Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris Jamie Mittelman

Watch the video version of this conversation on our YouTube channel ►/ @flamebearers

Sunny Choi grew up as a gymnast and first watched the 1992 Olympic gymnastics in her sparkly Little Mermaid tutu. On the drive to her first gymnastics class, 3-year-old Sunny asked Mom if she was going to win a gold medal. This summer, she finally has that chance...but in a different sport.

Sunny found 'breaking' when she was a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania (note: don't call it breakdancing or everyone will know you're a newbie). One night when walking around campus, she saw Freaks of the Beat, a cool-looking breaking troop, and given her gymnastics background, was convinced to give it a go. She fell in love with the "creative elements of breaking," free flowing reactionary movements that in many ways stood in opposition to her well practiced gymnastics routines. As Sunny shares, when breaking, "you don't know what music you're going to get, so you can come in with a plan, and then throw it out the window."

In this conversation we hear how Sunny has defied stereotypes as an Asian-American woman in a male dominated sport, and also how her smiley-disposition has also challenged norms (breaking is known for its aggression). She shares how she's breaking has been about "figuring out who I am."

Sunny is the Pan-American Games Champ, so is coming in with high hopes for that gold medal she dreamt of in her Little Mermaid tutu.

We also hear from Sunny's parents. This conversation is hosted by Maé-Bérénice Méité, 2x Olympian and 6x National Figure Skating Champion from France. This series Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris celebrates women from around the world seeking to compete in this summer's Olympics and Paralympics.

Episodes drop every Wednesday at 5am Eastern Standard Time through the Paralympics.

Photo credit in podcast tile: The Players Tribune and Sam Maller.
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Flame Bearers is the world's first media and production company specifically illuminating the unsung stories of resilient women Olympians & Paralympians. We tell stories via podcast, video, and live events and are working towards a world where people feel more represented, empowered, and enlightened about the power of community.

Learn more on our website: flamebearers.com

Watch & subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch a video version of this episode ► / @flamebearers

Follow us on social media for exclusive behind the scenes content:
Instagram: /flamebearers
Facebook: /flamebearerspodcast
Linkedin: /flame-bearers
Tiktok: /flame_bearers
X: /flame_bearers

Maé-Bérénice Méité is a 2x Olympian and 6x National Figure Skating Champion from France who is also an entrepreneur, artist, content creator, and so much more. She's deeply passionate about sharing the behind-the-scenes realities of being a world-class athlete, including the challenges and struggles.

Maé-Bérénice co-hosts our interviews in Flame Bearers: Pathways to Paris celebrating women from around the world seeking to compete in this summer's Olympics and Paralympics. So, before we jump into those conversations, meet our rockstar new co-host, Maé-Bérénice.

Episodes drop every Wednesday at 5am Eastern Standard Time through the Paralympics.
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Flame Bearers is the world's first media and production company specifically illuminating the unsung stories of resilient women Olympians & Paralympians. We tell stories via podcast, video, and live events and are working towards a world where people feel more represented, empowered, and enlightened about the power of community.

Learn more on our website: flamebearers.com

Watch & subscribe to our YouTube channel to watch a video version of this episode ► / @flamebearers

Follow us on social media for exclusive behind the scenes content:
Instagram: /flamebearers
Facebook: /flamebearerspodcast
Linkedin: /flame-bearers
Tiktok: /flame_bearers
X: /flame_bearers

2x Olympic Gold Medalist and 3x World Champion, Caster Semenya has made headlines since winning the 800m at the 2009 World Athletics Championships at the age of 18, yet the media (and many of her fellow athletes) wouldn't gracefully acknowledge her generational talent for what it was, but rather started accusing her of being a man. This was news to Caster, someone who was born a woman and grew up a woman her whole life. Given her muscular build, speed, deep voice, and color, Caster didn't look like what many believed a woman "should" look like.

