July 5, 2025 • 16 mins
Kiwi para-athlete Adam Hall has been selected for a record 6th Paralympic Games.
He’s off to Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in March.
Set to match the achievement of para-athlete and swimmer Graham Condon and parachuter Michael Johnson, he’ll be the first Kiwi to appear at six Paralympic Winter Games.
He joined Piney to discuss his career and what it means to be selected for the sixth time.
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And it's amazing who you bump into on afternoons like this.
Five time Paralympic medalist Adam Hall selected for a record
equilling sixth Paralympic Games. He's off to the Milano Cortina
twenty twenty six Paralympic Winter Games in March, set to
match the achievement of para athlete and swimmer Graham Condon
(00:33):
and parashooter Michael Johnson as a six time Paralympian, but
he'll be the first New Zealander to appear at six
Paralympic Winter Games. Gold and the men slalom standing in
Vancouver in twenty ten, again in Pyeongchang in twenty eighteen,
also a bronze that year and the men's Super Combined standing,
and at Beijing in twenty twenty two, bronze medals in
(00:54):
both the men's Super Combined Standing and men's slalom standing disciplines.
In twenty eleven, made a member of the New Zealand
Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honors for services
to sport. Nice to see you, mate, how are you.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, good afternoon, Pioneer, And to your viewers, it's great
to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Great to have you on the show.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Mate.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You made your debut Paralympic Winter Games appearance in Toarno
in two thousand and six. That seems an awfully long
time ago. Could you ever have imagined you'd go to
another five?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Absolutely not know when you look back, and to still
be here and to still be in the position that
I am in and obviously still being competitive, just finished
one of my most successful seasons in just over ten seasons.
So it's quite remarkable really, and I think it's a
huge acknowledgment not just to myself, but my family, friends
(01:46):
and supporters and everybody that's been able to be so supportive.
And it's not just been a sacrifice to myself, but
the sacrifice to the close team around me and the
community and friends and everybody that has been involved. It's
a true testament to everybody to have that innovative mindset,
that open mindset, growth mindset, to be able to continue
(02:09):
to really push the envelope and to still be really
competitive twenty years on, and you know, to be heading
towards my sixth campaign as a huge testament to all
of that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, and to you as well made and as you
just said, you've just had one of your most successful seasons.
So is it the kind of sport where you do
improve with age, you know, is your best yet to come?
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Perhaps?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, I guess that tends to happen more in endurance sport, perhaps,
is what they say, But I don't know. I think
the unique thing about Parisport in particular is it that
every athlete, whatever they have from a para perspective, disability
or not, is the ability to really push the envelope.
And we're all so unique and so individualize it. You know,
(02:56):
we're able to kind of figure out what works and
what doesn't work and really go into a few rabbit holes.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
And it's kind of not.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
A generic sport or environment where everything is kind of
relatively the same.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
You know, we're still out there pushing for.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Tents and hundreds, and I think that's what keeps it
really exciting, not just for myself but also the team
around me when we're training both on the snow off
the snow and really trying to find chune things and
see what can work and what doesn't work. And yeah,
that's part of the journey to what keeps it really exciting.
We're always you know, finding those little golden nuggets under
(03:30):
the rocks every now and again, and sometimes they work
and sometimes they don't.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I love that. I love that your gold medals in
twenty ten and again in twenty eighteen. Special moments, of course,
what stands out most vividly about twenty ten for you?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah, twenty ten.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Obviously, coming off my first campaign in two thousand and six,
I wanted to go there. And you know, after being
selected to my first campaign, you have this ambition that Okay, cool,
I've done that. Now I want to go and represent
our country to the best that I can and win
medals obviously, and you know, at that point in time,
I was pretty new on the scene. I'd only been
(04:08):
involved for about eighteen months, where a lot of my
competitors were at the point that I'm at now, they
had been to four or five or six games. So
for me, it was about taking that opportunity in that
campaign to really see what it was that I needed
to be the best and learn from that experience. And
you know, taking that experience four years later down the
(04:28):
track to Vancouver and just remember walking out of that
campaign in O six and saying that you know, in
four years time, that's going to be us on top
of the podium, national anthem being played, the flag being raised,
and that'll be us with the gold medal around our neck,
and you know, everything just seemed to kind of fall
into place, obviously, and things just kind of continued from
(04:52):
there really, which was yeah, hugely, yeah, hugely an amazing
experience and time will be something that I get to
reflect on. And obviously there was a period of time
there where know, soon after the Games there was the
accident of my number one supporter. That was my mother,
(05:13):
so my late moms, so we we you know, remember
her every single day and she has been a part
of my journey as well and continues to though not here,
is a part of a deeply, hugely part of my
journey today as well.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Amazing Was it as special in twenty eighteen. I don't
suppose gold medals ever get old?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
But what was it? A different feeling?
