With rigorous workouts, Kevin Saunders drove himself to be one of the world's best Paralympic pentathletes.

THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY

This Kansas Paralympian has a mission: inspire, educate, and make a difference in people's lives, giving them the tools they need for success.

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Heaven knows, Kevin Saunders dealt with his own mind games after a 1981 grain-elevator explosion in Corpus Christi, Tex., where he worked as a federal inspector for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The accident left him paralyzed below the waist.

In his own playful manner, Saunders now inflicts his mind games upon others. Whether it was during his years as a world-class wheelchair athlete or if he is speaking to you today, he'll make you think. Whatever the subject, Saunders's solution is in the title of the book, There's Always a Way, which he co-authored with Bob Darden. It was originally published by WRS Publishing in 1993 but was revised and re-released this year by Saunders's own company, Saunders & Associates.

In his book, Saunders—who grew up in the small town of Downs, Kan. (population 1,200), and now works and makes his home there—and Darden examined Saunders's plight of dealing with the thoughts of hearing he would never walk again.

Following his injury Saunders got involved with wheelchair athletics, and his life began to change. With rigorous workouts he drove himself to be one of the world's best pentathletes in the Paralympics. That sweat paid off in November 1988, when Saunders earned a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.

In September, Saunders begins a three-year, coast-to-coast tour called "Let's Roll On." His mission on the tour is to give back and to let people who are struggling with obesity or trying to get fit know that there's always a way.

Read Saunders's story, as told by freelance sports journalist Greg Echlin, in the June SPORTS 'N SPOKES.

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