Scot Hollonbeck

Scot Hollonbeck (born c. 1970) is an American wheelchair racer, who competes at the Olympic and Paralympic level. At the 2000 Summer Olympic Games, he placed sixth in the wheelchair racing event. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 4th in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair. He competed in four consecutive Summer Paralympics from 1992 to 2004, winning a total of two gold and three silver medals. [cite web |title=Athlete Search Results |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |date=2008 |url=http://www.paralympic.org/release/Main_Sections_Menu/Sports/Results/paralympics_search.html?sport=all&games=all&medal=all&npc=all&name=Hollonbeck&fname=scot&gender=m |accessdate=2008-10-01]

Hollonbeck became a paraplegic at age 14 after being hit by a drunk driver while out running. Only days after the accident, while still in the hospital, he watched a wheelchair race on television where Sharon Hedrick broke the world record in the 800 meters. He immediately became interested in the sport and attended a camp for disabled athletes at the University of Illinois the next summer.cite web |title=Interview with Scot Hollonbeck |work=Against the Wind |publisher=WILL |url=http://www.will.uiuc.edu/tv/documentaries/atw/atwtscot.html |accessdate=2008-10-01]

While attending Rochelle Township High School in Rochelle, Illinois, he was a member of the school's track and field team. As a sophomore, he was allowed to race in his wheelchair against able-bodied athletes. For his last two years of high school, however, the school barred him from competing against able-bodied runners because of safety issues. A separate wheelchair division was created, but because Hollonbeck was the only disabled athlete in the area, he competed alone. Hollonbeck filed a lawsuit against the school, and in mid-1988, after he had graduated from the school, a federal judge ruled that school officials had violated his civil rights, as provided for in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, by not allowing him to argue his case. The judge did not rule on whether high school wheelchair athletes should be able to compete against their able-bodied peers.cite news |last=Schmidt |first=William E. |title=Student Wins the Right To Race in Wheelchair |work=The New York Times |date=June 27, 1988 |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7D81439F934A15755C0A96E948260&sec=health&spon=&pagewanted=all |accessdate=2008-10-01]

Hollonbeck received an athletic scholarship to the University of Illinois and was a member of the school's wheelchair track and field team. He later moved to Atlanta, Georgia.

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