Para Sports Nutrition

Jacob Schrom is a single above knee amputee who competed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in the 107kg Powerlifting weight division after 12 years competing in the sport. Jake shares with us his journey in powerlifting, highlighting the role that accessing sports performance specialists had on his ability to compete at his best.

Curtis McGrath, OAM, is a 2 time paralympic canoe/kayak paddler who has won 3 gold medals. Curtis talks to us about his injury and impairment, his training and diet as a canoe / kayak paddler, and provides some great insight into the energy needs of a double leg amputee.

Mary Hodge is the High Performance Manager for U.S. Para Powerlifting and has worked with powerlifting for over 20 years, being involved in 6 Paralympic games. Mary describes the sport of Powerlifting, the training requirements, and rules of competition.

Dr Brooke Lamphere is a US-based sport psychologist who recently completed her PhD dissertation around social influences on body image of female Paralympic athletes. We talk about her work as a sport psychologist with Para athletes, her research, what it uncovered and what recommendations come out of that.

Danni Di Toro is a 7 time paralympian with a spinal cord injury who has competed in both wheelchair tennis and, more recently, para table tennis. Danni was co-captain of the Australian Paralympic team at both Rio and Tokyo Paralympic Games, and is currently the Paralympics Australia athlete welfare and engagement manager. Danni shares with us her extensive experience as an athlete, mental health advocate and team mate. 

Anu Koivisto is a 2 time Olympic swimmer for Finland who has worked for a number of years as a sports dietitian at the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee, Olympiatoppen. Anu is responsible for working with both Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Anu talks to us about her approach to working with Para athletes, some of the specific issues that have arisen through their medical screening and some solutions they've found.

Dr Bridie Kean is a 2 time Paralympian in wheelchair basketball for Australia. She has also completed a PhD looking at barriers and facilitators to playing wheelchair basketball in a collegiate / university setting. We talk to Bridie about her nutrition journey as an athlete with coeliac disease, the findings of her PhD, and her more recent experiences in being a member of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic / Paralympic bid.

Gustavo Osorio (aka Goose) is a strength & conditioning coach who works at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee and is based at the Chula Vista training centre in San Diego. He talks to us about how he approaches programming for the Track & Field athletes.

Dr Peta Maloney is an Australian sports physiologist and recovery specialist who has works with Para athletes. Peta talks to us about the importance of sleep for athletes, why para athletes may have difficulty with sleeping consistently, and what strategies can be used to help develop better sleeping patterns to support sports performance.

Sally Baumann is the lead sports dietitian for the U.S. Paralympic programs and has been working with para athletes for the past 2.5 years. In the first of a series of interviews with sports dietitians, we talk to Sally about how she goes about working with para athletes and how this might be different to working with other athletes.