The Gifted?

In today’s episode, we have with us triple olympian, and an olympic record holder in rowing - Sally Callie. Sally and Niraj talk about how rowing found her, instead of the other way round. They also discuss how Sally dealt with not one but two 4th place finishes at the Olympics, narrowly missing out on medals. Sally also reflects on getting diagnosed with a potentially fatal brain malformation and how she relied on her ‘athlete mindset’ to recover from the illness.She also talks about her principles of GOLD - G for Gratitude, O for Obstacles as opportunities, L for Lead from within and D for daily habits determining our future. She’s not teaching the principles, she is living them and showing us that it works.

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Zenkai Sports Partnership - "The Gifted?" is now sponsored by Zenkai Sports, the new disruptor in the performance apparel world. Zenkai utilises a brand-new technology that repels liquids, keeping you cooler during intense activity as the sweat evaporates naturally off your skin. This allows you to regulate body temperature easily and push yourself harder as Zenkai clothing harnesses the power of your sweat. Sweat is our friend, keep it on you! Zenkai Sports is also the only performance apparel company that is cotton-based. All of their gear is over 65% cotton with some pieces over 95%. Cotton is bio-degradable, feels great against your skin and is much better for our environment than synthetic-based apparel. Please go to www.zenkaisports.com to check out their cool range of products that can give you that extra boost in your performance, and while you are at it, use the code TGP20 for a 20% discount off your entire order. You can also find all these details in our show notes of this episode, so don’t forget to check it out.

In today’s episode, we have United States’ winter Olympian - Rebekah Bradford. Rebekah is a speedskater who competed at the 2010 Vancouver Games in the 1,000 meters distance. Rebekah and Niraj discuss her qualification to the Olympics - the skate that is a folklore in the US speed skating circuit. Rebekah also reflects on how she accidentally found her faith that she believes has allowed her to perform better as an athlete and fulfill her dream of becoming an Olympian, the dream that she had since she was 5.

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Zenkai Sports Partnership - "The Gifted?" is now sponsored by Zenkai Sports, the new disruptor in the performance apparel world. Zenkai utilises a brand-new technology that repels liquids, keeping you cooler during intense activity as the sweat evaporates naturally off your skin. This allows you to regulate body temperature easily and push yourself harder as Zenkai clothing harnesses the power of your sweat. Sweat is our friend, keep it on you! Zenkai Sports is also the only performance apparel company that is cotton-based. All of their gear is over 65% cotton with some pieces over 95%. Cotton is bio-degradable, feels great against your skin and is much better for our environment than synthetic-based apparel. Please go to www.zenkaisports.com to check out their cool range of products that can give you that extra boost in your performance, and while you are at it, use the code TGP20 for a 20% discount off your entire order. You can also find all these details in our show notes of this episode, so don’t forget to check it out.

In today’s episode, Niraj welcomes Olympian Siona Fernandes. Siona is of Indian-origin and represented New Zealand at the London Olympics in the sport of Boxing. Siona and Niraj discuss what was it like growing up in Goa while playing multiple sports and also how her dancing career of 17 years helped her with Boxing. She reflects on moving to New Zealand at 24, picking up boxing at 27 and taking the boxing world by storm as she rose to world #11 within a year. They also talk about solitude and spirituality and how she depends on it heavily to train mentally for such a gruesome sport.

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Zenkai Sports Partnership - "The Gifted?" is now sponsored by Zenkai Sports, the new disruptor in the performance apparel world. Zenkai utilises a brand-new technology that repels liquids, keeping you cooler during intense activity as the sweat evaporates naturally off your skin. This allows you to regulate body temperature easily and push yourself harder as Zenkai clothing harnesses the power of your sweat. Sweat is our friend, keep it on you! Zenkai Sports is also the only performance apparel company that is cotton-based. All of their gear is over 65% cotton with some pieces over 95%. Cotton is bio-degradable, feels great against your skin and is much better for our environment than synthetic-based apparel. Please go to www.zenkaisports.com to check out their cool range of products that can give you that extra boost in your performance, and while you are at it, use the code TGP20 for a 20% discount off your entire order. You can also find all these details in our show notes of this episode, so don’t forget to check it out.

In today's episode, Niraj welcomes this show's first ever professional footballer as a guest. It is PSG Women's Goal Keeper, Arianna Criscione. Arianna has one of the most unique profiles in football, as she has two parallel contracts with PSG, one as a goal keeper and another one as a sponsorship manager. In this episode, they talk about Arianna's successful career across multiple countries and how it could all culminate in a fairytale ending for her career on Friday, 4th June, 2021 when PSG take on Dijon and could win their first league title ever with a win.

