The Feist

This week we’re coming at you from the last all-women’s Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii. Unfortunately, it’s the end of an Ironman era (for now!) — but we’re going out with a bang.

We’ve got all the race drama from the ground — including two frontrunners collapsing while leading the race, a rookie champ who took the world by surprise, podium interviews poolside, and one incredibly badass 80-year-old woman who made history.

But first — as always — what happened in women's sports this week:

• Athlos NYC brought track to Times Square - The vibes? Rock star. Masai Russell, Brittany Brown (who doubled in the 100m and 200m with endometriosis, btw), Marileidy Paulino, Keely Hodgkinson, and Tara Davis-Woodhall all showed up and showed out. Oh, and Faith Kipyegon ran the fastest women’s mile ever on U.S. soil: 4:17.78.
• The Chicago Marathon: Hawi Feysa from Ethiopia dropped a 2:14:56, the 5th fastest woman's time ever run.
• UCI Gravel World Championships: Lorena Wiebes outsprinted Marianne Vos for a dramatic finish on this dirt championship that looks and feels a lot like road...
• Weightlifting World Championships: Olympic gold medalist Olivia Reeves is still breaking all the records. She put up 122kg in the snatch and 154kg in the clean & jerk. That’s 339 pounds, people. How did she break world records and another broke her records? A shift in weight classes cut the number of categories from ten down to eight.
• WNBA Finals: The Aces took it in four over the Phoenix Mercury. But the real talk is about negotiations over the players' collective bargaining agreement — with team valuations skyrocketing (yes, over $100 million in the last year), the stakes are high and the money’s moving.
• COMING UP: Red Bull Rampage is this Thursday and Chelsea Kimball will be throwing down

THEN: All things KONA

• Why this was the final all-women’s Ironman World Championship in Hawaii
• The race: Absolute chaos and courage — Lucy Charles-Barclay and Taylor Knibb both collapsed, and Norwegian rookie Solveig Løvseth stayed steady and strong for the win
• The podium: Hear from Solveig, Kat Matthews (who ran a marathon course record in the heat and humidity), Laura Philipp, and Hannah Berry
• The real legend: Natalie Grabow, 80-year-old woman became the oldest woman to ever finish the Ironman World Championships. (If you're wondering: While Sister Madonna was 82 (!) when she finished Ironman Canada in 2012, no one has ever been able to make the cutoff times in Hawaii's brutal conditions. Until now)
• The heat, the heartbreak, the heroics — all of it, straight from Kona

Feisty Picks of the Week

SARA: Yep, it's Solveig, our new Ironman World Champ

KELLY: And did you know J.Lo ran a 4:49 mile in high school??

Timestamps:

00:00 - Welcome to The Feist: Live from Hawaii

00:28 - Athlos NYC: Track Vibes in Times Square

04:24 - Endometriosis Doesn’t Slow Brittany Brown

05:57 - Fast Roads in Chicago

08:07 - Gravel Worlds = Chaos & Champions

12:21- Weightlifting World Records

15:47 - WNBA Finals and $$$ Talks

19:36 - Ironman Kona: The Final All-Women’s Edition

30:43 - Race Recap: Collapses, Comebacks, and Surprises

31:34 - Poolside with the Podium: Solveig, Kat, Laura & Hannah

53:20 - Natalie Grabow, Age 80, Finishes Kona

01:01:41 - Final Thoughts from Hawaii

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First up this week on the Feist:

Finish line proposals. Jeanne Lehair dominated Supertri Toulouse and then also accepted a marriage proposal on the podium. As you can imagine, we have feelings about this one!

Then, we dive into what’s been happening across the world of women’s sports — from Demi Vollering finally snagging her first major title of the year at the Euro Cycling Championships and Catherine Debrunner, who absolutely dominated the Para Athletics World Championships with five gold medals — yes, five — across distances from 100m to 5000m. Add in the Cricket World Cup’s $13.8 million prize purse!

Then we shift gears to the WNBA Finals, where Vegas is leading again, and Napheesa Collier goes full scorched earth on the WBNA leadership.

Plus, the Red Bull Rampage is back. If you’ve ever wondered what happens when mountain bikers throw themselves off cliffs for fun (and glory), this is the one. We sit down with athlete Chelsea Kimball, who shares the guts, grit, and glory behind one of the most extreme events in sport.

