Flame Bearers

In this episode of Flame Bearers, host Manasi Joshi sits down with paratriathlete and emergency medicine doctor Danielle Cummings to talk about navigating demanding hospital training while simultaneously adjusting to life as an elite competitor. She shares the vulnerability of pushing through six and a half years of horrific chronic pain after a rock climbing accident, discovering the vital lesson...

In this episode of Flame Bearers, host and Paralympian Manasi Joshi sits down with Paralympic trailblazer, mentor, and foundation founder Scout Basset and rising collegiate para-track star and world championship medalist Annie Carey for an illuminating conversation honoring Disability Pride Month. Annie and Scout explore the complex realities of navigating elite sport as para athletes, from Annie’...

In this episode of Flame Bearers, host Toccara Ross sits down with foundational American soccer icon and '99 World Cup champion Shannon Mac Millan for a captivating conversation on navigating an intense global spotlight and building the legendary sisterhood that changed women’s sports forever. Shannon shares the vulnerability of her coming out journey, finding an unwavering sounding board in teamm...

In this episode of Flame Bearers, host Janelly Farías sits down with WNBA All-Star, USA gold medalist, and trailblazer Layshia Clarendon for a conversation on Layshia’s complex intersectional journey—navigating life as the first out trans and non-binary player in WNBA history while balancing public advocacy with personal safety and mental health. They share the vulnerability of moving through the...

 In this episode of Making It To Milan , co-host [co-host name not stated in transcript] sits down with Paralympic gold medalist and world champion Abby Dunkin to discuss her journey in wheelchair basketball representing [country not stated in transcript]. Abby Dunkin shares her complex experiences navigating the coming out process in a small Texas town while simultaneously adjusting to life...

** Please see here for translated captions. Also, please visit our YouTube to watch the episode with English captions. ** En este episodio de Flame Bearers, la presentadora Janelly Farías conversa con la capitana de la selección nacional de fútbol de México, defensa del Washington Spirit y su pareja, Rebeca (Rebe) Bernal, en una conversación profundamente personal y pionera. Rebe, una figura legen...

 In this episode of Flame Bearers, host Shannon Rowbury sits down with Mirai Nagasu , a two-time Olympic figure skater and bronze medalist, to talk about her legendary career on the ice, transitioning into coaching, and navigating motherhood. Mirai Nagasu shares her journey from making history as a young national champion to why she famously kept her Olympic medal in her underwear drawer befo...

In this episode of Flame Bearers , host Shannon Rowbury sits down with Femita Ayenbeku , a Paralympic sprinter representing the United States, to talk about her rapid rise in track and field, motherhood, and competing at the highest level. Femita shares how she received her first running blade in 2015, made her first Paralympic team just seven months later, and went on to become a three-time Paral...

In this episode of Flame Bearers , Danusia Francis-Reid , a gymnast who represented Great Britain and Jamaica, joins host Shannon Rowbury to reflect on life after elite sport and the realities of new motherhood. Seven months after welcoming her son Solly, Danusia shares how sleepless nights, baby cuddles, and learning to slow down have reshaped her perspective. She also opens up about the importan...

In today’s Flame Bearers episode, British archer Jodie Grinham reflects with host Shannon Rowbury on winning silver at her debut Paralympics and returning in 2024 to earn team gold and individual bronze while seven months pregnant. Jodie shares how she balanced precision training with raising four children, including leaving her youngest at home during the Games and adapting to constant physical c...

In this episode, Flame Bearers Founder and CEO Jamie Mittelman looks back on the Making it to Milan season. She reflects on ways that Milan Cortina athletes like Alyssa Liu and Eileen Gu redefined success in their own terms, the visibility void that Paralympic athletes continue to face, and the ways that joy fuels athletes like Liu Jaiyu and Brenna Huckaby. Jamie also looks to what’s next, with a...

In this episode of Making It To Milan , Flame Bearers Founder and CEO Jamie Mittelman sits down with Mia Clerc fresh off her third Olympics, where she competed in alpine skiing for [country not stated in transcript]. Mia Clerc reflects on a life- and career-shaping experience, from connecting with athletes she admires like Federica Brignone and Mikaela Shiffrin to comparing Olympic Village dining...

In this episode of MADE it to Milan, our series co-hosts Dani Aravich and Ashley Cain look back on what they learned from this series from the athletes they spoke to leading up to Milan, Dani's own competition experience, and Ashley's experience attending as a fan. Dani shares the intensity of racing seven times in nine days, getting sick midway through competition, and hearing family and friends...

