Athletes Using Invacare Top End Wheelchairs Take Home 74 Medals From the 2000 Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

ELYRIA, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 17, 2000

Thirty-nine athletes using Invacare(R) Top End(R) wheelchairs won a total of 74 medals at the 2000 Paralympic games in Sydney, Australia, including 30 gold medals, 26 silver and 18 bronze.

The athletes dominated tennis and track and racing events in particular. In track events, Team Invacare medal winners included:

-- Louise Sauvage of Australia, with gold in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters and
silver in the 800 meters;

-- Claude Issorat of France, with gold in the 400 meters and 4x400 meter relay
and silver in the 200 meters;

-- Franz Nietlispach of Switzerland, with a gold medal in the marathon and
silver in the 10,000 meters;

-- Ernst Van Dyk of South Africa, with a bronze in the 400 meters;

-- Chantel Petiticlerc of Canada, with gold in the 200 and 800 meters, and
silver in the 100 and 400 meters;

-- Cheri Becerra of the United States, with gold in the 100 and 400 meters, and
silver in the 200 meters;

-- Jessica Galli of the United States, with a silver medal in the 800 meters;

-- Rick Reelie of Canada, with a silver in the 800 meters and a bronze in the
5,000 meters.

-- Dean Bergeron of Canada, with bronze medals in the 200, 400 and 800 meters;

-- Kurt Fernley of Australia, with silver medals in the 800 meters and the
4x100 meter relay;

-- Greg Smith of Australia, with gold medals in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000
meters;

-- Paul Nitz of the United States, with a gold in the 100 meters;

-- Fabien Blatman of Australia, with a gold in the 400 meters, a silver in
the1,500 meters and a bronze in the 800 meters; and

-- Krige Schabort of South Africa, with a silver medal in the 26.2 mile
marathon.

In doubles tennis, Maaike Smit, Robin Ammerlaan and Ricky Molier -- all of the Netherlands -- won gold medals. David Johnson and Branka Pupovac, both from Australia, took silver medals, and Team Invacare medalists Stephen Welch and Scott Douglas of the United States won bronze. In singles tennis, Welch and Daniela DiToro of Australia each won silver medals, while Smit netted a bronze.

Additional Invacare(R) Top End(R) users who medaled included Mathiew Parent and Mathew Blanclette, who took bronzes as members of the Canadian 4x100 relay team; Paul Nunnari of Australia with a silver in the same event; Lisa Franks of Canada, with gold medals in the 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 meter races and a silver in the 100 meters; Cheri Blauwet of the United States, with a silver in the 100 meters and bronzes in the 200, 400 and 800 meters; Pierre Fairbanks of France with a gold in the 200 meter and a bronze in the 800 meter races; Santiago Sanz of Spain, with silver in the 800 and 5,000 meter races; Francesco Porcelato of Italy, with a bronze in the 100 meter; Jason Lachance of Canada, with a gold in the 200 meters; Alexi Ivanov of Russia, with a bronze in the 5,000 meter race; Bob Balk of the United States with a silver in the pentathlon; Bill Renje and Norm Luduch, Team Invacare medalists on the gold medal-winning U.S quad rugby team; Paul Schulte, a Team Invacare member of the bronze medal-winning U.S. basketball team; and Intasen Sopa, Koysub Supachai and Wahoram Prawat of Thailand, with five gold and four silver racing medals among them.

All of the medal winners used Invacare(R) Top End(R) X-Terminator(TM) QR, Eliminator(TM), Terminator(TM), and T-3(TM) Chairs in their events.

Invacare Corporation (NYSE:IVC) is the global leader in the manufacture and distribution of innovative home medical products which promote recovery and active lifestyles through more than 25,000 providers. The company sponsors more than 75 individual athletes and teams who compete in Invacare(R) Top End(R) equipment. The company, which had 1999 revenues of $878 million, goes to market in the following channels of distribution: home care, mass retail and institutional. Within these channels of distribution, Invacare participates in the following product segments: Home Care, which includes rehab products, respiratory products, manual wheelchairs, home care beds, therapeutic support surfaces and personal care products marketed by Invacare's Home Care Group; Soft Goods and Supplies, which includes ostomy, incontinence, wound care and diabetic supplies marketed by Invacare Supply Group; and Institutional, which includes nursing home beds, patient lifts and slings, nursing home furniture and bathing systems marketed by Invacare Continuing Care Group. The company's headquarters are in Elyria, Ohio, and the firm has manufacturing plants in the United States, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. For more information about the company, visit Invacare's website at www.invacare.com.