Our Journey With World Class Paralympic Track And Field Athletes
Left to right: Tony Volpentest, Ross Perot, Bryan Hoddle, Larry Weber
My wife Julie and I were the owners of a small company called Physically Able Sports during the 1990s. Our mission was to work as sports agents and advocates for the Paralympic Community, specifically with five of the top Paralympic Track athletes in the world from 1995-2000. Our goal was to break down long-standing barriers that prevented Paralympic Athletes from becoming full-time professional athletes.
Our company was the first to exclusively represent Paralympic athletes. Our goal was to assist these athletes in becoming professional athletes, just like any other professional athlete. We were involved in numerous barrier-breaking events and moments for Paralympic athletes on the world stage.
Tony Volpentest, the fastest disabled athlete in the world, won gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters at the Atlanta Paralympic Games. Mr. Ross Perot sponsored Tony, while Bryan Hoddle coached him to two gold medals and a world record.
I coached Tony to a gold medal and all-time world best in the 200 meters at the world Paralympic championships after his coach and my good friend Bryan Hoddle left to pursue other opportunities.
Ross Perot was a billionaire who ran for President of the United States in 1996. Although many people may not be familiar with him today, I had the opportunity to work with him on several projects while he was running for President. Additionally, Mr. Perot was dedicated to supporting veterans, and he worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help them. Unfortunately, Mr. Perot passed away in 2019 at the age of 89.
Many people may not be aware of how much Mr. Perot respected and supported active duty and military veterans. I personally appreciated the work he did for veterans, often without seeking recognition. Mr. Perot's contributions to veterans were truly remarkable.
I considered Mr. Perot a mentor in some business areas and understanding the political arena even though we differed on some political issues. Mr. Perot was amiable and kind to us during the time we worked with him.
When Mr. Perot would call me at our home on business, Julie would say, "you answer it." She was a bit in awe of the man at the time. However, he indeed was like the guy next door. He was easy to talk to, had a great sense of humor, and was very humble. He carried around a 20-year-old briefcase even though he certainly could afford a lot more at the time.
Marlon Shirley, a Paralympic athlete, lived with us in Lacey for about six months to establish himself in his career within the Paralympic movement. During his stay, our daughter Elizabeth grew up around Marlon and became accustomed to his prosthetic leg. She even thought that having just one foot was normal! Elizabeth would often put Marlon's prosthetic leg on for fun, and he would simply laugh.
Marlon, the first disabled athlete to run 100 meters under 11 seconds, won gold medals, set world records, and high jumped over 6 feet with one good foot.
Julie, Bryan, and I successfully collaborated with CBS, CNN, and other global media outlets to promote the Paralympic movement on the business front. Our dedicated team strived to overcome long-standing barriers for athletes with disabilities.
Our company facilitated the first-ever one-to-one challenge between Neil Fuller and Tony Volpentest in Toronto, Canada, via our business, Physically Able Sports.
Tony and Neil were the undercard event for Michael Johnson. Michael Johnson was the Olympic Champion and world record holder in the 400 meters and 200 meters, and Donavan Bailey was the 100 meters Olympic Champion. They raced at 150 meters to determine the fastest non-disabled runner in the world. Tony out leaned Neil Fuller from Australia at the line. The crowd exploded in appreciation of a great race.
Michael Johnson pulled a muscle that day and did not finish the race against Donavan Bailey. The crowd came to see Johnson and Bailey race that day but left in awe of Tony and Neil in many ways.
There are many more barrier-breaking moments that happened during our tenure in the Paralympic movement. I will share them sometime in my blog.
I remember how difficult it was to obtain sponsorships for Paralympic athletes during our Paralympic days. However, we were fortunate enough to break down many long-standing barriers that prevented Paralympic athletes from securing sponsorships as professional athletes by the grace of God.
Reflecting on that time, I can only express gratitude to the Lord for opening so many doors. Additionally, meeting wonderful people from around the world during that era was an added blessing.
StarMentors is currently making a movie about Tony Volpentest's life story. You can learn more about their film here:
https://starmentors.com/2019/11/25/tony-volpentest/
You can also see Tony's gold medal run in the and world record here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaSWjKMhNfY
Blessings,
Coach Weber
Philippians 4:13
Ross Perot and Larry Weber speaking at a press conference in Atlanta