Latest / Hurdle with Emily Abbate / ‘I Refuse To Lose’: Olympic Champion Sanya Richards-Ross On the 90% Mental Rule for Winning in Sport & Life

Transcript

‘I Refuse To Lose’: Olympic Champion Sanya Richards-Ross On the 90% Mental Rule for Winning in Sport & Life · Hurdle with Emily Abbate

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: In your pursuit of excellence, you never really draw a
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: finish line. You know, it's like you keep on figuring
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  Speaker 1: out what is that next level of excellence that I
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  Speaker 1: can attain.
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  Speaker 2: What's shaking, everyone? Emily Abadi here.
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  Speaker 3: You're listening to another episode of Hurdle, a podcast featuring
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  Speaker 3: the mindset secrets and true stories of the most inspiring
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  Speaker 3: women in sports and wellness, empowering you to live a healthier, happier,
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  Speaker 3: more motivated life, and of course, conquer your own hurdles. Today,
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  Speaker 3: I am sitting down with the one and only Sonia Richards-Ross.
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  Speaker 3: Sonia is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, an NBC track
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  Speaker 3: and field analyst, author, entrepreneur, and mom of three.
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  Speaker 2: From moving from Jamaica to the U.S. as a kid and.
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  Speaker 3: Dominating high school track to conquering the 400 meters on
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  Speaker 3: the world's biggest stages, Sonia's journey is a masterclass in resilience, discipline,
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  Speaker 3: and purpose. In this episode, we dive into what it
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  Speaker 3: truly takes to dial in the mental side of a
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  Speaker 3: lead performance, including the visualization routines, sports psychology tools, and
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  Speaker 3: the exact mantra she leaned on to bounce back from
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  Speaker 3: heartbreaking Olympic disappointment. We also talk through the balancing act
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  Speaker 3: of motherhood and ambition, knowing when it's time to pivot
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  Speaker 3: after a career-altering injury, stepping into the broadcast booth to
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  Speaker 3: call the Olympic Games live for millions, and what it
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  Speaker 3: really looks like to say yes to life and do
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  Speaker 3: things even when you're scared. I have been looking forward
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  Speaker 3: to this episode. episode to chatting with Sonia for forever
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  Speaker 3: she held the 400 meter American record of 48.7 seconds
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  Speaker 3: for 19 years And she is a true legend in
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  Speaker 3: the track and field space.
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  Speaker 2: So to Sonia, thank you for the time.
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  Speaker 3: To her sponsor at Superfeet, thank you for connecting us.
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  Speaker 3: I am so inspired by her grit, her tenacity, her
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  Speaker 3: work ethic, and I am elated to bring you this
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  Speaker 3: combo today. Make sure you're following along with Hurdle over
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: on social. It's over at Hurdle Podcast. You can also
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: check out iHeart Woman Sports over at iHeart Woman Sports
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: and me over at Emily Abadi.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abadi.
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: On the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: get your podcasts. And don't forget to subscribe to the
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: YouTube channel over at Hurdle Podcast, as well as the
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: weekly Hurdle newsletter.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: It lands in your inbox. every single Friday morning, bringing.
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: So much of the same inspiration, motivation, things you love
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: about the show. So get to it. Again, those links
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: are all in the show notes. With that, let's get
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: into it. Let's get to hurtling. Today, I am sitting
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  Speaker 3: down with Sonia Richards-Ross. She's a five-time Olympic medalist. She's
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  Speaker 3: an NBC track and field analyst among so many other things.
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  Speaker 2: Sonia, welcome to Hurdle.
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  Speaker 1: Hi, Emily. Thank you so much for having me. I'm
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  Speaker 1: super excited for our conversation today.
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  Speaker 3: I'm super excited for our conversation today as well. I
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  Speaker 3: like to level set when we kick things off here.
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  Speaker 3: I know how are you can be like a little like, eh,
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  Speaker 3: I'm good. So take a second, arrive in the space.
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  Speaker 3: How are you doing really, Sonia?
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  Speaker 1: I appreciate that question. I am doing great. I'm doing great.
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  Speaker 1: I am at home in Atlanta. My boys are, my
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  Speaker 1: babies are here with the nanny. My son's at school.
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  Speaker 1: I'm doing all the things that I love to do, Emily,
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  Speaker 1: all the time. So I just feel very fulfilled, very happy.
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  Speaker 1: My life is very full and it can be very chaotic,
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  Speaker 1: but I like it. I thrive in chaos. So yeah,
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  Speaker 1: thanks for asking. I feel good. I feel good. How
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  Speaker 1: are you? How are you? You know what?
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  Speaker 2: I'm good.
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  Speaker 3: We are recording this shortly before I leave for Australia.
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  Speaker 2: I've never been.
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  Speaker 1: Wow. That's going to be amazing.
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  Speaker 3: I'm excited. I am in the overwhelmed stage, but we're
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  Speaker 3: going to get through it. We're going to get through it.
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  Speaker 3: So I appreciate you for asking me. Now, I have
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  Speaker 3: to give the hurdlers, that's what I call my listeners,
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: the context in that ma'am was getting some glam done. And-
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  Speaker 3: I don't glam nearly as often as you do, but
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  Speaker 3: I do appreciate the opportunity to learn from a good
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  Speaker 3: makeup artist. So the question to kick us off today
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  Speaker 3: is what's been the most helpful tip you have learned
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  Speaker 3: from a makeup artist in all of your glamming?
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  Speaker 1: Usually I do get a lot of glam and I
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  Speaker 1: would say probably, I think that the trick that I
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  Speaker 1: love the most is kind of like setting your concealer
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  Speaker 1: and stuff, finding like the right place. setting powder that
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  Speaker 1: helps to eliminate the creasing under your eyes. And then
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  Speaker 1: you always kind of bring a little bit of a
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  Speaker 1: pad with you so you can kind of spot and
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  Speaker 1: blot the areas that might get a little bit oily.
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  Speaker 1: So I would say those are probably the things that
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  Speaker 1: I have taken away from my makeup artists along the way.
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  Speaker 1: But I'll be honest, I still can't do it as
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  Speaker 1: well as they do it. And I actually enjoy being
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  Speaker 1: in the chair because you know, you get to do
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  Speaker 1: other things. I'm on my phone checking emails and stuff
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  Speaker 1: and still getting something done. So I defer to the
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  Speaker 1: makeup artists who find a way to keep the makeup
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  Speaker 1: on all day and make you look beautiful. When I
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  Speaker 1: feel like when I do it, it's like off my
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  Speaker 1: face in an hour. I don't know why, but I
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  Speaker 1: feel the same thing. I feel the exact same thing.
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  Speaker 3: And it's so funny because I would say that the
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  Speaker 3: setting I use like a spray. And I feel like that,
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  Speaker 3: like the hair, I call it like hairspray for my face.
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  Speaker 2: I'm like, that has changed.
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  Speaker 1: I think the same thing. I'm like, this is hairspray.
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  Speaker 1: No one can tell me anything different. Like it's, it's
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  Speaker 1: hairspray for your face. I agree.
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  Speaker 2: All right.
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  Speaker 3: Well, obviously that's how we needed to start the podcast today.
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  Speaker 3: But I do want to double click on something that
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  Speaker 3: you shared yesterday, which I think is so relatable in
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  Speaker 3: your stories. You were running from like a business meeting.
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  Speaker 3: I think you were on your way to soccer practice.
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  Speaker 3: And you were like, I really appreciate that I get
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  Speaker 3: to do it all. With that said, what would you
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  Speaker 3: say is the hardest part about doing it all these
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  Speaker 3: days for you?
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  Speaker 1: I think the hardest part of doing it all for
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  Speaker 1: me is still that mommy guilt I feel sometimes about
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  Speaker 1: not being present for everything. Right. And so I'm the
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  Speaker 1: mom who I'm on the last flight out, first flight
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  Speaker 1: back whenever I have work appearances. that are not in
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  Speaker 1: Atlanta or not at home. And just even if it's
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  Speaker 1: a day, I'm like, I hate that I'm not with
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  Speaker 1: my babies, you know? And so I still feel like
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  Speaker 1: I struggle with some mommy guilt, but I feel at
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  Speaker 1: the same time, very fulfilled by doing the things that
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  Speaker 1: I love to do. I think it's important to set
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  Speaker 1: an example for my children to see mommy working hard,
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  Speaker 1: mommy still chasing her dreams. And so I balance that
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  Speaker 1: guilt with, you know, this comfort of knowing that I
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  Speaker 1: am doing it for my family and I am trying
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  Speaker 1: to set a great example, but it's still there nonetheless.
