Line Judge Works French Open from a Wheelchair
Lucas Feron has become the first official to work a tennis Grand Slam event in a wheelchair.
Feron, 28, was a line judge during the French Open this month, according to reports from the BBC and ESPN, among other outlets.
Feron, who sustained neurological injuries in a November 2022 assault, returned to Roland Garros’s center court, Philippe Chatrier, to work a June 6 match between Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa. He also worked matches in the men’s draw and mixed doubles draw.
The BBC reported that Feron was in a month-long coma after the attack and spent a year in a rehab hospital after waking.
Photos of Feron on the famous red clay of Roland Garros showed the line judge in a blue-framed Motion Composites Helio ultralightweight wheelchair.
3D-Printed Pediatric Mobility Device Program Gets Funding Boost
Six months after CBS reported on students at Tulane University building manual mobility devices via 3D printing technology, the leader of the program said the group has received $40,000 in donations to build more.
Architect Noam Platt discovered the plans for the mobility device — called a Toddler Mobility Trainer — on Tikkun Olam Makers, an open-source information resource for developers. Platt — founder of MakeGood, a collective of adaptive technology designers and innovators — teamed with Tulane engineering students to build the mobility devices that CBS eventually reported on.
The devices — which have wooden bases and basic adaptive seating with optional head and positioning supports — can be self propelled by pushing on the wheels, though they also have push handles. Each device costs about $200 to build, but Platt is aiming to reduce that price to about $50.
Image: Courtesy Tikkun Olam Makers
