Francesca Rudkin: The Paralympics gave me a reality check

So I had a bit of a reality check this week.

As you may have gathered, I love to do a bit of running – it’s more plodding – and I especially love plodding on trails in the bush. This year I’ve been struggling with a knee, which has turned out to be a hamstring issue. It’s nothing major, but annoying enough to stop me being able to train the way I normally do for a fastpacking trip I do each November. I’m a bit fed up with it all.

But recently I watched Grit & Glory: The Road To The Paralympics- the TVNZ + documentary following 6 Kiwi Paralympians in their lead up to Paris 2024.

Needless to say, I gave myself a little talking to.

If you want a little perspective in life – I suggest watching this documentary. What an extraordinary group of athletes. What an extraordinary group of people.

What you get in this doco are stories about sports people attempting to qualify to compete against the best in the world, and personal stories about living with a disability. Track stars Anna Grimaldi and Mitch Joynt, swimmers Cameron Leslie and Tupou Neiufi, and cyclists Nicole Murray and Devon Briggs are honest and revealing narrators; sports people often have good stories but the resilience of these Paralympians is something else.

They’re proof disabilities should never stop people pursuing their dreams, but still as a society we continue to struggle with accepting differences. These athletes are honest about the impact their disability has had on their lives – especially those who were born or grew up with one.

Anna speaks about the impact of trying to be normal and pretending not to be different. Devon about being treated as an outsider growing up, and Tupou about having days when she wishes she was normal.

What is cool to see though is how through sport these athletes have found confidence in all parts of their lives, and an increased acceptance and understanding of their disability.

From a sports lovers point of view, there are also great insights into what it takes to be an elite athlete. At the Paralympics sport comes first, disability second. It’s really cool hearing them speak about the highs and lows, dealing with race day nerves, competitiveness, the heartbreak, and the pressure of expectations.

I didn’t want this documentary to end – and in a way it hasn’t. Each athlete qualified for Paris and over the coming days we can watch the next part of their stories; a little more knowledgeable about what it has taken to get them there.

LISTEN ABOVE

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudkin
from News Talk SEDB.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So I had a bit of a reality check this week.
As you may have gathered, I love to do a
bit of running. It's more plodding. I especially love plotting
on trails in the bush. And this year I've been
struggling with a knee, a dodgy knee which has turned
out to be a dodgy hamstring issue. It's nothing major,
but annoying enough to stop me from being able to

(00:33):
train the way I normally do for a fast fast
packing trip I do each November, and I'm a little
bit fed up with it all. But recently I watched
Grit and Glory The Road to the Paralympics, the TVNZ
plus documentary that follows six Kiwi paralympians in their lead
up to Paris. Needless to say, I gave myself a

(00:55):
little talking to. If you want some perspective on life,
I suggest watching this documentary. What an extraordinary group of athletes,
What an extraordinary group of people. What you get in
this doco are stories about sports people attempting to qualify
to compete against the best in the world. You also

(01:15):
get these personal stories about living with the disability. Track
stars Anna Grimaldi and Mitch Joint, swimmers Cameron Leslie and
Tupou Nofu, and cyclists Nicole Murray and Devon Briggs are
honest and revealing narrators. They're sports people. Sports people we
know often have good stories, but the resilience of these

(01:37):
paralympians is something else. Their proof disabilities should never stop
people pursuing their dreams, but still, as a society we
continue to struggle with accepting differences. These athletes are honest
about the impact their disability has had on their lives,
especially those who were born or grew up with one.
Anna speaks about the impact of trying to be normal

(02:00):
pretending not to be different, Devin about how horrific his
upbringing was childhood growing up as an outsider, and Tupo
about having days where she just wishes she was normal.
What is cool to see, though, is how through sport
these athletes have found confidence in all parts of their
lives and an increasing acceptance and understanding of their disability.

(02:24):
From a sports lover's point of view, there are also
great insights into what it takes to be an elite
athlete at the Paralympics, sport comes first, disability second, and
it's really cool hearing them speak about their highs and lows,
dealing with race day nerves, competitiveness, the heartbreak, and the
pressure of expectations. I didn't want this documentary to end,

(02:45):
and in a way it hasn't. Each athlete in it
qualified for Paris, and over the coming days and weeks,
we can watch the next part of their stories a
little more knowledgeable about what it has taken to get
them there.

Speaker 1 (02:59):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to news talks they'd be from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.