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  Speaker 1: And so I would say it's the guilt of not
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  Speaker 1: always being with my kids and being with my family.
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  Speaker 3: How do you work through that guilt in real time?
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  Speaker 3: Because you're saying like, I'm on the last flight.
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  Speaker 1: Out.
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  Speaker 2: I'm on the first flight there, right? I don't know
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  Speaker 2: about you.
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  Speaker 3: I get so emotional on planes.
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  Speaker 2: So how do you work through it in real time?
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  Speaker 1: Well, I don't get emotional on planes, Emily. I sleep
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  Speaker 1: on planes. I'm like, you know what? This might be
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  Speaker 1: my only good rest with no crying babies. But I
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  Speaker 1: think that's it. I think that I'm able to rationalize
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  Speaker 1: in my brain in real time that this is something
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  Speaker 1: that I'm doing that's important. It's important for me. It's
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  Speaker 1: important for my family. And then I just have a
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  Speaker 1: great support system. My husband is amazing. I feel like
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  Speaker 1: my husband holds down the fort when I'm not here
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  Speaker 1: and my kids don't lose out on much when mommy's
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  Speaker 1: not here because of my husband, their dad is so
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  Speaker 1: present and so loving. So yeah, I think for me
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  Speaker 1: in real time, it's just this awareness of I'm doing
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  Speaker 1: the best that I can. I'm going to give myself
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  Speaker 1: some grace. And although I wish I could be there,
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  Speaker 1: I'm going to get back there as soon as I can.
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  Speaker 3: Your oldest is nine now, so you've been doing this
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  Speaker 3: balancing act for some time of motherhood and taking on
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  Speaker 3: so many different avenues in your career. For you now,
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  Speaker 3: as you are a mother of three, what would you
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  Speaker 3: say is the most rewarding part?
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  Speaker 1: Well, it's so funny because I never thought I'd be
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  Speaker 1: a mom of three. I thought I was one and done.
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  Speaker 1: And I waited six, seven years before having my second son.
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  Speaker 1: And now I have three, like you mentioned. And I
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  Speaker 1: wouldn't change it for the world. I'm so grateful that
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  Speaker 1: I did do it. My husband was the one who
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  Speaker 1: kept saying, we got to have more kids. And I'm like, no,
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  Speaker 1: I don't have the capacity for anybody else. This is it.
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  Speaker 1: But it has been the most rewarding experience of my life.
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  Speaker 1: My babies bring me so much joy. And I think
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  Speaker 1: all the sayings are true, right? The middle child is
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  Speaker 1: like the crazy one and mine is. He's on my
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  Speaker 1: hip all day. He's a mama's boy by every stretch
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  Speaker 1: of the imagination. My third son is already so independent.
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  Speaker 1: He's come in and he's like, look, it's a lot
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  Speaker 1: going on here. I'm just going to like fall in line.
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  Speaker 1: And I think the most rewarding part is like seeing
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  Speaker 1: a little piece of me, a little piece of my
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  Speaker 1: husband in our kids. Like, oh, he got that from
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  Speaker 1: me or he got that from you. And it's like,
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  Speaker 1: that's just insane to me that we're able to create.
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  Speaker 1: these beautiful little human beings and just love them so much.
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  Speaker 1: So I'm in a part of my life that I'm
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  Speaker 1: enjoying so much. Motherhood has been incredible. It has stretched me.
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  Speaker 1: It has challenged me. but it has given me more
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  Speaker 1: joy and love than I could ever describe. So it's
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  Speaker 1: just a beautiful, beautiful thing.
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  Speaker 3: I appreciate what you said about that this is the
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  Speaker 3: most rewarding thing that you've ever done.
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  Speaker 2: And so many people may come to you and be like,
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  Speaker 2: but what about the Olympic medals? It's like, this is
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  Speaker 2: so much different than that, right?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely. And if you'd have asked me this when
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  Speaker 1: I was 19, 20, chasing Olympic gold and chasing records,
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  Speaker 1: I would have thought that that would have been it.
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  Speaker 1: That would have been the highlight of my life. those
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  Speaker 1: experiences of training, of being with my teammates, of traveling
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: all over the world. Like, I mean, it's still, of course,
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  Speaker 1: probably number two. But nothing compares to motherhood. And I
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  Speaker 1: think every mother would agree with that. No matter how
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: high you've gone in your career, no matter what else
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  Speaker 1: you've done, there's just nothing as special as the first
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  Speaker 1: time your kid tells you, I love you back. And
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  Speaker 1: you can tell they understand what love is. There's nothing
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  Speaker 1: more rewarding than my son, who is now playing soccer, who...
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  Speaker 1: has really fallen in love with the sport. And he
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  Speaker 1: started out on the C team because it was his
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  Speaker 1: first time playing. And within a week, he got moved
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  Speaker 1: up to the A team because he's been working so hard.
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  Speaker 1: And I'm like, this is what hard work does. So
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  Speaker 1: it's just all of these little moments sprinkled in that
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  Speaker 1: are just way more significant than any gold medal could
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  Speaker 1: ever be.
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  Speaker 3: It's so interesting because I know that you had a
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  Speaker 3: close relationship, have a close relationship with your parents.
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  Speaker 2: They were a big part of you coming up.
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  Speaker 3: Within track and field, moving from Jamaica at a pretty
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  Speaker 3: early age to then go to Florida, gear up, eventually
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  Speaker 3: go to UT Austin, to now have this opportunity to
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: parent a young athlete.
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  Speaker 2: What comes to mind for you?
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  Speaker 1: Just a lot of gratitude. I mean, I was talking
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: to my mom this morning. My son has three games
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: this weekend. It's an hour and a half drive. And
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: when my husband first told me, because he's going to
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: be out of town and we're trying to figure it out,
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: he might fly back, all this stuff. And I was like,
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  Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I'm not going to be able to
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  Speaker 1: do this. Three kids by myself driving an hour and
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  Speaker 1: a half. And then I just thought about my parents
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  Speaker 1: who always made it happen. And I was like, I
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: don't care what it takes. I'm going to make it
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  Speaker 1: happen if my husband's here or not. I'm going to
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  Speaker 1: do it because there is just so much that young
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  Speaker 1: people learn from sports. You know, that level of discipline,
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  Speaker 1: of hard work, of determination, resiliency, just all of those
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  Speaker 1: things that I know make us better human beings. I
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  Speaker 1: want him to have those opportunities, every chance that he
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: can get. And so I just have so much gratitude
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  Speaker 1: because my parents made the move. My mom and dad
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: built a gym in their garage. My dad came to
• 12:42
  Speaker 1: every single practice. He moved to... I mean, they did
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  Speaker 1: everything right to allow me to be an Olympic champion.
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  Speaker 1: And so I just want to model that for my
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  Speaker 1: kids as well. And it's hard. When they're doing it,
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  Speaker 1: you feel like, oh, this is just what they're supposed
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  Speaker 1: to do. No, it's not. It's Like parents could choose
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: to not do that. They could choose to not show
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  Speaker 1: up to the track meets or they could choose, you
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  Speaker 1: missed that competition this weekend because it was too far
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  Speaker 1: of a drive. All of those things, they don't have
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  Speaker 1: to do it, but they did. And so now I
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  Speaker 1: just have so much gratitude when I look back on
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  Speaker 1: all the sacrifices and all the time that they poured
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  Speaker 1: into me being great. Yeah.
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  Speaker 3: Talk to me a little bit about what that transition
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  Speaker 3: was like for you from a young age, making that
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  Speaker 3: move from Jamaica to Florida and your parents just being
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  Speaker 3: so involved in your athletic pursuits.
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  Speaker 1: It was a tough transition. I migrated from Kingston, Jamaica
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  Speaker 1: when I was 11, and we had a really good
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: life in Jamaica. You know, my parents did well. We
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: would be on the beach every weekend. We curried chicken
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: and festival and fish. I had a lot of friends.
