PRESS RELEASE

Contact: Jennifer M. Rodriguez, 718-803-3782, ext. 282/ jrodriguez@unitedspinal.org

14^th ANNUAL NICK KATSOUNIS 10K RACE

INSPIRES ATHLETES WITH DISABILITIES

Farmingdale, NY- June 27, 2005 – United Spinal Association, a Queens based organization, co-sponsored yesterday’s 14^th Annual Nick Katsounis Memorial North American Wheelchair 10K Race, one of the world’s most prestigious and highly competitive events for athletes with mobility impairments. The race featured various categories, ranging from Junior level division to Women’s and Men’s master’s divisions. The Katsounis Memorial is one of five competitions that make up the America Series, a two-week circuit of elite wheelchair races in held in Toronto, Long Island and Georgia.

Fourteen-year-old United Spinal member Chelsea Crytzer competes in wheelchair races every weekend throughout the summer and at a recent race she fell over leaving bruises and cuts down her right arm. “I came into [the Katsounis] race very nervous,” said Chelsea, whose unofficial time is 0:40:45. “I know I could have done better if I wasn’t so worried about falling again.” Her mother assures her that it is mind over matter and Chelsea plans to continue racing. Born with spina bifida, Chelsea also plays basketball with United Spinal’s Junior Nets, which won a national championship this year in Birmingham, Alabama. (Digital photos available)

The race is sanctioned by Wheelchair Track and Field and featured more than $25,000 in prizes for winners, including bonus prizes for honorably discharged veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces. Disabled athletes from Europe, Japan, Africa, South America and Australia converged on Long Island to challenge the top United States wheelchair athletes, including one of United Spinal’s members, Jose Mendez of Brentwood, NY, who also serves as Assistant Director of the Nick Katsounis Race.

Nick Katsounis, who passed away in 2001, lost his leg in an auto accident when he was a young man and dedicated his life to advancing the rights of the disabled, focusing much of his energy on promoting wheelchair athletic programs throughout Long Island, New York. After Katsounis' death, Walsh's mother, Geraldine, took over the race he started in 1992.

United Spinal Association is dedicated to enhancing the lives of all individuals with spinal cord injury or disease by ensuring quality health care, promoting research, advocating for civil rights and independence, educating the public about these issues, and enlisting its help to achieve these fundamental goals. The Association sponsors a wide variety of wheelchair recreational and adaptive sports programs, guided by the belief that the benefits from participating in sports are not any different for athletes with disabilities than for able-bodied athletes.   For more information visit our Web site at www.unitedspinal.org.