Marcel Kittel - From sprint star to mental health champion

06/30/21 • 30 min

In 2011, fresh-faced German sprinter Marcel Kittel exploded onto the world of cycling.

He won a stage on his Grand Tour debut at La Vuelta a España that season, and from there his rapid ascent to the peak of his sport saw him considered a revelation. Marcel was completely adored by fans, thought to enhance his sport as a whole by his peers, and took 14 Tour de France stages and 89 professional wins.

So, when he announced his retirement in 2019, cycling fans were stunned. He was just 31. The all-encompassing psychological pressures had become too much—the time away from family and friends, the remorseless training—and this episode is about the complexities of becoming burnt out by the thing you love the most.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2011, fresh-faced German sprinter Marcel Kittel exploded onto the world of cycling.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian - Jamaica’s first ever female bobsledder

Jazmine Fenlator-Victorian is Jamaica’s first ever female bobsledder. Growing up in the suburbs of New Jersey, Jazmine was a talented athlete in her childhood and originally competed for the USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

She switched allegiances to Jamaica in 2016, with a promise to show young Jamaicans that they could be visible in situations where, usually, they weren’t.

Under 2% of athletes at PyeongChang in 2018 were black and, after overcoming funding struggles and threats that their sled would be taken away, Jazmine and her teammate Carrie Russell celebrated their identity on the sport’s biggest stage.

In this episode, Jazmine candidly reflects on her remarkable journey to get there...

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Next Episode

Asif Sultani and Farid Walizadeh - From being forced to flee their country to earning IOC scholarships

Asif Sultani and Farid Walizadeh were born in Afghanistan in the mid-nineties, and by the age of seven had both been forced to flee the country. Walking alone across mountains, boats breaking down in the Pacific Ocean, being thrown into jail—these two young men have suffered unimaginable trauma in the search for safety. Despite the trauma, they found strength through sport and both received IOC scholarships in 2018. This episode explores how displacement, war, and prejudice have been overcome with self-determination of heroic proportions. Farid and Asif are inspirations to displaced people worldwide.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.