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: I was doing very well in track and field. And
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: so I remember when our parents told us we were
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: going to move to the States, we told them they
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: could go and leave us. My sister and I, we
• 13:54
  Speaker 1: were 11 and 10 at the time. Oh, you guys go.
• 13:57
  Speaker 1: We'll stay here. We didn't quite think that through, but
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  Speaker 1: that was our first reaction. And my parents who... My
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: mom has five siblings. There are six of them. She's
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: the fifth one. And all of her siblings had migrated.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: And they kept saying, look, if you want the girls
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  Speaker 1: to have the opportunity to go to a great university
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: and to do all of these things. But yeah, the
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: earlier you get them in the school system, the better.
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: And so- my parents really wanted to give us the
• 14:26
  Speaker 1: opportunity to go to a great university and to have
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: more opportunities to get the jobs that we wanted. And
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: ultimately my parents saw for me very early, I could
• 14:34
  Speaker 1: be a great athlete. And so we made the move.
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: We moved to South Florida. I went to middle school
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: and my first year of middle school was kind of tough.
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: Having the accent, the very thick Jamaican accent. I stood
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: out and the kids were always like, you know, they
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: wanted me to talk. And I actually liked being the
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: center of attention, but I didn't like it for that reason.
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  Speaker 1: Like I loved being this, I loved like people celebrating my,
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: you know, track prowess and all that. But I always
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: felt kind of awkward being called out for that. So
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: it was, you know, it was a little bit of
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: a transition for me and not wearing uniforms and just
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: all of those things. But where I was able to
• 15:09
  Speaker 1: really start to feel like I had a place and
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: I felt like I fit in was in sports. The
• 15:13
  Speaker 1: minute I started running track and I found my community,
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: it was like smooth sailing right after that. And from there,
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  Speaker 1: I just fell in love with my coaches and my teammates.
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: I made the world junior team when I was 16.
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  Speaker 1: And yeah, it was just really good from there. So yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Really good from there.
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  Speaker 3: It's so impressive to see and to hear about this story,
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: knowing that there are just so many things in the
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: mix about that transition that would make this difficult. It's
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: hard to get to the place where you found yourself
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: without going through all of those transitions, without navigating those hurdles.
• 15:52
  Speaker 2: Yet you were still able to dial in.
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: What do you think it is about you that makes
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: you someone that's good at dialing in?
• 16:02
  Speaker 1: I would 100% give the credit to my parents. And,
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm a woman of faith. So I truly
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: believe that my gift was given to me by God.
• 16:12
  Speaker 1: And I always felt like when I worked hard and
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: when I showed up, I was honoring that gift that
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: I had, this gift of speed. But I also think
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: that I got really lucky with great parents. My dad
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: was actually a phenomenal soccer player. And at the time
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: when he was coming up, you know, he was born
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: in the 50s. So he's playing in 60s, 70s in Jamaica.
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: There just wasn't the infrastructure. nor the resources for him
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: to reach his full potential. So I think I got
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: lucky because He had just enough experience. And when he
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: saw it in me, he just poured in everything. He
• 16:45
  Speaker 1: completely locked in and studied the sport, understood all that
• 16:49
  Speaker 1: I needed, found the right coaches, all of those things.
• 16:51
  Speaker 1: And so I think he was the one who really
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: modeled for me what it was like and what it
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: meant to lock in and focus. I tell the story
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: all the time. When I was 16 years old, I
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: had been running really well, winning a lot of championships,
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: was state champion freshman year, sophomore year. In my junior
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: season of high school, I suffered my first season-ending injury.
• 17:12
  Speaker 1: I pulled my hamstring muscle and I wasn't able to compete.
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: And I was really disappointed and really depressed. And we
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: were driving in the car home from my final workout.
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: My dad said to me, Sam, do you want to
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: be great? And I was like, of course, why else
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: would I be doing this? But I realized in that
• 17:28
  Speaker 1: moment that he was explaining to me that being great
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: wouldn't just happen because I was talented. I would have
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: to be intentional about being great. And so my senior season,
• 17:38
  Speaker 1: I started doing a thousand sit-ups every day. I started
• 17:41
  Speaker 1: running stadium stairs. I started watching film of the greats
• 17:44
  Speaker 1: who competed in the 400, all those things. And it
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: completely shifted everything. I was world junior athlete of the year,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: broke all the records. My high school record still stands today.
• 17:54
  Speaker 1: And so I would say my dad was the one
• 17:56
  Speaker 1: who challenged me. And then I was able to understand
• 17:59
  Speaker 1: what it looked like to lock in, do the work
• 18:02
  Speaker 1: and push through and be resilient.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: I love this story. I also would be remiss if
• 18:07
  Speaker 3: I didn't ask you, what was it from early on
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: about the 400 that spoke to you specifically?
• 18:16
  Speaker 1: It didn't, Emily. The 400 chose me. I did not
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: choose the 400. So another layer to that story was
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: when I was a freshman and sophomore year and even
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: my junior year, I was running the 100 and 200.
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: And I was winning. I was running really well in
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: the one and two. And my dad said to me, look,
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: if you really want to get great in the 100
• 18:36
  Speaker 1: and 200, you need to run a couple 400s to
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: get strong. And then you can go back down to
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: the one, two. So I run my first 400 Emily
• 18:45
  Speaker 1: indoors and I break the national high school record at
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: 400 meters. I'm like, and so then, of course, my
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: coach and my dad are like, well, I think you
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: might want to stay up here. And so outdoor season,
• 18:58
  Speaker 1: I kept running and I broke the high school record
• 19:00
  Speaker 1: outdoors in the 400 as well. So I always say
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: the 400 chose me.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: Is the 400 really the hardest event on the track?
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: I think so. I mean, obviously there's the 800 that
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: you got to do two times. But I mean, for
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: most people who compete in the sport, people who are
• 19:32
  Speaker 1: fans of the sport, journalists, they agree. And I think
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: it's because the 400 challenges you on every level. Like
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: in the 800, you're not getting out as fast as
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: you do in the 400. So you're having to get
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: out the blocks like you're running 100 in the 400.
• 19:44
  Speaker 1: And then I think the trickiest part is finding that
• 19:48
  Speaker 1: pace and rhythm, right? Where you can't go too fast
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: in the first part of the race or you're going
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: to completely die coming home. And then if you don't
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: go fast enough, you're not even in the conversation, right?
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: And then what you feel, the final 50 meters of
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: the 400 race when you do it right, is literally
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: like this. So I'm going to stick by the fact
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: that I think the 400 is the hardest race. And...
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: The reason it beats the 400 hurdles is because at
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: least you have an obstacle. Sydney McLaughlin-Neroni, who ran both now, right?
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: She has the American record in both. She took my
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: record of 19 years. She said it. She agreed. She
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: said the 400 hurdles, at least you have an obstacle
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: to look at. So it's mentally a little bit easier
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: because you're like aiming for that next goal. In the 400,
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: you're on your own. You got to figure this thing
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: out and you got to push yourself. You got to
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: believe in yourself and you got to pace it exactly
• 20:35
  Speaker 1: right so that the body doesn't almost completely shut down
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: on you in the final 50 meters. So the 400
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: is the hardest race on the track.
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: Have you felt that way always or do you have
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: additional insights since doing commentary for NBC and looking at
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: it from the other side of the lens?
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: No, I've always felt that way because obviously experiencing it
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: for myself, I felt that way. We have these conversations
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: all the time inside the sport. And then for me,
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: it was confirmed when Sydney, who I think is one
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: of the greatest to ever do it, when she ran
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: the 400 hurdles and the 400 and she said the
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: 400 was harder. I was like, well, I didn't run
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: the 400 hurdles. So I couldn't compare them for myself
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: or for someone who did to say that. And even
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: the 800 meter runners, when they go down, they say it.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: So I think the 400 is probably the hardest race
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: on the track just because of what it demands from
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: your body in such a short period of time.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: You talk about that American record of 19 years finally
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: going down at the 2025 World Championships. So much went
• 21:33
  Speaker 3: into that moment and it took quite a while to
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: get done.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: How did you feel when it finally went down?
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: I mean, I do feel like when you own a
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: record like that, you're a part of the conversation every year, right?
