Disabled veterans triumph

Friday, July 18, 1997 | 9:43 a.m.

A malfunction in his new air gun cost Las Vegan Kenny Rogers a medal in his specialty event at the recently completed 17th annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games in San Diego.

But, Rogers, 71, overcame that setback just as he had overcome crippling injuries 24 years ago, to win gold and silver medals in swimming events.

Las Vegan Stanley Stavinski, 63, making his first appearance at the games for paraplegic and quadriplegic military veterans, won a gold medal in table tennis.

"The competition was real tough this year," said Rogers, a former professional ice skater and skier competing in his fourth National Wheelchair Veterans Games.

"These games have grown from 87 competitors in 1981 to a record 670 this year. It just keeps getting bigger and better -- and tougher."

Rogers, a World War II Navy veteran who is ranked 11th in the nation in air guns, had to use a borrowed rifle when his new weapon failed. Although a favorite to win a gold medal, he had to settle for an 11th place finish.

But Rogers, who moved from Ohio to Las Vegas last year, still considered his participation a success as he won a gold medal in the 100-yard backstroke and a silver in the 100-yard freestyle.

In the backstroke, an event he lost by a single stroke last year, Rogers registered a three-second victory over the New York competitor who had narrowly defeated him for the 1996 gold medal.

Rogers, who in 1973 broke his back in a fall off a cliff while working as a ski patrolman and has been confined to a wheelchair since, has won 14 medals at the national games, six of them gold.

He almost won his 15th and 16th medals at the track and field meet. Rogers placed fourth in the discus, missing the bronze medal by 8 inches, and placed fourth in the javelin, missing the bronze by just 4 inches.

Because Las Vegas had no team entry at the games, Rogers competed as a member of the Buckeye Paralyzed Veterans of America, an Ohio organization of which he has been a member for 31 years.

Three other Las Vegans participated in the games.

In addition to winning a table tennis gold medal, Stavinski, an Army veteran, competed in paraplegic 9-ball and the 50-yard backstroke.

Dan Kaminski, 40, a Navy veteran, participated in quadriplegic rugby and air guns.

Randy Pontow, 39, a Navy veteran, competed in the manual wheelchair slalom, quadriplegic rugby, the discus and the club toss.

Disabled athletes from 40 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Great Britain competed in the games that were sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the PVA.