CORRECTION: We mistakenly mentioned that Rampage was *this* weekend, when it's actually *next* weekend. Watch on Oct. 16 on Red Bull TV.

Finally, we go deep on the true value of female sports fans — and spoiler alert: it’s massive. According to new data, women will control 75% of global discretionary spending by 2030, and 72% already identify as sports fans. Yet two-thirds say brands still don’t get them. We unpack what that means for the future of fandom, sponsorship, and who gets to shape the sports economy.

Deep dive: The value of female sports fans

• https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/study-reveals-women-sports-fans-120207836.html
• Full study: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/63dd2a294ccbcf78ab818f33/t/68dc158c1ad98112f9228c39/1759253900172/TCEPartII+Her+Fandom.pdf

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00:30 Finish Line Proposals: Love at the Finish Line

02:25 Euro Cycling Championships: Demi Vollering Takes the Win

04:50 Para Track and Field World Championships: Shoutout to Catherine Debrunner

06:14 Cricket World Cup: A Global Sport's Big Payday

09:53 WNBA Drama: Napheesa Collier's Scorched Earth Speech

12:13 Ironman World Championship: All Women's Kona

13:39 Athlos Track Meet: Culture Meets Sport

17:25 Red Bull Rampage: Women's Inclusion and Interview with Chelsea Kimball

28:29 The Future of Women's Sports: Opportunities and Challenges

36:16 Feisty Picks of the Week including Ilona Maher Barbie!

Canada may not always dominate global sports headlines—but this week, it’s all about The Great White North.

• First, we kick off with Canada's plucky performance against England in the Rugby World Cup finals. While the trophy slipped through their fingers, the tournament was a triumph—smashing every record in ticket sales and viewership.
• Then, from the pitch to the pedals: Magdeleine Vallieres won Canada's first ever world title at the cycling World Championships (man or woman). And in true Canadian style, her teammate Alison Jackson might’ve been even more thrilled than she was!
• We also check in on more world championship action, from the World Trail and Mountain Running Championships to the muddy madness of the XTERRA World Championships.

But the real spotlight this week? The future of the WNBA in Canada. We sit down with the Toronto Tempo President Teresa Resch to talk about the WNBA’s newest expansion team, launching in Toronto in the spring. She shares what it takes to build a WNBA team from scratch—crafting identity, recruiting players, creating culture—and how fans can help build lasting momentum in pivotal moment in women's basketball.

Next week? We're on the ground in Kona for the final Women's-only IRONMAN World Championship on the Big Island. Stay tuned for interviews, predictions, and takeaways from this historic event.

Subscribe to The Feist, our Free Weekly Newsletter covering Women's Sports: https://livefeisty.com/

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Episode resources:

• Sign up for daily updates from our coverage of the women's Ironman World Championship in Kona: https://feistymedia.ac-page.com/kona
• The muddy chaos at XTERRA World Champs: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPGnCDzDOYh/?img_index=1
• Video of Alison Jackson after the historic Canadian world championship medal: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPHLcT2gZ9H/

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02:15 - Canada vs. England in the Rugby World Cup finals

03:14 - What's next for for women's rugby?

09:33 - The Cycling World Championship highlights

16:07 - An update on the UCI's new rules

19:27 - Next week's all-women's Ironman World Championships

21:03 - The World Trail and Mountain Running Championships

25:58 - Mud Madness at the XTERRA World Championships

29:41 - Interview with Toronto Tempo President, Teresa Resch

34:47 - Building the Toronto Tempo: From Bid to Team

35:31 - Creating an identity for "Canada's team"

40:38 - How fans get get involved with the newest WNBA team

1:06:09 - An update on the WNBA Playoffs and ongoing CBA negotiations

1:10:25 - Our Feisty Picks of the Week

The epic Track & Field World Championships, the historic Cycling World Championships in Rwanda, the finals of the Rugby World Cup, the World Mountain Trail Running Championships, and ... the first-ever Everesting World Championships?! It's hard to even keep track of all the amazing women's sports, but that's why Kelly & Sara are here for you:

• First, we're fired up about the Canada v. England final in the record-setting Rugby World Cup — powered by a crowdfunded campaign.
• Then, we're sending sympathies to Kelly with her Valkyries out of the WNBA Playoffs — but, hey, what an inaugural season!
• And to top off: We hear from Japanese running and triathlon editor, Mika Tokairin, about what it's like in the stadium and on the ground in Tokyo for the Track & Field World Championship. Plus, we pick our favorite moments.

