Para Sports Nutrition

Jacque Scaramella is a US Sports Dietitian who works with the national Sit Volleyball, Para Ice Hockey (Sled Hockey) and Para Archery programs. Jacque shares with us her key focus points with each program and how she's developed their sports nutrition capacity over the years.

Noah Elliott is a 2 time Paralympian in the sport of Snowboard, and is a single leg amputee. Noah won a gold and bronze medal on debut in PyeongChang and came 4th and 6th in Beijing despite a major injury on his residual limb. Noah talks to us about his journey into snowboarding and what he's learnt in the process.

Dr Ben Stephenson is the physiologist for GB Para Triathlon who undertook his PhD research at the Peter Harrison Center for Disability Sport / Loughborough University on the impact of exercising in the heat on body temperature in para athletes. Ben shares his learnings as to why para triathletes are at higher risk of heat-related issues and how they can best prevent or minimise the impact of heat...

Gordon Marcks has been the national para rowing coach for Australia for the past 10 years. Gordon explains what para rowing is, the impairments eligible to compete, the training and nutrition challenges they face and how new athletes and coaches can get involved.

Katie Kelly is a Para triathlete with Ushers syndrome (an impairment of both vision and hearing) who won gold in Rio and was 6th in Tokyo. Katie started competing in para triathlon in her late 30's. Katie talks to us about the sport of para triathlon, her impairment, and her experience in becoming an elite athlete at a relatively late age.

Shaun Caven is the National Para Canoe / kayak coach for Australia, having previously coached in the US and UK. Shaun describes the sport of para canoe / kayak, the physiological and physical demands, and how new athletes and coaches can get started in this sport.

Professor Peter Peeling is a sports physiologist at the Western Australian Institute of Sport and researcher at the University of Western Australia. Peter has devoted much of his research time to iron metabolism in athletes, which is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies particularly in female athletes. We talk to Pete about the role of iron, what happens when athletes are deficient in iron...

Siobhan Crawshay is the sports dietitian for Paralympics Australia, and specifically has worked with the Australian wheelchair rugby team (Steelers) for the past 11 years. Siobhan (Vorny) provides some fabulous insight into the key nutrition issues she covers with the wheelchair rugby players and the strategies she's used to support them.

Steve Serio is a 4 time Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball player, and the co-captain of the USA Mens Wheelchair Basketball team who have won Gold at the last 2 Paralympic games. We talk to Steve about his history, how he got into playing Wheelchair Basketball, his training and how he fits his nutrition around his training.

Bill Hamiter is the USA Womens National Sit Volleyball head coach and high performance director, and Michelle Goodall is the assistant coach to the same team. The US Women's team has won Gold  at the last 2 Paralympic games under their guidance. Bill and Michelle talk to us about the game of Sit Volleyball, the physical demands of the sport, common nutrition concerns and provide advice to potentia...

Iryna Dvoskina is a 7 time Paralympic athletics (track sprint and jumps) coach. Iryna started her coaching career in the early 90's in the Ukraine and moved to Australia in the early 2000's. She has coached a wide range of highly successful Paralympic sprinters and jumpers across many different impairments. Iryna talks about her coaching framework and philosophies, the benefits of balance to ensur...

Lex Gillette is a 5 time Paralympic silver medallist, 4 time world champion and current world record holder in the F11 class for Long Jump. He has been completely vision impaired since the age of 9. Lex talks about his training, his diet, and how he uses artificial intelligence and smart phones to help him navigate life.

Ellie Cole, OAM, is a 4 time Paralympic Swimmer who has won 17 medals and is the most decorated female swimmer in Australia. Ellie was one of the athletes showcased on the Rising Pheonix documentary and is an active member of the #WeThe15 movement. Ellie shares with us some insights into her 17 year journey as a national level swimmer, how she's learnt to adjust her intake according to her trainin...

Dr Joelle Flueck is a sports nutritionist in Switzerland who has spent over 10 years working with, and undertaking research into, athletes with a spinal cord injury. Joelle has recently written several narrative reviews on carbohydrate and protein needs for athletes with a spinal cord injury, as well as nutrition needs for para cycling. Joelle provides her insights into what she's learnt from work...

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 a...

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 s...

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 Olympi...

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.

Meg Lemon is a WC4 para cyclist with an acquired brain injury who recently won a bronze medal in the time trial at the Tokyo Paralympics. Meg is also a sports dietitian. Meg talks to us about her impairment and how it affects her, the nutrition challenges she has faced and the ways she is working on overcoming those challenges.