Nate Riech

Started: He began running at age 10 in Chandler, AZ, United States of America. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) Reason: He comes from a sporting family and was determined to follow in their footsteps. His mother had told him about Para sports soon after his accident, but to begin with he wanted to compete in non-Para athletics. He received an International Paralympic Committee [IPC] classification in 2018. "After my injury I was not allowed to play the sports that I grew up loving so I switched to the only sport that seemed interesting to me. Also my parents were both international track and field athletes. The running started off as therapy, then turned into one of my passions." (Athlete, 11 Nov 2019; nationalpost.com, 06 Jul 2018) Ambition: To win gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Facebook profile, 02 Oct 2023) Awards: He received the Best Paralympic Debut by a Male Athlete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games award from the Canadian Paralympic Committee. (Canadian Paralympic Team YouTube channel, 30 Aug 2023) He received the Arnold Boldt Award for Para Athlete of the Year in Ambulatory Events for both 2018 and 2019 from Athletics Canada. (insidethegames.biz, 13 Jun 2020; Athletics Canada Twitter profile, 11 Jun 2020; sirc.ca, 03 Jul 2019) Additional Info: FAMILY INFLUENCE Growing up in a family of elite athletes, he aspired to compete at the highest level from a young age. "Every morning, [my family] would wake up early and train. That was something that they really instilled in me. It was always so much fun. We had speed ladder competitions, we had wind sprints down the street to see who was the fastest in the family. There wasn't a night growing up that I didn't dream about it [competing at the Paralympic Games]. They taught me how to be a professional athlete since I was around seven. It's one thing telling you what you have to do, but they actually showed me. I was like, 'Oh my goodness, they're not just talking the talk. They're actually walking the walk and they don't really have to talk the talk because I see that every day'. Growing up, there was always my mum because she won her Olympic trials in pole vault after having me. She asked me, 'What are your goals? What do you want to accomplish?' And I told her, 'I want to be an Olympian or a Paralympian and I want to be the best in the world'." (paralympic.org, 14 Apr 2023) MOVE BACK HOME Following the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo he moved back to Alpharetta, GA, United States of America, where he grew up. "Leading up to the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, I went to Chula Vista, California, the former US Olympic training centre. My support team in California and Canada was a major contributor to my success, but I missed having my family involved in my career. We were living across the country from one another. As many athletes know, the time outside of competition season is just as important to training as the months immersed in major competitions. I committed to spending time back home. I decided to move back to where I grew up, Alpharetta, Georgia. After the move, the training was as hard as ever, but I felt re-energised and excited for those early morning workouts again. Having my brother Max and my partner Cherie alongside me for some of the more challenging training sessions gave me extra incentive and support in my new home. This probably wasn't what most people would consider a 'play hard' adjustment to my lifestyle, but it was the perfect balance of work and play that I needed." (cbc.ca, 31 Jul 2022) DUAL CITIZENSHIP He has both US and Canadian citizenship. He says he chose to represent Canada because of all the time his Canadian mother spent with him in treatment sessions. "My mum grew up in Canada, and competed for Canada. Growing up, especially after my accident, my mum and I spent so much time together and she sacrificed so much for me at my young age. She had made sacrifices that probably weren't the best for her training for herself as an athlete." (torontoobserver.ca, 12 May 2020; nationalpost.com, 06 Jul 2018) PODCAST He has hosted the 'Strides with GrayWolf' podcast, which focuses on high-performance sport. "My motivation for creating this podcast was to create a space for high performers in all fields to share their knowledge, in the hopes that their stories would resonate with listeners. Most of the conversations are about adversity, passion, and everything else that goes into high performance, as well as hearing the story behind the athlete." (strideswithgraywolf.wordpress.com, 26 Feb 2021)

Sporting Relatives: His mother Ardin Tucker competed in pole vault at national level in Canada. His father Todd Riech competed in javelin for the United States of America at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. His step-father Ben Tucker was a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants baseball team. His grandfather Jim Harrison played ice hockey for Toronto, Boston, Edmonton and Chicago in the NHL. His grandmother Liz Harrison competed in equestrian for Canada. His uncle Trevor Harrison played rugby union for Canada. His cousin Georganne Moline competed in the 400m hurdles for the United States of America at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. His step-mother Brittany Borman represented the United States of America in javelin at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. His younger brother Max Tucker has competed in decathlon at national level in Canada. (runningmagazine.ca, 13 Sep 2023; SportsDeskOnline, 15 Nov 2019; Athlete, 11 Nov 2019; nationalpost.com, 06 Jul 2018; olympic.org, 01 Jan 2018)