Paralympic road and track cyclist Samantha Bosco was recently on the podcast to discuss the sport of para cycling. We put her through our lightning round of Paralympics-related questions to get a little more insight into who she is before she heads to Paris 2024 to compete in her second Paralympics.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
Alison: Samantha. Bosco, what’s your first memory before you were in the Paralympics of the Paralympics?
Samantha Bosco: That would be it actually. It sounds so bad. I didn’t know about the Paralympics until 2012, and that was only because I was watching the able-bodied Women’s Road race, the Olympic Road race with a friend. Who said, Hey, you know, you could be there one day. And I turned around and looked at him like he was out of his mind and said, I don’t, there’s no way I can’t ride like that.
Even with my, like on a good day, my legs are one and a half. And that’s when he said, no, the Paralympics. So that was my first memory of a Paralympics was that. There even was one, like I had no idea. So then I started researching it all. So that would be my first memory.
Jill: You know, we have just a ton of para athletes say that over and over. Nobody knows. London was a good games for the para movement, then Rio, not so great. And then poor Tokyo had COVID. So I mean, there’s like real hope that this time around is another push. Another London.
Samantha Bosco: Yeah. You hope so. I mean. It’s hard because there’s just not a lot of exposure for Para compared to our able-bodied counterparts.
And I think that that is the part that’s difficult because there’s just no nobody talking about it. And they’re talking about it more and with more exposure outside of games years, I think it’ll get even better because People know who certain Paralympians are and they start talking about that. And then they start talking to their friends.
Like, did you see them play? Did you see sitting volleyball? Did you see wheelchair rugby? Did you see wheelchair basketball? Like these, it’s insane to watch what these people are doing and to hear people have conversation and expose others to it. I think will just grow the program so much more because then people will actually know about it because it’s now household names like Apollo Ono and all the track athletes that everybody knows and talks about in between games years.
Jill: Okay. Two points on that. This is why it’s not lightning. (A) have you been listening into Alison’s TV room when, when you hear her talk about the para movement and the para sports, because she is like, it’s insane and (B) thank you for bringing up Apollo. We appreciate the throwback.
Samantha Bosco: I am not in Alison’s TV room, but I guess we need to watch TV together, girl.
Alison: You are welcome any time, as long as you, as long as you bring the dog.
Samantha Bosco: Perfect. Perfect. Deal. And Apollo Ohno was one of our favorite Olympians to watch. Hands down.
My brother, I think he was five at the time, maybe six. He would pretend to be speed skating around the dining room table after watching him. So yes, he’s one of our favorites and I got to meet him. I’ve gotten to meet him a few times and I’m so surprised that the first time I got to meet him, I wasn’t just like hardcore fangirling to the point where I couldn’t say anything, but I was still just shocked that I actually got the opportunity to meet him because he was one of our favorite athletes to watch.
Alison: Now we’re up to question two. See, this is why it’s not a lightning round. Where do you keep your medals?
Samantha Bosco: I don’t keep them in a sock anymore.
I used to hide them away because I wanted to protect them. But we actually put some of them up on the wall and then I have one from Rio and then a couple from Parapan Am Games and some World Championship ones that I keep in a tin that I can access pretty quickly so that I can take it to school visits or take it to things and show people because I like being able to show and hopefully inspire others for whatever goals or dreams they’re chasing.
And I’m not too worried about them, like being scratched up and dented because that already happened. I got to throw out the first pitch of the Angels game when I got back from Rio. And I wore both of them and then came off of the mound, and I was like, Oh no, they’re scratched. And Andrew looked at me and laughed.
And he’s like, Oh, your medals are scratched because you got to wear them throwing out the first pitch at an Angels game. Like how sad. So scratches are fun.
Alison: What’s your favorite training exercise?
Samantha Bosco: Time trial intervals.
Jill: Glutton for punishment.
Samantha Bosco: Yes.
Alison: If you could be a Paralympian in any sport, what would it be?
Jill: You don’t have to be good [at it]. Besides cycling. [And] No rowing.
Alison: Why rowing?
Jill: You did rowing for a little while. We have to take that off the table. You did rowing, and then they said you couldn’t row anymore.
This is nice, because, thank you for saying that, because I did wonder, why did, Why did doctors tell you you couldn’t row anymore? Is it the pressure you were putting on your feet or…?
Samantha Bosco: It wasn’t that they told me I couldn’t row anymore. It was recommended that I not row to be able to walk without knee pain because I was rowing able-bodied when I was at University of Central Florida, and so we couldn’t adjust the foot plate in the boat.
Like we could off the boat. So every time I rode on the water, I was rowing with that leg length difference. And all of the force that your ankles take, my right ankle couldn’t take. So it would jump my ankle and go to my knee. So I was having such bad knee pain that I couldn’t walk. And I was crying because I was in such pain because I also am very competitive, a.k. a. stubborn as mule. And did all of the workouts on top of the hours that we could do in school. I was doing extra to try to be the best in the boat. And so I was basically destroying my knee. And they were worried that if I kept doing it, I wouldn’t have a knee when I got older. And by older, I mean in my 30s I would need knee replacements and like the quality of life would be less than.
And so we decided that retirement was the best option for quality of life, but I still miss it. So I would pick that first.
Jill: Well, okay. We got to take it off the table.
Samantha Bosco: Okay. Biathlon.
Alison: Oh, you just made Jill so happy!
Jill: Love biathlon.
Alison: What about biathlon?
Samantha Bosco: I think it’s something so cool about pushing yourself on the skis and then having to, I love it.
Settle yourself enough to be able to aim and hit a target and then get back on and do it again.
Alison: And besides the medals, what is your favorite Paralympic souvenir?
Samantha Bosco: Oh, Tom, the mascot. Yeah, we got him on the podium and each, each one we got on the podium, the leaves matched the medal color. So I like him a lot.
That’s my favorite souvenir. We’ve also been trying to trade hats for host countries. I didn’t get a chance to get the Brazil hat. So if anybody is listening and has a Brazil hat from 2016, I am willing to trade a USA one. I still have it. But yeah, the Tom is my favorite. I mean, we got to trade.
At the end, you kind of try to trade shirts and stuff with other countries to see what you can get. But the pins are my other favorite. Like, I love the opportunity to trade pins with fellow athletes and get to meet new athletes from all over the world. And just think it’s amazing to have that souvenir also to be like, Oh, this pin, I got it from this guy.
And here’s a story about this and things like that. So I think that. The pins probably are more favorite than Tom, even though Tom is fun with his pins.
Thank
Alison: Thank you so much.
Samantha Bosco: Thank you.