The PowHERful Podcast with AJ McCord

Paris 2024 marked another meaningful step forward for equality in Paralympic sport, but the work is far from over. As winter Paralympians look ahead to their own moment on the world stage in Italy, they’re also bracing for the all-too-familiar media narratives that often reduce their complex journeys to a single moment or medal. In this episode, 2x Paralympian Dani Aravich joins us to unpack...

Hammer thrower Janeé Kassanavoid was poised to make her first Olympic team in 2024 and then, she missed her throws at the Olympic Trials in Eugene. This past weekend, she returned to the scene of one of her greatest disappointments and rewrote her Hayward Field history - making her third World Championship team. Her story is the one of overcoming disappointment, of owning what went wrong an...

As athletes, and often as women, we're frequently told we must fit ourselves into a nice neat box of what society defines our role to be. Luckily, Kristine Anigwe never subscribed to that belief. Now the former WNBA player is building her fashion empire, one she started when she was still an active player. KA Originals has been in the spotlight as both she and many stars around the W have rocked h...

She’s a 2x Olympian, 6x World Champ and multiple X Games medalist and yet, the road has been full of struggle and perseverance few knew about for BMX freestyle rider Hannah Roberts. In this episode she shares how she manages the pressure and privilege of being a trail blazer, as well as how learning to deal with things as they come has helped her navigate the ups and downs. It’s a less...

Trailblazer. Badass. “One of the boys.” Vicki Golden has been called all that and more, but to her, it’s simple: she’s a rider. Raised on two wheels and fueled by the grit her late father instilled in her, Vicki has broken barriers in the world of motocross, and she’s still pushing limits today. Her story is one of resilience, determination, and a love for the ride. T...

No. 1 Senior Pro Pickleball Player Lee Whitwell is a trail blazer and community builder who shares her journey through one of the fastest growing sports in the country. And while we talk about where we're going, we remember the importance of never forgetting who blazed the trail we walk.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back PowHERful Pod Squad! Season 3 is kicking off with a lovely, fierce, 2x Olympic skateboarder who’s rarely without her ukulele. Through our partnership with the X Games we’re catching 2x X Games medalist Bryce Wettstein fresh off her bronze in Salt Lake City at the X Games 30th Anniversary celebration. The San Diego native shares how she discovered her authentic self, and ho...

In the season finale of The PowHERful AJ McCord sits down with Katie Uhlaender, a 5x Olympic skeleton athlete who, at 40-years old, is trying to do the unprecedented and make a sixth Olympic team. In this episode Katie gets vulnerable, sharing the doubt she faces as she pursues this massive achievement, and the advice her dad passed along to her at 18 she still leans on to this day.  And a no...

Ever heard of skijoring?? We hadn’t either until two Colorado State students explained the sport that began out of practicality and has grown into an entire experience in mountain towns across the west. Marley and Megan, plus their trusty steed, Apollo, explain how they got into a sport that involves being towed over jumps behind a horse, the most shocking thing about being young women in th...

Zen may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the sport of skeleton but it’s exactly what Mystique Ro embodies as she tries to make her first Olympic team. As one of 11 children, quiet is not something she often had growing up and it’s something she runs to on the ice track now. In this episode of The PowHERful Podcast she shares how her introduction to the sport...

Lily Dhawornvej may be just 15 but she’s taking snowboarding to new heights - literally. Learn how this Colorado native earned her first X Games medal, is competing on the World Cup and has big dreams for Italy and beyond in this episode of The PowHERful podcast.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of The PowHERful podcast AJ sits down with Olympic Great British free skier Zoe Atkin. The Stanford junior is at the top of the ski world as the 2024/2025 Crystal Globe winner but in this episode gets vulnerable about her relationship with fear and how sometimes it paralyzes her at the top but of the pipe. But through her studies, her experience, and her own drive to be the best in...

Jaelin Kauf spends most of her time at the top of the podium these days. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist mogul skier is making history this season, securing both the overall and dual moguls Crystal Globe, becoming the first American to win a globe since 2015. But as tries to lock in her spot on a 3rd US Olympic Team, the Alta, Wyoming native shares the moments she's learning to appreciate the mos...

