Athlete, Actually

Elana Meyers Taylor has spent nearly two decades at the top of her sport. She's a multi-time Olympic medalist, the most decorated Black Winter Olympian in history, and one of the most recognizable athletes in bobsled. But according to Elana, her career was never driven by beating other people. It was driven by a simple question: How good can I be? In this episode, Elana reflects on the mindset tha...

Marissa Papaconstantinou has spent more than half her life in elite sport. She made her first Paralympic team as a teenager, grew up in front of cameras, and learned early what it feels like to have your identity tied to performance. In this episode, Marissa reflects on the emotional side of growing up as a professional athlete: navigating injury, public setbacks, pressure, and the constant proces...

Most people think racing is about speed. Amber Balcaen says it’s really about survival. In this episode, the NASCAR driver opens up about the part of motorsports most fans never see: the constant pressure to fundraise, secure sponsorships, and financially earn your place on the track. Amber has raised more than $5 million in sponsorships since she was 10 years old. Not because she wanted to build...

Nicole Heavirland has never approached sport halfway. Before becoming a three-time Olympian in rugby, she grew up wrestling boys in Montana, playing tackle football, and spending hours alone in the gym chasing a Division I basketball dream. Long before the Olympic stage, her mindset was already taking shape. In this episode, Nicole reflects on the moments that built her competitive edge, from gett...

Kate Brim’s career almost ended before it ever began. At 19, a rare complication from surgery left her with a spinal cord injury and a future she didn’t recognize. Doctors told her she might never live independently. For a while, it felt like everything she had planned was gone. What came next wasn’t a straight path back. It was years of rebuilding: learning a new body, finding adaptive sport, and...

Nicole Mendes had always dreamed of the Olympics. In 2021, she got there - representing Team Mexico, making history, and winning the country’s first-ever Olympic softball game. From the outside, it looked like everything she had worked toward. Inside the experience, it was more complicated. Between fundraising to afford the opportunity, navigating a difficult coaching dynamic, and competing in an...

Taylor Heise thought she was ready for the moment. In 2022, after years of building toward the Olympics, she entered tryouts expecting to make the team. Instead, she was one of the final cuts. No injury, no clear explanation - just a week where nothing clicked, and a result she hadn’t experienced before. She went home, exhausted, unsure of what came next. For the first time, the path she had mappe...

Dara Mabrey’s final college season ended on a play she’s made countless times. An open layup, no real contact - then something felt off in a way she couldn’t explain. At first, it was treated like a routine knee injury. By the next day, that explanation stopped holding. The scans showed fractures, structural damage, and a recovery timeline that immediately became unclear. Then came another turn: a...

When people think about athletes, they picture performance. Highlights. Outcomes. But there’s a whole layer of the story that rarely gets told — the decisions, the pressure, the uncertainty, and everything that happens outside of competition. Athlete, Actually starts with a different question: what’s the story no one’s ever asked you about? Hosted by Elizabeth Montavon, a professional athlete and...