Fresh off her adventures in Switzerland and France, Joanne Murphy rejoins the pod to recap her recent travels, including her time announcing at Ironman 70.3 Vichy and the Epic Series mountain bike race.

Meanwhile, Kelly returned to racing in style at the Chicago Triathlon — by Supertri! The event brought huge participation numbers and maybe — just maybe — signs that mass participation triathlons are making a real comeback.

While there, Kelly caught up with Supertri podium stars Jeanne Lehair and Georgia Taylor-Brown, who offered up their race-day reactions and gave us a peek at what’s ahead. (Seven races in seven weeks for Georgia!) Plus, a conversation with Dare2tri co-founder Keri Serota about the organization's mission to empower athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments to try triathlon.

Then the crew looks ahead to a jam-packed race weekend: T100 French Riviera, the new joint WTCS (and which athletes are doing both), and the final IM Pro Series race pre-championships at Zell am See 70.3. Katie, Joanne, and Kelly also some corrections for the record and some questions about what's to come. It all kicks off championship season!

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While Joanne Murphy is still off in St. Moritz (is she going to come back to us next week!?), Kelly O'Mara and Katie Zaferes take the reins. They talk all about the final Kona qualifiers, the first races with the new age-graded qualification system, and the latest race results — including the World Games duathlon title.

Then we chat with 2016 Olympic champion Gwen Jorgensen about her recent surgery, a return to training, balancing parenting with training (and with surgery recovery), her new scholarship and investment project, and her plans for the future. Lucky for triathlon fans, she's definitely got more races in her sights!

Katie and Kelly also dish on:

• Katie's return to work six weeks postpartum - yes, Europeans, that's fast!
• Kelly's upcoming event (not race!) at this weekend's Super Tri Chicago Triathlon. Come say hi if you're in town!
• The final list of Ironman World Championships qualifiers is out and it looks stacked. Plus, there are 19 athletes making their IM World Champs debut.
• And Kelly did the math on the first two races with the new age-group qualifying system.
• Would Katie race a duathlon mixed relay??

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While Joanne is off announcing races in Switzerland, Kelly and Katie are joined by guest co-host Chelsea Burns (also the host of Chasing the Burn).

Chelsea brings her own feist with a brand new pick for race of the year, insights into track rivalries, what athletes deal with in the year after the Olympics, and how she really feels about ever racing triathlon again. And, they look ahead to the final Kona qualifying race and the great Kona debate over same day championship racing,

She also shares her experience running a youth triathlon camp in Boulder, dives into the pros and cons of AI coaching (we're thinking mostly cons), and gives a sneak peek into her own racing goals — including ultra-running and podcasting life.

This one’s full of laughs, hot takes, and deep dives into real life racing and coaching. Plus, we get some throwbacks from when Katie and Chelsea used to race together.

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Katie Zaferes is back!

This time with four-week-old baby Josie in her arms and a new perspective on the not-so-linear road back to training. She catches us up about the chaos of early motherhood and coaching, while trying to stay connected to elite-level triathlon — with all the honesty and humor we've come to expect.

And with the whole gang back, they took the chance to dive into the latest: previewing the T100 London race this upcoming weekend, debating the newest PTO news, getting the inside scoop on last week's surprise Supertri winner, and correcting the record on a few things the team may have wildly speculated about.

Then, we’re thrilled to welcome three-time XTERRA World Champion Solenne Billouin, who shares her journey from cycling to off-road dominance to the world of 70.3 road racing. She gets real about the mental grind of elite performance, the learning curve of switching disciplines, and why she’s not a huge fan of the phrase “dream big.”

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In this episode, Kelly and Joanne catch up on all things triathlon, including an in-depth Ironman Leeds recap, the return of Boise 70.3, new North American race announcements, and Joanne’s hectic announcing schedule for the rest of the year (and you thought racing was hard!)

The heart of the episode is a powerful, in-depth interview with long-time pro, Melanie McQuaid, a multi-time world champion who successfully transitioned from professional mountain biking and Xterra to long course triathlon. Mel opens up about her decades-long career in endurance sports, racing at the elite level in her 50s, and how she’s adapted her training and mindset along the way.

She shares:

• Her early days in mountain biking and the shift to triathlon
• Embracing the challenge and adventure of Xterra off-road racing
• How strength and technical skills play a role in long-term performance
• Balancing recovery, self-care, and competitive drive as we age
• The mental strategies that keep her sharp and focused
• What it means to race Kona at 50—and still chase world titles
• Her advice to women navigating aging, identity, and high performance in sport

It's another jam-packed episode of wisdom and inspiration from one of the all-time greats!

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If you haven’t seen Ruth Astle on a triathlon race course lately, it’s not for lack of trying—she’s been sidelined much of the year by a frustrating, still-unresolved hip injury.

