We never win, but we always win

Rick Hoyt is American. He is in a wheelchair because he’s got cerebral palsy. He can’t talk so he uses a computer to communicate with people. Rick is a happy and successful man; he has a job at the University of Boston, and he works in computer studies. Rick loves sport too, and he takes part in marathons and triathlons.
Triathlons? In the triathlon, people swim four kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers and then run a marathon, 42 kilometers. Rick can’t run, cycle or swim because he’s in a wheelchair. So how can he take part in a triathlon?
Rick can take part because he does it with his father, Dick Hoyt. In the running, his father pushes him in his wheelchair. In the swimming, Rick lies in a small boat and Dick swims and pulls him. And in the cycling, Rick sits in a special seat on the front of Dick’s bike. Together, they are ‘Team Hoyt’.
Of course, Team Hoyt never wins the race. The winner of a triathlon usually finishes in about nine hours. The Hoyts usually take about 14 or 15 hours. ‘That’s right,’ says Dick. ‘Rick and I never win. But we think that we always win.’