Multiple sclerosis tried to bench her. Karen Smith won gold instead
From Audacious with Chion Wolf by Connecticut Public Radio
March 6, 2026 · 49 min · Season 1 · Episode 244
About this episode
Karen Smith shares her journey of overcoming multiple sclerosis to excel in adaptive sports and promote inclusion.
At 74, Karen Smith is still chasing the feeling she fell in love with as a kid: the freedom and aliveness of playing sports. After years of sudden pain and uncertainty, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis - news that could have ended her life in athletics. Instead, adaptive equipment helped her keep skiing, and it reshaped how she carried the diagnosis. Through the Gaylord Sports Association, she helped expand a program now offering 17 adaptive sports, and she became a gold medal-winning goalie on Team USA’s women’s sled hockey team. At Choate Ice Rink, she and veteran player Anthony Kuntz introduce Chion to sled hockey, and to Karen’s fierce belief in inclusion and the “dignity of risk.” Suggested episodes: A marathon swimmer and ultrarunner: surviving cancer, breaking records Revealing Our Blind Spots About Blindness GUESTS: Karen Smith: Team manager of the Gaylord Wolfpack sled hockey team and a longtime leader in Connecticut’s adaptive sports community. In her early 60s, she earned the starting goalie position on Team USA’s Women’s Sled Hockey squad at the first IPC Ice Sledge Hockey…
People in this episode
Host: Chion Wolf
Guests: Karen Smith, Anthony Kuntz
Topics covered
- adaptive sports
- multiple sclerosis
- inclusion
- sled hockey
- athletics
- personal resilience
Keywords
- multiple sclerosis
- adaptive sports
- sled hockey
- inclusion
- gold medal
- Team USA
- Karen Smith
- Anthony Kuntz
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gaylord Sports Association, Team USA, Gaylord Wolfpack
Places: Connecticut, Choate Ice Rink
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