After nearly 400 conversations with Olympians, Paralympians, and trailblazing women athletes from 55 countries, one thing is clear: no two stories are alike. Some athletes train with world-class facilities, others without basic equipment. Some are household names, others are fighting for visibility in sports you’ve never even seen on TV. And yet, across all these differences, certain themes echo again and again.

That’s what this new Best Of series is all about: spotlighting both the range of experiences and the threads that connect them. We’ve pulled together the most powerful moments across years of conversations, including:

✨ Best Advice to Younger Selves — from “give yourself grace to be a beginner” to “don’t dim your light for anyone.”
✨ Best Stories of Resilience — tales of athletes coming back from devastating injuries, near-misses, and moments when the world doubted them most.
✨ Best Moments of Role Modelship — athletes lifting the next generation, mentoring teammates, and carrying entire communities with them to the world stage.
✨ Best Stories of Identity & Joy — how athletes embrace who they are on and off the field, from glitter on the track to pride in their heritage.
and many more!

You’ll hear voices as different as the sports they represent, yet together, they reveal what it really takes to rise to the top. This isn’t just one story. It’s hundreds woven together. And this is just the beginning.

In this episode, Going the Distance, Natoya Goule-Toppin (Jamaica, 800m) shares her relentless fight through illness and injury to return stronger on the track. Caster Semenya (South Africa, 800m) reflects on reclaiming power and self-love after years of scrutiny and legal battles. Anna Jurt (Switzerland, modern pentathlon) finds joy in the process, learning resilience through failure and persistence. Husnah Kukundakwa (Uganda, paraswimming) opens up about how swimming helped her embrace her identity and confidence despite discrimination. Shannon Rowbury (USA, 1500m) explains how lessons from Olympic competition fuel her work mentoring others in performance and mindset. Together, these women redefine endurance—not just as physical stamina, but as faith, identity, and the will to keep showing up.

Flame Bearers is a women's sports storytelling studio, illuminating the unsung stories of exceptional women athletes from around the world. We tell stories via podcast, video and live events.

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