Dr. Emalee Nelson Stone and host Elizabeth Emery discuss the Wayland Baptist Flying Queens' 131-game winning streak during the 1950s and how that impacted women’s basketball today. Dr. Emalee Nelson Stone is an Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research and teaching interests lie at the intersection of sport, history, society, and culture. Specifically, her research examines the sporting experiences ...
Jul 24, 2025•52 min•Ep. 195
Georgia Hall won the AIG Women’s Open at Royal Lytham & St Annes in 2018, just five years after triumphing in the R&A Women’s Amateur Championship. Georgia’s victory wasn’t just special because it was her first major, but also because her dad Wayne caddied for her that week. A superb final round of five-under-par featured numerous highlights, and Georgia was the first British winner of the event since Catriona Matthew clinched the title at the same venue in 2009. Georgia, who began playi...
Jul 10, 2025•36 min•Ep. 194
Alexa Brabec grew up in Steamboat Springs, CO where she trained with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club. In 2020, she qualified for the US National Team for the first time. After graduating high school, Alexa moved to Lillehammer, Norway to train with the Norwegian Team as a part of a partnership between the US and Norwegian Teams. She competed in the first women's Nordic Combined World Cup in 2020 in Ramsau, Austria, the first Youth Olympic Games for women's Nordic Combined in 2020 in Lau...
Jun 26, 2025•45 min•Ep. 193
In the episode host Elizabeth Emery speaks with Staci Mannella about ski racing legally blind with a guide, training for effective communication, why working with a counselor as an athlete is great idea, and why and how sport has been so important in her life, plus where it is leading her now. Staci Mannella is a third year Ball State University PhD. student in counseling psychology with a focus on sport and performance. She is a mental health therapist and mental performance consultant in train...
Jun 12, 2025•41 min•Ep. 192
In 2017, Megan Jastrab was an early guest on Hear Her Sports. She was 15 years old then and just, barely just, imagining her future cycling career. She is now a pro racer with Team Picnic PostNL. She’s also an Olympic medalist and three time Junior World Champion. !!! In this episode, host Elizabeth catches up with Megan and hears about her recent experiences at La Vuelta Femenina, one of the three women’s stage races called grand tours. Megan shares her thoughts about if La Vuelta should be cal...
May 29, 2025•33 min•Ep. 191
This week host Elizabeth Emery is talking to Karen Heintz , a starting point guard, with the Houston Angels of the Women’s Basketball League (WBL), which was founded in 1978. In that inaugural year of the league, the Angels won the Championship over the Iowa Cornets. Before playing with the Angels, Karen walked onto Texas A&M in 1974, then transferred to Baylor as a sophomore. She is still in the record books at both schools in rebounding and scoring. Karen is also one of the early female at...
May 15, 2025•54 min•Ep. 190
Francesca Clapcich was born in Trieste, Italy and now lives in Park City, Utah with her wife (former Olympic and round-the-world sailor, Sally Barkow) and daughter, Harriet. In our conversation, Francesca explains sailing, what it’s like to be out on the ocean with dolphins and other wildlife. Then tells tales of the physical and mental preparations for the 2028 Vendee Globe, kid sports in Italy, building a diverse team, belief in yourself, belonging, and being a mom athlete. Our conversation co...
May 01, 2025•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 189
Danette Leighton is a 30-year sports industry and corporate executive with experience serving both men’s and women’s professional and collegiate sports leagues and teams. Since March of 2022, Leighton has led the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) as CEO, joining the 51-year-old organization, founded by Billie Jean King in 1974. Leighton was most recently chief marketing officer at the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to her nearly 12 years with the Pac-12, Leighton was with Maloof Sports & Entertainme...
Apr 17, 2025•46 min•Ep. 188
Narcisse Jordan is a passionate artist, dedicated athlete, and advocate for women in sports. She currently plays for the USA Rugby League team and is a member of the new Women’s Elite Rugby professional team Chicago Tempest. Beyond her athletic achievements, she is a devoted mother who inspires others to pursue their passions on and off the field. As the founder of Mom You Play, a platform designed to empower and uplift mothers in sports, Narcisse is committed to challenging stereotypes and high...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr 21 min•Ep. 187
Lynn Holzman returned to the NCAA in February 2018 as the vice president of women’s basketball. She is responsible for the strategic direction, oversight, operations, and management of women’s basketball in Divisions I, II and III. She serves as the primary liaison to the women’s basketball committees and provides strategic oversight of the site-selection process for each championship. In 2014, Holzman was appointed commissioner of the West Coast Conference after serving in various leadership ro...
