Hear Her Sports

AJ Hurt's passion for skiing and ski racing began at a very early age. Growing up in North Lake Tahoe, Palisades Tahoe was her winter playground. At four years old, she entered the Team Palisades Tahoe and fell in love with the sport. With a father who has been a member of the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol for the past 30 years, Hurt was raised a true member of the Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) family. At 14, Hurt was invited to be a part of the National Training Group. As a first-year FIS racer in the 2016-17 season, she was the top junior for birth year 2000 in NorAm qualifying race points—not only in the speed disciplines but also the technical disciplines. Hurt scored her first World Cup points in 2020 placing 18th in the Courchevel giant slalom. The 2023-24 season was a major breakout year for Hurt. Each World Cup race she improved upon the last scoring person best after person best. In Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, Hurt had a major slalom result scoring third place, her first ever World Cup podium. Then later in the season she did it again! This time in giant slalom, a third place in Soldeu, Andorra. AJ and I discuss injury, going fast, control and lack of control, the recent NCAA women’s final four, and what aggression in women’s sports looks like now. And she talks about the not-glamourous, living-out-of-a-bag-for-6-months World Cup tour. This episode is a perfect follow up to last week’s episode with rock climber Beth Rodden because AJ too likes being in the mode of figuring things out, which she was happy to share with us. I like that mode as well! Always looking for a little bit of improvement or some greater understanding of how things work. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find AJ Hurt on IG https://www.instagram.com/ajhurti/ Find US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam

Beth Rodden is one of the best female rock climbers of all time, and a globally recognized ambassador for the outdoor community. She has achieved a number of notable free climbs on El Capitan, the 3,000-foot monolith in Yosemite National Park, and has also established the hardest first ascent of a crack climb ever done by a woman. She has been climbing for thirty years, and she hopes to be climbing for thirty more. She lives with her family in California. For more information, visit: bethrodden.com. In our conversation, Beth speaks to me about the book, climbing, of seeing strength in young female rock climbers, REDs, the beauty of sports, and she compares climbing to golf and writing. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Beth Rodden at www.bethrodden.com Find Beth on IG at https://www.instagram.com/bethrodden/ Find A Light through the Cracks at https://bookshop.org/a/16267/9781503903791

Sydney Palmer-Leger is one of the young cross country ski racers on the US National B team. She made a quick trip to Falun, Sweden for the season finale, where she skied to her best-ever World Cup result -- a 23rd place. Right before Falun, Sydney capped off a stellar collegiate career with a victory at the NCAA National Championships in Steamboat, Springs Colorado. Sydney is a three-time NCAA National Champion, was a member of the 2020 Junior World Championship Silver Medal Relay Team and is a 40k classic U.S. National Champion. In 2023, she represented the USA at the 2023 World Championships in Planica, Slovenia, placing 20th in the skiathlon. Sydney is part of an exciting-to-follow, strong class of skiers climbing up the ranks and representing her nation at the top level. Before she decided to focus exclusively on ski racing (which we talk about in the episode), Sydney also raced mountain bikes. In fact, she is a five-time US Mountain Bike National Champion. In the episode Sydney discusses some tactics in the 20-kilometer Freestyle race in Falun, starting in the back, the US National Team camp in Bend Oregon, and traveling as a vegan. On the academic side, Sydney is set to graduate from the University of Utah in May of 2024. She also shares what’s next for her post college and about her goals for the 2024-25 season. Outside of skiing, she enjoys acrylic painting, baking, rock climbing, and finding the best vegan recipes, as she has been a vegetarian her entire life and a vegan for 12 years. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Sydney Palmer-Leger on IG at https://www.instagram.com/sydneypalmerleger/ Find Stifel US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam/

