September 7, 2024 • 13 mins
The 2024 Paris Paralympics are drawing to a close with New Zealand bringing in a total of 8 medals.
Former Paralympic gold medallist Dame Sophie Pascoe sat out this year - but covered the Games as part of TVNZ's broadcast team.
She joined D'Arcy to discuss this year's event.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Let's focus now on the Paralympics. It's winding up, wow,
and it has been fantastic. It really has been. I
hope you've caught some of the coverage blanket coverage on
TV and Z, which is where our next guest has
been spending a bit of her time. Eleven times Paralympic
gold medalist name Sophie pass Go. It's any well, isn't it, Sophie. Look,
(00:34):
we've we've got to talk about Anagramaldi. What a way
to sign off for Paralympics after well, such disappointment in
the long jump.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah absolutely, I mean, look, she've ran that two hundred perfectly.
It was executed really well. And yeah, after I know,
her disappoint her personal home disappointment of the long jump
and not being able to get onto the POUM podium
or you know, retain her gold medal status from Tokyo
(01:02):
and Rio. Yeah, the pain she would have felt through
that and to be able to come back the following
day and to just execute a race the way she
did was phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, revenge is a word she's used quite a lot.
Not revenge for the long jump, but revenge from the
two hundred meters, which hasn't treated her that well. That's
a long hell drive, isn't it an interesting one?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But I actually wouldn't be surprised. You know the fact
that she bought in the one hundred meters over this
past couple of years has actually contributed to that two
hundred meters. Usually we actually find that, you know, if
you are the two hundred, you know you've got another
hundred to go. Absolutely, but the training she would have
been doing for that hundred would have absolutely have, you know,
(01:49):
contributed to this. I mean, she ran the hundred gracefully
and beautifully as well. You know's she clearly says she's
not one hundred meter runner, but the fact that she
was able to obviously get a bronze and the hundred meters,
you know, a huge achievement to when you're not, you know,
so called one hundred meters sprinter. And then you know
(02:12):
the fact that yes she's you know, the two hundred,
it's revenge for her. But yeah, I would have I
would have absolutely have said this, the one hundred meters
would have the training for that would have contributed to
how well she executed this two.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Hundred Interesting with the athletes, every athlete I talked to
the Paralympics, it's all about PBS. It's not about winning medals.
That's quite the drive, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yes, I mean a personal best usually reflects obviously the
outcome of a medal, and especially if you have obviously
already gone into the games as the expected or the hunted,
because you know, your PB is usually reflected, you know,
within that top table or maybe there's Paralympic record next
to your name or a world record next to your name,
(02:59):
so you know, all you can ask of yourself on
the day is to give one hundred percent. And you know,
we are striving to find a personal best time because
you know then that's the best race you've ever done.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You know all about being the hunted. You made that
comment before energy going into a Paralympics knowing you've got
to target on your back, how do you deal with that?
What's the best way to work through that pressure?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Oh? Look, it's definitely a daily mindset for when you
turn up every day to you know, for me personally,
obviously it was the pool and the gym or where
you know, all my training sessions, but people have to understand,
you know, in an athlete's world, you know, it's it
is about, you know, trying to obviously achieve to be
(03:53):
the best in the world. And you know, for us,
it's not just a professional sport. It's a personal to
us as well, because we know when we come home
it is about obviously the recovery. And you know, what
we do at home reflects how we train and then
how we perform on the world stage. So mindset is
a huge part of that. It's not just the physical side,
(04:16):
and to be able to turn off when you get home,
you know, just enough to be able to obviously focus
on that recovery or maybe take it, you know, do
some mindleness, you know, wellness and minded mindfulness. You know,
all of those are part of how to execute when
you get onto a big world stage as being the hunted.
And you know, if we use Ana Grimolda, you know
(04:39):
she has got the previous experience and you know, the
debutantes that have come into this particular games, you are
going to learn that because in a Paralympic environment, it's unpredictable.
