Disabled racer to miss 2nd Tinman
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Staff Writer
A wheelchair athlete who won a legal battle to participate in the Tinman Hawai'i Triathlon won't compete in tomorrow's event because of injuries, his attorney said yesterday.
Tinman organizers said they are frustrated and disappointed that Gerard Ah Fook won't be present for the second year in a row, even though they made extensive and expensive changes to accommodate him. The entry fee for this year's race increased from $54 to $80, in part to recover the legal and other expenses organizers say they incurred because of Ah Fook's lawsuit.
Ah Fook, a 26-year-old former Navy man who lost his leg in an accident and rides a hand-operated bicycle, sued Tinman Unlimited and one of its sponsors last spring, saying that under the Americans With Disabilities Act he was entitled to compete in the event using a wheelchair instead of running.
While the lawsuit continued in court, Tinman organizers made preparations to let Ah Fook compete in the race, which includes an 800-meter swim, 40-kilometer bicycle ride and a 10-kilometer run.
"We had to adjust everything to make it safe for him," said Stephanie Chan, a member of the Tinman's board of directors and a race volunteer for the past 19 years. "We did everything we could to comply with his needs."
The accommodations included hiring a special consultant, creating a special bicycle staging area and widening the bicycle lane. Then, Ah Fook did not show up.
Ah Fook could not be reached for comment this week, but in a court affidavit filed last August, after the race was held, he said: "I would have participated but for the defendants treating me different than all disabled participants."
In the affidavit, Ah Fook said he found the proposed accommodations "paternalistic, demeaning, degrading and subjecting me to participating in a separate and unequal category." He also refused to sign a waiver that other athletes did not have to sign, he said.
"After doing all that, it was a little disappointing that he chose not to participate," Chan said.
Although Tinman officials agreed to let Ah Fook compete in 2002, he kept his lawsuit available and finally reached an out-of-court settlement this May. The Tinman group also was ordered to pay $7,000 for Ah Fook's attorney fees. Tinman president Olga Caldwell and the group's attorney, Howard Lung, refused to discuss the lawsuit or comment on Ah Fook this week, citing a confidentiality agreement in the settlement.
In an early affidavit, Caldwell said the group agreed to incur the extra expense because it was told Ah Fook would participate, but never received any communication from him before or after the race explaining his absence.
Tinman officials said they made preparations for Ah Fook's participation in the race, but he did not submit an entry form by the required deadline.
"Unfortunately, Mr. Ah Fook is not going to make the Tinman this year because of injuries he has suffered," his attorney Shawn Luiz said yesterday. "He's already planning to train with another athlete and both of them plan to compete next year."
Chan, the Tinman director, said she looks forward to that.
"We've always looked at the Tinman as a people's event," she said.
