BOSTON — Rick Hoyt, who along with his father pushing his wheelchair grew to become a fixture on the Boston Marathon and different races for many years, has died. He was 61.
Hoyt died of problems along with his respiratory system, his household introduced on Monday.
“Rick along with our father, Dick, were icons in the road race and triathlon worlds for over 40 years and inspired millions of people with disabilities to believe in themselves, set goals and accomplish extraordinary things,” the Hoyt household mentioned in a press release.
Rick Hoyt had cerebral palsy, which left him a quadriplegic, however he and his father grew to become as a lot part of the Boston Marathon as sore toes or Heartbreak Hill. With Dick Hoyt pushing, the 2 accomplished the course 32 occasions.
They additionally participated in additional than 1,000 different races, together with duathlons and triathlons; in 1992 they accomplished a run and bike throughout the U.S. that lined 3,735 miles (6,010 kilometers) in 45 days. In 2013, a statue of father and son was erected close to the Boston Marathon’s beginning line in Hopkinton.
Dick Hoyt died in 2021.
“It’s hard to believe they both have now passed on but their legacy will never die. Dick and Rick Hoyt have inspired millions around the world,” mentioned Dave McGillivray, the race director of the Boston Marathon and different occasions that the Hoyts participated in. “We will always be grateful, Rick, for your courage, determination, tenacity and willingness to give of yourself so that others, too, could believe in themselves, set goals and make a difference in this world as you have.”
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