Samantha Bosco

The Backstory:
Samantha Bosco was born with a bowed tibia in her right leg and as a young child had the lower part of her leg amputated. This never stopped her from being active and getting involved in sports though, she started biking at six years old and by nine she got her first mountain bike. She had aspirations to make it as a professional mountain biker, but she had a few more hoops to jump through before she made it. She had multiple other surgeries and recovery process that left her with struggling muscles and a caution towards cycling. In her mid-20s Bosco made it back on the back and in two years she rode all the way to her first Paracycling race. She earned a spot on her first Paralympic Team in 2016, taking home two bronze medals from Rio. Bosco has competed in multiple other races and continues earning her spot amongst the competitors.

Away from cycling:
Bosco is married to Andrew Bosco, who she enjoys playful competition with as he also cycles. She holds a marketing position for Angel City Sports, an organization committed to athletes with disabilities. This is one of the many way Bosco encourages young athletes, though she also shares her story with students to inspire them to chase their dreams.

In their own words:
“I love to joke that that’s my first true love – riding a bike.”

 “When I was younger and cycling was kind of taken away after all of the surgeries, I got my first real taste that maybe not all of my dreams were achievable. There was always that dream within grasp and not necessarily getting to achieve it, so for me Rio was the chance that I had to actually achieve a dream so that alone was something that I’ll truly treasure for the rest of my life.”

“It’s really helped me on a mental level – I’ve fallen in love even more with my bike because now it’s back to the basics,” she explained. “When I first started riding my bike there wasn’t any race to train for or anything else to do but to ride your bike and explore and have fun.”

“I feel like the biggest thing with all of the craziness of COVID and quarantine was it emphasized the importance of mental toughness. I feel like that has been what I’ve been working on the most and probably the biggest game changer as an athlete.”

Learn more:
Team USA Page
IPC Page
Team USA: “Paracyclist Faces Off With New Rival: Herself”
Paralympic Sports-Cycling: “USA’s Sam Bosco rekindles love for Para Cycling”
One Revolution: “Samantha Bosco”