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: It's like you are that mythical ninth person in the
• 21:53
  Speaker 1: race because everyone is always trying to get that, that mark.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: And so it was special. It was special to know
• 22:00
  Speaker 1: that you could work so hard and the efforts you
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: put in could stand for such a long period of time.
• 22:05
  Speaker 1: It really meant a lot. It was really, really special.
• 22:08
  Speaker 1: But I think what makes it really cool is when
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: someone like a Sydney McLaughlin-Nervoni, who I think is a
• 22:15
  Speaker 1: once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent, when it takes someone like her
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: to break the record, it really... just how great the
• 22:24
  Speaker 1: record was. You know, like, you know, obviously you break
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: a record, it's special and it means that no one
• 22:29
  Speaker 1: else has run that fast before all of those things.
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: But for people who are, you know, looking around and
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: looking at the different records, I think they have no
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: choice but to really respect how great it was when
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: it took so long and it took someone like her
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: to break it. So it was, it was bittersweet. It
• 22:46
  Speaker 1: was bittersweet.
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: Bittersweet.
• 22:48
  Speaker 3: And I mean, such a beautiful part of your long
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: career journey. on the track, one that had its fair
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: share of highs and lows as they all do. You
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: mentioned that first injury back in high school. That was
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: when you hurt your hamstring for the first time. Not
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: the only injury or hurdle you faced early on in
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: your career. Talk to me about the 2008 Olympics and.
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: The one race all year that you didn't win.
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I still get emotional. It's so funny. I did
• 23:20
  Speaker 1: a keynote speech about a week and a half ago
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: and I'm talking about it and when I'm writing it,
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: it's fine. And the minute I say it, I literally
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: am like brought to tears thinking about this moment. And
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: it's been how many years? Like what is 20, 26, almost,
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: almost 20 years ago. And it still breaks my heart, right?
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: 18 years. But yeah, it was super crushing, Emily. In
• 23:44
  Speaker 1: my mind, it felt like 2008 was going to be
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: my moment. I felt like everything I had done, I
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: was world number one in 2006, athlete of the year,
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: broke the American record that year. And so in 2007,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that was
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: really tough on me and it slowed me down, but
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: I was able to kind of get back going. And
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: so in 2008, it just seemed like this was it.
• 24:10
  Speaker 1: I had done all the work. I had been number
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: one before all of the things. And so when it
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: didn't happen for me and I finished third in the
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: only race I lost that season, I think I had
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: like 19, 20 races. I lost one race and it
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: was Olympic final. It's heartbreaking. You know, it's really hard
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: for you to like figure out where to like catalog
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: that in your mind when you feel like you've done
• 24:35
  Speaker 1: everything right. And so it was hard. I feel really
• 24:39
  Speaker 1: grateful that I have I had great family around. My
• 24:43
  Speaker 1: mom and dad, my whole family was there. I had
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: 30 people come to Beijing. Neighbors were there. So their
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: support really bolstered me. My coach who recently passed away,
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: Coach Clyde Hart, who is just absolutely the best. If
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: it weren't for them, I don't know if I'd ever
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: recover from that. Because it's like, how do you plan
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: your whole life around this thing? You work your butt off.
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: You make all these sacrifices. You don't go to this.
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: You don't go to that. You're eating right. All of
• 25:07
  Speaker 1: these things. And it just doesn't happen.
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: It was.
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: really crushing. I feel like it was a very important
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: part of my story. I know your podcast is called Hurdle.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: And I think every person listening to this podcast everywhere
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: in the world can relate to having extreme disappointments, huge
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: hurdles that we have to overcome, whether it's mentally or
• 25:28
  Speaker 1: physically to get to that goal. And so in the moment,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: I couldn't appreciate it. But when I look back on
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: my life and I, in 2012, I was able to
• 25:39
  Speaker 1: reflect on that moment. I'm so grateful I had it
• 25:41
  Speaker 1: because I don't know if 2012 happens, if 2000, it
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: didn't happen. You know, I don't know if I stay hungry.
• 25:47
  Speaker 1: I don't know if I stay in the sport. I
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: don't know. You know, you just don't know. So yeah.
• 25:51
  Speaker 1: It was really hard.
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so hard.
• 25:54
  Speaker 3: And thank you for sharing all of that. You highlighted
• 25:57
  Speaker 3: how important it was to have those people around you
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: when you felt like you were at your lowest moment.
• 26:03
  Speaker 2: Kind of bring me into what it looked like.
• 26:06
  Speaker 3: In the weeks after that disappointment, how did you go
• 26:10
  Speaker 3: about navigating your day-to-day? Because I think that's what the
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: people don't talk about. It's that you go through these
• 26:16
  Speaker 3: really low moments and you learn that in those moments,
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: the most important thing that you can do is allow
• 26:24
  Speaker 3: yourself to feel your feelings.
• 26:25
  Speaker 2: But there's almost guilt that goes with that.
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. And I think even to make it even
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: clearer on like... How I had to rebound from that
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: moment was the fact that, so at the Olympics, obviously
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: I'm there for the individual 400, but I'm also there
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: for the relay, the 4x4 relay with my team. And
• 26:43
  Speaker 1: so we run the individual event first, and then you
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: have about two to three days, depending on the schedule,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: before the relay starts. And so... Of course, in that moment,
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: I'm devastated. I don't want to go back to the
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: Olympic Village. The Olympic Village is where all the athletes
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: stayed during the Olympics. And I didn't want to go back, right?
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: I didn't want to have to answer all the questions like,
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: what happened, all this stuff. I remember, Emily, literally like
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: right after the race, after we competed, we were getting
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: our medals that same day. Sometimes it'll be the next
• 27:12
  Speaker 1: day or the same day. And I go to the
• 27:14
  Speaker 1: back and I'm balling and I finally pull myself together
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: to like walk out to the podium. And this man
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: comes up to me and he says, what happened? We
• 27:22
  Speaker 1: had your name on gold medal. What happened? I was like, oh,
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: and I just start bawling again. And so for me,
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: it was not just my own disappointment. It was like
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: dealing with disappointing my country, disappointing my coach, disappointing my sponsors,
• 27:36
  Speaker 1: all of those things. So I didn't want to go
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: back to the village to have to answer those questions.
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: I go out to try to get to my parents.
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: They rented a home and I get lost. And it
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: was just overwhelming, the feeling of just being unfulfilled and
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: disappointed and questioning all the things. And so I told
• 27:55
  Speaker 1: my coach, I said, I'm not running the relay. I
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: can't do it. I just don't have it. I just
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: don't have what I need in me to line up
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: with this level of disappointment. And I remember my coach
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: looked at me and he said, I'm not going to
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: let you miss this opportunity to rebound and to be great.
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: And so for that, I'm so grateful because that was
• 28:15
  Speaker 1: one of the best moments of my life. Like I,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: so three days later we compete. It was the first
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: time I got the baton behind. I usually get the
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: baton in front because my teammates have done such a
• 28:24
  Speaker 1: great job and we're like, you know, I'm doing like
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: a victory lap almost. But this time we got the
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: baton about 10 meters down behind Russia and I have
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: to dig. I mean, I had to dig down as
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: deep as I could to overcome the Russian and win gold.
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: And I, It was one of the, like more people
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: talked to me about that race than even my individual race,
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: because it was just such a special moment. And so
• 28:49
  Speaker 1: for the listeners who are going through those hurdles, I
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: think you mentioned the most important thing we can do
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: is feel, but I also would say the most important
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: thing you can do is keep going. You know, like
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: even with those feelings, you have to figure out a
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: way to just take that next step. Just keep moving forward.
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: Like you got to fail forward. I think a lot
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: of times we fail and we fail and we, you know,
• 29:12
  Speaker 1: we want to go in, we want to quit, we
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: want to walk away. But that special moment could be
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: two days away. It could be three days away, but
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: we don't lean into that. So- I would say, you know,
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: I definitely felt it. I definitely was in those feelings.
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: I didn't sleep that night after the meet and cried
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: and cried and talked to my family. But I think
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: that the most important thing I did was I picked
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: myself up and I kept going and I was able
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: to have an experience of a lifetime, three days later. Yeah.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: It's such a really beautiful story and one that reminds
• 29:44
  Speaker 3: us the importance of the way that we speak to ourselves, right?
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 29:50
  Speaker 3: To be in that relay, in that position when you're
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: already back, you said 10 meters when you got the baton, right?
