Grit or Gift

On today’s show, our guest is former professional basketball player Andrey Kirilenko, otherwise known as AK47. Andrey is best known for his long career at the Utah Jazz, where he became one of the top players in the NBA. Andrey now acts as the commissioner for the Russian Basketball Federation and runs a nonprofit foundation with his wife, Masha, that helps kids in need.

On today's show, our guest is Ellen Hart, a former competitive runner who, at the age of 50, began her second athletic career as a triathlete and is now a world champion many times over. She’s now 63, and she recently qualified for the Kona Ironman world championships in October. Ellen, who was formerly married to Denver Mayor Federico Peña, has been outspoken about her struggles with bulimia and anorexia, and was the subject of a Lifetime movie "Dying To Be Perfect." She joined us today from her home in Boulder County. 

On today’s show, we’re interviewing Mikaela Shiffrin, the best American alpine skier ever. She’s a two-time Olympic gold medalist, and a three-time overall world cup champion. The past year has been a hard one for her, especially with the loss of her father, Jeff. We caught up with her at her home in Vail, Colorado, to find out how she’s pushing through it. 

Our guest is Irina Pavlova, former president of Onexim Sport & Entertainment, where she transformed the Brooklyn Nets from a dying franchise into a profitable business and a damn good basketball team. Before that, she was the head of Google’s Strategic Partnerships in Russia. We caught up with her while on vacation in Miami from her home in London. 

Our guest today is professional skier Ingrid Backstrom, who is perhaps the single most influential female skier in modern times. She has appeared in more than 20 ski films, podiumed in 12 big mountain competitions, and bagged first ski descents all over the world. She joins us from her home in Leavenworth, Washington, where like a lot of us these days, she’s home with her two young daughters playing in the background.