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Medrano earned a silver medal in a 100-meter race after this interview with Texas Standard. The “Survivor” alum is competing in two more events.
The full transcript of this episode of Texas Standard is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.
20240902_TS_EX_POD_MedranoParaylmpics.mp3
Kristen Cabrera [00:00:00] Hi, podcast listeners, this is Texas Standard producer and reporter Kristen Cabrera popping in with a Texas Extra extended and special content just for our wonderful podcast listeners. This week we interviewed Paralympian Ryan Medrano, and there was more to be said about Ryan’s path to track and how his time on survivor pointed him to Paris. We hope you enjoy this extended conversation. As always, you can stay in touch on social media or by visiting the contact Us page at Texas standard.org.
David Brown [00:00:35] It’s Texas standard. I’m David Brown. Events are underway at the 2024 Paralympic Games, and Texas once again is well-represented. Ryan Medrano is a Paralympic athlete and fitness trainer from El Paso. Paris will be his first Paralympics, but you might also recognize him from TV’s survivor. Medrano, castaway on an island in Fiji for the show’s 43rd season. Ryan, welcome to the Texas Standard and congratulations on qualifying for the Paralympic Games.
Ryan Medrano [00:01:02] Hello. Thank you so much. It’s wonderful being here and it’s been a wonderful journey getting to the Paralympic Games.
David Brown [00:01:08] Tell us about that journey. What was it like? I know for for listeners who may not have seen you on television, you have cerebral palsy, but, maybe you can tell us more about your journey to discovering yourself as an athlete.
Ryan Medrano [00:01:21] So as a kid, I didn’t want to ask for with the monetary policy from being born three months early, I thought on the cerebral, my brain, this affected my white matter and my brain’s, function, both neurologically and, with my cognitive function. This kind of made me a little bit of an outcast. I was bullied a lot, but I reverted to being good at sports and pushing myself as hard as I could to be the best version of myself. Luckily, I had loving parents and a plethora of siblings, to really push me and make me be my best. So, you know, growing up, I really gravitated towards wrestling and wrestling. The one on one sport allowed me to anticipate the movements of others and really push myself to be my best. But I never really knew about the para sports and Paralympic world until I aired on survivor with Noelle Lambert. She, pulled me aside after we both voted off because we’re voted off back to back. And she had stated, hey, you have match reporting, you can run the Paralympics. She opened that door for me, and she allowed me to get that information to make this journey possible. Without that, I, you know, would have just been a survivor guy, not a Paralympian anymore.
David Brown [00:02:32] Well, I got to tell you, congratulations on all of your accomplishments. And you got to wonder what those bullies are thinking right now. What does it mean? What does it mean to you to be among such an elite group of folks representing your country?
Ryan Medrano [00:02:45] It it’s been, mind bending in a in a way, it’s it’s it’s stupendous to go from like, like you said, being bullied to, being the top percent of athletes in the world. But it’s not only that gratitude you get from being able to represent your country, but it’s the community and the friendship you find within that community that allows you to really become one with yourself. At least for me. Because before the Paralympic or the para track and field world, I really didn’t know as much about my disability and I kind of, shied away from it, because it made me, when I was younger, bullied, and it made life a little bit harder. So I try to be as normal as possible, but by being part of this community and learning more about myself and learning more about others and learning that I’m not the only one, that’s like this moment when that feels pain or gets headaches or pushing to harder or experiences CP problems. It really is allowed me to accept more of myself and try to become a better version of myself. That’s something I wouldn’t have been able to get without experiencing this community and pushing myself to the absolute limit to be the best, you know? So it’s been, very developed. Self development has been fantastic. And honor and pride I have in representing and making, every person that believes in me I’ve ever said good luck. My parents like my mother just the other day. So, you know, I’m not surprised, but I am, I am proud, I think it’s I think it’s fantastic to be able to show them that, you know, their, their belief was, you know, well put.
David Brown [00:04:25] What an inspiring attitude you have. What events are you competing in during the Paralympics and what what sort of goals have you set for yourself here?
Ryan Medrano [00:04:33] So right now I already have the start rates for the 100 and 400 meter. I have asked and requested the start rates for the long jump because I didn’t lined up at nationals. Or I didn’t long jump at trials. I wanted to make sure that my body was ready for the 104 hundred, because it takes a lot out of me. Right now, I’m second in the world for the 400, and I have become faster in my 100. I was .07 off from third place, and Japan, and I’ve gotten more than that faster, so I’m taking more off. Oh. So, I’m really looking to pull out all the stops. And at least second at most first. You know, you always want to go for the goal. We’re already here. There’s no point in going, oh, yeah, I might old, put a medal. I just want to try to get the gold one.