Kendra Coleman is a professional track and field athlete sponsored by Oiselle. She is currently focused on the Olympic Track & Field Trials in Eugen, Oregon June 21-30, 2024, where she will compete in the 800. Her top accomplishments include her Highschool UIL State Championship in the 400 meters and a 9th place finish at 2016 Olympic Trials in the 800 meters. Kendra is also the Senior Administrative Coordinator at The University of Texas where she producers Blackademics TV airing on PBS and facilitates grants for education under the black studies department. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Communications from The University of Texas and a master’s degree in Sports Management from Northcentral University. She has been involved in community relations and community service for over six years. In addition to these activities, her other interests include advocacy for women in sports, sitting as an officer on the USATF Athletes Advisory’s Committee as the Director of Athlete Services and working with community organizations that serve student athletes. Her next goals are to find a career that allows me to use my passions and talents and also help others live better lives through my work with athletes, women in sports and athletes of color. In the episode Kendra speaks with Elizabeth about her training in spectacular detail, visualizing big races, being competitive and friendly with her adversaries, preferring female coaches, her support team, and racing from a positive mindset. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Kendra at https://www.oiselle.com/pages/kendra-coleman Find Kendra on IG at https://www.instagram.com/ms_kchambers/ Find Oiselle Pocket Joggers at https://www.oiselle.com/collections/pockets/products/pocket-jogger-tights

Ski Coach, Julia Hayes grew up skiing, running, cycling, climbing, and hiking in Frisco, Colorado. She attended and cross country ski raced for Montana State University, graduating with a degree in exercise physiology. She has been coaching with Bridger Ski Foundation for five years, where she works with high school/early college age skiers. In 2023, she earned the opportunity to coach at the Junior World Championships in Canada. For the 2024 season, Julia is one of 8 coaches named as Trail to Gold Coaching Fellows. Julia loves to mountain bike in the summers and spend all her free time with my husband and dogs outside. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Trail to Gold Fellowship at https://nationalnordicfoundation.org/nnf-announces-trail-to-gold-fellowship-giving-american-women-coaches-opportunity-for-world-cup-experience/

Wang Ping is a poet, writer, photographer, installation artist, founder and director of Kinship of Rivers project. Her multi-media exhibitions include “Kinship of Rivers: We Are Water,” “Behind the Gate: After the Flood of the Three Gorges,” and hundreds of other installation exhibitions at schools, colleges, galleries, museums, lock and dams, confluences around the world, including the interactive installations at the Everest (Tibet and Nepal sides) and Kilimanjaro. Ping, Professor Emerita of English at Macalester College, has authored 15 award winning books of poetry, prose and translations. Her awards include Minnesota Book Award, Eugene Kagen, and Asian American Studies awards. Ping is also a recipient of grants from the NEA, Bush Artist Fellowship for poetry, McKnight Fellowship and residencies through the Lannan Foundation Residency, Vermont Studio Center, and many others. She received Distinct Immigrant Award in 2014, Venezuela International Poet of Honor in 2015, and Minnesota Poet Laureate 2021-2023, appointed by International Beat Poetry Foundation. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Ping at www.wangping.com Find Ping on IG at https://www.instagram.com/wangping9/ Find Oiselle Pocket Joggers at https://www.oiselle.com/collections/pockets/products/pocket-jogger-tights

Leann Bentley is the Press Officer/Attaché for the Stifel U.S. Cross Country Ski Team and Communications Manager at U.S. Ski & Snowboard. Based in Park City, Utah, Leann has been with the team for almost two years and is inspired daily by the incredible athletes and staff, pushing her to keep raising the bar and doing what she can to elevate the sport and athletes to new levels. Originally from Wyoming, Leann finds happiness when outside in the mountains, whether it be skiing, running, biking, climbing, hiking – and loves a good, loud laugh. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Leann Bentley on IG at https://www.instagram.com/leannbentley/ Find the The Loppet Foundation at https://www.loppet.org/ Find Share Winter Foundation at https://sharewinterfoundation.org/