Looking ahead, it's now all about the Road Cycling World Championships going on right now — the first ever held in Africa — and debate raging about the role of sportswashing in cycling.

Of course, because we can’t not talk about it, there's also a deep dive into the rumors coming out of track & field about the "need" for sex testing and the questions we still have.

Episode resources:

• An essay from Australian Olympian about the sex testing process: https://goodsportmagazine.substack.com/p/witnessing-the-body
• More on the debate over sportswashing in Rwanda: https://globalpeloton.substack.com/p/sportswashing-and-the-kigali-world
• The report on U.S. high school participation numbers: https://nfhs.org/stories/participation-in-high-school-sports-hits-record-high-wit[…]xbQcwmGHOR3LgoAtCeOv_V4X1kAXtgzT8_g1eWmPbuPP0hcarcK8tgvYz.UMrVFv

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00:37 Rugby World Cup Finals: Team Canada is IN

04:33 WNBA Playoffs: Valkyries' Heartbreaking Exit

07:53 Tokyo World Championships: On the Ground Insights

16:44 Track Highlights: Record-Breaking Performances

26:34 Controversies in Athletics: Sex Testing and Testosterone Levels

31:36 UK Media's Conflation of Athlete Categories

32:44 Australian Olympian's Essay on Sex Testing

33:49 Personal Reflections on Gender Verification

34:56 World Championships and Privacy Concerns

35:45 CrossFit Challenge and Personal Achievements

36:50 Upcoming World Championships and Events

40:13 Rwanda's Controversial Hosting of Cycling World Championships

50:04 High School Sports Participation Trends

57:40 Feisty Picks of the week including Canadian rugby star, Sophie de Goede, and Everesting champ, Illi Gardner

This week's Feist starts with a recap of all the world championships:

• The biggest stories from the Track & Field World Championships, including the heartwarming third-place finish from Uruguay's Julia Paternain and the emotional farewell to Jamaican sprint legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
• Plus, mountain biking and Samara Maxwell's battle with her New Zealand's federation over disordered eating.
• And, the America's Cup in flag football, your WNBA Playoff update, and the semis of the Rugby World Cup

Then, we hear from Isabella Bertold, Canada’s most decorated laser sailor, who successfully transitioned from sailing into professional cycling. What is it like to compete at the top of not just one but two demanding sports? She talks about the physical training that goes into sailing, the mystery of how these mega-sailing events make money, and if both sports can become more sustainable.

Kelly & Sara then do a deep-dive on the recent Cyclists Alliance survey that polls professional female cyclists annually to measure pain points and progress. This year: While the top salaries are improving, the gap between the top and the bottom is widening.

Plus, Feisty Picks of the Week: Marathoner Julia Paternain and triathlete Beth Potter - both proving that you should never count someone out prematurely.

Episode resources:

• Watch Julia Paternain's emotional finish: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOoR-UACfHL/
• More on Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce's legacy: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6615685/2025/09/13/shelly-ann-fraser-pryce-world-championship/
• Your Rugby World Cup bracket: https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2025/en/knockouts
• The full Cyclists' Alliance survey: https://cyclistsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/PUBLIC_TCASurvey2025_FINALsml-1.pdf

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Apparently they have championship season in all sports! And it is here now.

The Track & Field World Championships kick off Saturday in Tokyo with the women’s marathon. We've got a mini-preview, an update on the challenges with the sex testing deadline (yep, still), and what the heck happened with Grand Slam Track?!

Also championship season:

• Aryna Sabalenka made history as the first woman since Serena Williams (2014) to win back-to-back singles titles. Plus, there's talk of a modern-day “Battle of the Sexes” match between Sabalenka and Nick Kyrgios. Do we really need to do this again?
• The U.S. is officially out of the Rugby World Cup — and yeah, it's always a little unfortunate when a sport’s main character (looking at you, Ilona Maher) exits early.
• The WNBA playoff picture is nearly set, so we look back at the Valkyries inaugural game and hear from the head coach
• Kate Courtney takes the XCM World Championship
• A listener voicemail sparks a breakdown of gravel vs. mountain biking — what’s the difference, and where should beginners start?
• Plus: our Feisty Picks of the Week

Have thoughts about today's show or your own Feisty Pick of the Week? Send a voice memo to [email protected]