You know, there's so many external factors going on, and
it's really hard to explain to people what are Paralympic
Games or in Olympic Games is really like unless you've
(05:02):
been there and really soaked in, you know, the atmosphere,
because it is it's just it's a whole it's its
own whole world. You know, it's not it's many sports
that are there. You've got world champions walking around you.
You're living in a you know, enclosed environment. Everything is
(05:24):
put on a much bigger scale. And when you've been
so used to either national championships or world championships, it
is completely different. So you can never really prepare yourself,
you know fully what a Paralympic Games is going to
give you. But you can only prepare yourself the best
you possibly can. And most athletes do a lot of
(05:45):
mindfulness training. They work with their psychologists, they try and
you know, you know, factor that into their trainings to
be able to replicate as best they possibly can what
you know they're going to expect at a Paralympic Games.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
It's been really important of recent times across a number
of different sports, not just swimming, not just at athletics,
at various games. So you've I want to say you've
been around the block, but how many Olympic Games you've
been to?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Four?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I think it has started off in Beijing. Have you
noticed that over your career the focus now on the
mental health and the wellness of the athletes.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, it's absolutely huge, And Nack comes down to, you know,
how much bigger these games are getting every year. The
media that's you know, around the Paralympic Games and around
the athletes, but also people are talking about mental health
and it's crucial, you know, the fact that, like I
(06:45):
said before, it's not a professional sport to us, it's
personal as well. And it is pretty hard to switch
off when you you know, close the door, you know,
when you come home from a training session, because you can't.
You've got to be constantly factoring in all those smaller
things that you know, provide for the outcome and goal.
(07:09):
But you know, I think it's great that athletes are
talking more and more about their mental health. It's very
important to you know, be open and honest because you know,
the pressure that you put on yourself is usually the
biggest pressure. But then when you obviously you know, become
an expected within the environment of your field of play. Yeah,
(07:33):
people do have that external pressure as well put on them,
And yeah, I do think it's really important to be constantly,
you know, checking in with yourself and remembering that actually,
you know, at the end of the day, you are
loved beyond the outcome of you know, a medal or
(07:54):
a placing.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You're more than just your sport. And again that goes
right across a number of different sports, team sports and
individual sports. We're joined by Dame Sophie Pasco. We better
talk about I've gotten this conversation with you and I'm
loving it. But the athletes themselves at the Paralympics one
gold medal, four silver medals, three bronze medals, how does
(08:18):
that reflect on the team?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Is it about that ten count or is it about
more than that?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
It's absolutely about more than that. You know, we've got
one of our tightest teams over there. You know, there's
a small team there. You know, there's twenty five athletes
and then you've got the support stuff you know on
top of that as well that have joined the team.
And the beauty of New Zealand, the New Zealand Paralympic
(08:44):
team is that we usually do have a small team.
So you do become a real tight family. And yes,
you know, medals are absolutely what every athlete is striving for,
do not get me wrong, But no matter if you've
won a medal or not, when you come back to
the village, your family standing there, meaning your teammates and
(09:08):
your support staff are standing there waiting for you to
embrace you. And that is so important. And what I
have noticed about these games, by you know, keeping in
touch with my fellow athletes, is that they have been
doing that, and that they've been supporting one another through
triumph and through defeat, and that is you know, you
(09:31):
can't ask for much more than that, And I think
that's why we are really close knit type family. And
you know, yes we've gained a gold medal overnight, we've
you know, got you know, numerous silvers and bronze throughout
the meet. But I know that this team will be
walking away with memories of a lifetime with the family
(09:53):
members that they've created within the team.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
So for you, you mentioned the size of the games,
it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Was there a
part of you that got a bit of a bit
jealous that you weren't actually there competing because the event
Paris was extraordinary. The crowds were wild, and that's a
seriously big event. There must have been a wee bit
of I mean, I wish I was there.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Look, when the Olympic Games were on, I actually did
get quite a lot of fomo. I was getting nervous.
You know, the Paralympics were obviously coming up, and the
Olympics were always used as you know, for me, I
was always overseas. I was always training getting ready for
the Paralympic event, which is usually two or three weeks afterwards,
(10:42):
and so when they were on, I yeah, I was
just really feeling you know, oh my goodness, what am
I going to feel in three weeks time when I'm
you know, sitting behind a desk presenting the Paralympic Games.