Kristen Bourne has coached cross country skiing at the collegiate and professional level for the past four years. She was the assistant coach at The College of Saint Scholastica for two years where she was a 2021 Women’s Sports Foundation Tara VanDerveer Fellow. During the summer, she was an assistant coach with the Craftsbury Green Racing Project professional team in Vermont. Prior to coaching, she skied for Northern Michigan University for five years, qualifying for the NCAA Championships three-times and representing the United States at the World Junior Championships and U23 World Championships in 2015 and 2016. After college, she moved to Oslo, Norway where she skied full-time and was an intern at the Norwegian School of Sports Science. Currently, Kristen is the US Ski Cross Country D-Team World Cup coach at US Ski and Snowboard. She oversees the top junior and U23 athletes in the US as well as travels full-time on the World Cup supporting all national team athletes. She is also a graduate student at the College of Saint Scholastica studying Exercise Physiology. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Kristen Bourne on IG at https://www.instagram.com/kristenmbourne/ Find Trail to Gold Fellowship at https://nationalnordicfoundation.org/nnf-announces-trail-to-gold-fellowship-giving-american-women-coaches-opportunity-for-world-cup-experience/

Madeline Depman is early on in her career as a professional mountain biker. She completed her first bike race when she was 16, which was her first introduction to being part of any competitive sport. Since then, she has been working hard to gain fitness and technical skills with the goal of being one of the best in the country. In 2021 she raced her first Cross Country Mountain Bike World Cup in Snowshoe, WV. In 2022 her daughter Ruth was born. Madeline started racing again in 2023 with a lighter schedule to give ample time for recovery but a 3rd place in the Ring of Fire (part of the NUE series) in Bend, OR was a notable post-partum result. Outside of racing, Madeline is busy with a mobile 1 year old but is still very involved in her local cycling community as a coach and board member for Duluth Devo. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Madeline Depman at Madelinedepman.com Find Madeline Depman on IG at https://www.instagram.com/madeline._jay/ Find Oiselle Pocket Joggers at https://www.oiselle.com/collections/pockets/products/pocket-jogger-tights

Erin Bianco began skiing as a young kid in Ely, Minnesota, which is right on the Canadian border. Erin graduated with a sociology degree from Colby College in Maine. There, she was a leader on the Colby Mules cross country ski team under coach Tracey Cote. After college, Erin moved to Bozeman, Montana to train with the Bridger Ski Foundation (BSF) team under former U.S. Ski Team athlete and now coach, Andy Newell. Erin Bianco finished her first World Cup in Oberhof, Germany with an impressive 35th in the classic sprint in 2024. Outside of skiing, Erin loves to spend time at coffee shops, play badminton, piano, among many other things. For summer training, her go-to cross training workouts are either strength or road biking. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Erin Bianco on IG at https://www.instagram.com/erinbiancs/ Find Stifel US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam/

Dr. Margo Mountjoy received her medical education and her family medicine training at McMaster University, Canada and her sports medicine specialty degree in Ottawa, Canada. Margo received her PhD from the VU University in Amsterdam. Margo was the medical and scientific lead at the Health & Performance Centre at the University of Guelph where she focused her practice on promoting elite athlete care. In addition, Margo has acted as the national team physician for Synchro Canada for 20 years as well as for the National Endurance Training Centre Athletes (middle- and long-distance track athletes) and the National Triathlon & Wrestling team training centers. Margo is a Clinical Professor in the Faculty of Family Medicine in the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University, Canada where she is the Dean of the Waterloo Regional Campus. Margo is the Chair of the ASOIF Medical Consultative Group and a member of the IOC Medical Commission Games Group. She works with the following International Federations: FIFA, World Rugby, and the International Golf Federation. Margo’s areas of research focus on elite athlete health and well-being. She is the lead author of the IOC consensus statements on REDs. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Dr. Mountjoy on IG at https://www.instagram.com/drmargomountjoy/ Find the IOC consensus statement on REDs at https://bjsm.bmj.com/content/57/17/1073 Find Oiselle Year of the Underbird at https://www.oiselle.com/pages/year-of-the-underbird

