Samantha Bosco has spent years honing her skills for success on and off the place where she feels most at home: her bike.
The two-time Paralympic medalist in paracycling is competing in her second Paralympic Games after winning bronze medals in the C5 classification of the women’s individual road time trial and in the women’s individual pursuit on the track at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. (A C5 classification refers to athletes who ride a standard bicycle and have amputations, limited muscle power or range of motion, or impairments affecting coordination.)
Bosco, who missed the 2020 Tokyo Games due to a head injury, is back for the 2024 Paris Paralympics. On August 30, she came in fourth in the women’s individual pursuit final. (She didn’t qualify for the women’s time trial.)
The Alaska native (who now resides in California) was born with a posteromedial bow of the right tibia and a calcaneal valgus right foot.
“My first surgery at age four was to take out the bow in my tibia—my right foot kind of corrected itself, but I was two-and-a-half inches shorter on that side,” Bosco told Well+Good from the Paralympic Athlete Village in Paris. “I tried to use a shoe lift initially, but I didn’t like it, so I adjusted on my own. I played softball, did gymnastics… and then I got on a bike, riding to and from school, and I loved it.”
Bosco rode the six miles to and from school in Alaska at age six nearly every day, and she even joined a youth cycling club.
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“At 9 years old, I dreamt of being a professional mountain biker because I loved biking so much,” Bosco says.
At 11, an additional surgery with the intent of lengthening her right leg didn’t go as planned, and Bosco sustained permanent leg damage and had to use crutches to walk for the next three years.
“It didn’t feel like I was going to [the Paralympics] until I put my feet on the ground in Paris in the Athlete Village. That was when I took a big breath and realized I finally made it, as did everybody else that has supported me, whether or not they’re here in person.” —Samantha Bosco
After spending years competitively rowing—which was less hard on her “bone-on-bone” ankle—Bosco was forced to retire due to leg pain. But this wasn’t the end of her athletic journey. In fact, it was just the beginning.
Bosco returned to her first love: the bike. She initially raced in nondisabled cycling competitions for two years at an elite level before switching to paracycling, and was selected for her first Paralympics in 2016 where she would win two bronze medals.
Bosco prepared for her second time at the Paralympics with deep gratitude for the people who have supported her on her journey.
“It didn’t feel like I was going to [the Paralympics] until I put my feet on the ground in Paris in the Athlete Village,” Bosco says. “That was when I took a big breath and realized I finally made it, as did everybody else that has supported me, whether or not they’re here in person.”
Over her years in sport, Bosco has trained her mind as much as she has her body, and three key lessons have emerged that have set the tone for how she approaches her training.
1. Good and bad happen together
Bosco says the idea that situations and stretches of time can include both good and bad aspects has carried her through the last few years of her life and will hopefully continue to carry her through the rest of her life.
“Life is not black and white,” Bosco says. “There can be good things happening while bad things are happening. Fracturing my skull and missing the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics were very bad things, but I learned so much from [my head injury] that has made me a better person, and I got to go on coffee walks with my husband and spend more time with my family.”
Bosco acknowledges that fully embracing this mindset is a process, and “sometimes, life just sucks,” but that she always looks for the “glimmers.”
“My husband and I call the tiny good parts of any day ‘glimmers,’” Bosco says. “For example, I just traded a Team USA Paralympics pin for a Malta pin, and the Malta athlete told me their pins are very rare because Malta only has two athletes competing at the Paralympics. That’s a glimmer.”
2. Know where to put your energy
Whether you’re an elite Paralympic athlete or a busy corporate professional, it can be easy to spread yourself too thin across life’s many responsibilities.
Bosco says knowing her energy is finite has helped her hone in on what really matters and who she wants to surround herself with.
“I like to say, ‘Bring your people with you,’” Bosco says. “My parents are coming to Paris for the Games, and it’s their first-ever international trip, and that will make it all the sweeter. Building the right team and giving your energy to people who will support you makes life better.”
“Life is way too short to worry about so many things. At the end of the day, some things truly do not matter.” —Samantha Bosco
Additionally, Bosco stays away from social media when she isn’t “feeling it.”
“I think it’s great to only post when you want to post,” Bosco says. “It’s important to not feel obligated to post [if you don’t want to give it your energy].”
Bosco relies on her team of coaches, family members, and friends to support her big goals and to remind her that she is more than any medal or Paralympic Games.
In return, Bosco invests her energy back into her team by listening to them, being open to feedback, and sharing gratitude for their support.
3. Cut yourself slack
In a profession as intense as being an elite athlete, it’s important to cut yourself some slack every now and then, Bosco says.
“Life is way too short to worry about so many things,” Bosco says. “At the end of the day, some things truly do not matter, like appearances.”
Bosco cautions against depriving yourself of joy for the sake of trying to achieve a superficial result (like physical appearance). She prioritizes seeking out joy, whether it be ice cream or time spent with family and friends, because she knows that by filling her proverbial cup, her mental health will benefit, allowing her to perform at her best when it matters.
