motto. Over the next few decades,
Team Hoyt would compete
in more than one thousand
races, including marathons,
duathlons, and triathlons. They
even completed six Ironman
competitions! Rick and his dad
finished thirty-two Boston Marathons, one
of America’s most famous races. In 1992 they
even tackled a trip all the way across the United
States that covered 3,735 miles (6,011 km) in
forty-five days!
Team Hoyt—born of love, determination,
and a father’s message to his son: YES YOU CAN!
EXPLORE!
Do you think Dick and Rick are the only people
who have overcome a disability to achieve
amazing feats in athletics? Not at all! Their story
has inspired others with disabilities to say, “Yes
I can!” Your challenge is to learn about other
athletes like Team Hoyt and then share their
stories with your friends and family.
Start by exploring the Team Hoyt website
(
) and
read about others who have
been inspired by Dick and
Rick’s feats. You can learn
about some of the ways
people with disabilities
remain active, vital members
of society.
What about in your
school and community?
Are there individuals who have
overcome handicaps to reach
athletic achievements that
seemed impossible? What about
outside of sports? Can you find
people in the performing arts,
such as music, dance, and acting,
who aren’t held back by their disabilities?
Don’t forget the visual arts such as painting
and sculpting.
Use social media to share the awesome
stories you discover. Maybe you can include
them in a school writing project. And don’t
forget to let us know about these incredible
individuals too. Go to
to
send us an e-mail to share the stories you’ve
uncovered. Author to authors! How cool is that?
EXPLORE SOME MORE!
Team Hoyt was honored in 2013 with a special
ESPN award called the Jimmy V Perseverance
Award. Google it to read the stories of some
of the other amazing people who have been
honored with the award.
DIVE IN!
Devoted: The Story of a
Father’s Love for His Son
by
Dick Hoyt with Don Yaeger
(Da Capo, 2010), 203 pages.
In addition to marathons,
Dick and Rick have competed
in triathlons that include
three stages: running, biking,
and swimming.
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