Mar 20, 2025•54 min•Ep. 170
2x Olympian, Molly Huddle is an American long-distance runner who competes in track and cross-country running events. She is currently pregnant with her second child. She has won twenty-eight USA titles, held six American records, looked down the start line of two Olympic finals, and run four major marathons. Huddle set the American record in the 5,000 meters at the 2014 Herculis Diamond League meet in Fontvieille, Monaco (14:42.64). She also set the American record in the 10,000 meters at the 2...
Mar 06, 2025•47 min•Ep. 186
Favor Anyanwu talks with host Elizabeth Emery about coming from behind in the U19 World Championships, details of being part of USA Volleyball, transferring from USC to SMU after a semester, opportunities in sport, and tips for success. This episode is a terrific insight into being an elite athlete as a college student and what comes next. Favor is a standout volleyball player at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and a key contributor to the team’s success. Known for her dedication and athleti...
Feb 20, 2025•44 min•Ep. 185
Rebecca McConville is a board certified sports specialist and IAEDP approved eating disorder supervisor. She is an internationally recognized expert on REDs (relative energy deficiency) authoring the book Finding Your Sweet Spot - how to avoid REDs. The updated version will be released in 2025. She also created the first of its kind REDs informed provider certification program for clinicians. IN this fascinating discussion excellent for athletes, coaches, parents, and other sport team staff memb...
Feb 06, 2025•49 min•Ep. 184
Professional cyclist Veronica Ewers is from a small town in the United States and currently lives and trains in Girona, Spain. Since she began her pro career in 2021, she has raced to stellar results, especially in stage races. Just a few examples are a 4th overall in the Giro d’Italia, 9th overall in the Tour de France Femme avec Zwift, and 1st overall in the Classica Feminina Navarra. Veronica decided to take a break from racing to recover from RED-S and works hard to be transparent about that...
Jan 23, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 183
Sports Psychologist Dr. Erin Ayala joins host Elizabeth Emery to discuss the struggles of being a woman involved in male-dominated sports, athlete identity, gravel racing, being prepared to compete, nerves, anxiety, racing with confidence, the pain cave, performance slumps, different types of goals and how they work, plus since it’s the new year, resolutions. With over a decade of research and clinical experience, Dr. Erin Ayala is a Licensed Psychologist and Certified Mental Performance Consult...
Jan 09, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 182
This week on Hear Her Sports is writer and runner Katie Holmes. Katie is currently researching and writing a book on Women’s running history with a focus on women who break the rules. Katie is also interested in and researches older women runners, like herself. You can read more about running as an older woman on her blog Run Young 50. In the episode, Katie and host Elizabeth Emery talk about discovering her competitive side through running, being an older female athlete, the discussions she’s h...
Dec 26, 2024•47 min•Ep. 181
In this episode of the Hear Her Sports podcast, host Elizabeth Emery sits down with professional squash player Melissa Alves. Despite facing early-season injuries, Melissa has had a remarkable year including a well-deserved victory at the Cape Town Squash Open in late November. The episode delves into Melissa's journey, from her early days on the court to her collegiate career at the University of Pennsylvania. She discusses the challenges and rewards of transitioning from a top collegiate playe...
Dec 12, 2024•49 min•Ep. 180
Elizabeth Holden is a writer, a physics teacher, a travel company owner, an X-Files podcast host, and an avid roller derby player. Her debut novel, Mighty Millie Novak , was released by Flux Books in 2024. She believes the ideal conditions in which to write a novel are in the dining car of a train traveling through the Alps, with a pot of tea beside you -- though she does most of her writing at her home in Wisconsin. Like Millie, Elizabeth Holden is an avid roller derby player, a blocker with Ma...
Nov 28, 2024•52 min•Ep. 179
Natasha Camy is an NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Referee now in her 14th season. She has officiated at the very top level, including in the 2024 Elite 8 game featuring LSU and Iowa, the most watched women’s basketball game in history! She has also officiated in the Conference USA championship, Big 10 conference playoffs, Big 10 final, SEC conference playoffs, WNIT final, WBIT quarterfinal and final. In the episode, Natasha shares with host Elizabeth Emery about how she prepares for games, n...
Nov 14, 2024•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 178
Corrine Leistikow is a 65 year old family physician living in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her passion is being physically active outdoors. She started doing endurance biking and skiing events at age 50, when her children became teenagers. She continues to push her limits as an older athlete. Corrine tells host Elizabeth Emery about her adventures, pushing ourselves as older athletes, staying, why more older women don’t do endurance bikepacking, strength training, her own severe stomach issues while racin...
