Injured wrestlers serve as official starters
Two high school students who lost their legs in a car accident will serve as official starters for this year’s Bolder Boulder.
The Berthoud High School teens, Tyler Carron and Nikos Landeros, will fire a gun and wave the start flag at Boulder’s famous race on May 28.
Bolder Boulder director Cliff Bosley said the boys were chosen because they represent what the race stands for.
“When we were kicking around ideas for official starters, which we have been doing for probably the last five months, these guys and their story really resonated with the battle cry of the race,” Bosley said.
Since its founding in 1970, the battle cry of the race has been, “Oh yes you can.”
“They are kind of embarking on their own ‘Oh yes you can’ challenge,” Bosley said.
Both Carron and Landeros had their legs amputated after being struck while changing a tire in January of this year. The young men were getting a spare tire out of the back of an Isuzu Trooper when a fellow student hit the teens with her sport utility vehicle and pinned the boys between the two vehicles.
Carron and Landeros made miraculous recoveries and have returned to school since the accident. The students, previously stars on their high school wrestling team, are adjusting to life without legs.
The Bolder Boulder is a way to recognize the young men’s bravery during this difficult time.
Bolder Boulder directors believe that the teens’ presence will serve as inspiration to the participants.
“I talked with one of the fathers of the boys a couple of weeks ago, and he mentioned that they were pretty excited to want to do this. And I think that excitement will have more meaning to 48,000 people who are running than the fact that they can run,” Bosley said.
The boys will fire the starting pistol and will be placed on a platform for all to see.
“The Bolder Boulder has 72 start waves. For each launch we have a starter flag and a starter pistol. So these guys will alternate, I’m guessing, one will shoot the starter’s pistol and one will drop the flag,” Bosley said.
Having the young men serve as starters is unique to Bolder Boulder’s history.
“I don’t believe that we’ve ever had an official starter or starters that were selected because of a situation of circumstance like this, which, we think, makes it not only unique, but a way to have them involved in the community,” Bosley said.
Communities throughout Colorado have been involved in the students’ recovery process.
Since January, donations to The Medical Fund to Benefit Tyler Carron and Nikos Landeros have been pouring in.
The immense support from people around Colorado has aided Carron and Landeros in their healing process and has helped both families to pay for the expensive medical bills.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Elizabeth Cuje at Elizabeth.cuje@thecampuspress.com.
