More Paralympics Please
A Podcast Playlist So You Can Have More Fun Watching Para Sports
July is Disability Pride Month and we are certainly proud of the amazing guests we have featured from so many Paralympic sports. Did you watch the Paris 2024 Paralympics and get hooked? You aren’t alone. According to Nielsen Sport, 193.6 million people watched a cumulative 763.3 million hours of broadcast coverage. That is a lot of fans for para sports!
Want to learn more? Here is a list of some of our favorite episodes to get you up to speed and dive deeper into the world of the Paralympics:
Paralympic Daily Coverage
We have produced daily shows for the past three Paralympics: Tokyo 2020, Beijing 2022, and Paris 2024. We were on the ground in Beijing and Paris and found new sports and athletes to love every day.
Need a History Lesson?
If you want to know more about how the Paralympic movement developed, we can help you there. Giles Long explains the classification system, or why there are so many different versions of the same race. Alexis Schaefer, former Commercial and Marketing Director, IPC and Craig Spence, Chief Brand and Communication Officer, IPC share great insight into the history of the International Paralympic Committee.
History doesn’t have to be dry. Watch a movie! Zero to Hero is the biopic of So Wa Wai, Hong Kong’s first Paralympic gold medalist and Murderball is a documentary on Team USA wheelchair rugby, Alison’s favorite Paralympic sport.
If you want to understand the earliest roots of the Paralympic movement, listen to David Davis, author of Wheels of Courage, about the development of wheelchair basketball.
We’ve also talked with athletes from Paralympics gone by:
Rob Snoek - 1992, 1996, and 2000 Paralympian in para athletics and current day broadcaster
John Register - 1996 and 2000 Paralympic in para athletics (and our favorite Velvet Voice)
Lo Nigrosh - member of Team USA’s first women’s sitting volleyball team in 2004
Stars from Paris 2024
We have some of the biggest stars for Team USA from Paris 2024. Yes, every single one of these is a certified Paralympic medalist. Some of them have whole collections!
Chuck Aoki - wheelchair rugby
Brian Bell - wheelchair basketball
Samantha Bosco - para cycling
Olivia Chambers - para swimming
McKenzie Coan - para swimming
Jessica Long - para swimming
Grace Norman - para triathlon
Noelle Malkamaki - para athletics/shot put
Ellie Marks - para swimming
Evan Medell - para taekwondo
Lora Webster - sitting volleyball
Daniel Romanchuk - para athletics/wheelchair track and marathon
Matt Stutzman - para archery
Getting Ready for Milan-Cortina 2026
The next Winter Paralympics is only about nine months away, so you need to learn more! We spoke with Steve Emt about wheelchair curling and Monica Quimby about sled hockey. We read Driven to Ride by Mike Schultz, two-time Paralympian in para snowboard and The Hard Parts by Oksana Masters, Team USA’s most decorated Paralympian.
Getting Ready for LA28
The United States hosts the next Summer Paralympics which means as the host nation, the USOPC has lots of opportunities to expand para sport. We spoke with Molly Quinn, CEO of United States Association of Blind Athletes, about what it takes to put together the first US team in blind football. We also chatted with LA28 hopeful in wheelchair tennis,Charlie Cooper, about what his Road to LA looks like.
What About Paralympians Who Can Help You in a Fight?
No need to worry about safety. We have talked to some of the strongest and toughest Paralympians, plus people who are really good at throwing things and shooting.
Bobby Body - para powerlifting
Marco de la Rosa - shooting para sport
McKenna Geer - shooting para sport
Ellen Geddes - wheelchair fencing
Liana Mutia - para judo
Justin Phongsavanh - para athletics/javelin
Alison Levine - boccia
Louise Sugden - para powerlifting
Why Are We Obsessed with Para Dressage?
Why do we keep talking about para dressage? Because all these riders have horses and service dogs and Alison loves animals. We talked to riders Beatrice de Lavalette and Sydney Collier, and discussed Sydney’s book Beyond Expectations.
Be sure to keep listening as we will keep bring you interviews and stories to help you have more fun watching the Paralympics. Seriously, if you aren’t watching wheelchair rugby and sled hockey, you are missing out!
Be sure to join us next week for our LIVE taping of our 400th weekly episode! You get to be the star of the show. Jump into our online recording studio to talk with Alison & Jill and other listeners of the podcast. Ask a question, share your thoughts, or just say hi. We can’t wait to Keep the Flame Alive LIVE with you!