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I think it's as we say, it's about cliche, I
guess is that it is about the journey. Like we
live in four year cycles where ultimately you're trying to
put your your bets on a Friday afternoon, whatever it
may be in four years time and hope that you
have done absolutely everything that you possibly can to be
the best prepared that you can to get the medals.
(05:57):
And there's no hiding from that that in high performance
sport we're there about, you know, trying to sustainably win
win medals, and to have an eight year gap between
you know, twenty ten and then back on top of
the podium in twenty eighteen, I think that was something
that was truly remarkable, and just having a team around
me that were hugely innovative and had a great vision
(06:20):
that we all believed in and knew what it would
take to get back.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Up there and be the best on that day.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And when I look back now even and reflect on
that performance, it's not you know, at that time, it
was an amazing performance and it was world class at
that time, but when we compare it to today's skiing again,
it's on another level.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
So I think again, just reflecting.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
On the team around me, the training, everything that we're
able to do in still trying and stay ahead of
the curve, and you know where it's not just me
that it's trying to be competitive and.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Get those medals.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Is a number of other athletes and nations out there
that are all trying to do the same thing. So
at the end of the day, it's all about who
who comes up and shows best prepared, who has the
best planning in place, the best support, and at the
end of the day, as we know and the high
performance sport, a lot of it comes to that top
couple of inches.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Super combined standing and slalom standing. Can you just explain
the two for us?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah, So slalom has been my specialty event throughout my
whole career, which is it's the most technical event where
your gates that you are going around. The plastic gates
are quite short, so that when I say that I'm
in in distance, are there anywhere from say nine to
eleven or twelve meters apart down the.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Hill, So quite technical.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Whereas super g is the second fastest event, so the
gates are quite wide open and depending on the vertical drop,
there's a calculation that's out there that depends on how
far apart the gates are, so super g can be
you know, anywhere from say fifty to eighty meters apart
and you're going.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Anywhere up to one hundred kilometers an hour.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And so this is an event and supercombined where you
do that for your first run. So slalom is two
two slalom runs combined time supercombined. It is kind of
one extreme to the other. So you have your speed
event first and then your second runner is.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Back to your slalom.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
So's it's been quite a cool event to have and
quite a traditional event that has been around, and there
has been talked for the last couple of campaigns that
they would get Supercombined off the program, and it is
still in the end and in the future, I think
we'll start to see a new kind of team event
(08:34):
evolve in future campaigns where, for example, my teammate Corey,
who specializes in speed, he would do the speed portion
of it and then would I would be doing the
slalom portion of it. So I think that from a
viewership perspective and from an excitement perspective as will.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Be pretty cool. Moving forward to you, how did you
get into it?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Yeah, I mean it's could be a long story, but
short story. Basically, when I was about six years old
through CCS back on those days who had different programs,
I guess within our region, and so you get introduced
to all different kinds of sports. And I was introduced
(09:14):
to these ski trips away up to Central Otago, who
I was introduced through a friend of my mum's at
the time who had a son with the same disability
as me, and he had been skiing and doing these
trips and suggested that perhaps I gave it a go.
So for me, that's kind of where it began. And
it was kind of three years of torture or I
was obviously young, naturally pretty weak when you're young, anyway,
(09:37):
And after three years I was then introduced to snowboarding.