You know, am I going to be feeling this? But
the fact the day one, when I sat next to Scottie,
(11:04):
you know, I actually felt real content. And I think
that's because I knew I was still part of the team,
but in a different capacity. And you know, I am
about enhancing the Paralympic movement and I want to be
able to obviously do that with you know, the platform
that I've been able to create. And so I feel
like I have just really enjoyed sitting back watching our
(11:29):
New New Zealand athletes take on the world stage and
watching the games, and I've just loved embracing it. I've
loved being you know, presenting and you know, getting the
word out there that the Paralympics are parallel to the
Olympic Games. And watch these athletes. They are important, they
are vital to sport, and they are an inspiration and
(11:52):
not an inspiration for being disabled, They're an inspiration for
taking on the world and for their achievements. So I
have been absolutely okay where you know, sitting where I'm
sitting and really been laughing up you know, the Paris content.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
What you've been doing an absolutely splendid job from from
my point of view anyway, and watching it. And one
last thing before we let you go, Dame Sophie pass
go and thanks so much for your time. Just like
in the Olympics, it's the way he doing it again.
They're putting the DNA of shame, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Like I just you know, I think sport is growing
so much more and more and the fact that our
Wahini here in New Zealand are you know, being so successful.
It's all power to the females. You know, we are
getting deeper and deeper within our sports and really proving
(12:50):
you know, our mark on the world stage and it's
fantastic to see. And you know, I think it's so
crucial towards you know, the next generation going forth that
you know, the females can you know, really show the
world what they can do.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
It's been a fantastic time. It still has yet to finish.
It's still got another day to go before it winds out.
We'll be staring at you and Old so much Stevenson
on TV and Z Plus as you bring us all
of that coverage. It is so welcomed and we love
the fact you joined us here on News Talks EB.
Dame Sophie Pasco, thanks very much for your time, Thank you,
(13:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talk zed B.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Let's focus now on the Paralympics. It's winding up, wow,
and it has been fantastic. It really has been. I
hope you've caught some of the coverage blanket coverage on
TV and Z, which is where our next guest has
been spending a bit of her time. Eleven times Paralympic
gold medalist name Sophie pass Go. It's any well, isn't it, Sophie. Look,
(00:34):
we've we've got to talk about Anagramaldi. What a way
to sign off for Paralympics after well, such disappointment in
the long jump.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
Yeah absolutely, I mean, look, she've ran that two hundred perfectly.
It was executed really well. And yeah, after I know,
her disappoint her personal home disappointment of the long jump
and not being able to get onto the POUM podium
or you know, retain her gold medal status from Tokyo
(01:02):
and Rio. Yeah, the pain she would have felt through
that and to be able to come back the following
day and to just execute a race the way she
did was phenomenal.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Well, revenge is a word she's used quite a lot.
Not revenge for the long jump, but revenge from the
two hundred meters, which hasn't treated her that well. That's
a long hell drive, isn't it an interesting one?
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
But I actually wouldn't be surprised. You know the fact
that she bought in the one hundred meters over this
past couple of years has actually contributed to that two
hundred meters. Usually we actually find that, you know, if
you are the two hundred, you know you've got another
hundred to go. Absolutely, but the training she would have
been doing for that hundred would have absolutely have, you know,
(01:49):
contributed to this. I mean, she ran the hundred gracefully
and beautifully as well. You know's she clearly says she's
not one hundred meter runner, but the fact that she
was able to obviously get a bronze and the hundred meters,
you know, a huge achievement to when you're not, you know,
so called one hundred meters sprinter. And then you know
(02:12):
the fact that yes she's you know, the two hundred,
it's revenge for her. But yeah, I would have I
would have absolutely have said this, the one hundred meters
would have the training for that would have contributed to
how well she executed this two.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
Hundred Interesting with the athletes, every athlete I talked to
the Paralympics, it's all about PBS. It's not about winning medals.
That's quite the drive, isn't it.
