I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast · SandyBoy Productions

Episode 662: Amanda McGrory: Four-Time Paralympian on Building Visibility in the Sport and Saying Yes to What is Next

·1 hr 25 min·5 clips

London became a turning point after a rival glued herself to McGrory’s back wheel in the 5,000 meters.

1. I'll Have Another with Lindsey Hein Podcast focuses on Amanda McGrory, a four-time Paralympian and wheelchair racer who now works in broadcasting. 2. Amanda McGrory and host Lindsey Hein discuss McGrory’s racing career, her analyst work, and why she matters as a visible figure in para sport. 3. The episode asks how McGrory went from a childhood wheelchair athlete to a major-marathon analyst and Team USA archivist. 4. McGrory says her first race happened at age 5 after spinal injury rehab, when a children’s hospital hosted the event and she wore a toddler helmet. 5. She did not know the Paralympics existed until Atlanta 1996, when her mother clipped a newspaper article about 14-year-old Leanne Shannon winning gold in the 100 meters. 6. McGrory says that article made her decide, at 10 years old, that she would become a Paralympian. 7. She explains that her spinal cord injury was caused by transverse myelitis, and that her sister Meg was about 9 months old when it happened. 8. McGrory says her parents took on the logistics of adaptive sport by finding programs, ordering equipment, and driving her to Philadelphia twice a week for practice. 9. She recalls rehab psychologists telling her parents to keep high standards, let her fail, and build independence through chores and responsibility. 10. McGrory says that advice shaped how she thinks about families raising children with disabilities. 11. She says she now speaks to schools and says yes to almost every request because representation matters for kids who use wheelchairs. 12. McGrory points to her own experience seeing adults with disabilities who drove, went to college, had jobs, and owned homes. 13. She says that seeing wheelchair users in public-facing jobs still matters because people with disabilities are unemployed at double the national rate. 14. McGrory explains that her training changed by event: track work, base building, winter rollers, and long pushes of 20-plus miles for marathons. 15. She says Illinois made hill training hard, so she used overpasses for repeats when preparing for Boston and New York. 16. McGrory gives specific speed ranges, saying marathon averages could be around 15.5 to 16.5 miles an hour, while downhill speeds can reach the mid-30s. 17. She describes wheelchair racing as an interview-style chess match where athletes attack from the start, coast, or climb depending on strengths. 18. Hein keeps the pace conversational and detailed, while McGrory answers with technical language, personal stories, and a lot of specific race examples. 19. Listeners interested in para athletics, adaptive sport, or marathon strategy. 20. Listeners wanting celebrity gossip or light small-talk interviews.

As heard by us

A sharp look at wheelchair-racing tactics, the 5,000 meters, and why Rio stands out for Amanda McGrory.

Wheelchair racing gets treated here as a chess match at speed. Amanda McGrory makes the 5,000 meters sound fast, hard, and unforgiving, and the discussion moves cleanly through Beijing, London, Rio, Tokyo, and Paris without losing the thread.

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Why you'd press play

For the listener who wants race strategy, Paralympic perspective, and a thoughtful, reflective listen.

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