There is no better person to continue our special coverage of Women’s History Month than a woman who has made history for Team USA. Alana Nichols broke her back at 17, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. But the same audacious bravery that caused her to try the backflip that landed her in a wheelchair, propelled her to becoming the first American female to ever win gold medals at both...

Welcome back PowHERful Pod Squad! After a brief hiatus we are back with one of the most badass moms around; Canada’s Cassie Sharpe! The 2x Olympic medalist recently made history by becoming the first mom to ever win an X Games Gold Medal in Ski SuperPipe. At 32 years old, Cassie is redefining what it looks like to be a mom AND an extreme athlete. In this episode she shares advice for those o...

Big wave surfer Felicity Palmateer joins The PowHERful Podcast to talk waves: the massive ones she's riding in the water and the ones she's making out of it as she and host AJ McCord share their experiences as women trying to make it traditionally male-dominated fields. This episode gives you an inside look into their life as friends and co-commentators on the World Surf League's Championship Tour...

In this episode The PowHERful podcast we meet Deedra Irwin, a member of USA Biathlon who is working to bring home the very first medal for the US in the sport. It’s the only winter sport America has not brought home a medal in but Irwin took a big step towards the goal in her first Olympics in 2022, finishing 7th in the 15km individual race - the highest place an American had ever earned in...

Ever heard of skimo? It's ok if you haven't but you should and there's no one better to introduce us to the brand new Winter Olympic Sport than Gwen Rudy. A member of the USA National team and a licensed acupuncturist, Gwen takes us through what it will take for America to get a Skimo spot in the 2026 Olympics, how to manage pursuing an Olympic gold while keeping her business afloat in a small, Co...

Welcome back to The PowHERful Podcast! As the temps drop in nearly every corner of the country, we find the women who are thriving in some of the harshest conditions Mother Nature can dish out, starting season 2 with 3x Paralympic gold medalist - Brenna Huckaby! In this episode, Brenna explains how a girl from Baton Rouge, Louisiana found her love for snowboarding through cancer. Brenna shares wha...

Allysa Seely made history in 2016 when she become the first woman to win gold in para-triathlon. In Paris she goes for a third straight as an Olympic veteran and fierce advocate for equality. Seely had to request hundreds of pages of her own medical documents to get an accurate diagnosis for herself at just 18 years old; the doctor who finally listened to her told said she’d saved her life with ju...

In this Paralympic PowHERful Podcast, sitting volleyball player Nicky Nieves details her journey of coming to grips with her limb difference. And dives into how she's using her journey to inspire others, while keeping her own competitive fire burning with her shot at revenge in Paris.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sarah Adam is ready to make history with Team USA's Paralympic Wheelchair Rugby team. Wheelchair Rugby is a co-ed sport but Adam is the first women to make the American roster. She shares how she went from able-bodied volunteer to a cornerstone of the team after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Just over a few weeks away from the Paralympics, Adam's takes us inside the sport nicknamed 'Mur...

Kennedy Blades had to take down a legend in Olympic wrestling to punch her ticket to her first Olympics. Growing up in combat sports, and often wrestling against boys - she was more than up for the challenge. Completing in the 76-kilogram class of Olympic wrestling, Blades talks her Olympic debut, and how she sees combining fashion and sport in her future. _____ Special thanks to our sponsor, The...

Amanda Golini didn't step onto a field hockey field until high school, but she was a natural. She further excelled in the sport at Lafayette College before joining Team USA. AJ and Amanda discuss her path from the softball field to being named USA's Field Hockey captain, the disappointment of not qualifying for the 2021 Olympics, and how she and the team pulled together to earn their spot in Paris...

Maddie Musselman has been a cornerstone for the USA Women’s Water Polo team for more than a decade, playing an integral role in helping them bring home gold in 2016 and 2020. Now, as Team USA tries to enter unprecedented territory by becoming the first water polo team from any country, either men or women, to win four straight gold medals, Musselman has found herself in a personal battle unlike an...