一位堅強的爸爸

A devoted father has completed a triathlon carrying his 13-year-old cerebral palsy afflicted daughter across land and through water so that she could complete the gruelling event.

Rick van Beeks feat of endurance and the love for his daughter Madison have led many to call the man from Byron Center， Michigan the“Father of the Century”.

But it is not the first race of its kind for van Beek， who said he has participated in more than70 events， including half-marathons， triatalions and other outdoor races， as part of “Team Maddy”.

He and Maddy took part in a triathlon. Together they completed the 0.3-mile swim， 12.4-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run， with Maddy pictured in her fathers arms as they transitioned from section to section.

For the swimming portion， van Beek tugs his daughter through the water in a kayak and then pulls her behind him in a cart as he cycles. He runs the last leg pushing her in a buggy.

Van Beek， 39， told the Midland Daily News that he wants to complete the events with his daughter， who is unable to walk or talk， because she adores being outside.

“She functions like a three-month-old， and one of the very few things that we know she enjoys is being outside， being in the water， feeling the breeze in her hair and in her face，”he said.

Maddy was diagnosed with cerebral palsy two months after she was born. “It was one of the worst days of our lives，” van Beek said. “Everybody prays that their children are healthy and for eight years I still wished that she had been a healthy child， but if she wouldnt have been like she is then we wouldnt be the people that we are today.”

His outlook changed when he saw his daughter taking part in a marathon more than four years ago， and saw the pure joy on her face.

“I watched my daughter Maddy being pushed in the Grand Rapids Marathon，” he repeated on his blog. “To see her being so happy and enjoying every bump in the road was more than could handle， my emotions took over. Shortly after that day I gave up smoking 2 packs a day and chewing a tin a day to be better， for Maddy. It has been a long road， with many bumps， but we are better. ”

In a bid to make his daughter happy， he began training for outdoor races in 2008. Van Beek， who was out of shape and a heavy smoker， also realised it would be beneficial for him.

一位盡職的父親帶著他患有腦癱的13歲女兒，跋山涉水一起完成了累人的比賽。

瑞克·范·比克來自美國密歇根州拜倫中心，他完成的這項壯舉展現了他驚人的耐力和對女兒麥迪遜深深的愛意，這使得許多人稱他為“本世紀最佳父親”。

但這不是范·比克第一次參加這種比賽了，他說他和女兒一起，以“麥蒂之隊”的父女組名義參加過半程馬拉松、鐵人三項和許多別的戶外運動。

他和女兒麥蒂一起參加了一個鐵人三項比賽。他們一起完成了0.3英里的游泳、12.4英里的自行車騎行和3.1公里的跑步，比賽項目間交接時，麥蒂都會和父親一起拍照留念。 在游泳部分，范·比克將女兒放在一個皮劃艇中，邊游邊拖著皮劃艇前進。在騎自行車時，比克將女兒放在車后的一個拖車里。跑步時，比克邊跑邊推著童車里的女兒前進。

現年39歲的范·比克告訴《米德蘭每日新聞》說，他之所以想要和不能行走也不能說話的女兒一起完成這些項目是因為女兒特別喜歡待在戶外。

比克說：“她的行為能力和三個月的嬰兒一樣，她喜歡做的事情也很少，但我們知道她喜歡待在戶外，待在水中，感受吹在她頭發和臉上的微風。”

在麥蒂出生后兩個月，就被診斷為腦癱。范·比克說：“這是我們一生中最糟糕的日子之一。每個人都祈禱自己的孩子是健康的，有八年時間我仍希望她是一個健康的孩子。但如果她是一個健康的孩子，我們也不會成為今天的自己了。”

比克的觀點在四年前發生了變化，當他看到女兒參加馬拉松比賽時，臉上那純凈的笑容。

比克在他的博客上重述了這個故事：“在大急流城馬拉松比賽中，我的女兒被推著參加比賽。看到麥蒂這么開心，享受著路上的每一次顛簸，我的心被徹底打動，我被征服了。從那天開始，為了麥蒂，我每天嚼一罐口香糖來戒掉一天兩包煙的壞習慣。這是一條充滿艱辛的長路，但我們正變得更好。”

為了讓女兒開心，范·比克在2008年開始參加戶外長跑鍛煉。曾經是有很大煙癮而且很肥胖的范·比克，也同樣意識到鍛煉對他很有好處。