Subscribe to The Feist, our Free Weekly Newsletter covering Women's Sports: https://livefeisty.com/

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Episode resources:

Sabalenka's full range of emotions in one play: https://x.com/luxurytrash_/status/1961600809386295419

The POV video from the winning downhill world championship run: https://www.instagram.com/p/DOVQPddDLwg/?hl=en

WNBA Standings: https://www.wnba.com/standings

2025 World Track and Field Championships watch schedule: https://www.nbcsports.com/olympics/news/how-to-watch-world-track-and-field-championships-2025-schedule

_

• 00:24 - U.S. Open highlights and mental health comebacks
• 03:27 - Do we need a Battle of the Sexes 2?!
• 09:10 - Who's in and who's out of the Rugby World Cup
• 14:50 - The WNBA and first expansion team to make playoffs
• 25:15 - Listener voicemail: What's the difference between gravel biking & mountain biking?
• 32:59 - A Track and Field World Championships Preview
• 38:28 - What happened to Grand Slam Track?
• 51:30 - An update on sex testing in track: Ugghhhhhhh
• 1:01:36 - Feisty Picks of the Week

This week, Kelly & Sara go deep on the Olympics, the explosive growth of flag football, and what the h*ll is happening with the L.A. 2028 Games.

First, we're joined by American pro flag footballer Madison Fulford — who tells us how she was spotted by recruiters (giving Kelly hope!), why the sport is growing so fast and how it differs from tackle football (lots of ways!), and what exactly makes it just a lot of fun. Plus, after losing in the finals at the World Games to Mexico, Madison and the U.S. team are looking ahead to the America's Cup in two weeks, where they'll get their revenge.

And then it's time to get into the weeds on calls to cancel the L.A. Games. Why? Because we should have learned from the 1936 Olympics.

Before all of that, though, it was a busy week of women's sports:

• Rain-turned-snow at the UTMB races in the Alps might be the worst possible conditions imaginable. And led to some wild finishes.
• Injuries in the WNBA have been out of control. Why?
• The U.S. Open is hot, trendy, and fashionable.
• And, the Feisty Picks of the Week: 10-year-old power-lifter Sophie Bell and 92-year-old sprinter Emma Mazzenga

Have thoughts about today's show or your own Feisty pick of the week? Send a voice memo to [email protected]

Episode resources:

Podcast episode with Althea Gibson's biographer: https://livefeisty.com/podcasts/60-ashley-brown-lessons-from-althea-gibson-serving-yourself-and-refusing-to-be-forgotten/

Get to know the 92-year-old sprinter, Emma Mazzenga: https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2025/08/24/92-year-old-sprinter-emma-mazzenga/

And the case study done on her:  https://www.researchgate.net/publication/392940114_How_does_she_run_so_fast_The_physiol[…]Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InByb2ZpbGUiLCJwYWdlIjoicHJvZmlsZSJ9fQ

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• 00:00 – Intro + Hot Takes on the Worst Weather for Sports
• 01:25 – UTMB: Extreme Conditions and Athlete Grit
• 12:30 – The WNBA's Injury Epidemic
• 18:35 – Rugby World Cup: Hits, Highlights, and Who's Winning
• 24:55 – Honoring Black Women at the U.S. Open
• 33:00 – Madison Fulford Joins to talk All Things Flag Football
• 54:25 – L.A. 2028: A Bad Idea
• 1:04:30 – Feisty Picks of the Week

This week, Kelly and Sara don't just watch sports; they do sports.

Kelly was at the massive 7,000-person Chicago Triathlon and Supertri pro event over the weekend — her first race postpartum — and she has a mini-rant about how we talk about women's health and sports. And, Sara tries to identify with the mountain bikers at the world championships, but fails.

Then, it's all about the two big championship events this week: First, UTMB week, and then a chat with U.S. national champion Hannah Otto ahead of the two-week-long Mountain Bike World Championships.

• UTMB: Confused by the acronyms and qualification process? Kelly and Sara break it down. And who could win the 108-mile circumnavigation of Mont Blanc, with 32,000ft of elevation.
• Then, Hannah Otto breaks down the acronyms in mountain biking and the different race formats — she's done them all. Plus, she'll be tackling the marathon mountain bike world championship race with its own 15,000ft of elevation!

Plus, a listener voicemail about her powerlifting coach’s take on the idea of a women’s decathlon. (Spoiler: Is it sexism?)

