Simidele (Simi) was the first African and black woman to compete in Skeleton at the Olympics, and more recently, the first African to take home gold at an international bobsled competition: “We don’t have the facilities [in Nigeria], and we don’t have the equipment, so to know that I was going into that space with a lot of barriers, and to know that I was still able to win was very symbolic. It showed me what was possible.” While Simi just missed qualifying for Beijing in the monobob, this Olympian (2018) was a voice we wanted to elevate because she’s breaking records and boundaries for her country of Nigeria and her new sport, monobob.

2016 Paralympic silver medalist, 2x World Champion, and 5x World medalist, Sophia Herzog is passionate about breaking stereotypes. She grew up in a small town of 450 people and was the first person with a disability to go to through her town’s high school, so she’s used to being the first.

Sue Bird is one of the most iconic athletes in the world: she’s been a professional athlete for 20 years, won 5 gold Olympic medals (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) and has become one of the most outspoken advocates for social change. Further, between her Olympic and FIBA World Cup medals, she holds the most medals of any basketball athlete in the world (male or female). She also holds 4 WNBA and 2 NCAA Championships.

In this episode, we focus on Sue’s commitment to social change and her legacy to the sport. We hear from Sue’s big sis, Jen, on how Sue has changed over the years (and why she is so proud of her), former teammate and Coach, Hall of Fame athlete, Coach Dawn Staley, Professional Basketball star, Marina Mabrey, and Sue’s two nieces, Zoe (age 9) and Alex (age 7). We hear how Sue got into sports (hint: Jen played a big role), how she’s always stomped the pavement for others, and her hopes for the future of basketball.

Sunny Choi grew up as a gymnast and first watched the 1992 Olympic gymnastics in her sparkly Little Mermaid tutu. On the drive to her first gymnastics class, 3-year-old Sunny asked Mom if she was going to win a gold medal. This summer, she finally has that chance…but in a different sport.
Sunny found ‘breaking’ when she was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania (note: don’t call it breakdancing or everyone will know you’re a newbie). One night when walking around campus, she saw Freaks of the Beat, a cool-looking breaking troop, and given her gymnastics background, was convinced to give it a go. She fell in love with the “creative elements of breaking,” free flowing reactionary movements that in many ways stood in opposition to her well practiced gymnastics routines. As Sunny shares, when breaking, “you don’t know what music you’re going to get, so you can come in with a plan, and then throw it out the window.”
In this conversation we hear how Sunny has defied stereotypes as an Asian-American woman in a male dominated sport, and also how her smiley-disposition has also challenged norms (breaking is known for its aggression). She shares how she’s breaking has been about “figuring out who I am.”
Sunny is the Pan-American Games Champ, so is coming in with high hopes for that gold medal she dreamt of in her Little Mermaid tutu.
We also hear from Sunny’s parents. This conversation is hosted by Maé-Bérénice Méité, 2x Olympian and 6x National Figure Skating Champion from France. This series Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris celebrates women from around the world seeking to compete in this summer’s Olympics and Paralympics.

Taky Marie-Divine Kouamé is a World Champion and 9x French Champion track cyclist, a photographer, an entrepreneur, and so much more. As Marie-Divine shares, “doing other things keeps me sane. It’s not a distraction. It makes me a better athlete.” She recently worked with our co-host Maé-Bérénice Méité on an exciting documentary series following French athletes to the Games.

As we head into the Paris Games in her home country, Marie-Divine has a lot of eyes on her. And she’s ready to meet the moment. In today’s conversation we discuss how Marie-Divine found cycling, how she grounds herself, and her hopes for the future of women’s sports.