Speaker 3 (02:38):
Yes, I mean a personal best usually reflects obviously the
outcome of a medal, and especially if you have obviously
already gone into the games as the expected or the hunted,
because you know, your PB is usually reflected, you know,
within that top table or maybe there's Paralympic record next
to your name or a world record next to your name,
(02:59):
so you know, all you can ask of yourself on
the day is to give one hundred percent. And you know,
we are striving to find a personal best time because
you know then that's the best race you've ever done.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
You know all about being the hunted. You made that
comment before energy going into a Paralympics knowing you've got
to target on your back, how do you deal with that?
What's the best way to work through that pressure?
Speaker 3 (03:31):
Oh? Look, it's definitely a daily mindset for when you
turn up every day to you know, for me personally,
obviously it was the pool and the gym or where
you know, all my training sessions, but people have to understand,
you know, in an athlete's world, you know, it's it
is about, you know, trying to obviously achieve to be
(03:53):
the best in the world. And you know, for us,
it's not just a professional sport. It's a personal to
us as well, because we know when we come home
it is about obviously the recovery. And you know, what
we do at home reflects how we train and then
how we perform on the world stage. So mindset is
a huge part of that. It's not just the physical side,
(04:16):
and to be able to turn off when you get home,
you know, just enough to be able to obviously focus
on that recovery or maybe take it, you know, do
some mindleness, you know, wellness and minded mindfulness. You know,
all of those are part of how to execute when
you get onto a big world stage as being the hunted.
And you know, if we use Ana Grimolda, you know
(04:39):
she has got the previous experience and you know, the
debutantes that have come into this particular games, you are
going to learn that because in a Paralympic environment, it's unpredictable.
You know, there's so many external factors going on, and
it's really hard to explain to people what are Paralympic
Games or in Olympic Games is really like unless you've
(05:02):
been there and really soaked in, you know, the atmosphere,
because it is it's just it's a whole it's its
own whole world. You know, it's not it's many sports
that are there. You've got world champions walking around you.
You're living in a you know, enclosed environment. Everything is
(05:24):
put on a much bigger scale. And when you've been
so used to either national championships or world championships, it
is completely different. So you can never really prepare yourself,
you know fully what a Paralympic Games is going to
give you. But you can only prepare yourself the best
you possibly can. And most athletes do a lot of
(05:45):
mindfulness training. They work with their psychologists, they try and
you know, you know, factor that into their trainings to
be able to replicate as best they possibly can what
you know they're going to expect at a Paralympic Games.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
It's been really important of recent times across a number
of different sports, not just swimming, not just at athletics,
at various games. So you've I want to say you've
been around the block, but how many Olympic Games you've
been to?
Speaker 3 (06:13):
Four?
Speaker 2 (06:13):
I think it has started off in Beijing. Have you
noticed that over your career the focus now on the
mental health and the wellness of the athletes.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Yeah, it's absolutely huge, And Nack comes down to, you know,
how much bigger these games are getting every year. The
media that's you know, around the Paralympic Games and around
the athletes, but also people are talking about mental health
and it's crucial, you know, the fact that, like I
(06:45):
said before, it's not a professional sport to us, it's
personal as well. And it is pretty hard to switch
off when you you know, close the door, you know,
when you come home from a training session, because you can't.
You've got to be constantly factoring in all those smaller
things that you know, provide for the outcome and goal.
(07:09):
But you know, I think it's great that athletes are
talking more and more about their mental health. It's very
important to you know, be open and honest because you know,
the pressure that you put on yourself is usually the
biggest pressure. But then when you obviously you know, become
an expected within the environment of your field of play. Yeah,
(07:33):
people do have that external pressure as well put on them,
And yeah, I do think it's really important to be constantly,
you know, checking in with yourself and remembering that actually,
you know, at the end of the day, you are
loved beyond the outcome of you know, a medal or
(07:54):
a placing.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
You're more than just your sport. And again that goes
right across a number of different sports, team sports and
individual sports. We're joined by Dame Sophie Pasco. We better
talk about I've gotten this conversation with you and I'm
loving it. But the athletes themselves at the Paralympics one
gold medal, four silver medals, three bronze medals, how does
(08:18):
that reflect on the team?