Resources:

• How to watch the mountain bike world championships
• Watch UTMB Live
• Hannah's White Rim FKT movie

Have thoughts about today's show or your own Feisty pick of the week? Send a voice memo to [email protected]

Highlights:

• 02:52 - Navigating postpartum racing and a mini-rant
• 19:04 - The ins-and-outs of UTMB and qualifying
• 29:10 - Female participation in trail running
• 40:09 - The many multiple mountain biking disciplines
• 55:10 - Exploring the FKT phenomenon in mountain biking

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This week on The Feist it's all about the women's Rugby World Cup — and we're joined by Canadian silver medalist and rugby sevens team captain, Liv Apps, who breaks down everything you need to know about rugby in the Olympics v. rugby in the World Cup.

Apps gives us a behind-the-scenes look at how rugby players prepare for the six-week World Cup and how the tournament is already breaking attendance records in England (and hype is building!). And, yes, Ilona Maher is playing.

Kelly O'Mara and Sara Gross also dive back into the weeds to check in on how sex testing in track & field is going. (Spoiler: not great.) And we get a nuanced and insightful voicemail from a former pro runner with a fresh perspective on the convoluted process.

Also in this episode:

• Another course record shattered at the Leadville 100 (this time running!)
• Sara goes courtside to the first-ever regular season WNBA game in Canada
• And our Feisty Picks of the Week: Tara Dower, who just claimed the overall FKT on the Vermont Long Trail, and Brittney Griner's impressive athleticism, because — as people keep telling us — "women are amazing."

Episode resources and links:

• Feisty's how to mountain bike: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• World Athletics FAQ on the new SRY gene testing process
• Survey of elite and national female athletes on transgender participation
• The Rugby World Cup schedule & how to watch
• And listen to last year's Ironwomen episode with Tara Dower: https://livefeisty.com/podcasts/feistytriathlon/ironwomen-conquering-the-appalachian-trail-with-tara-dower-and-rascal/

Subscribe to The Feist, our Free Weekly Newsletter covering Women's Sports: https://livefeisty.com/

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The theme for this week's episode: Is it sexism? Or, is it just plain stupid?

To that question, Kelly and Sara get in the weeds on women’s decathlon with Lauren Kuntz, who is organizing the 2nd ever Women's Decathlon World Championships — taking place this weekend and airing on the All-Women’s Sports Network (AWSN).

Lauren talks to us about the historical exclusion of women from the decathlon (the all-around competition for track and field), building more opportunities for women to compete, and her goal of a gradual transition to adding a women's decathlon into the Olympics. 

But first, Kelly and Sarah kick things off with a recap of the week in women's sports. The highlight? The Leadville Trail 100 MTB, where Kate Courtney—just eight weeks post-surgery—smashed the course record.

Which leads to a spirited debate over the much-coveted ultra-racing belt buckles and the question: Should there be a different belt buckle standard for women?

They then dive into one of the more unexpected headlines of the week—green dildos being thrown at recent WNBA games—and what it says about how women’s sports are received and represented. Sexist or just plain stupid?

Also on today's episode:

• Our first voicemail from a listener (i.e. Kelly’s Mom), who sets her daughter straight
• Sports on tap this weekend: Do you know about the World Games?
• And our Feisty picks of the week: Tennis phenom Victoria Mboko and 11-year old Molly Ehlers, who recently completed the 2,700-mile self-supported tour Divide bike race with her father. 

Have thoughts about today's show or your own Feisty pick of the week? Send a voice memo to [email protected]

Highlights:

• 00:43 - What We Watched: Kate Courtney's record-breaking performance at Leadville 100
• 04:31 - The Belt Buckle Debate: Only 9 women earned buckles in Leadville...
• 12:16 - Understanding the dildos being thrown at WNBA games
• 19:31 - A Listener Voicemail: Kelly's mom weighs in
• 23:24 - In the Weeds with Kelly & Sara: Why the Olympics don't have a Women's Decathlon?
• 30:03 - Advocating for a gradual Olympic transition to decathlon
• 31:28 - Building opportunities for women in decathlon
• 38:23 - Highlighting Top Female Decathletes
• 42:42 - Sexist or stupid?
• 51:32 - The World Games and other women's sports to watch this upcoming week
• 56:29 - Feisty Picks of the Week

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