When Ron was 15 years old, he was an avid soccer player and a member of the U.S. Jr. National Soccer team. His dream of playing in the World Cup for the U.S. was shattered, when upon investigation of a sore left shin, he was diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma, a malignant tumor of the bone. The news got even worse when doctors discovered that the tumor had metastasized to his right lung.

Ron underwent surgery to remove the tumors in his lung, and a few months later he had his left leg amputated below the knee. All this was followed by 18 months of chemotherapy. Through it all, Ron never questioned the fact that he would beat cancer and get back to a regular life. Eventually Ron did beat cancer, but his life has been anything but regular since.

After his diagnosis with cancer, Ron attended Camp Sunshine every summer, located in Rutledge, Georgia. Camp Sunshine provides recreational, educational, and support programs for children with cancer and their families. When he turned 21, Ron became a counselor there, and has supervised cabins full of teenage boys for one week each summer since.

In 1999 he was asked to serve on the Camp Sunshine Board of Directors, a position he still holds. Ron gives credit to Camp Sunshine for motivating him to overcome his diagnosis, and strives to provide hope for campers as they fight their own battles.

Since Ron could no longer play soccer after losing his leg, Ron channeled his athletic abilities into water skiing. He took part in several disabled water skiing competitions, and during his senior year of high school, he moved from his hometown of Norcross, GA to Orlando, FL to receive better training and compete in national water skiing events.

Ron accepted a partial four year scholarship to water ski for Georgia College. By the time he graduated in 1997 with a BA in Business, Ron had captured two world records in water skiing: the World Disabled Slalom and the World Disabled Jumping records, both of which he still holds today. After college, Ron was hired by Southwire Corporation as a Sales Representative.

Ron quickly discovered that there aren’t many non-collegiate water skiing competitions. Ever the athlete, Ron took up another sport, cycling. He began with racing mountain bikes, but soon began racing on the road. His talents matched those of able-bodied athletes and he started racing on the local, state, and national levels.

Shortly after, he was named to the U.S. Paralympic Elite National Disabled Cycling Team and trained for the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney, Australia. Ron raced in two events on the track and one on the road. He finished 5th in the 1km time trial, 7th in the 4km pursuit, and 9th in the 78km road race.

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) World Ranking List ranked Ron 3rd for cyclists in the LC2 division, the category for athletes with one below-the-knee amputation.

Following the Sydney Paralympics, Ron never slowed down. Under the guidance of his coach Jim Lehman of Carmichael Training Systems, he trained harder than ever in preparation for the 2001 National Cycling championships in Spokane, WA. Ron won first place in the road race, the time trial, and the criterium.

Next were the European Championships in Switzerland where Ron placed 4th in the 1km track time trial, 5th in the 4km pursuit, 4th in the road time trial, and 4th in the road race.

In the midst of his training for the World Championships, Ron was asked to participate in a panel discussion entitled “The Face of Survivorship” at Lance Armstrong’s Ride for the Roses in April 2002. Ron accepted the invitation and participated in an hour-long panel discussion about being an athlete overcoming cancer. Chris Fowler of ESPN moderated the panel, and other panelists were professional tennis player, Corina Morariu, and Lance himself.

Three days after returning from the Ride for the Roses Ron suffered a setback. While on his afternoon ride, he was hit by a car backing out of a parking space just a block away from his apartment. Thankfully, his helmet did its job and he suffered only a concussion and some scrapes and bruises. His bike was broken in half and he was slowed down for a few weeks, but again he made a complete recovery.

A few months later, Ron competed in the 2002 IPC World Championships in Aldenstadt, Germany, racing in four events—two on the track, one road time trial and one road race. Ron placed 4 th in the 1km road time trial and 6 th in the 4km pursuit on the track. He again placed 4th in the road time trial, and finished the week strong in the road race, winning 2nd place and a silver medal. Ron’s silver medal helped the U.S. team win the medal count for the first time ever!

In September of 2002, Ron and his best friend Rob DeFoor of Charleston, South Carolina organized a 300+ mile bike ride across Georgia to raise money for Camp Sunshine.

The event, titled Riding on Sunshine, raised over $25,000 that went towards building the Camp Sunshine House, a complex completed in 2003 in Atlanta, which serves as a non-residential facility focusing on the special needs of children with cancer and their families.

In October 2003, Ron had the honor of being selected for the Bristol Myers Squibb Tour of Hope Team and participated in a ride across the country to raise awareness for cancer research and clinical trials. The route was 3200 miles and completed in seven days.

Ron was one of 27 cyclists chosen, ranging from cancer survivors to oncologists, to cancer researchers, and to Lance Armstrong. For Ron, the highlight of the experience was not only riding side by side with Lance, but also being able to use his story to encourage others with cancer and help spread the word on how all can help in the search of a cure.

Thanks to a very understanding and supportive company, throughout his training and competing Ron has been able to work full time. Ron has enjoyed great success at Southwire Company for the past seven years, and currently is a Field Sales Representative. Ron is responsible for the sale and promotion of electrical wire and cable products to electrical distributors in Alabama and the Panhandle of Florida. His competitive nature is in full gear at work; he enjoys writing orders almost as much as winning medals!!

The winning continued in September, when Ron traveled to Prague in the Czech Republic for the 2003 European Championships. There, he captured a bronze medal and two silver medals, securing his spot on the 2004 U.S. Paralympic Cycling team.

The most important victory came in December 2003 though, when Ron said, “I do” at his wedding to his beautiful bride, Brooke.

Finally, all of Ron’s hard work paid off and medals were won! The Paralympic Games were held during late September 2004, and Ron served as the Team Captain of the US cycling team. Ron won a silver medal in the Team Sprint on the Velodrome (along with teammates Paul Martin and Dan Nicholson) and a bronze medal in the combined Road Race and Time Trial events. The Games were a huge success, and to Ron, the bronze especially “feels like a Gold”.

Since Athens, Ron has been spending more time on the motivational speaking circuit, speaking to large corporations, medical professionals, local civic organizations, and school children about “Setback, Survival, and Success”.

He has had strong showings in the 2007 World Championships in Bordeaux, France, and again at the 2008 Paralympic Trials, where he cinched another spot on the Beijing Paralympic Team by winning the US National Championship!

Ron continues spinning his wheels on the streets of Birmingham and counting down the days to the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. He is proud to again serve as Team Captain, and will be competing in the Road Race and Time Trial (on September 12th and 13th) in the hopes of earning a Gold Medal to complete his collection!

After the Olympics, Ron and Brooke will be packing up and moving to Auburn, Alabama, where Brooke will (finally!) begin her career as a pediatrician. They are both very grateful for all the support that Birmingham has offered over the past ten years!