Giacomo Bertagnolli is undoubtedly one of the greatest Para alpine skiers of all time, skiings down the mountain at rapid speed with just 5% vision.

After winning 4 medals at PyeongChang 2018 and another 4 medals at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games, he arrives for the Milano Cortina 2026 with a new bold ambition: 5 gold medals across 5 core events. As one of the faces of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, the spotlight is on — and Giacomo knows it…

But Giacomo isn't just chasing medals. He is hoping to see his country change through hosting the Paralympic Winter Games for the second time. To see a new generation of disabled kids taking up Para sport, to see attitudes change, to see a meaningful legacy for disabled people across Italy.

Giacomo joins Matt from his home in northern Italy, just hours from Milano Cortina, in the final stages of his preparations. He talks to Matt the importance of his guide, what it takes to perform under pressure, his hopes for the Games, his dreams beyond Milano Cortina 2026 and much more.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sydney Peterson spent 6 years knowing something didn’t feel quite right, but without a full understanding of why. At the age of 19 she was diagnosed with dystonia, which changed her life.

Incredibly, soon after, Sydney shocked the world at the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games by winning multiple medals, marking a breakout moment early in her Paralympic career.

But Sydney is not just a great athlete. While training and preparing for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Sydney is also working in a neuroscience lab in Utah, studying for a PhD. Balancing her training with life in the lab has been no easy feat.

Joining us from Soldier Hollow — one of the venues set to host the Utah 2034 Paralympic Winter Games — she talks to Matt about how she balances elite sport with her work and studies, what it takes to compete at the highest level, and what she’s most looking forward to as she enters the final weeks leading up to the Games.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest has built her life around two anchors: sport and music. And she’s used both to keep moving forward.

Mia Larsen Sveberg is a young, female wheelchair curler – a sport dominated by older men and defined by precision and nerve. No sweeping, no corrections. If you miss your line or your weight, that’s it. But Mia’s story starts long before the ice.

Raised in Norway by a father with a hearing impairment, sign language was her first language — and disability rights were part of everyday life. At ten, she joined her dad at protests in Oslo.

In this episode, Matt Stutzman talks with Mia about losing control of her body as a teenager, finding her way back through music and discovering wheelchair curling during lockdown — then rising fast from taking up wheelchair curling to joining the national team and then arriving at the Paralympic stage in Beijing in 2022.

We also get into the tactics of the game, competing in a mixed category and what it takes — mentally and physically — as she prepares for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest says he is enjoying his “second chance at life” — and he’s determined to use every second of it.

Jack Wallace is a two-time Paralympic gold medallist in Para ice hockey — one of the fastest, most physical winter sports in the world. Full contact. Played on sleds. Pucks flying at blistering speeds. At the age of 10, a boating accident led to the loss of his right leg, a moment that didn’t end his sporting dream — it redirected it.

Now, as he builds toward the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games, Jack is hoping to win a third Paralympic gold in a row, after the US team won at both Pyeongchang 2018 and Beijing 2022. But this episode isn’t just about medals. It’s about trajectory — how an athlete rebuilds physically and mentally, how standards rise as the stage gets bigger and what preparation really looks like when you’re chasing the top of the podium again.

We catch up with Jack deep in training mode, focused on the final phase of preparation and what it takes to keep raising the ceiling.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s guest is helping shape what these Games leave behind — and he’s doing it from both sides of the arena.

Andrea Macrì is a four-time Paralympian, the assistant captain of Italy’s Para ice hockey team, and the Legacy Integration Manager for the Organising Committee for Milano Cortina 2026. His focus isn’t just his performance and a dream of a first medal — it’s what happens after the closing ceremony and the legacies on offer for disabled people across Italy from hosting the Games.

Andrea takes us back to the moment everything changed: a school accident at 17 that left him with a spinal cord injury and spending months in hospital. What pulled him forward was “sport rehabilitation” — which led to a career as a Paralympian.

In conversation with Matt Stutzman, Andrea explains what legacy really means: not just ramps and infrastructure, but changing attitudes — and building a country where people with disabilities can try sport without barriers. He also talks about the reality of Para ice hockey in Italy — a small player base, limited ice time, huge ambition — and why the home Games are a once-in-a-generation chance to grow the sport for good.

We catch up with Andrea as he prepares for Milano Cortina 2026, both on and off the rink.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From his garage in Iowa, Paralympic gold medallist and “Armless Archer” Matt Stutzman has open, unguarded conversations with some of the Paralympic Winter Games’ most remarkable athletes and ambassadors — one athlete to another — about what it really takes to get to the Games.

