News
News

Wheelchair racers from Illinois include Olympic medal winner

By Noah Sheidlower
July 4, 2022
Wheelchair racers Yen Hoang and Raphael Botsyo came from Illinois to attend the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on Monday, July 4, 2022.

Credit: Noah Sheidlower

icon to expand image

Credit: Noah Sheidlower

Wheelchair racers Yen Hoang, 25, and Raphael Botsyo, 43, came from Illinois to attend the race today.

Both train together in Champaign and have been coming for four and five years respectively.

”What I love about Peachtree is home big the wheelchair division is,” said Hoang, who competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

For Botsyo, who holds three Olympic gold medals representing Ghana, this race is about meeting athletes from across the globe and advocating for athletic opportunities for people with disabilities.

”We need to create opportunities for everyone and treat everyone equally,” Botsyo said.

About the Author

Noah Sheidlower is an intern on the Living, Food and Dining team. He has written about food, culture, and business for CNN, NBC News, the New York Post, and the Columbia Daily Spectator, where he was Arts & Entertainment Editor. He also has one of the largest takeout menu collections in the world and loves all things classical music.

Follow Noah Sheidlower on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

The SNAP program provided benefits to about 13% of Georgia’s population, 1.4 million people, during the 2024 fiscal year. (Associated Press)

Credit: Sipa USA via AP

Georgia had third-highest SNAP payment error rate in country in 2024

The state’s error rate during fiscal 2024 was exceeded by only Alaska and the District of Columbia

Gwinnett drops charges against Spanish-language reporter in ICE custody

Misdemeanor charges against journalist Mario Guevara have now been dropped in both Gwinnett and DeKalb counties.

DISPATCH

In Georgia’s melon mecca, watermelon wizards’ ears are sweetly attuned

In the heart of Georgia's watermelon country, everyone has a trick to tell if a melon is ripe. One way is the sound a melon makes when it is thumped. Or better, patted.

The Latest

Friends, Chyna Bradley (from left), Keyvarious Wilson, Timeshia Alexander, pose in line outside Beyonce's Cowboy Carter concert in Atlanta on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Olivia Bowdoin for the AJC).

Credit: Olivia Bowdoin

Rhone: Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour pushes fans outside the norm

2h ago

Georgia had third-highest SNAP payment error rate in country in 2024

AJC Peachtree Road Race updates: Keep the momentum going

Featured

Rebecca Ramage-Tuttle, assistant director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Georgia, says the the DOE rule change is “a slippery slope” for civil rights. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC

Georgia disability rights advocates fear weakening of U.S. accessibility law

Advocates worry the Department of Energy’s move could be the start of a broader effort by other federal agencies to roll back civil rights rules.

From boycott to ballgame: Baseball’s political All-Star Game saga returns to Georgia

MLB pulled the 2021 All-Star Game from Georgia over the state's voting law, Senate Bill 202. Now it’s back — and Republicans say the return proves they were right all along.

OPINION

Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour pushes fans outside the norm

Preparations for the show pushed people out of their comfort zones — into new stores, new communities, a new style of dress, and in some cases, to visit new cities.