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: To be able to speak to yourself with a level
• 30:03
  Speaker 3: of compassion and kindness saying instead of being like, okay,
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: there's no way being like, I'm going to give this
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: everything I have.
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: Talk to me about adopting that mindset.
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: Talk to me about how you've gotten to this place
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: throughout your athletic career that you learned.
• 30:19
  Speaker 2: How to be your own biggest hype human.
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's definitely something that I learned over time. And
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: I had this mantra where I would say, I refuse
• 30:30
  Speaker 1: to lose. I refuse to lose. And I remember being...
• 30:34
  Speaker 1: like racing, competing against her. And in the final hundred meters,
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: I kept saying, I refuse to lose. Like I refuse
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: to lose. And it's what kind of willed me and
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: pulled me, I think, ahead of her was this strong
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: desire to win. And I think there are so many
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: things that we can do. I'm a big proponent of
• 30:53
  Speaker 1: making a vision board. So I make vision boards every
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: year to see myself succeeding. I would literally put myself
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: on the board with my hands up, crossing the finish line.
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: I would print the stadium that the Olympics or the
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: world championships were in. And so I would see myself
• 31:07
  Speaker 1: being successful. I would put on the board that I
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: am great. I am smart. I am strong. I am competent.
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: Why not me? All of these words that are like
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: positive reinforcement that I am capable of doing all of
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: these things that I want to do. And so It
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: was something that I practiced, something that I it wasn't
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: something that I just called on that day. It was
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: something I would tell myself and reinforce every day, all
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: the time until it became a part of me and
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: until I really believed it. You know, and so in
• 31:35
  Speaker 1: that moment, I was able to just lean into that. But, yeah,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: it's something you have to practice and work on. And
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: I love how you said, you know, being kind and
• 31:42
  Speaker 1: having that grace with yourself is. in those moments when
• 31:45
  Speaker 1: you could say, okay, this is already a bad Olympics.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: It's okay. A silver medal is better than no medal.
• 31:52
  Speaker 1: But no, I was like, no, I didn't come here
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: to leave. I came here to get a gold medal.
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: And that's exactly what I'm going to do. That's exactly
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: what I'm going to do. And that's exactly what you
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: did in 2012. Talk to me about managing pressure. an
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: expectation going in to that Olympic Games, not only from
• 32:09
  Speaker 1: everybody else, but of course you returning, really coming for
• 32:13
  Speaker 1: exactly what you wanted back in 2008. Yes. I don't
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: think even I think about it enough or talk about
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: it enough, like how hard it was to actually be
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: present in that moment. Because like you said, I stand
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: on the start line knowing the last time I was here,
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: I failed. The last time I was here, I did
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: not achieve what I wanted to do. And that's heavy.
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: That's a heavy feeling. And so I had started working
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: with a sports psychologist right after 2008, because I felt
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: like I was doing all of these things to prepare
• 32:44
  Speaker 1: my body, eating well. I had the best coach in
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: the world, but I wasn't preparing my mind in the
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: same way. And when you get to that level of competition,
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: when you're at the Olympics, you're at the world championships,
• 32:55
  Speaker 1: it's 10% physical and 90% mental. Everybody there is physically
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: capable of winning this race. Everybody. It's the person who
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: is mentally prepared and the person who can stay mentally
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: locked in that I think has the edge to be
• 33:08
  Speaker 1: able to win. And so I started work with my
• 33:10
  Speaker 1: sports psychologist and he just helped me with so many
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: tools on how I could be present in heavy moments
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: and still be confident and comfortable and execute. And so
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: that's exactly what I did. I remember one of the
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: other tools that I used when I was at the
• 33:29
  Speaker 1: Olympics was in 2008, I had all this like anxiety.
• 33:32
  Speaker 1: Like I was like all this, I gotta do this,
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: I gotta do this. And I thought to myself, what
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: if I showed up to the 2020, the 2012 Olympic
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: Games And I walked around like I already won. What
• 33:42
  Speaker 1: if I pretend like I already won? And how would
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: I experience the games differently? And I was like present.
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: I was like having fun. And I wasn't like waiting
• 33:50
  Speaker 1: for this thing to happen because in my mind it
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: already happened. I had already won. And it really helped
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: me to be more present and have more fun. And
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I think that it showed up on the track that night.
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: And that same mantra, I refuse to lose. I refuse
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: to lose. And, you know, I was able to get
• 34:05
  Speaker 1: it done. But it certainly wasn't easy. It wasn't easy. But...
• 34:08
  Speaker 1: I was prepared and it showed.
• 34:10
  Speaker 2: You were prepared and it showed.
• 34:12
  Speaker 3: And like you said, everyone that shows up to that
• 34:15
  Speaker 3: starting line is someone who is capable of doing great things,
• 34:18
  Speaker 3: but it really is the attitude and the mindset that
• 34:20
  Speaker 3: you bring with you when you get to that starting
• 34:22
  Speaker 3: line that differentiates first from second from third and so on.
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: Exactly. A hundred percent.
• 34:29
  Speaker 3: And so for you, after finally getting what it was
• 34:33
  Speaker 3: that you were after, how did you know that you
• 34:36
  Speaker 3: were still far from done?
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: I think that in your pursuit of excellence, for most
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: of us, you never really draw a finish line. It's
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: like you keep on figuring out what is that next
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: level of excellence that I can attain. And although obviously
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: I wanted to win Olympic gold and I wanted to
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: win an individual gold medal, The work was never really done, right?
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: I was always like, how much faster can I run?
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: Can I break the American record again? Can I win
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: more gold? What more can I do in this sport?
• 35:10
  Speaker 1: And injury was actually what really took me out. I
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: had a really bad injury to my right big toe
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: and I ended up having three surgeries post-2012. And that's
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: one of my big regrets in my career. I wish
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: I never had the surgery. I think had I taken
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: a year off... Um, and given the toe a chance
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: to heal, cause I never really had time. It was
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: always under so much stress from competing. I had a
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: condition called hallux rigidus, which is like severe arthritis in
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: the joint. And so, um, I think had I taken
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: a year off as opposed to doing the surgeries, it
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: may have extended my career. But yeah, I wanted to
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: go to the Olympics. I wanted to win more gold.
• 35:46
  Speaker 1: I wanted to keep pushing myself. And yeah, track was
• 35:49
  Speaker 1: my first love. And I never saw the finish line
• 35:54
  Speaker 1: until I had to imagine what life would be like
• 35:57
  Speaker 1: after track. But yeah, it was always for me. What
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: more can I do?
• 36:02
  Speaker 3: When you started imagining that, when you started allowing yourself
• 36:06
  Speaker 3: to say, all right, maybe it's going to be time
• 36:09
  Speaker 3: that I pivot.
• 36:11
  Speaker 2: How did that feel?
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: And then at the time, where did you think that
• 36:17
  Speaker 3: you were going to go?
• 36:19
  Speaker 1: I knew exactly where I was going to go. I
• 36:22
  Speaker 1: knew exactly. So after my third surgery, which was in 2015,
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: I had decided in my mind and in my heart
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: that my quality of life was important to me too.
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: And I had gone through so much pain, Emily, like
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: after my first surgery, I didn't have a good surgery.
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: It felt like I was literally breaking the bone every
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: time I would run on it. It was, I mean,
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: excruciatingly painful. And so it was hard on me because
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: now this thing I had loved so much that had
• 36:53
  Speaker 1: come really easy to me, like running came very naturally
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: to me, very easy to me. It was now very,
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: very painful. And so I'm I struggled with that, this
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: love-hate relationship with, man, I want to do this thing,
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: but I'm in so much pain doing it. So in 2015,
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: I said, okay, San, no matter what happens next year, 2016,
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: this is going to be it for me. I wanted
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: to hopefully make my last Olympic team, and I wanted
• 37:16
  Speaker 1: to hopefully defend my title, but I knew I couldn't
• 37:20
  Speaker 1: ask my body for more. And so that whole year,
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: so I announced it. I told her it was my
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: farewell season. And it was beautiful. People would come to
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: all the meets. It was really beautiful. But I also
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: started the year off and I said a prayer every
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: single day. I said, God, thank you so much for
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: this gift of speed that has allowed me to see
• 37:40
  Speaker 1: the world. But I know not every blessing is meant
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: to last a lifetime. And so I am going to
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: return this blessing to you. But I ask that you
• 37:49
  Speaker 1: leave all the good stuff with me, leave all the memories,
• 37:51
  Speaker 1: leave all the lessons and allow me to begin to
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: see myself as more than an athlete. And I literally
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: said that prayer every single day, every day, all of 2016.
