During in the beginning of a pandemic era that rattled the world in 2020, Isabella Whittaker saw her own beginnings as a student at the University of Pennsylvania. But it was after those days at Penn — after enrolling at Arkansas in 2024 as a graduate student — that Whittaker kickstarted the current state of …
The pivot from the classroom to lining up with the top pro runners in the world was an adjustment Graham Blanks had to quickly figure out after announcing last December that the signed with New Balance. His remaining time at Harvard was still a priority, but Blanks knew a portion of the bigger stage was …
Humble beginnings and major childhood challenges kept Alison dos Santos well aware that guarantees were not easy to come by in his native São Joaquim da Barra, Brazil. Still, he found his way, navigated toward track and field, and a bronze at the 2018 World U20 Championships proved to be a breakout moment. The next …
Emily Sisson has navigated the track, the road and found her way to the Olympic stage. But with a packed 2025 season fully underway, she opens up about the current generation of American distance running, her ten years with New Balance and finding ways of keeping the feeling of fun in the sport.
In this first episode of Axel's Personal Best, we chat with Olympic 800-meter silver medalist Marco Arop — who has a 1:41.2 PB and Canadian national record — about blazing the track in Grand Slam Track's inaugural season, the state middle distance running and the nuances of training for the 1,500 meter.
This weekend, thousands of women will take to the streets of Los Angeles for the Nike After Dark Tour L.A. In this episode, we catch up with Ayahna Wilbon, founder of Frnds Table and a first-time half-marathoner. Her journey to the starting line is personal, but it also mirrors a broader shift happening across the …
Nia is many things. An Ivy League graduate, U.S. champion, Olympian and singer-songwriter. In this episode, we dive into the unique intersection of songwriting and sport. Nia shares how music has shaped her mindset as an athlete, and how she balances the grind of elite competition with the vulnerability of creative expression. We also get …
The NCAA sports machine is built to celebrate the All-American dream. But sometimes, that narrative sidelines the very international athletes who help keep it running. In this episode, Olympian Síofra Cléirigh Büttner shares the quiet determination that carried her from Ireland to the elite ranks of collegiate running at Villanova University.
Vanessa Fraser isn’t just a fast runner, she’s also a savvy strategist who’s taken control of her own career. From going pro without an agent to juggling corporate work between training blocks, Vanessa shares what it means to be both a competitor, and a career architect.
Teenage girls are often the creators of the most influential slang, and cultural trends, yet in sports, their voices are mostly absent from the dominant narrative. In this episode I'm joined by author, and cultural critic Soraya Chemaly to explore how the language we use in and around sports reflects deeper systems of power. We …