EPISODE · Dec 28, 2024 · 49 MIN
From Paris with love
from Not by the Playbook · host BBC World Service
***This episode contains discussions and references to extreme violence, sexual violence and domestic abuse. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org***Tracy Otto's life was changed forever one night in 2019. Back then she was a student at the University of Tampa and an aspiring fitness model. An unprovoked attack by her ex-boyfriend left her with horrific injuries - she was paralyzed from the chest down with limited use of her arms and hands, and the loss of her left eye. It was the sport of archery that helped Tracy get her life back on track. She tells us her story and about a magical Paris experience. Team GB's cyclist Neah Evans spilled the beans on the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Games. The things only athletes would know about! From life in the Olympic village to what goes on at the Opening Ceremony or rather doesn't! When Jack Eyers had his right leg amputated at just 16 years old, he never expected it would open up a world of opportunity that has taken him from film sets to catwalks and now to the Paralympic podium in Paris. The British Para-canoer told me about how his amputation has given him the chance to challenge stereotypes. In Paris, 12 years after he was a performer at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, he claimed Paralympic silver in the men’s Para-canoe.US women’s scrum half Alena Olsen on channelling the heart break of missing out on the Tokyo Games, by putting in everything she can into making the Paris Olympics, as part of the US Women’s Sevens squad. She's been telling Sportshour's Caroline Barker that despite being a part of the bronze medal winning World Cup team in 2022, she knows her Olympic dreams still hang in the balance. A passionate environmentalist, Alena is a member of EcoAthlets (www.ecoathletes.org) a collaboration of likeminded sports stars determined to do what they can for the environment.Photo: Otto Tracy of USA during Para Archery Women's Individual W1 Round of Sixteen on day 3 of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games with fiancé Rick (CREDIT: Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
What this episode covers
***This episode contains discussions and references to extreme violence, sexual violence and domestic abuse. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org***Tracy Otto's life was changed forever one night in 2019. Back then she was a student at the University of Tampa and an aspiring fitness model. An unprovoked attack by her ex-boyfriend left her with horrific injuries - she was paralyzed from the chest down with limited use of her arms and hands, and the loss of her left eye. It was the sport of archery that helped Tracy get her life back on track. She tells us her story and about a magical Paris experience. Team GB's cyclist Neah Evans spilled the beans on the behind-the-scenes secrets of the Games. The things only athletes would know about! From life in the Olympic village to what goes on at the Opening Ceremony or rather doesn't! When Jack Eyers had his right leg amputated at just 16 years old, he never expected it would open up a world of opportunity that has taken him from film sets to catwalks and now to the Paralympic podium in Paris. The British Para-canoer told me about how his amputation has given him the chance to challenge stereotypes. In Paris, 12 years after he was a performer at the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, he claimed Paralympic silver in the men’s Para-canoe.US women’s scrum half Alena Olsen on channelling the heart break of missing out on the Tokyo Games, by putting in everything she can into making the Paris Olympics, as part of the US Women’s Sevens squad. She's been telling Sportshour's Caroline Barker that despite being a part of the bronze medal winning World Cup team in 2022, she knows her Olympic dreams still hang in the balance. A passionate environmentalist, Alena is a member of EcoAthlets (www.ecoathletes.org) a collaboration of likeminded sports stars determined to do what they can for the environment.Photo: Otto Tracy of USA during Para Archery Women's Individual W1 Round of Sixteen on day 3 of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games with fiancé Rick (CREDIT: Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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From Paris with love
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