But that doesn't mean she hasn't been keeping up (at a very detailed level!) with all the latest races and athlete issues as a member of the PTO Athlete Board. And she brings all that knowledge to today's episode to dissect Ironman Lake Placid, way too early Kona predictions, and the public release of the Race Ranger data from Challenge Roth.

Today, Kelly and Joanne catch up with Ruth for a wide-ranging and honest conversation covering everything from race highs to injury lows—and how she deals with this frustrating time. (Lots of gravel riding.)

In today's episode:

• Why Ironman Hamburg is Ruth's pick for race of the year so far
• Her dark horses for Kona - including Solveig Løvseth??
• The evolution of IRONMAN racing—and whether you have to run a sub-2:50 now
• Her leadership role on the PTO Athlete Board and athlete frustrations (too many rules!)
• Her ongoing hip injury, the impact it’s had on her training and racing plans, and how she's adapting
• Looking ahead to the next big adventures and career moves

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We're sharing this episode of Feisty's weekly women's sports show, called The Feist, because we thought you’d enjoy this preview of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. Even if you already know everything about cycling, we're sure you’ll find something you don’t know in today’s episode.

And be sure to subscribe and follow The Feist wherever you listen, so you don't miss any future episodes of the only showing covering *ALL* women's sports:

• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-feist/id1821308242
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1qnvTIJ24cKFWW3JpiIOLR
• Youtube Music: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLuvyuG9qLFgy5LXKyIs4sZi18aetQE8gm

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This week on The Feist, it's all about previewing the biggest women's race of the year: The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. 

Kate Veronneau, director of women's strategy at Zwift, joins us to give a peak behind the curtain into what goes into the massive event, the kind of growth they've seen at TDFF, and who she thinks could win.

But first, it's our women's sports highlights from the week, including drama from the Euros soccer championship, gossip from the WNBA All-Star Weekend, and a deep dive into the doping sanction that was handed out to the marathon world record holder (and why it hurts more than just a couple of athletes).

From what women's sports we watched to what we want to watch, it's just another week of your favorite sports with your Feistiest friends!

Highlights:

• 0:00 - Welcome and What We Watched
• 13:00 - "Pay Us What You Owe Us"
• 21:57 - WNBA Insights and Gossip
• 25:02 - The Doping Downfall of Marathon World Record Holder, Ruth Chepngetich
• 34:43 - The Impact of Doping on Athletic Careers
• 43:20 - Kate Veronneau previews the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift
• 01:11:10 - Our Feisty Picks of the Week, including American Ninja Warrior

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Laura Siddall's triathlon racing days may be over, but her love of triathlon isn't.

Sid, Kelly, and Joanne break down the year’s most electrifying moments in the sport and swap thoughts on who's crushing it (hello, Kat Matthews), who's surprising us (the Aussies), and what’s going on with the new world championship qualification system for age-groupers and pros. Spoiler: It’s a lot.

Sid then opens up about her emotional retirement after Challenge Roth, sharing reflections on her final race, what she'd love to see in the sport, and drops hints at what’s next.

It's another hour of sideline commentary, Olympic chatter (and that pesky 100K Olympic rumor), and a peek behind the curtain of triathlon broadcasting. Because even after retirement, Sid’s still all-in on the sport and we're here for it.

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Yes, there is life after a professional triathlon career and Lauren Brandon is here to gush about it!

This week, Joanne and Kelly talk to the recently retired pro and mom-to-be about life after racing:

• What does she miss most about her pro racing days? (Definitely not swimming.)
• What changes did she see in the sport during her final years?
• As a standout swimmer, what was it like always racing from the front?
• What do her weekends look like now? (Ahhhh...brunch)
• Her new role managing athletes at Varlo Apparel
• Staying active during pregnancy and what comes next!

Plus, Lauren's still a HUGE triathlon fan — and keeping up with all the racing! So all three dissect the latest races — including the controversial sprint finish and protest at the 70.3 European Championship, the racing at Challenge Roth, and the upcoming triathlon start lines this weekend (WTCS Hamburg!). Who still needs to earn a spot to Kona?

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With co-host Katie Zaferes on maternity leave, Kelly and Joanne are joined by special guest Bianca Fernandez-Clark, founder of Women in Tri UK, to break down the new Ironman age-group World Championship qualification system—and what it means for gender equity in the sport.

But first, they recap the chaos of Ironman Frankfurt: from penalties and mishaps to standout performances (Kristian Blummenfelt, anyone?) and gear issues that shook up the race. They also preview Challenge Roth, where current World Champ Laura Philipp could be chasing that first-ever sub-8 iron-distance.

Then, it’s on to World Championship slots. With Ironman now rolling out a new qualification process—based on a performance-driven, age-graded algorithm—Kelly and Bianca unpack what this could mean for the sport.

Will it bring more fairness and opportunity? Or, is it a tweak in need of fine-tuning?

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