have a disability.
Voice 4
“He lives by himself in an apartment in Boston. He has gone to school and competed in races. He is sending a message that disabled people should be included in all daily activities. They should be able to live like everybody else.”
Voice 2
Team Hoyt still races today. They also travel the world speaking to groups of people. They teach them about working together. They teach them about being disabled. Dick says:
Voice 4
“People just need to be educated. Rick is helping many other families coping with disabilities in their struggle to be included. ...The message of Team Hoyt is that everybody should be included in everyday life.”
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