Jessie Diggins grew up in Afton, Minnesota where she started skiing with her parents as a very young girl. Now she is one of the most dominant and successful cross country skiers in the world. Jessie is a three-time Olympic medalist, 2023 World Champion, 17x World Cup winner, and 2021 World Cup overall winner. She’s been a US Ski and Snowboard Team athlete since 2011 and joined her current club team, the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team in 2012. In her book, Brave Enough, Jessie tells the inside details of becoming and being an elite athlete. Jessie also partners with the Emily Program, Protect Our Winters, and Share Winter Foundation. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Jessie Diggins at https://jessiediggins.com/ Find Jessie Diggins on IG at https://www.instagram.com/jessiediggins/ Find Jessie Diggins on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@jessiediggins Find Stifel US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam/

Kristen Rozell moved to Fairbanks, Alaska in 1997. She now works for a private consulting firm as a wildlife biologist conducting nesting studies on geese and sea duck on the North Slope of Alaska. She’s also worked all over the state conducting breeding bird and migration surveys. Kristen has been a cross country ski coach since 2004. She coaches a high school team, leads a training program for adults preparing for 50-kilometer skate-ski races, and teaches group and private lessons through the Fairbanks Nordic Ski Club. Kristen is also a strong and active competitor. Over the years she has raced in five one-hundred-mile ski races, many local races from sprints to 50 kilometers. And, as you will hear in our conversation, she has done many multi-day backpack ski trips. In the show notes, I’ve listed some details of many of those. Kristen is also a stellar runner and has completed the Equinox marathon almost 20 times, placing second tow times. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Oiselle at https://www.oiselle.com

Novie McCabe is a cross country ski racer on the APU Ski Team and U.S. Ski Team. She started skiing with her family at a young age. Since then, she has excelled in the sport and is racing at the highest level. She attended the University of Utah to pursue her skiing goals while studying. Novie notably swept the 2023 NCAA Championships in Lake Placid, NY winning both classic and skate races. This impressive achievement among others led her to compete in the 2022 Olympics where she placed in the top ten in the 4x5k relay. On the World Cup circuit, Novie is consistently in the mix, securing several top-30 results. Her best World Cup individual result goes back to the 2022 Tour de Ski in the final race - the Hill Climb. Known as one, if not the, hardest race on the Tour, Novie crossed the line in seventh. Skiing runs in Novie’s family, as her mom was also a professional skier giving her a greater passion for the sport. When Novie is not competing, she can be found camping, backpacking, or trying new Trader Joe’s snacks. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Novie McCabe on IG at https://www.instagram.com/novie.mccabe/

Sophia Laukli is a force in both skiing and running. A professional in both sports, Sophia is a University of Utah graduate, member of the 2020 silver-medal-winning Junior World Championships relay team, had her first FIS World Cup podium in the final stage of the 2022-23 Tour de Ski and is fluent in English, Norwegian and French. From her first World Cup start in Lahti, FIN in January 2021, Sophia has consistently been climbing the ranks. Since 2021, she has 10+ top-30 results - highlighted by a third-place finish in the hardest stage of the Tour de Ski in the final climb, finishing third. At the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Sophia finished within the top-20 in 15th place. Outside of skiing, she is a professional trail runner with Salomon and went on to win the overall in the prestigious Golden Trail Series world series. This 2023-24 season, her goals are to podium in the Tour de Ski, remain consistently in the top 20-30 on the FIS World Cup and compete on the full World Cup circuit. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Sophia Laukli on IG at https://www.instagram.com/sophialaukli/

Born and raised in Park City, Utah, Rosie Brennan is a four-time U.S. champion, 2018 and 2022 Olympian, and ranked in the top-10 in the world for cross country skiing. Rosie is one of the strongest and most dominant athletes on the World Cup circuit. As she enters her 10th year on the national team, she has over 200 World Cup starts, nine podiums and two victories - she just landed on the podium TWICE in one-weekend and the 2023-24 FIS World Cup season-opener in Ruka, FIN. Even though she only started skiing when she was 14, her later-than-typical start never hindered her from finding success on the world stage. Rosie has represented the USA at two Olympic games, starting in seven races. She was the first American to hold the overall World Cup leader's bib, World Cup sprint leader's bib and the World Cup distance leader's bib all at the same time - showing her versatility in distances and techniques. Outside of racing, Rosie is very involved behind-the-scenes. When she's not racing and training, she volunteers with Fast and Female—a program dedicated to empowering young women through sport—and Skiku, which provides nordic ski instruction to children and communities all around Alaska. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Rosie at https://www.rosiebrennan.com/ Find Rosie Brennan on IG at https://www.instagram.com/rosiewbrennan/

