©  @FuryPhotography

It’s a brand new year, and I’m thrilled to have Australian CrossFit pro Kara Saunders as my first interview of 2022! Kara has been a fixture on the CrossFit scene for over a decade, notching up nine CrossFit Games appearances, including a second-place podium spot in 2017. In 2019, she welcomed her first child, daughter Scotti, into the world (check out Kara’s Instagram to see Scotti join her in their home gym), and less than six months later, she came 12th in the 2020 CrossFit Games Open.

Last year, after placing third in the 2021 worldwide open, Covid then got in the way – literally – as Kara contracted the virus in July whilst in transit from Australia to the 2021 CrossFit Games in Madison, Wisconsin. Still suffering from the after-effects (which included reduced lung capacity), she was forced to retire early.

I caught up with the inov-8 athlete over email to chat about her reflections on the past year, what her training looks like with a toddler in tow, and how she juggles being an athlete, parent and business owner.

© Morgan Maassen

Growing up on a remote island in French Polynesia, surfing was a fun, family pastime for Tahitian surfing champ Vahine Fierro. Despite not competing until the age of 14 (when she moved to Tahiti for high school), she quickly became one to watch, and within a year, had surfed Teahupo’o – widely considered one of the world’s heaviest and most dangerous waves. (Incidentally, also the location for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games surfing competitions). 

At the age of 18, on a wildcard entry, Vahine was crowned Junior Pro World Champion. Then, at 19, she won Surfer Magazine’s Best Barrel (women) award. Now she has her sights set on achieving Rookie of the Year in 2022.

Once you’ve read our Q&A, check out filmmaker Morgan Maassen’s short film, Goddesses, below, which goes behind the scenes of Tahitian life for Vahine and her surfing sisters, Heimiti and Kohai.

I last caught up with ultra-endurance cyclist Amanda Coker in 2018, hot on the heels of her record-breaking HAM’R (Highest Annual Mileage Record). You can read the interview here, but to summarise, Amanda rode an average of 237 miles every day for 365 days in order to smash the highest annual mileage record (male and female), clocking up an incredible 86,573.2 miles. Then, instead of taking a well-earned day off to celebrate, Amanda continued riding for an additional 58 days to break the 100,000-mile record, ticking off this immense milestone in a total of 423 days.

Fast-forward to the 23^rd of October this year, and Amanda rode herself into the record books once again, this time by breaking the women’s 24-hour distance record. Riding a 28-mile out-and-back route on open roads in Florida, USA, Amanda cycled 512.5 miles, obliterating the previous women’s record by 73.5 miles, and in the process making history as the first woman to break 500 miles in 24-hours. Not only that, but despite the shorter records not being her main focus, the 29-year-old American broke the following ten records* on the way: fastest 100km, 100 miles, 200km, 200 miles, 300km, 300 miles, 500km, and 500 miles, as well as new distance records for 6 hours and 12 hours. Phew!

I caught up with Amanda to get the lowdown of how it all happened.

© Tristan Bogaard

For most of us, 100 miles on a bike is a very long way. For Lael Wilcox, ultra-endurance cyclist and Komoot ambassador, that’s barely a day’s racing. Long is Lael’s forte. The 35-year-old adventure cyclist’s endurance endeavours include winning – outright – the 4,400-mile 2016 Trans-Am race, which she finished in 18 days in 2016, and holding the women’s self-supported FKT for the 2745-mile Tour Divide, an off-road route following the Rocky Mountains from Banff in Canada to the Mexico border.

Whilst most people like to arrive rested for a record attempt, Lael chose to cycle 2100 miles from Anchorage in Alaska, her home state, to reach the Tour Divide start line in 2015. After developing bronchitis during her Tour Divide attempt, she rode herself to an emergency room mid-ride with the clock ticking and still broke the FKT record. Not satisfied with her new record time, however, Lael returned two weeks later to ride the 2745-mile route again, breaking her own record by a day and a half. Oh, and this time her warm-up was an 850-mile ride to the start line. 

You might imagine someone with Lael’s talent having grown up riding, but the American only took up cycling in her early 20s, first to commute, then to explore the world. And by explore the world, I mean ride 150,000+ miles across 40 countries before she entered her first race. 

More recently, in August this year, Lael led an all-women group on the self-supported Komoot Torino-Nice Rally, a 700K route through Italy and France, accumulating 15,000m of climbing over the week of riding. I got the chance to quiz Lael about this, and many other things, in the Q&A below. 

Officially the highest-paid female American footballer of all time, 29-year-old Santia Deck negotiated plenty of bumps in the road to find herself where she is today. Injuries devastated her early dream of becoming a professional track athlete and later ended her hope of trying out for the Tokyo Olympic US Rugby sevens squad. However, her sporting career finally fell into place when she was headhunted in 2019 by Los Angeles Fames owner, Lupe Rose, to play American football in the new Women’s Football League Association (the women’s equivalent of the NFL) in a history-making, multimillion-dollar deal.

Behind the scenes, Santia was already several years into building her business empire, first as a fitness trainer and social media expert, and more recently as the CEO of her sneaker brand, TRONUS (in the process becoming the first female athlete to own their own sneaker brand.) 

