When Mihaela was 9, she went to a park and saw some kids inline skating. She didn’t realize it was actually for the winter sport of speed skating, but she was curious enough to give it a try herself: “In that moment, I decided my life. Here I am 13 years later, still doing it” despite the fact that Romania doesn’t have any rinks for her to train on. Mihaela is now her country’s fastest female speed skater.

Naya Tapper is a leading try scorer for Team USA’s Rugby Team. She wanted to be the “first girl in the NFL” but when she found rugby, she was hooked.

At the age of four, Ni Nengah Widiasih lost use of her legs at age four due to polio. In Rio she made history, becoming Indonesia’s first Paralympic powerlifting medalist. Ni Negah is a firm believer that ‘You were born to stand out, to be appreciated and loved for who you are.’

Nicky Nieves is a middle blocker on the USA’s Sitting Volleyball team, and a Rio Paralympic gold medalist. She is an Afro Latina and an outspoken advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement, spearheading conversations about race on her team and via social media.

Noelle Lambert played in the dirt and on the field with her older brothers, watching the Pats, Bruins, Celtics, and Red Sox. She was always active, keeping up with the boys. Flash forward to college at UMass Lowell where Noelle is playing Division 1 lacrosse, and she’s in an accident that changes everything. While riding a moped, she’s sideswiped by a truck and loses her leg.

To date, Ray Bassil is the only Lebanese athlete who has qualified for Tokyo, but Ray is used to blazing her own trails: she was the first Arab female Olympic Trapshooter, a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, Ammunition Line entrepreneur, Academy founder, and servant leader for her country of Lebanon. She’s definitely someone to keep in your crosshairs!

In this episode, we speak with 6x World Champion medalist in trap shooting, Ray Bassil, who has broken nearly every possible barrier in her home country of Lebanon. We discuss the challenges she faces living in Lebanon during a global pandemic and the recent explosion in Beirut. Lastly, we explore Ray’s leadership for her country and the United Nations Development Program for youth and gender equality.