What does it take to compete at the Winter Olympics nine months after having a stroke? For Ski Cross athlete Sami Kennedy Sim, it took consistent hard work, determination and unwavering belief that she would regain her strength and fitness in spite of experts telling her it wasn’t possible.

Sami grew up learning to ski in the NSW Snowy Mountains. She transitioned from alpine skiing to Ski Cross when she was 19 before competing at the 2014 Sochi Games and the 2018 PyeongChang Games. In between the two Games, and still in her early 20’s, Sami suffered a stroke which forced her off the snow for months.

In this episode, Sami joins host Sam Squiers from Canada, to discuss the challenges of being a winter athlete in the sunburnt country, the reality of chasing winter around the world, how a routine procedure on her knee triggered a stroke and her preparation for the 2022 Beijing Games.

Louise Sauvage didn’t grow up with Paralympic ambitions but she has been breaking records and challenging stereotypes in Australian sport since she made her first international team at 16 years old.

Louise grew up swimming and playing basketball but it’s on the track where she made a name for herself. She took home 9 Paralympic Gold medals, won the Boston Marathon 4 times, she was inducted of the International Paralympic Hall of Fame and was awarded legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Louise joins host Sam Squiers to discuss moving from shorter race distances into the marathon, retiring and transitioning to life as a coach, coaching Madison de Rozario to victory in the Tokyo Games and challenging airlines to become more accessible for wheelchair users.

Growing up with a cleft lip and palate has given Richmond player, Jess Hosking, the strength and resilience to not only stand up for herself but empower others on their own cleft journeys.

Around 700 babies are born with clefts in Australia each year, but Jess didn’t know anyone else with a cleft when she was growing up. Now Jess has become the role model she was missing when she was a kid, using her platform to educate others about this common but rarely discussed birth condition.

Jess joins host Sam Squiers to share the story of her cleft journey including multiple surgeries and bullying, spending the first year of AFLW on the sideline with an ACL injury, moving from Carlton to Richmond to play with her twin sister Sarah and her advocacy with charities CleftPALS and Interplast.

Proving her innocence against claims she took performance enhancing drugs has been one of the toughest fights of Shayna Jack’s career. But now that she’s back in the pool, Shayna is ready to do whatever it takes to reach the top again.

Shayna Jack is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist but in 2019, at the peak of her career, Shayna’s world came crashing down when a banned substance was found in a routine drug test. Shayna spent the next two and a half years and over $100,000 proving her innocence before she was finally allowed to swim again this year.

Shayna joins host Sam Squiers to discuss winning gold in a star-studded relay team at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, training with legendary coach Dean Boxall, the lengths she went to to prove her innocence and her resolve to reach the peak of her swimming career again in spite of the years she spent out of the pool.

How do you balance a career as a professional athlete and your own desire to become a mum? Matildas and Brisbane Roar player Katrina Gorry wanted both and now she’s successfully navigating returning to sport with her newborn daughter.

Katrina Gorry joined the W League as a teenager. Since then she’s played for teams in Japan, Norway and the United States and she was part of the Matildas team for the Rio Olympics. But the international sporting life has also taken its toll on Katrina, leaving her exhausted and battling an eating disorder.

Katrina joins host Sam Squiers to discuss supporting, and being supported by, her younger brother with Down Syndrome, Dylan, the growth of the Matildas, overcoming her eating disorder through pregnancy and her decision to become a single mum to her daughter Harper.

Have you ever thought…maybe I’m naturally gifted at a sport but I just haven’t found the right one? That’s the incredible story of Olympian Sinead Diver.

Sinead ran her first marathon in 2014 in a time that qualified her for the Beijing World Championships. Since then she has placed 5th at the New York Marathon, set the course record for the Melbourne Marathon and finished 10th at the Tokyo Games earlier this year. But Irish-born Sinead didn’t pick up competitive running until her 30’s after having two kids.

After winning gold at the Rio Olympics, Charlotte Caslick became a household name overnight. She was on the cover of Vogue (twice!), her Instagram exploded and at one point she was trending higher than Usain Bolt. Charlotte joins host Sam Squiers to discuss the ongoing battle for equality between the men’s and women’s sides, the disappointment of losing to Fiji in the quarter finals of the Tokyo Games compared to the thrill of winning gold at Rio and living on a farm and raising cattle with her partner Lewis.

As a two-time Olympian, two-time World Champion and four-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Jana Pittman dominated athletics throughout the 2000’s. In 2014 Jana swapped the athletics track for the bobsleigh track to become the first Australian woman to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympics. But her career was also plagued with injury and unrelenting criticism from the media. Jana joins host Sam Squiers to discuss the tag of “Drama Jana” which followed Jana throughout her career, the fictional rivalry between Jana and her good friend and teammate, returning to athletics after the birth of her first kid and transitioning to life as a doctor.

Training through injury, body shaming and delayed puberty were just some of the challenges that faced retired gymnast Stephanie Moorhouse throughout her career from the age of 4 to 18. At the height of her career, Steph would train up to 40 hours per week which saw her win a gold medal at the 2002 Commonwealth Games, a bronze medal at the 2003 World Championships and compete at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Steph joins host Sam Squiers to discuss the demands on young gymnasts who peak in their teen years, transitioning to life after elite sport and her response to the Australian Human Rights Commission report into gymnastics which revealed a culture of abuse, misconduct and bullying.