Natalie Schneider Is Helping the World See Para-Athletes as Athletes First
I get to have this huge platform where I can reach out to kids, kids with disabilities especially, [...] and say, ‘Look at everything you can do. There’s so much you can do with your life.
Not only is she a woman remaking sports, Natalie Schneider is the epitome of defying the odds and rising above whatever challenges life throws her way. As a teenager who loved playing basketball, Schneider received a devastating cancer diagnosis. But she didn’t let that end her athletic ambitions. By the time she was graduating college from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, she’d discovered wheelchair basketball—and only a year later, made the U.S. women’s national team.
After three medals, seven National Championships and two Parapan American Games, she’s the true embodiment of resilience and skill. Listen to Schneider’s incredible journey in episode seven of About Time, the podcast featuring women who are remaking sports. She talks about it all, from the impact of the para-sports community, what it’s like to be an elite athlete while also being a mother (and coach) to her daughters, and what retirement means to her.
If there’s one thing you’ll walk away with, Schneider wants it to be this: “Para-athletes are just as intense and athletic as able-bodied athletes. We’re training just as hard and for as many hours. We want to be seen as athletes first.” It’s about time.
