Delmace Mayo’s been in a wheelchair for as long as he can remember. But that hasn’t stopped the high school senior from competing for Brighton High’s Track and Field team. And he’s become a stand-out wheelchair athlete.
“For Boston Public Schools, he’s been, I believe, our only national champion,” said his coach, Antonio Halliday.
Home turf for Brighton High’s Track & Field team is the George Robert White Schoolboy Stadium in Franklin Park.
“I’ve competed here multiple times,” Mayo said. “The more I move, the more I feel like I can be me.”
Mayo can move on the field just fine. But he’s otherwise limited. While the stadium has an elevator for the disabled, it lacks ramps.
“The team wants to be where the team wants to be,” Mayo said. “And I want to be with the team.”
That’s a problem when the team wants to be in an area not serviced by the elevator -- a situation that Mayo said is both frustrating and sad.
“It’s like leaving the odd marble out. Like the ugly duckling,” he said.
But the old stadium is on tap for a major facelift.
The city is partnering up with the Boston Unity Women’s professional soccer team, to redevelop the nearly 80-year-old structure -- primarily for use by Boston Public School athletes.
The soccer team is contributing some $50 million to the project -- but will only use the stadium 10% of the time. It plans to set up a practice facility elsewhere. The project, still in the planning phase, will retain much of the Art Deco charm of the structure but will leave nobody out.
And that includes the installation of ramps and other accommodations that will make the stadium fully ADA compliant -- too late to benefit Delmace Mayo -- but he’s just happy it’s getting done.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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