And during those early days, actually my dad spend a
lot of time up on the mountain with me, trying
to get me up onto the mountains, because we would
have volunteers come up to the mountains from the phyzed
schools as part of some of their study. They would
come up and volunteer and be a part of the program.
And a lot of the volunteers they would you know,
(09:59):
get their pass or whatever it would be to help out,
and often I would be that much of a struggle
they would leave me in the cafeteria. So they were
kind of just go out there and you know, enjoy
what they were doing getting with their pass and I
would kind of just cruise around. So yeah, Dad actually
spend a lot of time up on the mountains with
me in those early days. And then once I changed
to snowboarding, for me, that was where I really found,
(10:20):
I guess, the independence and the freedom that I had
been looking for. And probably the biggest thing that I
got out of that was instead of being on two
planks with my skis tied together and my outriggers that
some viewers may have seen with the little ski tips
on the bottom, I didn't have to worry about the
yard sales as much. I was just on one plank
with my outriggers and I was able to go up
there and essentially pass all those volunteers that were up
(10:44):
there that were leaving in the CAF.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
So that was that was quite cool.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And yeah, for me, that was when I really first
kind of thought that, you know, I could go far
in this and one day represent New Zealand at the
highest level possible. And at that point, and only until
recently in the last ten years, snowboarding has been introduced
to the Paralympic Games. So yeah, for me to be
able to go to to Reno and O six, so
I had to, yeah, change back to skiing if that
(11:08):
was the pathway that I wanted.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
To go down.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Is it too late for you to get back on
a snowboard and go to a Paralympic Winter Games? Is
that kind of Is that ship sailed?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
It's always been in the back of the line for sure,
I say to a lot of people out there, a
snowboarder at heart, and I do get the snowboard out
there from time to time up on the mountains, which
which is pretty cool to have that opportunity and depending
on the Paralympic program as well. But the way that
I snowboard with my aut riggers at the moment, it's
it's it's not legal because of my at riggers can
(11:40):
be seen as as a bit of a danger, I
guess when it comes to collisions and the disciplines that
they have in snowboard around border cross and and slalom.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
But yeah, that boat has probably passed.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
But yeah, still good to get out there on a
snowboard every now and again. And remember where you know,
all this passion.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Started absolutely well, that wanted to get too carried away
so number six next year. You're still pretty young man,
are you? You know, is it going to be? Was
Cory's older than you? Isn't he?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Cory is older than me? Yeah, And I guess, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Generally across the board, when athletes do start to retire,
you know, your late thirties, it may seem like you're
still young, but when you start really young, like in
your fifteen sixteen year old, it's yeah, you've been.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Around definitely a long time.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
So yeah, I mean it's been an amazing journey so far,
and yeah, it's just been really incredible, and I yeah,
I wouldn't say I'm that young anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
All Right, Well, let's let's get twenty twenty six out
of the way before we start talking about twenty thirty.
Where do you keep your medals?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So the one from Vancouver is here on the tarry
and a gun cabinet and a safe, and the rest
are with me in Wanica.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
So I do like to, you know, carry them around
with me, take.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Them to places if I'm doing any kind of functions
or talks or anything like that. I do like to,
you know, have them available so you know, they can
come out and be shared.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Really because at the end of the day, I really
value that.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
You know, as an athlete, we're often put up on
the pedestal as the athlete that are, you know, won
of the medals, but really it is every single hard
working New Zealander out there that is part of the journey,
part of the medals because at the end of the day,
the majority of our funding and what enables us to
do what we do as athletes come from everybody. So
(13:36):
everybody isn't part of that. So I think I have
a responsibility to to showcase and to show the journey
and the behind the scenes a little bit of you know,
what it's like. And you know, people enjoy being able
to get their hands on it where whatever, you know,
and I really enjoy that and the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, I can't remember who it was. You told me
the same thing that their medals aren't quite as pristine
as they were when they were first presented because hundreds
of hands have been on them. But they preferred it
that way because you know, you maybe sometimes somebody has
to see it to be it. You must enjoy inspiring
others as well.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Yeah, I think that's one of the major things I
think is especially within winter and within the winter environment,
we've had such a huge legacy and a very successful
team all the way from the early pioneers, if you like,
in the original Winter Paralympic team in New Zealand, where
we have won medals at every single games except for
my first campaign and six. So that's something that's been
(14:36):
you know, very special for us and for Corey and
I and that everyone else that's gone before us. Is
to continue that legacy and to keep striving to not
just go and participate, but to really go and perform
and do the best that we can and bring back
as many medals as we possibly can. And I think
we're starting to see now that when athletes do go
to their you know, even just their first campaigns, it's
(14:59):
not anymore just about experience. It's about you know, that
they are being successful straight off the bat, which is real.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Really cool.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
And having a platform to be able to inspire others
to get out there and you know, be ambitious and
not be afraid of, you know, saying what your dreams
are and what your goals are, because I think it's key.
