Winning medals is one thing.

Winning medals during the largest wheelchair athletic competition in the country is another.

Two Butler men - James Riemer and William Johnston - accomplished the latter when they medaled at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in St. Louis June 15 through 19.

Johnston, a Marine Corps veteran, won four gold medals and one silver in swimming events.

Riemer, a Navy veteran, won a silver medal in bowling. He is a quadriplegic - paralyzed from the neck down after falling from a roof April 1, 1985 - and bowled a 459-series using a hand-control and ramp.

Reimer also competed in the motorized slalom, finishing fourth, and the power-chair relay, an experimental event.

"I try to compete in different events from year to year," Riemer said. "I want to challenge myself."

That's the very idea of the National Veterans Wheelchair Games, which debuted with 76 participants in 1981. There were 515 participants from the United States, Puerto Rico and Great Britain in St. Louis for this year's event.

Athletes had 15 events to choose from, including archery, air guns, track and field, swimming, weight lifting, basketball and rugby.

Johnston won the 50-yard butterfly in 1 minute, .41 seconds, the 100-yard freestyle in 1:36.15, the 100-yard breaststroke in 2:57.49 and the 200-yard individual medley in 5:10.42.

He finished second in the 100-yard backstroke in 2:19.44.

"Bill competes in these Games every year," Riemer said. "He's very dedicated to it. We train all year and work out a lot at the Butler VA hospital.

"I lift weights with (paralyzed veteran) David Patton of New Castle twice a week up there," he added.

Patton won a gold medal in weight lifting in St. Louis.

Riemer was paralyzed for 13 years before participating in his first National Veterans Wheelchair Games in 1998, when Pittsburgh hosted the event.

He has since competed in four others - winning gold medals in the 100 meters and slalom obstacle course in 2002 - including the last three in a row.

"Next year it's in Minneapolis, then Anchorage, Alaska," Riemer said. "I'll be at both. I'm thinking about playing 9-ball pool and doing the air rifle."

Riemer is sports director of the Keystone Paralyzed Veterans of America, one of 34 chapters nationwide, and is a national director with the organization.

He served as team captain of Western Pennsylvania's 12-athlete contingent that ventured to St. Louis.

"This event just lifts you up," Riemer said. "There's something out there for people like me. It encourages me to try new things.

"When I went to the one in Pittsburgh, I was nervous. I didn't want to embarrass myself, then I met other people in my situation from other states.

"Just talking to people, identifying with them, meeting new people and seeing old friends again make the trip worthwhile," Riemer added.

Riemer averages 149 in bowling. He averaged 182 in St. Louis.

"I wouldn't be playing pool if I wasn't getting ready for next year," Riemer said. "I don't know if I ever would have started bowling if it weren't for these games. I'm grateful for them."

Johnston could not be reached for comment.