Dr. Dick Traum is the founder of the

Achilles Track Club Achilles International, formerly known as the Achilles Track Club, was established by Dick Traum in 1983 to encourage people with disabilities to participate in mainstream athletics. Achilles has become an international organization that provides ...

for disabled athletes. In 1976, he completed the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

, becoming the first runner to complete such an event with a

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

leg. In the 1980s he became the first amputee to finish a 100 km ultra event, in Poland.

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...

credited reading an article about Traum's marathon running inspired his cross-Canada run for

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

. In 2010, Traum was inducted into the

National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, in Commack, New York, is dedicated to honoring American Jewish figures who have distinguished themselves in sports. Its objective is to foster Jewish identity through athletics, and to commemo ...

. The Achilles Track Club was renamed Achilles International in 2004. Dick remained the CEO for 37-years before retiring in 2019. He was inducted to the NYRR Hall of Fame in 2018.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male long-distance runners American amputees American disabled sportspeople {{US-longdistance-athletics-bio-stub