What Does It Take?

Noah Elliott on discovering the Paralympic dream from his hospital bed, the science of snowboarding and more medals in Cortina Recorded live in Cortina at a P&G event to celebrate the Everyday Champions behind the Paralympic athletes, just days after Noah Elliott won a silver medal at the Paralympic Winter Games — with one race still to come — this final episode brings this season of What Does...

Amy Purdy’s life changed in a matter of hours. One day she was healthy, working and snowboarding. Hours later, she was fighting for her life with bacterial meningitis — in full organ failure, in a coma, and close to flatlining multiple times. She survived, but lost both legs below the knee, along with part of her hearing and vital organ function. Joining Matt from a rooftop in central Milan on a b...

Today’s guest is unique for the series. Simone Barlaam joins as an official ambassador for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games and the only guest who is not a current or former Winter Paralympian.  The Italian star Para swimmer is an 8x Paralympic medallist. Simone is up there with the greatest Para swimmers of his generation. But for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Game...

This episode features not one, but two Paralympian athletes and teammates. Ollie Hill and James Barnes-Miller aren’t just Para snowboard teammates — they’re close friends who train together, travel together, and push each other in different ways. Ollie rides with instinct and pace, often right on the limit. James brings a more measured approach, focused on control and consistency. That contrast ha...

Menna Fitzpatrick MBE is one of Great Britain’s most decorated Para Alpine skiers, racing at close to 90km/h with around five percent vision. Menna explains what she can actually see on the slope — often little more than a white “playing field” and the bright pink jacket of her guide, Katie. She breaks down how their communication works at speed, why tone matters as much as the words, and how trus...

Giacomo Bertagnolli is undoubtedly one of the greatest Para alpine skiers of all time, skiings down the mountain at rapid speed with just 5% vision. After winning 4 medals at PyeongChang 2018 and another 4 medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, he arrives for the Milano Cortina 2026 with a new bold ambition: 5 gold medals across 5 core events. As one of the faces of the Milano Cortina...

Sydney Peterson spent 6 years knowing something didn’t feel quite right, but without a full understanding of why. At the age of 19 she was diagnosed with dystonia, which changed her life. Incredibly, soon after, Sydney shocked the world at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games by winning multiple medals, marking a breakout moment early in her Paralympic career. But Sydney is not just a great at...

Today’s guest has built her life around two anchors: sport and music. And she’s used both to keep moving forward. Mia Larsen Sveberg is a young, female wheelchair curler – a sport dominated by older men and defined by precision and nerve. No sweeping, no corrections. If you miss your line or your weight, that’s it. But Mia’s story starts long before the ice. Raised in Norway by a father with a hea...

Today’s guest says he is enjoying his “second chance at life” — and he’s determined to use every second of it. Jack Wallace is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist in Para ice hockey — one of the fastest, most physical winter sports in the world. Full contact. Played on sleds. Pucks flying at blistering speeds. At the age of 10, a boating accident led to the loss of his right leg, a moment that di...

Today’s guest is helping shape what these Games leave behind — and he’s doing it from both sides of the arena. Andrea Macrì is a four-time Paralympian, the assistant captain of Italy’s Para ice hockey team, and the Legacy Integration Manager for the Organising Committee for Milano Cortina 2026. His focus isn’t just his performance and a dream of a first medal — it’s what happens after the closing...

From his garage in Iowa, Paralympic gold medallist and “Armless Archer” Matt Stutzman has open, unguarded conversations with some of the Paralympic Winter Games’ most remarkable athletes and ambassadors — one athlete to another — about what it really takes to get to the Games. As the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games approach, Paralympic gold medallist Matt Stutzman returns for a second...

Star Paralympian and Angel City Sports co-founder, Ezra Frech, sat down for a special live show bonus episode in Paris with Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and legendary Olympian Michael Johnson. This week, both Ezra and Matt won their first gold medals at the Paralympic Games. They reflect on their experiences and describe how it feels to join the “gold medalist" club alongside Michael. Lookin...

Twenty eight years on from representing France at the Atlanta Paralympics, Ludivine Munos (nee Loiseau) is giving her all to ensure the first Paralympics ever to take place in her country is a huge success. One of France’s most decorated Paralympic athletes, Ludivine is bringing the skill and determination she displayed in the pool to her role as a senior member of the Paris 2024 Organising Commit...

Lauren Steadman was just 15 years old when she first competed as a para swimmer at the Beijing 2008 Paralympics; but despite her talent and dedication she went home empty handed. An experience she repeated in London in 2012. Lauren talks to fellow Paralympian Matt Stutzman and legendary Olympian Michael Johnson about her decision to switch to Para Triathlon and the triumph that soon followed.&nbsp...

Paralympic track and field star Hunter Woodhall joins legendary sprinter Michael Johnson for an inspiring conversation about their shared experiences in the 400m. Alongside fellow Paralympian Matt Stutzman, Hunter delves into the meticulous process of perfecting their gear, the mindset required to excel at the highest level and the unique challenges of competing on blades. As the first double ampu...

Paralympic star and Queen of the pool Anastasia Pagonis lost her sight at the age of 14, sending her into a spiral of despair. She talks openly to Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and Olympic legend Michael Johnson about her struggles with mental health and how swimming offered her a freedom and sense of control she lacked on dry land.  The twenty-year-old from Long Island explains how her...

Paralympic Rower and cross-country skier Birgit Skarstein takes a break from her punishing two sport training regime to talk to the Armless Archer, Matt Stutzman, and track and field legend Michael Johnson. Learn how Birgit’s “gratitude list” helped her to stay positive despite a severe spinal cord injury and made her determined to grasp every opportunity that comes her way. Birgit describes falli...

Gustavo Fernández has won just about every major trophy in wheelchair tennis, but there is one that eludes him - a Paralympic medal. He takes a break from his packed schedule to talk to Paralympic silver medallist Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and legendary Olympian Michael Johnson about his determination to medal at this summer’s Paralympics.  Gustavo talks about growing up in Argentina...

Blind footballer Gaël Rivière joins Paralympic silver medallist Matt Stutzman, “The Armless Archer”, and Olympic track legend Michael Johnson in the studio to talk about playing the beautiful game when you can’t see the ball. Gaël learned to play soccer with his friends on Reunion Island by putting the ball in a plastic bag so he could hear it. These days he plays with a special sounding ball whic...

Kadeena Cox regularly strikes gold in both Para Athletics and Para Cycling but what does it take to succeed in not one, but TWO sports?  She joins Paralympic silver medallist Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and legendary Olympian Michael Johnson to share just how she reached the top of two very different Paralympic sports Kadeena’s athletic career began in able-bodied sport, but a stroke f...

What exactly does it take to become an elite Paralympian? Paralympic silver medallist Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and track and field legend Michael Johnson know what it takes to succeed at the highest level. They chat about their new podcast Rising Phoenix: What Does It Take? and what to expect from the Paralympic Games this summer. Across eight episodes, these sporting friends will meet s...