Gina Kennedy is a Professional Squash Player from London. She is currently ranked number 6 in the world, has won 11 titles on the PSA World Tour and is the 2022 Commonwealth Games Gold Medalist. Gina enjoyed a very successful junior career, holding nine national titles, a European title, and was ranked number 1 in England at every age group. In 2016, she began her studies at Harvard University. While at Harvard, she won the women's individual national championships three times and the team national championships four times. Gina was also received many accolades for sportsmanship, including the Betty Richey award and the Radcliffe prize. She graduated from Harvard University in 2020 AND within eight months of playing on the professional circuit she rose from world number 187 to world number 10! Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Gina Kennedy on IG at https://www.instagram.com/gina_kennedy26 Hear Her Sports and Women’s Running Stories is partnering with Oiselle. Read more at https://www.oiselle.com/blogs/oiselle-blog/hhs-wrs Find Oiselle at https://www.oiselle.com Find Women’s Running Stories at https://womensrunningstories.com/ Find Urban Squash Cleveland at https://urbansquashcleveland.com/

2023 World Championship medalist and 2022 Olympian Julia Kern is making a name for herself as one of the fastest sprinters in cross country skiing. Julia is a 2022 Olympian and World Championship bronze medalist. She has secured two podiums in the ultra-competitive World Cup field, becoming the youngest American to podium on the World Cup, is a four-time National Champion, was the U23 World Champs bronze medalist, and was a key part in the World Junior Championships Relay (first ever USA relay medal at World Juniors). She was named to the U.S. team at only 17, now she is entering her ninth year on the team, her goals remain - winning Olympic medals, adding more World Cup podiums to her resume and positively impacting her community and the sport of cross-country skiing. Outside of skiing, Julia is always on the move. She enjoys anything outdoors, from climbing, hiking, surfing, mountain biking, swimming, beach volleyball or shooting hoops; she captures all her adventures with a camera in hand. She is also involved with the Share Winter Foundation, Little Bellas and Fast and Female. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Julia Kern on IG at https://www.juliakernski.com/ Find Julia Kern on TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@juliakernski

Molly Bookmyer is long distance runner who is a member of the Oiselle Underbird Team. She lives and trains in Columbus, Ohio with her husband Eric and dog Cooper. She holds a degree in Operations Management from The Ohio State University and works full time in Supply Chain. She currently holds personal bests of 2:30:37 in the marathon and 1:10:51 in the half marathon. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Molly Bookmyer on IG at https://www.instagram.com/mollybookie/ Hear Her Sports and Women’s Running Stories is partnering with Oiselle. Read more at https://www.oiselle.com/blogs/oiselle-blog/hhs-wrs Find Oiselle Underbirds 2023 https://www.oiselle.com/pages/year-of-the-underbird Find Women’s Running Stories at https://womensrunningstories.com/

Jessie Diggins grew up in Afton, Minnesota where she started skiing with her parents as a very young girl. Now she is one of the most dominant and successful cross country skiers in the world. Jessie is a three-time Olympic medalist, 2023 World Champion, 14x World Cup winner, and 2021 World Cup overall winner. She’s been a US Ski and Snowboard Team athlete since 2011 and joined her current club team, the Stratton Mountain School T2 Team in 2012. In her book, Brave Enough, Jessie tells the inside details of becoming and being an elite athlete. Jessie also partners with the Emily Program, Protect Our Winters, and Share Winter Foundation. Get involved and support the show and more sports media for women through https://www.buymeacoffee.com/hearher Find all episodes http://www.hearhersports.com/ Find Hear Her Sports on all social @hearhersports Find Jessie Diggins at https://jessiediggins.com/ Find Jessie Diggins on IG at https://www.instagram.com/jessiediggins/ Find Stifel US Ski Team on IG at https://www.instagram.com/usskiteam/