“Surviving” Sun and Snow

After competing on the hit CBS show “Survivor,” Noelle Lambert prepares for the Paralympics

BY CASEY McDERMOTT

It’s been a busy year for Noelle Lambert. Last spring, the 26-year-old Paralympian and Manchester resident spent several weeks in Fiji competing as the first above-the-knee amputee on the hit CBS reality show “Survivor.” While she was eventually voted off the island and missed out on the $1 million grand prize, she did make it into the final eight — and says she still feels like a winner. “The big reason I wanted to do the show to begin with was to portray a positive image for the amputee community and people with disabilities,” Lambert says. “To show people that we are capable of doing just about every single thing that anybody else can do.”

After appearing on the show, Lambert says she received an outpouring of support from other amputees and people with disabilities, along with their family members. “Even though I didn’t win, I still got the million-dollar experience of touching other people’s lives and having that positive impact on them,” she says.

Lambert’s had plenty of time to reflect on what her “Survivor” experience meant to her since landing back in New Hampshire, but she didn’t have much time to rest. Before going on “Survivor,” she says she made a deal with her track coach: If she did the show, she still had to be ready for the 2022 U.S. Paralympics Track and Field National Championships. After getting home from “Survivor,” she only had a week to train. “My body was mentally and physically exhausted,” she says. “And because I lost so much weight, my prosthetics weren’t fitting right.”

She explains that it was both a stressful and helpful time, finally able to take her mind off the reality show. In the months following, she continued to refocus on her training regimen while preparing for world championship competitions in both track and snowboarding — not to mention the 2024 Summer Paralympics.

Reflecting on her “Survivor” experience, she says it felt like a dream. She wasn’t allowed to share any details until after the season aired, and readjusting to life outside of the cutthroat environment on the island — where allegiances can be made and broken in an instant — also took her a bit of time. “You get out of the game and you feel like you can’t trust anyone,” Lambert says. “You’re always monitoring everybody’s facial reactions and body language.”

Despite the competition’s high stakes, Lambert says she remains close with her fellow season 43 castaways. And having grown up watching the show with her mom, who she calls “the biggest diehard ‘Survivor’ fan,” Lambert cherishes receiving a true behind-the-scenes look at the show. “I knew it was going to be very, very difficult for me to actually win ‘Survivor,’” she says. “So just getting to play — that was amazing.”

Join Us at the NH State Home Show

Come

Saturday, March 4 (10am to 6pm) and Sunday, March 5 (10am to 4pm)

Center of NH Expo

Downtown Doubletree Hotel 700 Elm Street, Manchester

Over 200 businesses in the construction trade. Daily seminars and product demos! go to: NHStateHomeShow.com to learn more, buy tickets and review our list of vendors.

Among those mourning the loss of Pat Delzell, a pillar of the Granite State’s theatrical community, is comedian and Bedford native Sarah Silverman. On her eponymous podcast, Silverman says Delzell helped raise her after her parents divorced, took her to auditions and “could teach anyone how to read.” She also credits Delzell with helping to spark her love of musical theater, and describes her longtime friend as “beautiful, wonderful and weird.”

Come

Come

Saturday, and Sunday, March 5

Come out the 56th Annual NH State Home Show

Saturday, March 4 (10am to 6pm) and Sunday, March 5 (10am to 4pm)

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In case you missed it: A Boston TV reporter went briefly viral after sharing an outtake that caught the attention of the Granite State. In the clip, Ellen Fleming of WWLP News notes the similarities between a piece of legislation in Massachusetts and a similar provision in “New Hampsha” — before quickly correcting herself. “Sometimes that Boston accent slips out when you least expect it,” she later tweeted, prompting a reply from Gov. Chris Sununu: “New Hampsha is just fine by us, @EllenFlem.”

Saturday, March 4 (10am to 6pm) and Sunday, March 5 (10am to 4pm)

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Center of NH Expo www.belletetes.com

Over 200 businesses on display featuring the Construction Trades, Made in New England products, Beer & Wine Garden, Antique Alley, daily seminars and more!

Center of NH Expo

Center of NH Expo

Downtown Doubletree Hotel

Downtown Doubletree Hotel

Downtown Doubletree Hotel

700 Elm Street, Manchester

700 Elm Street, Manchester

700 Elm Street, Manchester

Center

Over 200 businesses in the construction trade. Daily seminars and product demos! go to: NHStateHomeShow.com to learn more, buy tickets and review our list of vendors.

Over 200 businesses in the construction trade. Daily seminars and product demos! go to: NHStateHomeShow.com to learn more, buy tickets and review our list of vendors.

Over 200 businesses in the construction trade. Daily seminars and product demos! go to: NHStateHomeShow.com to learn more, buy tickets and review our list of vendors.

Presentedby:

Presentedby:

Presentedby:

MediaSponsors

Saturday, March 4 (10am to 6pm) and Sunday, March 5 (10am to 4pm) www.belletetes.com www.belletetes.com