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: I remember when I ran my final race at the
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: Olympic trials, I had pulled my quad. So it was just,
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: you know, I wasn't able to get out the first round.
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: Lewis Johnson, my now colleague, he comes up to me
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: and he says, you know, Sonia, you've done great things
• 38:13
  Speaker 1: on the track. What will you do next? And so
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: I was prepared. I had been thinking about it for
• 38:18
  Speaker 1: a year and I knew where I thought my skill
• 38:20
  Speaker 1: sets could take me next. And I said, I want
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: to start a family. I would love to write a
• 38:25
  Speaker 1: book and I would like to start commentating. And NBC
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: called me that very next day, Emily. They were like,
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: are you serious? Do you want to commentate? And I
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: was like, well, first I want to mourn not making
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: this Olympic team. But yes, I do. And so I
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: went to Rio as a commentator and not an athlete.
• 38:41
  Speaker 2: And then you went, you literally went to those Olympic games.
• 38:43
  Speaker 2: I have no, this is wild.
• 38:45
  Speaker 1: Yeah. So, you know, for me it was, and that's
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: kind of how I've been fortunate because I do think
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: I'm aligned to be able to manifest a lot of
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: the things in my life because I try to quiet
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: my mind and listen, like, you know, what does God
• 38:58
  Speaker 1: have for me next? What can I do next? And
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: then I'm confident and bold to say those things out loud. Yeah.
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: Exactly, though.
• 39:06
  Speaker 3: It's that whole, we hear it all the time, closed
• 39:09
  Speaker 3: mouths don't get fed, right? And so for you to
• 39:12
  Speaker 3: show up and say, these are the things that I
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: want in my life. This is truly what I can
• 39:16
  Speaker 3: see myself doing. That comes from having this inner knowing
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: of what you're capable of and being willing, again, to
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: speak those things into existence. If you didn't go out
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: on a limb and say those things, NBC probably wouldn't
• 39:29
  Speaker 3: have called the next day.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: Absolutely. Absolutely. I think it's a combination of both. It's
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: about being prepared for those moments. And so, like I
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: told you, for a whole year, I thought about it. Like,
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: you know, I've met all these incredible people. I've done
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: all these great things. Where could all of these tools
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: be an asset in the world again? And I really
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: felt like my experience of being an athlete And being
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: able to share those insights would have been helpful. And so, yeah,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: when the opportunity came, I'm that person that believes, like
• 39:56
  Speaker 1: you said, close mouth, don't get fed. And you want
• 39:59
  Speaker 1: to speak those things into life. And so, yeah, if
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: I never said it, I don't know if I'd be
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: in this chair now for the last almost 20 years,
• 40:06
  Speaker 1: for 20 years.
• 40:24
  Speaker 3: What would you say was the hardest part of onboarding
• 40:28
  Speaker 3: to being a commentator, going live on air? What was
• 40:33
  Speaker 3: the most difficult thing about jumping into the deep end
• 40:36
  Speaker 3: for the first time?
• 40:38
  Speaker 1: That's a great question. So I was very lucky because
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: I joined the booth with Tom Hammond, who's like a legend.
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: Some of his calls, I mean, still ring in my
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: mind today. He called many of my races. So he
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: was incredible. And Otto Bolden was my other, you know,
• 40:57
  Speaker 1: the other analyst, the lead sports sprint analyst And Otto,
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: I mean, just brought me in like, and Craig Masbach,
• 41:05
  Speaker 1: Craig Masbach was also there and he did the distance events.
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: I can't forget him because he also helped me so much.
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: Otto was like, you know, embraced me so much and
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: like gave me all the tips on like, here's how
• 41:16
  Speaker 1: we do it. You know, they kind of eased me in.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: I didn't, when I started, I would be kind of
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: the third voice and I started to get a What
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: was scary, Emily, was so the Olympic trials felt easy,
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: felt natural. You know, it was really cool. So we're
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: going over to Rio now. And our producer, his name
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: was Rob Hyland. He was supposed to be our producer
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: at the Olympics, but he had a freak accident, ended
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: up really injuring his leg and he couldn't come to
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: the Olympic Games. So the new producer, I won't say
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: his name. He's one of the execs at NBC. Love him.
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: He ends up coming to do track and field because
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: he was the only person who had had Olympic level experience.
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: Of course, you can't just put anybody in to produce
• 41:57
  Speaker 1: the Olympics. So he comes in because he had done Olympics,
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: I think 2004 or whenever it was. And we're about
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: to go on air, Emily, for the first time. And
• 42:06
  Speaker 1: he says, 30 seconds to 30 million. Be great. So,
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: of course, I swallow my tongue. I can't even.
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: I'm like, what?
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: What? 30 seconds to 30 million. And so I don't,
• 42:18
  Speaker 1: to this day, we laugh about it. Cause I literally
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: was like, when they came to me, I like, I
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: couldn't talk. I was like, Oh my God. And then
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: finally the words come out and my producer thought it
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: was the funniest thing. I'm like, that's not funny. I
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: almost couldn't speak, but yeah. I think for me in life,
• 42:34
  Speaker 1: it's always been like that. Most of the things that
• 42:37
  Speaker 1: I do are on the biggest stage. They're huge. And
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: I love that. I love that energy. I love feeling nervous.
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: I love feeling like I'm doing something that stretches me
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: and pushes me. And so after that first one, and
• 42:49
  Speaker 1: I eventually, of course, got the words out and I
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: was like, oh, this is easy. It's like I'm talking
• 42:52
  Speaker 1: to my friends and I'm informing people who've never seen
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: the sport and how amazing is that. I always tell
• 42:58
  Speaker 1: myself that. I always try to to tell myself like
• 43:00
  Speaker 1: positive things like, Oh my gosh, like they can't wait
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: to hear your insights. They can't, you know, like you
• 43:04
  Speaker 1: get to do something that you're telling people who've never
• 43:06
  Speaker 1: seen your sport before about how great it is. So
• 43:09
  Speaker 1: that's kind of how I was able to navigate it
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: and to find calm and to find my voice, you know, and,
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: And to be able to be doing it so long now.
• 43:17
  Speaker 3: Yeah, it's really special to hear you talk about how
• 43:20
  Speaker 3: it felt for you to be able to step onto
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: such a big stage and own your voice and own
• 43:25
  Speaker 3: all of the knowledge that you knew, all of the
• 43:27
  Speaker 3: tools that you had in your toolbox.
• 43:29
  Speaker 2: There are so many people listening.
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: To this right now that hear that and they think, well,
• 43:34
  Speaker 3: that's literally my biggest nightmare. But there are so many moments.
• 43:37
  Speaker 3: where they do wish that they had the gusto to
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: step up to a challenge, to step up and own
• 43:44
  Speaker 3: what it is that they have inside that inner knowing.
• 43:46
  Speaker 3: For someone that's struggling to accept and acknowledge the greatness
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: that they have within them, what do you tell them
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: so that they can show up to challenge with more acceptance?
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: I would say that most of us are doing it scared.
• 44:02
  Speaker 1: I think that's the secret that people don't tell. It's
• 44:04
  Speaker 1: that your biggest stars, when they go out to perform
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: or they go out to play or whatever it is
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: that they're doing, they're not Mr. Cool, especially not the
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: first time. You have nerves and anxiety because it matters
• 44:18
  Speaker 1: to you. And so I think if people would just
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: embrace that feeling of being fearful, being anxious, being nervous,
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: and just do it anyway, it gets easier. It gets better.
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: And I think that's the roadblock that most people have, right?
• 44:34
  Speaker 1: Like I'm at the Olympic start line and I'm nervous
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: as heck. Like, I'm like, oh my God, am I
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: going to do this? Like all of those things, it's
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: so natural. Like you are still human, even when there's
• 44:45
  Speaker 1: greatness within you. And so I think for most people,
• 44:48
  Speaker 1: it's just really kind of getting out of your own
• 44:50
  Speaker 1: way and not letting fear or doubt or anxiety cause
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: you to fold, but just stepping up to the plate,
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: having the experience and then learning from it. And then
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: I think that I think those are the reasons that
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: the greats win is because they just keep swinging. Like,
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: I don't care. I don't care how many times I miss.
