‘Survivor’ Contestant Ryan Medrano Wins Silver Medal at 2024 Paralympics

Ryan Medrano, who was a contestant on Survivor 43 in 2022, won a silver medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in the men’s 100-meter T38 final.

For those unfamiliar, the T38 is disability sport classification for athletes with cerebral palsy, including people who have coordination impairments such as hypertonia, ataxia, and athetosis. Events for this class also include 400 meters, 1,500 meters, and the long jump.

Medrano, who has mild cerebral palsy, set a personal best with a finishing time of 10.97 in the men’s 100-meter T38 final. He finished second place behind fellow American Jaydin Blackwell, who achieved a world record at the event with 10.64.

After finishing ninth place on Survivor 43, Medrano was encouraged to compete in the Paralympics by his fellow castmate, Noelle Lambert, a Paralympian track runner.

Speaking to Texas Standard in a recent interview, Medrano, an El Paso native, said, “I never really knew about the parasports and Paralympic world until I aired on Survivor with Noelle Lambert.”

Ryan Medrano and Noelle Lambert during the announcement ceremony for the 2024 U.S. Paralympic Track & Field Team; Andy Lyons/Getty Images

“She pulled me aside after we were both voted off because we were voted off back to back, and she had stated, ‘Hey … you can run the Paralympics. She opened that door for me, and she allowed me to get that information to make this journey possible. Without that, I would have just been a Survivor guy, not a Paralympian,” he added.

The reality star, who received a cash prize from pop star and Survivor superfan Sia after his season, also told the outlet, “I didn’t walk until I was 4, with mild cerebral palsy from being born three months early. I had fluid on the cerebellum of my brain; this affected my white matter and my brain’s function, both neurologically and with my cognitive function.”

Noelle Lambert and Ryan Medrano on Survivor; Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images

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“I was bullied a lot, but I reverted to being good at sports and pushing myself as hard as I could to be the best version of myself,” he added. “Luckily, I had loving parents and a plethora of siblings to really push me and make me be my best.”

Lambert, who lost her left leg following a moped accident in 2016, previously competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, where she placed sixth in the 100-meter T63 with a time of 15.97, setting a new American record. She will compete again at this year’s games in the long jump event on September 5 and the 100-meter sprint on September 7.

The 2024 Paris Paralympics are currently airing through September 8.

Survivor 47, Premieres, Wednesday, September 18, 8 pm ET/PT, CBS