We sometimes we are a little bit quiet in that
area and we're a bit too afraid to kind of
get out there and really say what it is that
(15:27):
we want to do. And I think, you know, there's
about one one of four, one on five of New
Zealanders that have a disability of some kind and I
think we're probably the biggest minority in the world really,
So if we can inspire others disability or not to
get out there and yeah, just really strive to do
(15:48):
something that can that can change your own life or
change others is really cool because you can surprise yourself
and you never never know what could have been.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Love it, mate, love it. Congratulations on what you've done
so far. I know there's much more to come starting
and twenty twenty six next year. Really appreciate you stopping
for a chat. Adam.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Thanks finding chairs.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Take it easy, mate. That's Adam Hall, five time Paralympic
medalist and about to head to his sixth Paralympic Winter Games.
No New Zealander has ever been to that many
Speaker 1 (16:21):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from Newstalk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
And it's amazing who you bump into on afternoons like this.
Five time Paralympic medalist Adam Hall selected for a record
equilling sixth Paralympic Games. He's off to the Milano Cortina
twenty twenty six Paralympic Winter Games in March, set to
match the achievement of para athlete and swimmer Graham Condon
(00:33):
and parashooter Michael Johnson as a six time Paralympian, but
he'll be the first New Zealander to appear at six
Paralympic Winter Games. Gold and the men slalom standing in
Vancouver in twenty ten, again in Pyeongchang in twenty eighteen,
also a bronze that year and the men's Super Combined standing,
and at Beijing in twenty twenty two, bronze medals in
(00:54):
both the men's Super Combined Standing and men's slalom standing disciplines.
In twenty eleven, made a member of the New Zealand
Order of Merit in the Queen's Birthday Honors for services
to sport. Nice to see you, mate, how are you.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Yeah, good afternoon, Pioneer, And to your viewers, it's great
to be here.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
Great to have you on the show.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
Mate.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
You made your debut Paralympic Winter Games appearance in Toarno
in two thousand and six. That seems an awfully long
time ago. Could you ever have imagined you'd go to
another five?
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Absolutely not know when you look back, and to still
be here and to still be in the position that
I am in and obviously still being competitive, just finished
one of my most successful seasons in just over ten seasons.
So it's quite remarkable really, and I think it's a
huge acknowledgment not just to myself, but my family, friends
(01:46):
and supporters and everybody that's been able to be so supportive.
And it's not just been a sacrifice to myself, but
the sacrifice to the close team around me and the
community and friends and everybody that has been involved. It's
a true testament to everybody to have that innovative mindset,
that open mindset, growth mindset, to be able to continue
(02:09):
to really push the envelope and to still be really
competitive twenty years on, and you know, to be heading
towards my sixth campaign as a huge testament to all
of that.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Yeah, and to you as well made and as you
just said, you've just had one of your most successful seasons.
So is it the kind of sport where you do
improve with age, you know, is your best yet to come?
Speaker 1 (02:32):
Perhaps?
Speaker 3 (02:33):
Yeah, I guess that tends to happen more in endurance sport, perhaps,
is what they say, But I don't know. I think
the unique thing about Parisport in particular is it that
every athlete, whatever they have from a para perspective, disability
or not, is the ability to really push the envelope.
And we're all so unique and so individualize it. You know,
(02:56):
we're able to kind of figure out what works and
what doesn't work and really go into a few rabbit holes.