As the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games approach, Paralympic gold medallist Matt Stutzman returns for a second series of What Does It Take? Matt sits down with Paralympic winter athletes and Milano Cortina 2026 ambassadors to hear first-hand what it takes to do what they do and their hopes and aspirations for Milano Cortina 2026, taking place on the 50 year anniversary of the Paralympic Winter Games.

This is a chance for listeners to get to know the elite athletes going for the medals, to invest in their journeys, and to understand what it really takes to be an elite athlete, all whilst capturing the excitement and spirit of the Paralympic Winter Games. By getting to know these athletes, the series offers a rare look at the people behind the performances and their journeys to the world stage.

Produced by the creators of the Emmy Award-winning Rising Phoenix, in official partnership with Milano Cortina 2026 and supported by Procter & Gamble, a worldwide Paralympic partner.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

Host: Matt Stutzman

Producers: Calum Campbell and Vanessa Wheeler

Video Editor: Nic Woinilowicz

Audio Post Production: String and Tins

Sound Editor: Culum Simpson

Remote Recording Engineer: George Hinson

Audio Producer: Esi Jonuzi

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Barnaby Spurrier

The podcast’s soundtrack is titled “Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

For more from Rising Phoenix, follow on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok or visit risingphoenix.global

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Star Paralympian and Angel City Sports co-founder, Ezra Frech, sat down for a special live show bonus episode in Paris with Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and legendary Olympian Michael Johnson. This week, both Ezra and Matt won their first gold medals at the Paralympic Games. They reflect on their experiences and describe how it feels to join the “gold medalist" club alongside Michael.

Looking to the future, Michael emphasises the power of storytelling in building awareness and promoting Paralympians to new audiences as Ezra and Matt look forward to the potential impact from what comes next, a Summer Paralympics in their home country.

In Rising Phoenix: What Does It Take? Matt and Michael explore the hard work, drive, dedication and sacrifice required to become an elite Paralympian.

Brought to you by the creators of Emmy Award winning Rising Phoenix. Supported by global partner Procter & Gamble - the makers of Oral-B, Pampers and Tide.

“Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman. Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

This is a Harder Than You Think production.

You can watch the video version of this episode on the Rising Phoenix Youtube channel here.

Hosts: Michael Johnson and Matt Stutzman

Producer: Calum Campbell and Barnaby Spurrier

Editor: Dennis Mabry

Additional Video Production: Nic Woinilowicz

Executive Producer: Greg Nugent

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty eight years on from representing France at the Atlanta Paralympics, Ludivine Munos (nee Loiseau) is giving her all to ensure the first Paralympics ever to take place in her country is a huge success.

One of France’s most decorated Paralympic athletes, Ludivine is bringing the skill and determination she displayed in the pool to her role as a senior member of the Paris 2024 Organising Committee. She talks to Matt “The Armless Archer” Stutzman and Olympic legend Michael Johnson about the work that goes into delivering a Paralympic Games, even providing tips for the LA 2028 Organising Committee.

Ludivine and Matt speak powerfully about the importance of the Paralympic Movement and their twin desire to promote it in all that they do.

In Rising Phoenix: What Does It Take? Matt and Michael explore the hard work, drive, dedication and sacrifice required to become an elite Paralympian. Paralympic swimming legend and Paris 2024 Integration Manager, Ludivine Munos joins the pair for the final episode.

Brought to you by the creators of Emmy Award winning Rising Phoenix. Supported by global partners Procter & Gamble - the makers of Oral-B, Pampers and Gillette Venus - and adidas.

“Rising Phoenix” - Written by Daniel Pemberton, Keith Jones, Toni Hickman and George Doman

Performed by Daniel Pemberton, Toni Hickman, georgetragic, and Keith Jones. Published by Alika’s Publishing, Doman Development, Moncur Street Music Limited, administered by peermusic (UK) Ltd.

You can watch the video version of this episode on the Rising Phoenix Youtube channel here

This is a Persephonica production in partnership with Harder Than You Think.

Hosts: Michael Johnson and Matt Stutzman

Producers: Marilyn Rust and Calum Campbell

Director of video: Oliver Geraghty

Video production: Dan Pape

Executive Producers: Greg Nugent and Ellie Clifford

Archive: Paris 2024, Daily Motion, IPC, France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine - Championnat de France de natation handisport de Limoges

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.