In this episode of Flame Bearers, host Manasi Joshi speaks with Canadian world record holder Danielle Dorris on making her Paralympic debut at just 13 years old, navigating the relentless fatigue of elite training, and learning the vital lesson that it’s okay if you can’t balance every area of life all at once. Danielle reminds us that Paralympians are world-class competitors who work just as hard as any Olympic athlete, and shows us all that long-term excellence comes from competing against your own standards, separating your craft from your personal identity, and learning to listen to what the water tells you.

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Flame Bearers is a women's sports storytelling studio, championing extraordinary athletes and driving conversations around equality, leadership, and high performance. We’ve collaborated with 450+  Olympians and Paralympians from 55 countries—including Hilary Knight, Sue Bird, Caster Semenya, and Amber Glenn— and have earned 28 international awards for capturing raw human journeys of resilience, confidence, and mental health. Through video, podcasting, events, and social media, we spotlight the athlete’s story behind the scoreboards, in her own words.