Speaker 4 (03:01):
And it's kind of not.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
A generic sport or environment where everything is kind of
relatively the same.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
You know, we're still out there pushing for.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Tents and hundreds, and I think that's what keeps it
really exciting, not just for myself but also the team
around me when we're training both on the snow off
the snow and really trying to find chune things and
see what can work and what doesn't work. And yeah,
that's part of the journey to what keeps it really exciting.
We're always you know, finding those little golden nuggets under
(03:30):
the rocks every now and again, and sometimes they work
and sometimes they don't.
Speaker 2 (03:34):
I love that. I love that your gold medals in
twenty ten and again in twenty eighteen. Special moments, of course,
what stands out most vividly about twenty ten for you?
Speaker 4 (03:47):
Yeah, twenty ten.
Speaker 3 (03:47):
Obviously, coming off my first campaign in two thousand and six,
I wanted to go there. And you know, after being
selected to my first campaign, you have this ambition that Okay, cool,
I've done that. Now I want to go and represent
our country to the best that I can and win
medals obviously, and you know, at that point in time,
I was pretty new on the scene. I'd only been
(04:08):
involved for about eighteen months, where a lot of my
competitors were at the point that I'm at now, they
had been to four or five or six games. So
for me, it was about taking that opportunity in that
campaign to really see what it was that I needed
to be the best and learn from that experience. And
you know, taking that experience four years later down the
(04:28):
track to Vancouver and just remember walking out of that
campaign in O six and saying that you know, in
four years time, that's going to be us on top
of the podium, national anthem being played, the flag being raised,
and that'll be us with the gold medal around our neck,
and you know, everything just seemed to kind of fall
into place, obviously, and things just kind of continued from
(04:52):
there really, which was yeah, hugely, yeah, hugely an amazing
experience and time will be something that I get to
reflect on. And obviously there was a period of time
there where know, soon after the Games there was the
accident of my number one supporter. That was my mother,
(05:13):
so my late moms, so we we you know, remember
her every single day and she has been a part
of my journey as well and continues to though not here,
is a part of a deeply, hugely part of my
journey today as well.
Speaker 2 (05:28):
Amazing Was it as special in twenty eighteen. I don't
suppose gold medals ever get old?
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Was it?
Speaker 2 (05:33):
But what was it? A different feeling?
Speaker 3 (05:35):
I think it's as we say, it's about cliche, I
guess is that it is about the journey. Like we
live in four year cycles where ultimately you're trying to
put your your bets on a Friday afternoon, whatever it
may be in four years time and hope that you
have done absolutely everything that you possibly can to be
the best prepared that you can to get the medals.
(05:57):
And there's no hiding from that that in high performance
sport we're there about, you know, trying to sustainably win
win medals, and to have an eight year gap between
you know, twenty ten and then back on top of
the podium in twenty eighteen, I think that was something
that was truly remarkable, and just having a team around
me that were hugely innovative and had a great vision
(06:20):
that we all believed in and knew what it would
take to get back.
Speaker 4 (06:23):
Up there and be the best on that day.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
And when I look back now even and reflect on
that performance, it's not you know, at that time, it
was an amazing performance and it was world class at
that time, but when we compare it to today's skiing again,
it's on another level.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
So I think again, just reflecting.
Speaker 3 (06:41):
On the team around me, the training, everything that we're
able to do in still trying and stay ahead of
the curve, and you know where it's not just me
that it's trying to be competitive and.
Speaker 4 (06:52):
Get those medals.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Is a number of other athletes and nations out there
that are all trying to do the same thing. So
at the end of the day, it's all about who
who comes up and shows best prepared, who has the
best planning in place, the best support, and at the
end of the day, as we know and the high
performance sport, a lot of it comes to that top
couple of inches.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
Super combined standing and slalom standing. Can you just explain
the two for us?
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Yeah, So slalom has been my specialty event throughout my
whole career, which is it's the most technical event where
your gates that you are going around. The plastic gates
are quite short, so that when I say that I'm
in in distance, are there anywhere from say nine to
eleven or twelve meters apart down the.
