Randy Snow

Thomas Randall “Randy” Snow was the first Paralympian to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the second wheelchair tennis player to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Snow was a ranked Tennis player as a teenager in his home state of Texas, and committed himself to wheelchair sports after a farming accident left him paralyzed at the age of 16. The three-time Paralympic medalist competed in wheelchair basketball and wheelchair tennis. He won 22 major tournament titles as a tennis player, achieving a world ranking of No. 2 in singles and No. 1 in doubles. Snow won gold medals in men’s singles and men’s doubles at the Paralympic Games Barcelona 1992, and was named ITF Wheelchair Tennis Player of the Year in 1991, as well as USA Wheelchair Athlete of the Year in 2000. He also competed in an exhibition event at the Olympic Games Los Angeles 1984, winning the silver medal in the men’s wheelchair 1,500-meter. Snow accepted the torch from President Bill Clinton at the start of the 1996 Paralympic Games. Outside of his athletic career, Snow served on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and was heavily involved with the National Council on Disability. He organized and taught at Randy Snow Wheelchair Tennis Camps both within the United States and abroad. Snow passed away on Nov. 19, 2009 in El Salvador while volunteering at a wheelchair tennis camp.