The following two stories are an update to our story (May 6 2013) on Paralympic athlete, Ryan Chalmers, who started his Push Across America for specialised dive programme in the Cayman Islands.  Go to: http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/05/wheels-of-steel-a-heart-of-gold/

#1 This story is from The Guardian, UK (just before he completed his journey)

Ryan Chalmers treks across US – by wheelchair: ‘You’ve just got to focus’

By Amanda Holpuch in New York

Paralympian describes physical and mental challenges of logging six to eight hours per day to reach 3,000-mile goal

To cross the United States by car, foot or any other mode of transportation, you need a certain amount of stamina, dedication and daring.

Which might be why paralympian Ryan Chalmers responded to a question about whether he could make the more than 3,000-mile journey by wheelchair with a simple yes.

“I didn’t even know how far across the country is. I didn’t think too much about it at all,” Chalmers told the Guardian. “I just knew I wanted to make a difference and that’s the perfect way to do it.”

Chalmers, 24, was born with spina bifida, which means he does not have complete use of his legs. He played basketball and track as a kid and focused on track as he aged, eventually representing the US at the 2012 London Olympics.

For the Push Across America, he completes between two to three marathons per day at a pace of 11-12mph. This is a sustainable pace for an athlete of his caliber – except after he’s logged more than 2,000 miles and has 1,300 more to go. “Physically, I’m feeling alright,” Chalmers said. “Fatigue has definitely kicked in.”

He left from Los Angeles on 6 April and has crossed 14 states since then to get to New York. The Guardian spoke to Chalmers when he was in Forsyth, Illinois – more than 2,000 miles into his trek.

To prepare physically for the race, he only had to add a couple extra workouts. The mental preparation was equally important. Chalmers said his coach told him: “There’s not really a way you can get used to being in a racing chair for six to eight hours. Your legs are going to hurt, your back’s going to hurt. You just have to mentally get over it.”

Chalmers spends most of his hours on the road alone, though people also line the roadways to support him. Though, the day we spoke he had been flipped off for the first time.

“A lot of stuff can go through the mind during that time and you’ve just got to focus yourself every once in a while, not let yourself talk to yourself too much about some of the crazy stuff that’s going on and really focus on the reason why we started the push in the first place,” Chalmers said.

In 2009, Chalmers was having coffee with Roger Muller, founder of Stay Focused, an organization that works with disabled youth, when Muller casually asked if Chalmers would be willing to cross the US by wheelchair. Chalmers immediately accepted.

Chalmers spends most of his hours on the road alone. Photograph: Parker Feierbach

Muller founded Stay Focused after a scuba-diving trip with his brother, who became a paraplegic from injuries sustained in the Vietnam war. Seeing his brother’s positive experience with the activity inspired him to start a non-profit that offers teenagers with disabilities the opportunity to get scuba certification.

Chalmers interned with the group after participating in the certification program. “I jumped on the opportunity right away because I’m able to put my passion of wheelchair racing and the organization together to make a difference,” Chalmers said.

There are six people total on the road with Chalmers, providing a variety of support-crew activities including physical therapy, route planning and chair maintenance.

A challenge for the entire crew is the constant presence of two filmmakers, who are making a documentary. Chalmers has two cameras constantly attached to his chair, the filmmakers shoot footage constantly and a mic captures his interviews with reporters and conversations for crews. Sometimes crewmembers take dinner on their own to get a break from the exposure.

“It’s definitely been something I’ve had to get used too, but it’s been good,” said Chalmers, who didn’t know there would be a camera crew until a week and a half before the push began.

Chalmers arrives in Central Park in New York at 10am on Saturday, where his supporters have organized an event to commemorate his accomplishment. He will be escorted into the city by the New York police department and supporters are encouraged to gather at the West 67th Street entrance of Central Park in Manhattan. Supporters are invited to watch his arrival starting at 9.30am on 15 June.

Story #2: Ryan makes it

Paralympian Ryan Chalmers completes inspirational 3,000 mile journey

By Eurosport | World of Sport – Sun, Jun 16, 2013 11:43 BST

After 71 days on the road 24-year-old Paralympian Ryan Chalmers has complete a 3,000-mile journey across America.

Chalmers went from Los Angeles to New York by wheelchair, finishing in Central Park on Saturday, hoping to inspire others with disabilities.

“I didn’t even know how far across the country is. I didn’t think too much about it at all,” Chalmers told the Guardian. “I just knew I wanted to make a difference and that’s the perfect way to do it.”

Completing around 50 miles a day, Chalmers crossed 14 states on the coast-to-coast epic, before being welcomed to the finish by cheers.

“You see a little kid at the finish line who’s just smiling at you … it makes everything else go away,” said Chalmers. “It makes the injury and pain go away. For me that’s what helped me push through.”

Having suffered with spina bifida since birth and not having full use of his legs, Chalmers is used to coping with the condition – but the 14 flat tyres to his chair during the trip, and the time he found himself doing 65mph on a particularly steep downhill stretch of road, were amongst some of the challenges that tested him to his limit.

Chalmers represented the US at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, returning without a medal. In the men’s marathon, remembered on these shores for David Weir’s impressive gold medal, Chalmers was 28th, the last man in the field to finish and a full 18 minutes behind. But the American said of this challenge that this latest feat had shown him that the sky was the limit.

“If you’re passionate and set goals for yourself you can achieve anything,” Chalmers said.