Dick Traum was a disabled athlete, entrepreneur, and advocate whose organization, Achilles International, pushed athletic events to provide wider access and resources to competitors with disabilities.
- Died: January 23, 2024 (Who else died on January 23?)
- Details of death: Died in New York City at the age of 83.
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Dick Traum’s legacy
When Traum was 24 years old, he was struck by a car and lost his right leg. He became a successful entrepreneur and embraced running with a prosthetic leg. Workouts at the local YMCA turned into one-mile runs, which then became five-mile runs. In 1976, he made history when he became the first person to compete in the New York City Marathon on a prosthetic leg. Legendary athlete and humanitarian Terry Fox credited Traum as his inspiration to begin his own journey.
However, such events often lacked support and resources for disabled athletes to participate, and Traum wanted others to have the same access and opportunities that he had. In 1983, he formed the Achilles Track Club, later renamed Achilles International. The organization offers athletics programs and assists other athletic organizations with ensuring participants with disabilities have equal access. Now, hundreds of members compete in the New York City Marathon each year, among countless other events. There are dozens of chapters throughout the world.
Traum’s autobiography, “A Victory for Humanity,” came out in 1993. He is also the coauthor of “The Courage to Go Forward: The Power of Micro Communities.” He is in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and New York Road Runners Hall of Fame. By the end of his life, Traum had run over 70 marathons.
Notable quote
“I wanted to pass on the same joy I felt when crossing the finish line at the 1976 New York City Marathon. I wanted to mainstream our members.”— from Traum’s 2018 book “The Courage to Go Forward: The Power of Micro Communities”
Tributes to Dick Traum
Full obituary: The New York Times
