Arizona Daily Star: Pedaling toward a polio-free world

By John Hewko

This article originally appeared in the Arizona Daily Star’s National Opinion Section
© 2025 Arizona Daily Star

I first heard about El Tour de Tucson in the unlikeliest of places: aboard a water taxi in Bangkok in 2012. Several Tucsonans struck up a conversation when they learned I was an avid cyclist. They told me how Rotary clubs in Southern Arizona had begun using Tucson’s annual bike ride to raise money for global polio eradication.

Their enthusiasm touched me. By the time our short ferry ride was over, I had agreed to join them. That November, I traveled from Chicago to Tucson for my first El Tour, a rigorous 102-mile ride that starts in downtown Tucson. I’ve returned 12 more times since. Through our participation, my Rotary teammates and I have raised more than $72 million to help provide polio vaccines for children.

It’s fitting that Tucson hosts this event because Arizona once played a pivotal role in America’s fight against the virus. In 1946, the polio epidemic hit the state, with 88 recorded cases, a number that would multiply dramatically in the years ahead. As panic spread, officials closed swimming pools, theaters, and public spaces in an effort to contain the disease.

In 1962, when Dr. Albert Sabin’s oral polio vaccine became available, Arizona launched one of the country’s first mass immunization campaigns, in Maricopa and Pima counties. On Sundays, children lined up at churches and schools to receive the polio vaccine on sugar cubes. These “Sabin Oral Sundays” became so successful that health advocates across the nation copied the Arizona model in their own communities. By 1964, more than 100 million Americans had been vaccinated, and no further polio outbreaks were recorded in the U.S.

While the virus was under control in the United States by the late 1970s, it continued to paralyze more than 350,000 people annually in 125 countries. In response, Rotary and its government and nonprofit partners founded the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988. Since then, global vaccination drives have reduced cases by more than 99.9%. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan still report infections caused by the wild poliovirus. When polio is finally gone, it will become, after smallpox, only the second human disease ever eradicated. To achieve that goal, Rotary members worldwide have contributed $2.9 billion and countless volunteer hours through community events such as El Tour de Tucson.

My journey to cycling and El Tour began out of necessity. I had been a lifelong athlete, playing lacrosse, soccer, and squash in high school and college, and later taking up running. But arthritis, especially in my right hip, eventually forced me to stop. At my wife’s urging, I turned to biking and soon grew to love the sport.

Over the years, I’ve tackled many rides, yet none match El Tour’s combination of endurance, camaraderie, and cause. My personal goal for each El Tour was to break the five-hour mark; many Rotary supporters pledged to double or triple their donations if I reached that elite level. I first achieved it in 2015, finishing in four hours and 55 minutes. Crawling off my bike, I just sat for an hour, exhausted but elated.

This year, recovering from another hip surgery in April, I drew inspiration from Minda Dentler, a polio survivor and the first female wheelchair athlete to finish the Ironman World Championship triathlon. Her determination will push me toward a six-hour finish.

Though we are close to ending polio, the threat isn’t over. Government funding gaps, shifting priorities, and vaccine hesitancy in many countries are jeopardizing progress. Recent detections of poliovirus in New York and Gaza show that polio anywhere is a threat everywhere in our interconnected world. If vaccination rates decline, the virus could return to polio-free places. That’s why El Tour and similar events remain vital. They help raise money and awareness that vaccines are safe, effective, and lifesaving.

On Nov. 22, as thousands of riders roll out at dawn beneath Tucson’s pink skies, I will be reminded what this moment represents: communities coming together to protect future generations. With every mile, we move closer to a world where no child will ever again suffer from polio.

An avid cyclist, John Hewko, CEO and general secretary of Rotary International, is traveling to Tucson from his home in Evanston, Illinois, to participate for the 13th time in El Tour de Tucson and raise money for Rotary’s global polio eradication efforts.