Speaker 4 (07:35):
Hill, So quite technical.
Speaker 3 (07:37):
Whereas super g is the second fastest event, so the
gates are quite wide open and depending on the vertical drop,
there's a calculation that's out there that depends on how
far apart the gates are, so super g can be
you know, anywhere from say fifty to eighty meters apart
and you're going.
Speaker 4 (07:55):
Anywhere up to one hundred kilometers an hour.
Speaker 3 (07:59):
And so this is an event and supercombined where you
do that for your first run. So slalom is two
two slalom runs combined time supercombined. It is kind of
one extreme to the other. So you have your speed
event first and then your second runner is.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Back to your slalom.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
So's it's been quite a cool event to have and
quite a traditional event that has been around, and there
has been talked for the last couple of campaigns that
they would get Supercombined off the program, and it is
still in the end and in the future, I think
we'll start to see a new kind of team event
(08:34):
evolve in future campaigns where, for example, my teammate Corey,
who specializes in speed, he would do the speed portion
of it and then would I would be doing the
slalom portion of it. So I think that from a
viewership perspective and from an excitement perspective as will.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Be pretty cool. Moving forward to you, how did you
get into it?
Speaker 3 (08:53):
Yeah, I mean it's could be a long story, but
short story. Basically, when I was about six years old
through CCS back on those days who had different programs,
I guess within our region, and so you get introduced
to all different kinds of sports. And I was introduced
(09:14):
to these ski trips away up to Central Otago, who
I was introduced through a friend of my mum's at
the time who had a son with the same disability
as me, and he had been skiing and doing these
trips and suggested that perhaps I gave it a go.
So for me, that's kind of where it began. And
it was kind of three years of torture or I
was obviously young, naturally pretty weak when you're young, anyway,
(09:37):
And after three years I was then introduced to snowboarding.
And during those early days, actually my dad spend a
lot of time up on the mountain with me, trying
to get me up onto the mountains, because we would
have volunteers come up to the mountains from the phyzed
schools as part of some of their study. They would
come up and volunteer and be a part of the program.
And a lot of the volunteers they would you know,
(09:59):
get their pass or whatever it would be to help out,
and often I would be that much of a struggle
they would leave me in the cafeteria. So they were
kind of just go out there and you know, enjoy
what they were doing getting with their pass and I
would kind of just cruise around. So yeah, Dad actually
spend a lot of time up on the mountains with
me in those early days. And then once I changed
to snowboarding, for me, that was where I really found,
(10:20):
I guess, the independence and the freedom that I had
been looking for. And probably the biggest thing that I
got out of that was instead of being on two
planks with my skis tied together and my outriggers that
some viewers may have seen with the little ski tips
on the bottom, I didn't have to worry about the
yard sales as much. I was just on one plank
with my outriggers and I was able to go up
there and essentially pass all those volunteers that were up
(10:44):
there that were leaving in the CAF.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
So that was that was quite cool.
Speaker 3 (10:47):
And yeah, for me, that was when I really first
kind of thought that, you know, I could go far
in this and one day represent New Zealand at the
highest level possible. And at that point, and only until
recently in the last ten years, snowboarding has been introduced
to the Paralympic Games. So yeah, for me to be
able to go to to Reno and O six, so
I had to, yeah, change back to skiing if that
(11:08):
was the pathway that I wanted.
Speaker 4 (11:10):
To go down.
Speaker 2 (11:11):
Is it too late for you to get back on
a snowboard and go to a Paralympic Winter Games? Is
that kind of Is that ship sailed?
Speaker 3 (11:17):
It's always been in the back of the line for sure,
I say to a lot of people out there, a
snowboarder at heart, and I do get the snowboard out
there from time to time up on the mountains, which
which is pretty cool to have that opportunity and depending
on the Paralympic program as well. But the way that
I snowboard with my aut riggers at the moment, it's
it's it's not legal because of my at riggers can
(11:40):
be seen as as a bit of a danger, I
guess when it comes to collisions and the disciplines that
they have in snowboard around border cross and and slalom.
