EXCLUSIVE: “Treat Paralympics Sport the Same as Olympic Sport” – Nick Mayhugh Dishes Out Honest Message

Imagine being 14, living a normal teenage life, and suddenly experiencing a grand mal seizure. MRI reveals a “dead spot” in his brain, revealing that he had suffered a stroke in utero, which caused his cerebral palsy. But you do not give up. You play soccer and be a part of two Big South Championship-winning teams. Then transition to track and field. Gold in 100m T37? Claimed. Gold in 200m T37? Claimed. How about 400m T37? A silver. And the 4x100m Universal Relay? Gold again, that too, setting a WR. Yes, that’s Nick Mayhugh. And it does not stop there…

Mayhugh is not your average gold medalist; he takes the gold and the world record: 10.95 in the 100m, also the first T37 Paralympian to ever break the 11-second mark. 21.91 in the 200, also the first T37 Paralympian in history to break the 22-second mark, and 45.52 seconds in the relay. The silver in the 400m T37 also does not come alone. The 50.26s he clocked is also an American record. But these records often go unnoticed, as the media and public focus on able-bodied athletes. This has to change, and Mayhugh has joined EssentiallySports in an exclusive interview to talk about how. It starts with treating them as equals.

“But at the end of the day, disabled people don’t want to be treated any differently. We don’t want to be treated any less. We’re all humans,” The Paralympian confessed in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports. He thinks that, “It’s just very important to understand that you can treat the Paralympic sport the same as the Olympic sport, the same as rugby, football, American football, soccer, anything that you support, you can treat it the same.” And well, the Paralympics are just as interesting as the Olympics. Or dare me say, it’s rather more.

Picture this: A person has lost their arms and legs to meningitis. Now what do they do? Never give up and win gold in Rio in 2016 and Tokyo in 2020, followed by two bronze medals at the Paris 2024, that’s Italian Paralympic fencer, Beatrice “Bebe” Vio. The curiosity of how is enough to bring you to the games. Mayhugh added, “You’re allowed to be a fan of somebody and boo another person. You can boo him even if he has one leg, two legs, is in a wheelchair, or looks like me, you know, and that’s my way of trying to show people that it’s okay to laugh.” Then, he also mentioned Hunter Woodhall.

The 100m T37 World record holder said, “You know, the videos I post of, you know, my friend Hunter Woodhall who’s a double leg amputee and, you know, all the funny videos I do with him and his legs and taking his legs and doing certain things and I want people to know that it’s okay to laugh because it’s the way that, you know, we all deal with things in our life.” The two of them are great friends, and that is often seen on their social media.

In one of their TikTok videos, Mayhugh jokingly tried to make off with Hunter’s prosthetic legs, turning their unique situation into a moment of laughter and fun.

He gave the message that it’s healthy to laugh about things, and as long as people are laughing “with” disabled athletes and not “at” them, it helps create a sense of fun, support, and normality, where cheering, booing, and showing emotions are all part of treating them like any other athletes. “That’s all we want at the end of the day is just more support for the Paralympic, and if you laugh and somebody’s leg falls off, it’s okay to laugh. That’s funny. We think it’s funny too,” he mentioned.

There’s no doubt that the 200, T37 world record holder has been one of the best voices for the Paralympics.

Nick Mayhugh’s fight for the Paralympics

If you go and check the Paralympian’s X account, you will find a tweet pinned on his profile calling out ESPN. Nick Mayhugh wrote, “YALL WONDER WHY NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE PARALYMPICS IS. THE ANSWER IS CLEAR From July 26 to Aug 11 @espn posted 439 times JUST on @instagram about anything Olympic related From August 28 to today @espn has posted 3 times about anything related to the Paralympics Be better @espn.” The man had called out one of the biggest broadcasting giants because they chose to ignore the Paralympics. Talk about taking a stand!

Besides that, Mayhugh has also taken the mantle of educating children about the Paralympics. Why?

Because he didn’t even know the Paralympics existed until he was 22, something his parents later apologized for. But he says it’s not really their fault. For him, it’s a reflection of how little society knows or teaches about the Paralympics and what people with disabilities can achieve. All that gold he has, for him, it’s not about the medals; they won’t last forever.

What really matters is the impact he leaves on his community, and that’s what he hopes people will remember. “And I hope that there’s not another kid that has to live 22 years of their life not knowing that there was a community that they could be accepted in, that they could excel in, and they could be celebrated within and just be themselves and just be happy, you know, competing,” he reflected. A dream as noble as his intentions…