Chelsea Sodaro’s Biggest Victory Isn’t Kona—It’s Her Well-Being
12/14/23 • 115 min
We love to celebrate professional athletes as superheroes. But even world champions are human.
Just 18 months after giving birth, in 2022 Chelsea Sodaro became the first American woman in 25 years to win the Ironman World Championship and the first Kona-crowned rookie since Chrissie Wellington’s victory in 2007. It was a new-mom-Cinderella story that travelled beyond the endurance press to the mainstream, positioning her as a powerful and inspiring voice for female athletes and young moms all across the world.
But just as she reached the highest echelon of success, Chelsea began to face a challenge far more difficult than Kona. The periodic bouts with mental health that had visited her in the past came roaring back in the form of an acute anxiety disorder that made it difficult for her to leave the house, left her bereft, unable to train, and prone to suicidal ideation.
Refusing to accept debilitation, Chelsea sought help for a problem her champion mindset alone simply couldn't solve. Today Chelsea shares her story with laudable openness and vulnerability.
In this conversation we discuss the tools Chelsea relies upon to confront and manage her mental health struggles, why she decided to reach out for help, and why sharing her experience publicly has been and continues to be integral to her recovery.
In addition, we discuss Chelsea’s journey to triathlon, the current state of gender equity in the sport, and how we can better support female athletes and make sport more accessible to all.
Chelsea also shares the mindset that has propelled her success and why she actively makes decisions based on love, joy, and possibility rather than fear.
Note: Today we discuss mental health issues some might find confronting. If you are struggling, please raise your hand and reach out for help. You can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP and if you are experiencing suicidal ideation, know you’re not alone. I encourage you to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1(800) 273-TALK.
I have so much respect for Chelsea’s strength, courage, and vulnerability.
Chelsea’s story is powerful. I’m proud to help amplify it. And our shared hope is that it helps those in need and serves to further normalize the discourse around mental health.
Today’s Sponsors:
Peak Design: PeakDesign.com/RICHROLL
On: On.com/RICHROLL
Momentous: LiveMomentous.com/RICHROLL
Seed: Seed.com/RICHROLL
Peace + Plants,
Rich
We love to celebrate professional athletes as superheroes. But even world champions are human.
Just 18 months after giving birth, in 2022 Chelsea Sodaro became the first American woman in 25 years to win the Ironman World Championship and the first Kona-crowned rookie since Chrissie Wellington’s victory in 2007. It was a new-mom-Cinderella story that travelled beyond the endurance press to the mainstream, positioning her as a powerful and inspiring voice for female athletes and young moms all across the world.
But just as she reached the highest echelon of success, Chelsea began to face a challenge far more difficult than Kona. The periodic bouts with mental health that had visited her in the past came roaring back in the form of an acute anxiety disorder that made it difficult for her to leave the house, left her bereft, unable to train, and prone to suicidal ideation.
Refusing to accept debilitation, Chelsea sought help for a problem her champion mindset alone simply couldn't solve. Today Chelsea shares her story with laudable openness and vulnerability.
In this conversation we discuss the tools Chelsea relies upon to confront and manage her mental health struggles, why she decided to reach out for help, and why sharing her experience publicly has been and continues to be integral to her recovery.
In addition, we discuss Chelsea’s journey to triathlon, the current state of gender equity in the sport, and how we can better support female athletes and make sport more accessible to all.
Chelsea also shares the mindset that has propelled her success and why she actively makes decisions based on love, joy, and possibility rather than fear.
Note: Today we discuss mental health issues some might find confronting. If you are struggling, please raise your hand and reach out for help. You can call SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP and if you are experiencing suicidal ideation, know you’re not alone. I encourage you to call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1(800) 273-TALK.
I have so much respect for Chelsea’s strength, courage, and vulnerability.
Chelsea’s story is powerful. I’m proud to help amplify it. And our shared hope is that it helps those in need and serves to further normalize the discourse around mental health.
Today’s Sponsors:
Peak Design: PeakDesign.com/RICHROLL
On: On.com/RICHROLL
Momentous: LiveMomentous.com/RICHROLL
Seed: Seed.com/RICHROLL
Peace + Plants,
Rich
Previous Episode
Mark Cavendish: An Intimate Conversation With The Greatest Sprinter In Cycling History
Even in your darkest moments, the potential for redemption lays in wait.
Mark Cavendish is a living illumination of this truth—a man who bounced back from career-ending setbacks and a protracted battle with mental health to become the greatest sprinter in cycling history.
Over the course of his storied career, Mark has taken home 55 Grand Tour stage victories, 162 professional victories, and has won an astonishing 34 stages of the Tour de France, tying a previously thought impossible-to-match record set almost 50 years ago by Eddy Merckx.
At the pinnacle of his career, Mark suffered a debilitating crash, began to battle seemingly insurmountable health obstacles—a debilitating crash, disordered eating, depression, and Epstein-Barr—that took him out of elite performance contention for nearly five years.
But instead of ending his career, Mark fought back. In an extraordinary comeback Tour de France in 2021, Mark won four stages and the green jersey nearly a decade after he had last won it—a meteoric rise, fall, and resurrection beautifully portrayed in the recent Netflix documentary, Mark Cavendish: Never Enough.
This is a powerful and revealing conversation about grit, commitment, mental health, and the hard-wrought journey to success.
In addition to discussing his new Netflix documentary, we recount the highs and lows of Mark’s incredible career, his battle with mental health, and his unique relationship with cognitive performance strategist Dr. David Spindler.
Mark also shares his new relationship with goals, and how he manages the pressure to eclipse Eddie Merckx’s historic record by winning his 35th stage at the 2024 Tour de France, where he will compete against riders nearly half his age.
I found Mark to be humble and grateful—a gentle champion with a firm grasp on what is truly important and why. My hope is that Mark’s story serves as a powerful reminder that taking responsibility for your mental health is crucial, and that no matter how far you’ve fallen, there is always hope to build a better future for yourself and others.
Enjoy!
Today’s Sponsors:
Birch: BirchLiving.com/RICHROLL
Babbel: Babbel.com/RICHROLL
BetterHelp: BetterHelp.com/RICHROLL
Whoop: Whoop.com/RICHROLL
Indeed: Indeed.com/RICHROLL
Roka: Roka.com/RICHROLL
Peace + Plants,
Rich
Next Episode
Leading Man Joel Kinnaman On Authenticity, Facing Fear & Honoring Your Creative Calling
Storytelling is our most powerful device to better understand the human condition.
The creativity required to craft and share a story well told is both an art and a way of being.
Joel Kinnaman is one such being. A star ascendant on screens big and small whose Hollywood career was born with his incendiary turn in 2011's The Killing, kickstarting leading roles in films like The Suicide Squad and RoboCop, and television shows like House of Cards, Hanna, and For All Mankind.
The occasion for this conversation is Silent Night. Featuring Joel as a grief-stricken father hell-bent on revenge, it's an absolutely unhinged, John Woo-helmed vigilante actioner with a unique twist: zero dialogue—a conceit that showcases Joel's physicality as a performer.
This conversation canvasses Joel's unique path from a wayward youth in Stockholm to one of Hollywood's most in-demand leading men. It's about his creative process, the importance of authenticity, and how his relationship with fear frames the success he enjoys today.
Plus: an insane Nicholas Cage story and more.
This is a fun hang—I hope you enjoy it.
Today’s Sponsors:
LMNT: DrinkLMNT.com/RICHROLL
Faherty: FahertyBrand.com/RICHROLL
Timeline: Timeline.com/RICHROLL
Squarespace: Squarespace.com/RICHROLL
Peace + Plants,
Rich
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