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Zenkai Sports Partnership - "The Gifted?" is now sponsored by Zenkai Sports, the new disruptor in the performance apparel world. Zenkai utilises a brand-new technology that repels liquids, keeping you cooler during intense activity as the sweat evaporates naturally off your skin. This allows you to regulate body temperature easily and push yourself harder as Zenkai clothing harnesses the power of your sweat. Sweat is our friend, keep it on you! Zenkai Sports is also the only performance apparel company that is cotton-based. All of their gear is over 65% cotton with some pieces over 95%. Cotton is bio-degradable, feels great against your skin and is much better for our environment than synthetic-based apparel. Please go to www.zenkaisports.com to check out their cool range of products that can give you that extra boost in your performance, and while you are at it, use the code TGP20 for a 20% discount off your entire order. You can also find all these details in our show notes of this episode, so don’t forget to check it out.

In this episode, Niraj welcomes Great Britain’s Olympian, Stewart Innes. Stewart and Niraj discuss how he came through a tough group of rowers and got selected to race at the Rio Olympics, where he finished fourth and narrowly missed out on a medal. Stewart also reflects on the injury setback he had after Rio and how that paved way for what he considers his biggest accomplishment - overcoming his injury to compete again. Stewart also shares how the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 forced him into early retirement and how he has since transitioned to working on his new venture, The Athlete Mindset (https://www.theathletemindset.co.uk/).

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Zenkai Sports Partnership - "The Gifted?" is now sponsored by Zenkai Sports, the new disruptor in the performance apparel world. Zenkai utilises a brand-new technology that repels liquids, keeping you cooler during intense activity as the sweat evaporates naturally off your skin. This allows you to regulate body temperature easily and push yourself harder as Zenkai clothing harnesses the power of your sweat. Sweat is our friend, keep it on you! Zenkai Sports is also the only performance apparel company that is cotton-based. All of their gear is over 65% cotton with some pieces over 95%. Cotton is bio-degradable, feels great against your skin and is much better for our environment than synthetic-based apparel. Please go to www.zenkaisports.com to check out their cool range of products that can give you that extra boost in your performance, and while you are at it, use the code TGP20 for a 20% discount off your entire order. You can also find all these details in our show notes of this episode, so don’t forget to check it out.

In today’s episode, Niraj chats with Olympian Goran Nava! Goran is a middle-distance runner who represented Serbia at the Beijing Olympics in the 1500 meter track and field event. Niraj and Goran go back to the year 2007, a year before the Beijing Olympics, when Goran had been a corporate employee for 2 good years and suddenly decided to pursue his dream of becoming an Olympian. And what crazy chain of events that set off, leading him to qualify for the Olympics by a margin of 0.17 seconds. They discuss that success is about being able to go after what you really want, and not just taking home a medal. Goran also mentions 4 important elements to achieve success: Courage, Persistence, Ambition, and Sacrifice.

In today’s episode, Niraj has the honour of welcoming current world #1 pistol shooter - Zorana Arunović. Zorana is a double world champion, current world record holder in 10m Air Pistol, and has countless medals from World Cups and World & European Championships. Zorana and Niraj discuss the factors behind her consistent and unparalleled success and what has enabled her to be at the top of her sport for so many years. Zorana also reflects on her experience of narrowly missing out on a medal by finishing 4th at the London Olympics. They also discuss Zorana’s ambitions and preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.

Niraj welcomes America’s one of the best Triathletes - Jarrod Shoemaker. He is the International Triathlon Union’s U23 World Champion, World Cup silver medallist and America’s best-ranked Triathlete for much of his career. Jarrod and Niraj discuss his transition from being just a runner to becoming an Olympic triathlete, his experience at the Beijing Olympics, and his post-retirement ambitions with Adventure Racing. Jarrod also reflects on his life motto - “To Be The Best Me I Can Be”, and how that has driven him throughout his career in endurance sports.

In this episode, Niraj welcomes Latvian Olympian Pauls Pujats. Since Pauls is the first pole vaulter on the podcast, Niraj tries to understand the sport first-hand from Pauls - the basics of the sport and what constitutes an ideal pole vaulter - physically as well as mentally. Pauls also reflects on how he fulfilled his dream of getting to the Olympics when he competed at the Rio Olympics and how he has been using alternative techniques like yoga, meditation and martial arts to give him an extra edge over the competition.

In this episode, Niraj welcomes Olympic and World Champion in Rowing - Lindsay Shoop. Lindsay and Niraj discuss her journey from almost running away from her first rowing training session to winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. Lindsay also reflects on what sort of interactions she’s having with herself while she’s performing, an insight that could be worth its weight in gold for aspiring athletes no matter the sport. They also talk about Lindsay’s new book - Better Great Than Never, that you can know more about here - bettergreatthanneverbook.com.