Oct 31, 2024•52 min•Ep. 177
In this episode, Iris Slappendel shares with host Elizabeth Emery stories of all things Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift. Iris is a commentator and reporter for Eurosport and is an expert source about the women’s peleton, teams, politics, and racing tactics. Iris raced professionally for 12 years with much success including a Dutch national road race title in 2014. After retiring at the end of 2016, Iris launched her own apparel brand called I R I S, her first name but also an abbreviation of ‘I...
Oct 17, 2024•56 min•Ep. 176
Katie Moon is two time World Champion and a two time Olympic medalist. At the Tokyo Olympics she won a gold medal and in Paris 2024 she won silver. Katie graduated from Olmsted Falls High School where she started her pole vaulting career. She returned there this summer to host the inaugural Katie Moon Pole Vault Classic. She went to the University of Dayton and then transferred to Ashland University, where she won two NCAA Division II national titles. Learn more about Katie in Hear Her Sports Ep...
Oct 03, 2024•14 min
Katie Moon is two time World Champion and a two time Olympic medalist. At the Tokyo Olympics she won a gold medal and in Paris 2024 she won silver. Katie graduated from Olmsted Falls High School where she started her pole vaulting career. She returned there this summer to host the inaugural Katie Moon Pole Vault Classic. She went to the University of Dayton and then transferred to Ashland University, where she won two NCAA Division II national titles. In this Bonus episode Katie explains how she...
Sep 19, 2024•24 min
This is a bonus episode of a cross posting of a Casual FC podcast episode featuring a deep dive into the world of Angel City FC, with discussions on its unique charm, importance of community, inclusivity, and fan culture. The discussion, involving Catherine Dávila from the Angel City front office, covers her diverse career journey and underlines the integral role of the community in shaping the team's identity and activities. The podcast sheds light on the milestones, outreach efforts, and the b...
Sep 05, 2024•1 hr 54 min
Amanda Sobhy is the highest ranked American born squash player ever. She is the first US player to win a world championship title, which she did on her 17th birthday at the 2010 world junior championships. She graduated from Harvard University in 2015 with a remarkable 62-0 undefeated college career, three team titles, and four individual titles. As a professional squash player, Amanda reached a career high of world No. 3 in 2021, making her the first American player ever to crack the top 3 in t...
Aug 22, 2024•51 min•Ep. 175
In the episode, decathletes Adeline Audigier, Patricia Mehlich, and Roséva Bidois who all represent Team France tell host Elizabeth Emery what it was like to compete in the inaugural Women’s Decathlon World Championships that took place in Geneva, Ohio at Spire Academy on August 3rd and 4th, 2024. These championships were historic and a big step towards achieving their goal of bringing the women’s decathlon to the LA Olympics in 2028 as an exhibition sport. Tune into the previous Hear Her Sports...
Aug 08, 2024•41 min•Ep. 174
Adeline Audigier was born in the city of Marseille in the South of France. She is about to turn 32 and is living her second athletic life as a decathlete. Before turning to decathlon, she was a heptathlete. She grew up in a sporty family. She and her brother and sister do dozens of sports. She has a degree in EHS (Environment, Health, Safety) engineering, was a professional firefighter, and is now a shipboard firefighter trainer. Adeline embodies the multi-sport life: absolutely everything inter...
Jul 25, 2024•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 173
Pole Vaulter Gabi Leon was one of the most successful student-athletes in the history of University of Louisville. She competed for the Cardinals from 2017 to 2022, finishing her career as the program record holder in both the indoor and outdoor women's pole vault. During her time competing for Louisville, Gabi was a four-time NCAA All-American, won two individual ACC championships, was recognized as All-ACC seven times, and earned USTFCCCA All-Academic distinction twice while receiving All-ACC ...
Jul 11, 2024•43 min•Ep. 172
Mechelle Lewis Freeman is a graduate of the University of South Carolina, where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Mass Communications. At USC, she was a member of the 2002 Women’s Outdoor Track & Field team who, brought the first National Championship in any sport to the university. After a successful marketing career, she transitioned back to an athlete to pursue her childhood dream of becoming an Olympic athlete. Mechelle is a Track & Field 2007 Pan American Double Silver...
Jun 27, 2024•46 min•Ep. 171
Lynn Holzman returned to the NCAA in February 2018 as the vice president of women’s basketball. She is responsible for the strategic direction, oversight, operations, and management of women’s basketball in Divisions I, II and III. She serves as the primary liaison to the women’s basketball committees and provides strategic oversight of the site-selection process for each championship. In 2014, Holzman was appointed commissioner of the West Coast Conference after serving in various leadership ro...
Jun 13, 2024•55 min•Ep. 170
