Epi. 133-Rising Above, Setting Records With Nate Riech

The Terminal Mile

There is no one, not even the most reckless of gamblers, in the world that would’ve put money on Nate Riech to be a world record holder. Never mind the near impossible odds we face between the numbers games and nature and nurture of it all, Nate was never supposed to be able to compete again after a golf accident left half of his body paralysed at a young age. With determination and grit, paired with time, rehab and therapy, Nate got to a point where he could compete with able bodied athletes and not only hold his own, but excel. Since leaving school, Nate has gone on to declare, and compete within the T38 category, a para category for motor impairment, cerebral palsy and traumatic brain injury, and has gone on to show just how capable he is, capturing the 800m and 1500m records in that classification. Now in 2019, Nate has improved on both of those records with strong openers 3:57.84 and 1:53.87 respectively, and is showing a lot of promise as well work our way through the season. Nate joins us to chat about para awareness, training, how he went from a situation that didn’t hold much hope, to becoming a world record holder.