March 7, 2018 12:39 pm
Tonight, Discover the Paralympic Games with Medalists Mike Shea and Taylor Lipsett
This week on Playing with Science we’re getting ready for the 2018 Paralympics that are set to start on March 9 and run through March 18th featuring the world’s best Paralympic athletes competing at the highest level. Although the Olympics usually take most of the limelight, as you’ll find out on this episode, the Paralympics deserve just as much coverage.
Shown: Andy Soule at the 2010 Paralympics. Bronze Medalist, first American in history to win a medal in biathlon. Credit: U.S. Army. (Public domain)
Hosts Gary O’Reilly and Chuck Nice have not one, but two Paralympic Medalists as their guests during this episode: Team USA snowboarder Mike Shea and former Team USA sledge hockey player Taylor Lipsett. You’ll hear Mike and Taylor explain how they got started in their respective sports, how they prepare and train, and the strategy behind being a strong competitor.
If you’ve never watched the Paralympics before, here are some clips to better understand what sports our athletes are talking about today!
You’ll also hear from Dr. Walter Thompson, co-author of Training and Coaching the Paralympic Athlete on what criteria the International Paralympic Committee uses to classify athletes. Walter describes the innovative technology being used by Paralympic athletes and how he’s working to fix the unbalanced access of available technology between developed and less-developed countries.
Personally, I hadn’t had much exposure to the Paralympic games, but after hearing Walter, Mike, and Taylor dive into the Paralympic world, and after spending about an hour watching tons of clips online, I’m more than excited to watch the 2018 Paralympic games starting this week!
Please join us tomorrow night for Winter Paralympics, with Medalists Mike Shea and Taylor Lipsett at 7pm ET right here on our website, as well as on our Playing with Science channels on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and TuneIn. If you’re an All-Access subscriber, you can watch or listen to this episode ad-free at 7pm, too.
That’s it for now. Keep Looking Up!
–Ian Mullen
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