Speaker 3 (08:19):
Do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Is it about that ten count or is it about
more than that?
Speaker 3 (08:24):
It's absolutely about more than that. You know, we've got
one of our tightest teams over there. You know, there's
a small team there. You know, there's twenty five athletes
and then you've got the support stuff you know on
top of that as well that have joined the team.
And the beauty of New Zealand, the New Zealand Paralympic
(08:44):
team is that we usually do have a small team.
So you do become a real tight family. And yes,
you know, medals are absolutely what every athlete is striving for,
do not get me wrong, But no matter if you've
won a medal or not, when you come back to
the village, your family standing there, meaning your teammates and
(09:08):
your support staff are standing there waiting for you to
embrace you. And that is so important. And what I
have noticed about these games, by you know, keeping in
touch with my fellow athletes, is that they have been
doing that, and that they've been supporting one another through
triumph and through defeat, and that is you know, you
(09:31):
can't ask for much more than that, And I think
that's why we are really close knit type family. And
you know, yes we've gained a gold medal overnight, we've
you know, got you know, numerous silvers and bronze throughout
the meet. But I know that this team will be
walking away with memories of a lifetime with the family
(09:53):
members that they've created within the team.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
So for you, you mentioned the size of the games,
it's getting bigger and bigger and bigger. Was there a
part of you that got a bit of a bit
jealous that you weren't actually there competing because the event
Paris was extraordinary. The crowds were wild, and that's a
seriously big event. There must have been a wee bit
of I mean, I wish I was there.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Look, when the Olympic Games were on, I actually did
get quite a lot of fomo. I was getting nervous.
You know, the Paralympics were obviously coming up, and the
Olympics were always used as you know, for me, I
was always overseas. I was always training getting ready for
the Paralympic event, which is usually two or three weeks afterwards,
(10:42):
and so when they were on, I yeah, I was
just really feeling you know, oh my goodness, what am
I going to feel in three weeks time when I'm
you know, sitting behind a desk presenting the Paralympic Games.
You know, am I going to be feeling this? But
the fact the day one, when I sat next to Scottie,
(11:04):
you know, I actually felt real content. And I think
that's because I knew I was still part of the team,
but in a different capacity. And you know, I am
about enhancing the Paralympic movement and I want to be
able to obviously do that with you know, the platform
that I've been able to create. And so I feel
like I have just really enjoyed sitting back watching our
(11:29):
New New Zealand athletes take on the world stage and
watching the games, and I've just loved embracing it. I've
loved being you know, presenting and you know, getting the
word out there that the Paralympics are parallel to the
Olympic Games. And watch these athletes. They are important, they
are vital to sport, and they are an inspiration and
(11:52):
not an inspiration for being disabled, They're an inspiration for
taking on the world and for their achievements. So I
have been absolutely okay where you know, sitting where I'm
sitting and really been laughing up you know, the Paris content.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
What you've been doing an absolutely splendid job from from
my point of view anyway, and watching it. And one
last thing before we let you go, Dame Sophie pass
go and thanks so much for your time. Just like
in the Olympics, it's the way he doing it again.
They're putting the DNA of shame, aren't they.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Like I just you know, I think sport is growing
so much more and more and the fact that our
Wahini here in New Zealand are you know, being so successful.
It's all power to the females. You know, we are
getting deeper and deeper within our sports and really proving
(12:50):
you know, our mark on the world stage and it's
fantastic to see. And you know, I think it's so
crucial towards you know, the next generation going forth that
you know, the females can you know, really show the
world what they can do.
Speaker 2 (13:08):
It's been a fantastic time. It still has yet to finish.
It's still got another day to go before it winds out.
We'll be staring at you and Old so much Stevenson
on TV and Z Plus as you bring us all
of that coverage. It is so welcomed and we love
the fact you joined us here on News Talks EB.
Dame Sophie Pasco, thanks very much for your time, Thank you,
(13:29):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine. Listen live
to News Talk zed B weekends from midday or follow
the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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