Speaker 4 (11:49):
But yeah, that boat has probably passed.
Speaker 3 (11:52):
But yeah, still good to get out there on a
snowboard every now and again. And remember where you know,
all this passion.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Started absolutely well, that wanted to get too carried away
so number six next year. You're still pretty young man,
are you? You know, is it going to be? Was
Cory's older than you? Isn't he?
Speaker 4 (12:08):
Cory is older than me? Yeah, And I guess, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
Generally across the board, when athletes do start to retire,
you know, your late thirties, it may seem like you're
still young, but when you start really young, like in
your fifteen sixteen year old, it's yeah, you've been.
Speaker 4 (12:27):
Around definitely a long time.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
So yeah, I mean it's been an amazing journey so far,
and yeah, it's just been really incredible, and I yeah,
I wouldn't say I'm that young anymore.
Speaker 2 (12:39):
All Right, Well, let's let's get twenty twenty six out
of the way before we start talking about twenty thirty.
Where do you keep your medals?
Speaker 3 (12:47):
So the one from Vancouver is here on the tarry
and a gun cabinet and a safe, and the rest
are with me in Wanica.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
So I do like to, you know, carry them around
with me, take.
Speaker 3 (13:00):
Them to places if I'm doing any kind of functions
or talks or anything like that. I do like to,
you know, have them available so you know, they can
come out and be shared.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Really because at the end of the day, I really
value that.
Speaker 3 (13:14):
You know, as an athlete, we're often put up on
the pedestal as the athlete that are, you know, won
of the medals, but really it is every single hard
working New Zealander out there that is part of the journey,
part of the medals because at the end of the day,
the majority of our funding and what enables us to
do what we do as athletes come from everybody. So
(13:36):
everybody isn't part of that. So I think I have
a responsibility to to showcase and to show the journey
and the behind the scenes a little bit of you know,
what it's like. And you know, people enjoy being able
to get their hands on it where whatever, you know,
and I really enjoy that and the opportunity to do that.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Yeah, I can't remember who it was. You told me
the same thing that their medals aren't quite as pristine
as they were when they were first presented because hundreds
of hands have been on them. But they preferred it
that way because you know, you maybe sometimes somebody has
to see it to be it. You must enjoy inspiring
others as well.
Speaker 3 (14:12):
Yeah, I think that's one of the major things I
think is especially within winter and within the winter environment,
we've had such a huge legacy and a very successful
team all the way from the early pioneers, if you like,
in the original Winter Paralympic team in New Zealand, where
we have won medals at every single games except for
my first campaign and six. So that's something that's been
(14:36):
you know, very special for us and for Corey and
I and that everyone else that's gone before us. Is
to continue that legacy and to keep striving to not
just go and participate, but to really go and perform
and do the best that we can and bring back
as many medals as we possibly can. And I think
we're starting to see now that when athletes do go
to their you know, even just their first campaigns, it's
(14:59):
not anymore just about experience. It's about you know, that
they are being successful straight off the bat, which is real.
Speaker 4 (15:06):
Really cool.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
And having a platform to be able to inspire others
to get out there and you know, be ambitious and
not be afraid of, you know, saying what your dreams
are and what your goals are, because I think it's key.
We sometimes we are a little bit quiet in that
area and we're a bit too afraid to kind of
get out there and really say what it is that
(15:27):
we want to do. And I think, you know, there's
about one one of four, one on five of New
Zealanders that have a disability of some kind and I
think we're probably the biggest minority in the world really,
So if we can inspire others disability or not to
get out there and yeah, just really strive to do
(15:48):
something that can that can change your own life or
change others is really cool because you can surprise yourself
and you never never know what could have been.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Love it, mate, love it. Congratulations on what you've done
so far. I know there's much more to come starting
and twenty twenty six next year. Really appreciate you stopping
for a chat. Adam.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Thanks finding chairs.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
Take it easy, mate. That's Adam Hall, five time Paralympic
medalist and about to head to his sixth Paralympic Winter Games.
No New Zealander has ever been to that many
Speaker 1 (16:21):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, listen live
to News Talk Set B weekends from midday, or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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