U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation News

Championing the Next Chapter of Paralympic Sport in the United States

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by Jackson Ritthamel

There is a version of Team USA that lives in the imagination of most Americans: the Opening Ceremony, primetime broadcasts, household names. But for some, the full picture is bigger than that — and the athletes who complete it are, in many ways, the ones who make the picture whole.

Paralympic athletes have long existed in the margins of that picture.

Not because their sport is less demanding or their training less grueling, but because the spotlight has been slower to find them.

That's where Joanna Welsh and Emily Smith have stepped in.

 

Focusing on the Paralympic Movement 

Joanna and Emily channel their passion directly through the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation's Paralympic Fund. By supporting Team USA Paralympic athletes through this Fund, they are helping to close the gaps between where Para athletes are and where they deserve to be.

"The Paralympic 'message' that we want to share with the broader community is that if you watch (and support) enough Paralympic sport, it soon becomes just 'sport,'” Joanna says. “The focus shifts from classifications to enjoying the sporting moment, appreciating the physical effort and admiring the skill." 

For Joanna, it was equal parts timing and conviction. With Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon and the USOPC continuing serious investment in unifying athlete health and wellness, performance innovation and economic mobility under one Team USA umbrella, investing in the Paralympic Fund felt like the right place at the right moment. 

But it was never just about the Games on home soil. 

During her sports medicine volunteer rotation at the Colorado Springs clinic, Emily worked directly with Paralympic athletes, and what she heard changed her. It wasn't just the athletic challenges these competitors faced. It was the specificity of their needs. The nuance. The gaps. 

Getting involved with the Foundation gave Emily something her clinical work alone could not: scale.

"Conversations with the athletes really highlighted the highly specific and nuanced support that each individual requires," she says. "My interest in the Paralympic Fund stems from wanting to help 'fill those gaps' in support, particularly around equipment design, prosthetics innovation and managing pain."
The Dual-Citizen Perspective  

Joanna and Emily bring a perspective to this work that is uniquely their own: as dual British and American citizens, they have seen elite sport funded both ways. 

Growing up in Great Britain, they were accustomed to a system in which the government funds elite sport: training programs, development pathways, performance infrastructure. When they connected with the Foundation in 2021 and discovered that Team USA relies entirely on philanthropic donations, they paused. 

Not in doubt, but in fascination. 

"Far from being a disadvantage compared to other countries," Joanna says, "Team USA's funding structure can be a force multiplier. We are not at the sole mercy of government budgets; we can be ambitious, entrepreneurial and resourceful in ways that governments cannot." 

The two joined as trustees in 2021 and a few years later joined the Foundation's board of directors. 

 

The Magic of Milano Cortina 2026   

Milano Cortina 2026 became the most-watched Paralympic Winter Games in U.S. history — and for Joanna and Emily, it was something more personal than a ratings milestone. 

“Our time in Cortina was packed with unforgettable moments, both on and off the snow & ice,” Emily recalled. “Watching legends like Oksana Masters shine in para Nordic skiing, chatting with athletes while enjoying the gondola ride to watch para alpine skiing and sharing a celebratory beer with fellow trustees as the men’s sled hockey team won gold medals all confirmed this was the movement we wanted to keep building."  

At the Para banked slalom medal ceremony, they weren't watching from a distance. They were in it — close enough to share a fist bump with the medalists as they walked past. Kate Delson, Brenna Huckaby, Noah Elliott, Mike Schultz. Champions within arm's reach. 

While watching the competition unfold on course, they struck up a conversation with the person standing beside them and discovered it was Kate Delson's aunt. A spontaneous, human connection that only happens when the scale of an event is intimate enough to allow it. 

Just as they thought the trip couldn't get any better, the airport had one more surprise in store. On their way home, they ran into four-time gold medalist Jake Adicoff along with his guides Peter and Reid. As cross-country ski fanatics themselves, it was a perfect final note. A champion generous with his time, he showed off his hardware and offered summer cross-training tips before they parted ways. 

By the time they boarded their flight home, the smiles on Joanna and Emily's faces were permanent fixtures. 

 

LA 2028: A New Era  

After a strong showing at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games — with the U.S. finishing third in total medal count, collecting 36 gold, 42 silver and 27 bronze medals — the momentum for Para sport continues to grow. With all eyes turning toward Los Angeles 2028, Joanna and Emily are clear-eyed about what this moment represents. 

They want to see Team USA at the top of the medal table. But more than trophies or medal counts, they want something harder to quantify: a cultural shift. 

"Our current crop of Para athletes includes some of the most engaging, smart and articulate people you can meet in the sporting world," Joanna says. "Let them define how they want their sport to be explained, discussed and represented — and the rest will follow."  

The Games coming home is an opportunity unlike any other. A chance to introduce a new generation of American fans to a side of Team USA they may not yet know.  

Joanna and Emily intend to make sure they find it. 

For more information about the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Foundation, click here (or click to make a gift). To learn more about attending the Olympic or Paralympic Games with the USOPF, contact the team at gameshospitality@usopc.org.