Bob Corridorthe Massachusetts wheelchair racer who survived polio as a toddler and have become the primary acknowledged wheelchair finisher on the Boston Marathon, died final Sunday at 74. Corridor grew up within the Boston space after contracting polio as an toddler and dropping the usage of his legs. He stayed concerned in sports activities anyway, first by way of baseball and wrestling, then wheelchair basketball, earlier than turning to wheelchair racing in his early 20s.
As reported in The Globe and Mailby 1974, Corridor had already set a nationwide report within the wheelchair mile, and he received a marathon in Ohio later that yr. However he needed to compete on the legendary Boston Marathon. He had written to organizers the yr earlier than, asking to enter alongside the runners. They agreed, however mentioned he would solely be given a finisher’s certificates if he completed underneath three hours.
The daybreak of a brand new period
Utilizing a modified wheelchair, Corridor crossed the road in in 2:58. Race officers later acknowledged the efficiency; it was the primary time a significant marathon formally acknowledged a wheelchair finisher. Corridor later defined that his efforts have been about bringing folks together with him, slightly than collaborating in a marathon.
Corridor returned to Boston in 1977, when the occasion additionally served because the Nationwide Wheelchair Championship, and Corridor received out of a small area of seven wheelchair athletes. Throughout that race, runners Invoice Rodgers (who would develop into the winner) and Tom Fleming inspired Corridor as they ran previous him on Heartbreak Hill. “The interplay was an indication that we have been totally accepted as athletes,” Corridor mentioned.
A relentless battle
Corridor’s battle for acceptance continued when he tried to enter the New York Metropolis Marathon and organizers mentioned they have been involved in regards to the security of wheelchair athletes weaving by way of runners in the course of the race. Corridor challenged the choice in courtroom and was finally allowed to compete, however devoted wheelchair divisions in New York weren’t established till 2000.
Since Corridor’s 1974 Boston Marathon debut, practically 2,000 wheelchair athletes have taken half in that race alone. Elite divisions now compete for prize cash, and the sector consists of dozens of athletes annually throughout wheelchair and para classes.
Corridor married a two-time Boston Marathon competitor. He stayed related to wheelchair racing all through his life, designing and constructing racing chairs that might be utilized by later generations, together with a wheelchair that’s completely featured within the Museum of Fashionable Artwork in New York. Marcel Hugprobably the most dominant wheelchair racer in historical past and winner of the 2026 Boston Marathon, realized to race in a chair that Corridor designed.