David Brown [00:05:22] Yeah, go for it. Go for the number one. Hey, what? What’s your training routine like now?
Ryan Medrano [00:05:27] My training box usually look like a Monday, Wednesday, Friday. Hard days. I work out at the track and then I work out at the gym. To superset. What this does is stimulate the neurons in your brain to be explosive for sprints. I’ve always been strong. But strength doesn’t equal, you know, power and speed. You have to trains like that in your brain. So being able to do sprints and then a gym workout with Olympic lifts and structural, functionality with, you know, being able to balance and have core, experience that really allows you to be functional on the track. And then my off days or my functional off days are going to be Tuesday and Saturday. I do a circuit, which consists of several workouts that mimic kind of a sprinting form but allows me to work arms, legs, arms, legs, and a circuit manner to increase my conditioning.
David Brown [00:06:18] I’m sort of curious. You. You’re so inspiring with the way that you talk about how you’re going for the gold here. Do you have personal inspirations, role models, that sort of thing you may be watching?
Ryan Medrano [00:06:30] So my personal inspirations are actually not in track and field. I would have to relate those back to my parents. I am impressed by Olympic athletes. They do fantastic. I love watching them. It is like you said, inspirational. But my personal inspiration would be my mom and dad. My my like, like I said before, my dad is a war hero. He came from the Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, to fight for our country. And in Operation Iraqi Freedom was awarded, Bronze Star valor, for an outstanding performance and, you know, bravery in the war. But my mom also was a stroke survivor. She was part of a class action lawsuit, of women that, experienced strokes from taking a birth control. And with that, when I was around 11 years old, she had a stroke that took out two thirds of her brain. She was never supposed to walk, talk, eat on her own. But yet this woman does a market every Sunday with all the art that she paints. She runs marathons. She does cycling without the use of her left side. She doesn’t feel her left side. She can’t see left. But yet she does not let that stop her. And it was as a, as a child that grew up with traumatic brain injury or my mind’s you. It really connected me with my mother while she was going through that recovery process, and it helped her to have somebody there for her. And I really enjoyed being that person for her. And it it made our connection stronger. So having those parents that really have gone above and beyond, to have that for life and give me a life that I could be proud of and teach me, you know, to really give my all is my motivation. It’s that hand on my back pushing me forward, to become better and and show them, you know, every step, every, every little bit that I through as a kid was worth it. And they’ve believed in me more than I believed in myself.
David Brown [00:08:25] Ryan, I one of the reasons I ask that question is because I can’t help but think others are going to be watching you, and will be inspired by your performance in Paris. How what sort of advice might you give to young athletes, especially those with disabilities, perhaps, who, aspire to compete at these championship levels?
Ryan Medrano [00:08:47] So that’s a wonderful question. I’ve actually gotten a lot of feedback from athletes that have helped, because I like to give tips and things at the track. If anybody seemed interested, I asked them, hey, you want to learn something? And I’ve had several of my athletes come and message me. Congratulations, you’re inspiring. And it’s them reaching out and the fact that I’ve inspired them, that kind of warms my heart in a way. Not to be cheesy, but it really does put a smile on my face when somebody not only athletic, but I have parents that have children with cerebral palsy that have been diagnosed. I recently had, somebody messaged me on Instagram. I think their son’s name was Clayton and he’s four years old, started walking just a few months ago, and I said that was just like me. I started walking at four, and it’s the hope that I give that like that. People might not have had that see my story and go, okay, it’s not the end of the world. We have something to work towards, even if it’s not quite that level. It’s not, you know, we can’t just give up. We got to keep pushing and it’s that you got to keep pushing. There’s always another day, there’s always another step to take. And it’s not giving up on yourself and surrounding yourself with people that are going to hold you accountable. Because some days I’m going to be honest with you. You don’t want to do it. You it’s it’s yeah, it’s either a mental or physical block. And, and you got to really have a support group, whether it’s a mantra you tell yourself or somebody that really is honest with you saying, hey, you have goals, you need to go get it, that you need to set up for yourself. Because we are human and we we have errors. But, you know, it’s it’s keeping that environment as positive as possible and as, as easy as it is to say, no, make it that much easier to say yes, to go train, to go push yourself to be that best version of yourself so you can look back and have no regrets, and you can be proud of everything that you’ve done.
David Brown [00:10:40] Ryan Medrano is a Paralympic runner and jumper for team USA 2024. He lives in El Paso, but he’s in Paris for the Paralympics. You can watch him compete in the 100 meter and 400 meter events. Ryan, thanks so much for joining us on the standard. Will, I’ll be cheering you on.
Ryan Medrano [00:10:55] Thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure.
This transcript was transcribed by AI, and lightly edited by a human. Accuracy may vary. This text may be revised in the future.
