Road To Rio Podcast

16 years ago, Canada's Simon Whitfield secured a seminal victory at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, becoming the first winner of the triathlon in the history of the Games. This September, paratriathlon makes it’s debut at the Paralympic Games and there’s a young Canadian hoping to replicate the feat. The Paralympic Games are just one week away. Before Braydon and Ciarán head off to Rio, they chat to para-triathlete Stefan Daniel. 

With the Paralympic Games right around the corner, the Road to Rio pod sat down with Canadian discus thrower and Parapan gold medalist Renee Foessel.Born with cerebral palsy that effects the right side of her body, Foessel's athleticism and work ethic has propelled her to the top of the world in the F38 discus classification. At 21-years-old, she will compete in her first Paralympic Games in Rio and has a legitimate shot at coming home with a medal.

In a special bumper episode we sit down with ReportOnRio.com Co-editor Quinton Amundson. We take a deep dive into swimming, athletics, sailing, wheelchair basketball and more. Don't miss Q-Tip's hot-takes. 

Braydon threatens a whole episode on Pokemon Go but fortunately Ciarán keeps things on track as episode nine features an in-depth interview with sitting volleyball star Shacarra Orr. A car accident cut short her stand-up volleyball career as it was hitting its high school heights but like any aspiring athlete, Shacarra simply made the transition to the something new and worked every day to master it. Now, aged 19, she's headed to Rio as a member of Canada's first Paralympic sitting volleyball squad. 

Canada’s Chef de Mission for the 2016 Paralympic Games is Chantal Petitclerc and she was a special guest on this weeks episode of the Road to Rio Podcast. In addition to her role as the Canadian Paralympic Ambassador, Petitclerc is a Senator, public speaker, and mentor to many Canadian athletes.The former wheelchair racer is a 14-time Paralympic gold medalist and is the only Canadian to have also won gold in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.Download the latest episodes on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite android podcast player.Keep in touch on reportonrio.com for all the latest Canadian Paralympic news and stay connected to the pod on twitter @roadtoriopod.

The Road to Rio Podcast jumped into the world of para-judo, highlighted by an exclusive interview with Priscilla Gagné, who will be making her Paralympic debut.We discuss why Priscilla changed her path from wrestling to judo, what she needs to do to compete for a medal, and how she gets focused a match.Download the latest episodes on iTunes,Stitcher or your favourite android podcast player.Keep in touch on reportonrio.com for all the latest Canadian Paralympic news and stay connected to the pod on twitter @roadtoriopod.

We have something a little bit different for you this week. Road to Rio Pod host Ciarán was invited on to The Avalanche, a show on CKUT radio out of Montreal, to talk about the upcoming Rio Games, coverage of para-sport and the Report on Rio project.For today’s show, we’re airing the interview with Stephane at CKUT in full. We feel it’s an important conversation that touches on a number of different subjects related to the Paralympics. 

The men's wheelchair basketball program has dominated at an international level for the last 16 years. The Road to Rio Podcast spoke with rookie Liam Hickey, who will be making his Paralympic debut this year, and veteran Chad Jassman, who hopes to defend the gold medal he helped win at the 2012 Games.

Canada's Sonar sailing team is currently in Rio de Janeiro, going through a practice regatta in preperation for the Paralympic Games -- which are now less than three months away. We spoke to Paralympic gold medalist Paul Tingley and the head coach of sailing for the Paralympic and Olympic national teams. Paul and his teammates Logan Campbell and Scott Lutes share plenty of optimism for what lies ahead.

On this week's episode, we're joined by Miranda Biletski. who was announced last week as a member of the Canadian wheelchair rugby team. Ciaran spoke to Miranda in the leadup to the announcement, as she continued her recovery from the injury that kept her out of last years Pan Ams. 

Episode Two:On Episode Two of Road to Rio Podcast, we speak to one of the greatest Paralympians of all time.Benoit Huot has won 19 Paralympic medals, including nine golds, across four games in a glittering career that he hopes will reach its climax in Brazil.We spoke to Benoit about the upcoming Games, the drive that has kept him going to compete in his fifth Paralympics and his memories of carrying the Canadian flag at London 2012.Download the latest episodes on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite android podcast player.Keep in touch on reportonrio.com for all the latest Canadian Paralympic news and stay connected to the pod on twitter @roadtoriopod.

Episode One:On today’s show we speak to five time paracanoe World Champion Christine Gauthier about her journey towards the most anticipated event in her decorated athletic career.We’ll discuss some of key questions coming out of the World Championships that have just completed in Germany and hear why Christine is worried about the paracanoe venue in Rio. We’ll also take a look at some of her closest rivals for medals at the games.Download the latest episodes on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite android podcast player.Keep in touch on reportonrio.com for all the latest Canadian Paralympic news and stay connected to the pod on twitter @roadtoriopod.