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: I don't care how many times I strike out. I'm
• 45:10
  Speaker 1: going to keep swinging and I'm going to hit one
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: of these balls. One of these times it's going to
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: go over the fence. And, you know, it's just that
• 45:17
  Speaker 1: confidence in being able to keep trying.
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that confidence to be able to keep trying. Now,
• 45:24
  Speaker 3: you've also been swinging for the fences in a myriad
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: of ways. So many different ways over the last decade
• 45:31
  Speaker 3: or so, putting your hands into a bunch of different projects.
• 45:34
  Speaker 3: Talk to me a little bit about what's exciting you
• 45:37
  Speaker 3: right now and what you've learned from being so willing
• 45:40
  Speaker 3: to get your hands dirty and put yourself out there.
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm still fortunate to work on and with a
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: lot of great brands. I've been working with Nike now
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: for over 20 years. re-signed with them recently as a
• 45:54
  Speaker 1: brand ambassador. And to have that partnership, it just means
• 45:57
  Speaker 1: everything to our family. And I get to do some
• 46:00
  Speaker 1: really cool things, like their experiences I have because of
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: Nike that I would have never had. And I just
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: absolutely love that. Superfeet is a partner that I have
• 46:09
  Speaker 1: that I love what they're doing. I mentioned to you
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: my foot injury. and how hard it was for me
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: to compete. And so I really sympathize with people who
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: have injuries to their feet or who have a hard
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: time on their feet. And so I love what Superfeet
• 46:24
  Speaker 1: is doing and being innovative and trying to find and
• 46:27
  Speaker 1: help people to be able to walk and move with
• 46:30
  Speaker 1: more comfort. So I love the brand partnerships that I have.
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: I am an entrepreneur, so I have a business. I
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: started a clothing company. We're a luxury pajama and loungewear line.
• 46:40
  Speaker 1: This is our fourth year. And we started as a
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: Christmas company because I love family moments. I love bringing
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: people together. I love all that. And so we created
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: coordinates to create matching family pajamas for people. And then
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: We have grown the brand. We now have our Team
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: USA partnership, which just means the world to me because
• 47:01
  Speaker 1: of obviously my Olympic connection. And, you know, I hope
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: my hope when we when we do these collections is that.
• 47:08
  Speaker 1: it extends the experiences for families, right? Like I wanted
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: to run in the Olympics because when I was in Jamaica,
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: I watched it and I was like, oh my God,
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: I want to be there. And I remember, like, I
• 47:18
  Speaker 1: can remember that feeling of being with my family and
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: experiencing it. And I want to create pieces that help
• 47:23
  Speaker 1: other families to enjoy that experience and that inspire our youth.
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: And so coordinates brings me a lot of joy because
• 47:30
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's like so authentic and true to
• 47:33
  Speaker 1: who I am and where I am in my life
• 47:35
  Speaker 1: right now. and how much I love fashion and I
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: love people and all that. So, you know, working on
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: that brand makes me happy. I have a nonprofit called
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: Mommy Nation Gives where I help moms, single moms, homeless moms,
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: because I can't imagine going through motherhood and not having
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: the resources and support. I just can't imagine it. So yeah,
• 47:54
  Speaker 1: and then I'm a mom and a wife. And so,
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: you know, all of those things just bring me so
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: much joy, make me so happy. And I just hope
• 48:00
  Speaker 1: to continue to excel in all those areas.
• 48:03
  Speaker 3: It's so interesting because when you were at the height
• 48:07
  Speaker 3: of your career, we didn't have storytelling like we do
• 48:12
  Speaker 3: now around athletes. And so almost, after your athletic career,
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: you made this conscious decision to do a lot more
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: storytelling and let people in in a different way, whether
• 48:28
  Speaker 3: that's on your own personal channels or via The Real Housewives.
• 48:32
  Speaker 3: For you, how was that adjustment of letting people in
• 48:36
  Speaker 3: in this way? And what was the most difficult part?
• 48:40
  Speaker 1: And I so appreciate the opportunity to be able to
• 48:44
  Speaker 1: connect with people in this way. Like you said, when
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: I was competing, people would email you. It was like,
• 48:49
  Speaker 1: good luck today, like an email. And so I think
• 48:54
  Speaker 1: it's so unique and so special to be able to
• 48:57
  Speaker 1: connect with people through social media, through TV, through all
• 49:00
  Speaker 1: of these outlets. And my goal is always to inspire people.
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: I always feel like people are one encouraging word away
• 49:09
  Speaker 1: from reaching their goals. And so whether that is through
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: my social media platforms, sharing my fun of my family
• 49:17
  Speaker 1: or bringing just a little laughter or... now I've been
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: a little bit more intentional about sharing inspirational messages because
• 49:24
  Speaker 1: I feel like I do have a lot to share
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: in that area. So I've been a little bit more
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: intentional about doing that. And it's been a lot of
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: fun for me. The Housewives was a whole complete different experience.
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: My goal in joining that cast too was to hopefully
• 49:39
  Speaker 1: bring inspiration and joy and light. And it was a
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: little bit challenging because it is a platform that really
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: centers around the drama more so than the joy of
• 49:51
  Speaker 1: it all. But it was still a great experience for me.
• 49:54
  Speaker 1: And I grew a lot. I grew a lot as
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: a woman in finding my voice. And I did make
• 50:00
  Speaker 1: some great relationships. Marlo Hampson and I are still really
• 50:02
  Speaker 1: great friends, Candy and I. So it was great. And
• 50:06
  Speaker 1: I was exposed to a whole new audience of people
• 50:09
  Speaker 1: And I feel like I found my tribe there. The
• 50:10
  Speaker 1: people who really loved and appreciate me have stayed on
• 50:13
  Speaker 1: and supported me. So I'm someone, Emily, who I say
• 50:16
  Speaker 1: yes to life. When opportunities come, I say yes and
• 50:19
  Speaker 1: I kind of figure it out as I go because
• 50:21
  Speaker 1: I think all of it helps me to grow. And
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: so I feel like that was a part of my
• 50:25
  Speaker 1: growth experience and I enjoyed it. And I'm looking forward
• 50:29
  Speaker 1: to the next thing. I love doing television. And so
• 50:32
  Speaker 1: I don't know what the next iteration of that will be.
• 50:34
  Speaker 1: I have a really great show coming out in September
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: with Script Sports. I did a a talk show where
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: I got to speak to some really great guests. So
• 50:41
  Speaker 1: I'm excited about that. But yeah, just saying yes to
• 50:43
  Speaker 1: life and continuing to let every experience kind of shape
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: how I grow.
• 50:50
  Speaker 3: The thing to double click on here, which I think
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: is so valuable, is you can recognize that maybe something
• 50:56
  Speaker 3: didn't play out as you had hoped or it wasn't
• 50:59
  Speaker 3: exactly what you expected it to be and appreciate what
• 51:03
  Speaker 3: it did for you.
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: Yes. Yes.
• 51:06
  Speaker 3: So for you to say like, I growed so much
• 51:08
  Speaker 3: as a woman during that time, even though you were like,
• 51:12
  Speaker 3: it was really hard for me to bring the joy
• 51:14
  Speaker 3: like I was hoping.
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: Right.
• 51:15
  Speaker 3: It's like, oh, how great is it then that you
• 51:18
  Speaker 3: can look at it in this way instead of being like,
• 51:21
  Speaker 3: oh my God, that was such a whatever.
• 51:22
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 51:23
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: Right. Yeah. No, thank you for that. Yeah. And I've
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: had to find my piece in that, right? It's like, yes,
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: you can, the two things can be true. You can
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: do something that doesn't fit you. You know, it's like
• 51:35
  Speaker 1: something that wasn't perfect, but also still say, okay, here
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: were the good moments. Here were the things that I
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: learned from it. And here's, you know, what I would
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: do or what I wouldn't do next time.
• 51:48
  Speaker 3: You're like the list of the things I wouldn't do
• 51:50
  Speaker 3: the next time. We're like on the side of my
• 51:52
  Speaker 3: desk right now. I like periodically.