We’re taking a look at athletes who made it to Milan, starting with Polina Rozkova , a wheelchair curler representing Latvia, who won Latvia’s first-ever Winter Paralympic medal in Milano Cortina. In this episode of Made It To Milan , Polina Rozkova shares the intensity of that final battle, including equipment challenges with her wheelchair setup, a decisive shot against Italy where she displaced...

In this episode of Making It To Milan , Ashley Cane sits down with Spanish Paralympic alpine skier and world champion parasurfer Maria Martín Granizo-Ferreiro . Representing Spain in alpine skiing, Maria shares how growing up in a ski-obsessed family shaped her path and how she became the first athlete with her disability to compete against able-bodied skiers in her region. She opens up about bala...

 In this episode of Making It To Milan , Dani Aravich chats with Brittany Hudak , a Canadian Paralympic cross-country skier and biathlete representing Canada, as she prepares for her third Paralympic Games. A two-time Paralympic bronze medalist, Brittany reflects on discovering para sport at 18 after being recruited by a 10-time Paralympian in a Canadian Tire store, and how learning to ski la...

In this episode of Making It To Milan , co-host Dani Aravich speaks with Polina Rozkova , a Latvian Paralympian who competes in wheelchair fencing and wheelchair curling for Latvia. Polina Rozkova traces her athletic roots back to swimming at age three and shares how she discovered fencing during rehabilitation after her 2009 injury. She reflects on representing Latvia at the Rio 2016 Paralympic G...

 In this episode of Making It To Milan , co-host Ashley Cain  speaks with Aline Rocha , a Brazilian Paralympian who competes in both the Winter and Summer Paralympic Games. Representing Brazil as a sitting skier in cross-country and biathlon, and as a wheelchair racer on the track, Aline is a soon-to-be five-time Paralympian. She reflects on beginning wheelchair racing in 2010 after bein...

In this episode of Making It To Milan , co-host Dani Aravich sits down with Natalie Wilkie , a Canadian Paralympic cross-country skier and multi-time medalist representing Canada. Natalie shares how she first entered sport after losing her left hand in a childhood accident and how cross-country skiing became a space where she could compete at the highest level. She reflects on balancing expectatio...

In this episode of Making It to Milan, Dani Aravich sits down with Carina Edlinger, a Paralympic biathlete representing the Czech Republic. A Paralympic champion and six-time world champion, Carina reflects on her journey from competing for Austria to changing nationality and navigating the complex approval process that now allows her to race biathlon, but not cross-country skiing, in Milano Corti...

In this episode of Making It to Milan, co-host Dani Aravich sits down with Brenna Huckaby, a Paralympic snowboarder representing Team USA, to talk about her road to the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games. Brenna shares how she went from growing up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as a gymnast to being diagnosed with osteosarcoma at 14, undergoing an above-the-knee amputation, and discovering snowboarding on...

Olympic Gold Medalist Kristi Yamaguchi joins co-host Ashley Cain for a conversation on a historic career in figure skating, decades of preparation, and what it takes to stay in it through heartbreak and doubt. Kristi shares how she began skating through physical therapy as a child, and her journey balancing school, family and training to become the first-ever Asian American to win a gold medal in...

Liu Jiayu joins co-host Ashley Cain to talk through what it means to return for a fifth Olympic run in snowboard halfpipe for China after stepping away from the sport. Jiayu shares how retirement plans shifted toward a comeback, fueled by honest conversations with sponsors and encouragement from her godmother, plus a renewed focus on being “chilled” and present in Milan. She breaks down how she tu...

Ice dancer Hannah Lim joins co-host Ashley Cain to talk about representing South Korea on the road to the 2026 Olympics in Milan. Hannah shares how she first stepped on the ice at four in Richmond Hill in Toronto, Ontario, skated in free skate until she was 14, then found her home in ice dance after trying the Argentine tango and leaning into the artistic side of skating. She explains how a club c...

In this episode, Mia Clerc: Live Without Regrets , Mia (Madagascar, alpine skiing) looks ahead to Milano Cortina 2026 with a focus on patience, joy, and staying present. She shares with co-host Dani Aravich how returning from a 2021 injury reshaped her training mindset, and what it takes to keep confidence when pressure and performance anxiety hit. Mia also explains the reality of racing for a sma...