While Covid has put the launch of the WFLA on the backburner for now, Santia’s training hasn’t stopped, and in this Q&A, we discuss how she went from star track athlete to history-making American footballer and company CEO.

Ultrarunner Sophie Power made headlines in 2018 when a photo of her breastfeeding her then 3-month-old son during the 106-mile Ultra-Trail Du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) went viral. Undoubtedly, you’ll have seen the iconic image (below), but you may not know that Sophie had previously lost a place at the 2014 UTMB when pregnant with her first child due to UTMB’s policy on race referral. 

Not wanting to lose another opportunity to run UTMB, Sophie (whose race finishes include the Marathon des Sables and the 153-mile Spartathlon) toed the line at the 2018 race – three months after giving birth to baby Cormac and whilst breastfeeding. Since then, she has campaigned for races to allow women to defer their places until they have recovered from pregnancy and childbirth.

Now a mum of three, Sophie continues to share honest accounts of her own experiences of postnatal life, including the challenges that women often face when returning to running after childbirth. Many of these are included in the short film Pregnancy to Performance, made with HOKA, which documents her postpartum return to running following the birth of her daughter, Saoirse, last November.

In this Q&A, we chat about the story behind that UTMB photo, how Sophie fits training into a busy life alongside work, campaigning and three kids, and her mental strategies for approaching tough times in races. 

© IRONMAN

When Shirin Gerami lined up at the start line of the 2013 ITU World Championships to represent her home country of Iran, it was the culmination of six months of intense work behind the scenes to persuade the Iran Triathlon Federation to grant her permission to represent them. Six months of meetings, red tape, custom kit designs (as the strict Islamic dress code was the major factor in their decision), factory visits and trips to Iran, to enable Shirin to become the first female triathlete to represent Iran.

Although she made history that day once she had received the go-ahead to represent Iran, the work didn’t end there. Shirin, whose journey in triathlon began whilst at university in Durham, has continued to blaze a trail and demonstrate that a modest dress code is not a barrier to sports participation. In 2016, Shirin toed the line at the IRONMAN World Championships in Kona, completing the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and 26.2-mile run wearing a hijab and head-to-toe kit. 

In this Q&A we chat about her experiences in triathlon and the behind-the-scenes work that led to her becoming the first woman to represent Iran in triathlon.

After being diagnosed with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome as a child, Danielle Brown MBE discovered archery and went on to enjoy a hugely successful professional career in elite sport. Not only is she a double Paralympic gold medallist, but a five-time world champion. She also became the first disabled athlete to represent England at an able-bodied event when she won gold in the team Archery event at the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

However, Danielle’s sporting career was devastatingly cut short in 2013 when World Archery declassified her disability, abruptly ending her eligibility to compete in disability sport. 

Eight years on, Danielle has a different career path with a very successful motivational speaking business and two books to her name. Still passionate about women’s sport, her latest book, Run Like A Girl: 50 Extraordinary and Inspiring Sportswomen includes mini biographies of 50 incredible women in sport and adventure, shining a light on their achievements whilst reclaiming the ‘Like a girl’ phrase as a positive one.

Where to start with the incredible Leah Goldstein? The 52-year-old Canadian has lived a remarkable life. A world champion kickboxer at 17, she was the first female elite commando instructor in the Israeli Defence Force, a Krav Maga specialist, and an undercover Special Forces terrorism and violent crime officer… and that’s before all of her endurance sports accolades!

After leaving the army, Leah enjoyed an impressive professional cycling career for more than a decade until a near-death crash in 2005 saw her hospitalised for several months. Doctors told her she would never race again, but, incredibly, she proved them wrong. 

Earlier this year, Leah became the first woman in history to take the outright solo win at Race Across America (RAAM), a 3000-mile, single-stage cycle race from America’s west to east coast, dubbed the toughest bike race in the world. She completed it in 11 days, 3 hours and 3 minutes, enduring searing temperatures of up to 50°C and accumulating 175,000ft of elevation. The second-place rider crossed the line almost 16 hours later.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Leah, who is also a motivational speaker and the author of No Limits (which documents her incredible life and career) at the start of August. Our phone conversation focused on her historic RAAM win, her preparation, her sleep schedule, and everything it took to cross the line as 2021’s outright winner. Enjoy!

© Chris Samsom

She may be a youthful 24-year-old, but GB triathlete Sian Rainsley already has an impressive 17 years of solid race experience to her name, having competed in triathlon since the age of seven. A successful junior triathlete, Sian earned silver at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games, before recently stepping up to compete for the senior GB team. However, it’s not all been plain sailing for the GB triathlete; after falling ill at her first GB training camp at the age of 18, Sian was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition, Crohn’s Disease.

Despite doctors advising her against pursuing a career in elite sport, Sian has been able to manage her Crohn’s whilst competing as a professional athlete, even earning a gold medal in the mixed relay for Team GB’s senior team at this year’s 2021 Kitzbühel European Sprint & Relay Championships. Although, if that suggests it’s been an easy ride for Sian, far from it. In this week’s Q&A, Sian kindly shares the challenges she faces in managing and living with her Crohn’s Disease whilst chasing her dream of a successful triathlon career.