23-year old Qatari track star Kenza Sossé, qualified for Tokyo, and then days before her flight to Japan, tested positive for COVID-19. After years training for the Olympics, she had watch from a room in Morocco. Her response? She “went back to training harder than ever.” In today’s conversation, Kenza Sossé shares for the first time publicly about the pain of her Olympic dreams being deferred and how she has channeled her frustration into progress towards Paris. Kenza also shares about her commitment to the Arab Women’s Movement and common misconceptions about the Arab world including the idea that Arab women are always “in the kitchen, taking care of the babies.” Citing her two business startups and the book she wrote, she replies, “My babies are my businesses right now, my book and my sport. So if these count as my babies, then yes, I am a very typical Arab woman. ” Production team’s favorite quote: “After hearing my story, every listener will be thinking of a passion or something they’ve always wanted to do. My last message will be to do it. To start whatever it is that comes to mind. Do not be afraid of failure.”

Kimberly didn’t start running until she was 27 — she’s now 30. In her 2019 debut race, the World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, she came away with a silver and bronze medal in the 200m and 100m. She’s seeking to compete on the Danish Para Track and Field Team in Tokyo.

When she was eight-years old she was in a bus crash that changed her life and how she approaches everything she does. This episode explores the world of running prosthetics, and her love of adventure, and her experiences of loss and grief.

This interview was conducted with the help of a translator (why at times, we address the question to an interpreter).

At 5 years old, Kokona’s parents brought her to a local skatepark and she immediately “wanted to be like the cool skateboarders” she saw there. Flash forward to today, and she’s a World champion and Olympic silver medalist. But for Kokona, it’s not just about the competition (which she loves) — it’s also about the “artistic side. When people watch films of skates, I want them to look for that.”

That’s why Kokona is known for always pushing the bounds of what’s possible or been done before, trying new tricks and doing them in different spots in the park. She shares, “I want to differentiate and then show my own style.”

When asked what she wants to share with her fellow athletes she offered, “Lets make the Paris Olympics awesome with our girl power.”

Paralympic 100M bronze medalist and World Championship silver medalist, Kym Crosby has ‘limited sight, limitless dreams.’ Kym is legally blind, but she hasn’t let that stand in the way of anything she sets her mind to, including becoming one of the world’s fastest women.

Lea Davison is a 2X Olympic Mountain Biker and 2016 World Championship silver medalist looking to qualify for her 3rd Olympics. Lea is unabashedly herself in all ways, including being open about her sexuality: Lea is gay.

Liu Jiayu’s nickname is ‘Birdie’. It’s what her friends and family call her, and she’s had a soaring career as a snowboard pioneer, inspiring an explosion in popularity of her sport and a brand new generation of Chinese boarders.