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: Exactly.
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: Don't do this on NBC.
• 51:59
  Speaker 1: Okay, check. All right.
• 52:02
  Speaker 3: So someone comes to your Instagram page, Sonia, and they
• 52:06
  Speaker 3: see a woman who has so many hats that she
• 52:10
  Speaker 3: wears on the regular from being a mom to an
• 52:12
  Speaker 3: analyst to then her stints on television and being a
• 52:17
  Speaker 3: nonprofit owner. For you, when you look in the mirror, Sonia,
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: what is it that you see looking back at you?
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: I see a woman who is literally every day striving
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: to just be the best that I can be. And
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: that's it. I want to bring joy to my family,
• 52:37
  Speaker 1: to the world. I want to fulfill my full potential.
• 52:42
  Speaker 1: I feel that God has truly blessed me with incredible potential,
• 52:47
  Speaker 1: great experiences. And I'm always like, how can I continue
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: to be the best version of myself and fulfill all
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: of this potential that God has given me? And yeah,
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: and I look in the mirror and most days I'm
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: really proud of myself because I feel like I pushed
• 53:01
  Speaker 1: through a lot. And I look at myself and I say,
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: we're not done yet. Still got some work to do.
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: We still got a lot of things to experience. And yeah,
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: that's who I see when I look in the mirror.
• 53:13
  Speaker 2: I love that. We got a lot to do.
• 53:15
  Speaker 3: Speaking of a lot to do, there's a lot that's
• 53:17
  Speaker 3: going to happen between now and 2028, LA 2028. When
• 53:22
  Speaker 3: we think about what's happening on the track, if you
• 53:24
  Speaker 3: had to call it, who are your top ones to watch?
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: Team USA is going to have an incredible season. Olympics
• 53:35
  Speaker 1: in LA. In track and field, they are going to
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: represent us so well that it's going to blow our minds. Obviously,
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: there's the Noah Lowes, the Sydney McLaughlin, who will most
• 53:45
  Speaker 1: likely come back, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas. They're
• 53:51
  Speaker 1: all of those big names that we know that have hardware.
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: Masai Russell in the 100-meter hurdles. But then you have
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: like a Cooper Luckenhaus in the 800 who is 17,
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: who is a second fastest or third fastest American ever.
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: There's Tate Taylor who's coming up in the one, two.
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: for America on the sprints, it's just literally mind-blowing how
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: many young superstars we will have vying for those top
• 54:22
  Speaker 1: three spots. We always say Team USA is the hardest
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: team to make. And people, I don't think, really understand.
• 54:28
  Speaker 1: We could have from the US in certain events, the
• 54:31
  Speaker 1: entire eight lanes or five of the eight lanes if
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: it was just based off of times. And so we
• 54:37
  Speaker 1: leave people at home you know, or I mean, now
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: the Olympics will be home, but we leave people off
• 54:43
  Speaker 1: the team who could be in a final. So it
• 54:46
  Speaker 1: is so competitive. So when I tell you, I cannot wait,
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: we already have been looking for Airbnb because the whole
• 54:52
  Speaker 1: family's coming. Like I cannot wait to see how America
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: performs and just the goodness of the 2020 Olympics, especially
• 55:01
  Speaker 1: after the world cup.
• 55:01
  Speaker 2: I'm like, Oh, Oh my God. There's so much, to
• 55:05
  Speaker 2: your point, there's so much good talent. I'm so excited.
• 55:08
  Speaker 3: I think something that's really exciting right now is watching
• 55:10
  Speaker 3: all of the brands invest in so much of this
• 55:13
  Speaker 3: young talent and seeing who they're bringing on and where
• 55:16
  Speaker 3: they're supporting. So I'm really looking forward to it as well.
• 55:20
  Speaker 3: I feel inspired by your story of being like, I'm
• 55:23
  Speaker 3: going to be an NBC commentator. I don't know what
• 55:25
  Speaker 3: I want to do exactly yet for 2028, but I'm
• 55:27
  Speaker 3: going to spend the next year really dialing it in
• 55:29
  Speaker 3: so I can figure it out. And then come on
• 55:32
  Speaker 3: here and be like, this is exactly what I'm going
• 55:33
  Speaker 3: to do.
• 55:34
  Speaker 2: And then I'm going to get the phone call the
• 55:35
  Speaker 2: next day. And it's going to be.
• 55:39
  Speaker 1: I love it. We wrote it. We wrote it. We
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: wrote it. We did it. Listen, I did. I did
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: forget one young superstar who I can't forget. Shanti Jackson. Oh,
• 55:47
  Speaker 1: butting in the hundred, 200. I just can't forget her.
• 55:49
  Speaker 1: She's phenomenal. And so, yeah, I didn't want to leave
• 55:51
  Speaker 1: her off the list. Oh my God.
• 55:53
  Speaker 3: You cannot know so many, so many good people, so
• 55:55
  Speaker 3: many people to watch. And I love also on that note, um,
• 55:58
  Speaker 3: of companies bringing up young talent, also investing in young talent.
• 56:02
  Speaker 3: And I think that, you know, we talk so often,
• 56:04
  Speaker 3: everybody watches women's sports.
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: Well, I think now we're finally starting to see.
• 56:08
  Speaker 3: More people, maybe not everybody, but more people are watching
• 56:11
  Speaker 3: track and field.
• 56:12
  Speaker 2: And that is really fun to be a part of.
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: There's no doubt about it. And I just, I pray
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: that it continues to grow. I pray that, you know,
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: women obviously, but the entire sport of track and field
• 56:23
  Speaker 1: continues to grow and people fall in love with it.
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: You know, there's the Athlos competition that's coming, Alexis Ohanian
• 56:30
  Speaker 1: having that meet in London this year, and just a
• 56:33
  Speaker 1: lot of people investing in the sport overall. And I
• 56:36
  Speaker 1: love that for the athletes and especially for the next
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: generation of athletes who are who want to be in
• 56:42
  Speaker 1: our sport and who will do things that we don't
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: even think, we're not even thinking about yet that are possible.
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: So I'm excited.
• 56:48
  Speaker 3: I don't think it's going to be 19 years until
• 56:50
  Speaker 3: someone breaks Sydney's record.
• 56:52
  Speaker 2: I'll just say that.
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: Right. I know. Not with the rate that they're going now.
• 56:57
  Speaker 2: Not with that rate.
• 56:58
  Speaker 3: Well, Fania, it was such a joy to chat with
• 57:00
  Speaker 3: you today. Before I let you go, I want to know,
• 57:03
  Speaker 3: you have an opportunity to offer yourself a piece of
• 57:06
  Speaker 3: advice looking back on the hurdle moment, which was falling
• 57:09
  Speaker 3: short in 2008.
• 57:11
  Speaker 2: Knowing what you know now, what.
• 57:13
  Speaker 3: Advice would you give to your younger self then?
• 57:17
  Speaker 1: I would tell myself not to be so hard on myself.
• 57:21
  Speaker 1: Failure is a necessary ingredient in the recipe for success.
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: And so embrace it and just keep going. The best
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: is still yet to come.
• 57:31
  Speaker 2: The best is still yet to come.
• 57:32
  Speaker 3: Sonia Richards-Ross, how do the hurdlers find you if they
• 57:36
  Speaker 3: are not yet keeping up?
• 57:37
  Speaker 2: Give us the details.
• 57:38
  Speaker 1: Yes, you can follow me on social media. All of
• 57:42
  Speaker 1: my platforms are Sonia Richie, R-I-C-H-I Ross. I'm on TikTok
• 57:46
  Speaker 1: and Instagram and Facebook as And then my family, we
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: do a YouTube channel, Rolling with the Rosses, where we
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: post once a week, once every two weeks with just
• 57:56
  Speaker 1: really cool updates, whether we're traveling or my son's games
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: or just all the things we're doing. You can check
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: us out there on YouTube. But yeah, Instagram is probably
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: the best place where you can keep up with all
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: the things that I'm doing and what I have coming next.
• 58:08
  Speaker 3: What you have coming next. I'm over at Emily Abadi
• 58:10
  Speaker 3: and at Hurdle Podcast. Another hurdle conquered. Catch you guys
• 58:14
  Speaker 3: next time.