Wednesday is a landmark court case determining the future of women's track and field. For the last decade Caster has been fighting to compete without changing her natural body. The IIAF (formerly World Athletics) mandated that in order to compete she had to reduce her natural testosterone levels, which according to Caster, left her feeling "like the walking dead." To hear more of the backstory from Caster's perspective, check out our season 1 episode elevating Caster right before the Tokyo Olympics. This Wednesday, May 15th, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) is examining Caster's appeal against regulations requiring female athletes with high testosterone levels to take medication.

In our conversation Caster shares "Let's stop allowing people to give us a view or an opinion of how a woman should look like. You are born with your differences, I'm born with my differences...We need to celebrate one another." That is the world we are working towards with you, Caster.

This episode is co-hosted by Michelle's son, Cody. As Michelle shares, "If you want to know who I am, Cody has been with me through it all." According to Cody, growing up, "my classmates and teachers would pull me aside and say, 'we know who your Mom is,' but for me, she was just my Mom."

Michelle was born 6 years before Title IX, and never got to watch women compete growing up. Her hero was Super Bowl champ, Mean Joe Greene, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle. She didn't have a professional predecessor, so she became the Mean Joe Green – and more – of women’s soccer.

Legendary USA coach Tony DiCicco described her as “the best woman that has ever played.” She played on the first USWNT (the 1985 team!), won the first Women's World Cup and Golden Boot (‘91), was the first women's player to gain global fame, the first player to sign a shoe deal, and was named FIFA Player of the Century ('00). Throughout it all, Michelle's journey has been characterized by her unbridled love of the game, an unwillingness to deal with BS (she always keeps it real and calls a spade a spade), and a prioritization of her family and teammates. In fact, this ENTIRE 1985 series was her idea, as she wanted to give credit to her teammates for the foundational role they have played in the USWNT.

In Michelle's story she shares about her ups and downs, her battles with U.S. Soccer, and her life today with son Cody on the farm. We hear from Anson Dorrance (Women's Soccer Coach, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill & Former Coach, USWNT), Jill Ellis (President, San Diego Wave & Former Coach, USWNT), Lesle Gallimore (GM, Seattle Reign FC & Michelle's Former USWNT Pool Teammate), and Heather O'Reilly (USWNT and TST teammates).

To write a letter thanking Michelle or anyone on the original USWNT, please send it to marissap@flamebearers.com

Media used in this production:
-38 years after making history, first USWNT to be honored at Asheville City regular season finale, Chris Womack, June 29th 2023,
-The Forgotten Early History of Women’s Soccer, Laurent Dubois, January 22, 2016
-ESPN YouTube Channel, 'USWNT win the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage | 2023 ESPYS (📍 @CapitalOne)'

It’s been a few months since the World Cup, but we committed to telling the stories of the entire first USWNT, so we tracked down one of the two outstanding players. Here she is!

Tara Buckley O'Sullivan, grew up doing everything with her twin sister, Moira. The duo would go to their older brother's soccer games, and then their younger brother's games. When Tara and Moira were watching younger brother, Danny play, his coach asked Mrs. Buckley, "why don't you dress your girls up like cheerleaders and they can cheer for their younger brother?"

Tara's response? "Heck no! We wanna play!" So Mrs. Buckley stepped up and became their coach. She didn't really know soccer, but she knew playing was important to the girls, so she made sure they could.

Fast forward and Tara became UConn’s first 4x All-American in women's soccer. Throughout it all, she describes her teams as "in it for the love of the game," a love she imparted to her children in whatever sports they chose to pursue be it lacrosse, taekwondo, or more recently golf.

Since retiring from soccer, Tara credits her family as being her rock... and the feeling is mutual as we hear from husband Mike, son Timothy, and daughter, Caitlin.

Media used in this production:
-38 years after making history, first USWNT to be honored at Asheville City regular season finale, Chris Womack, June 29th 2023,
-The Forgotten Early History of Women’s Soccer, Laurent Dubois, January 22, 2016
-ESPN YouTube Channel, 'USWNT win the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage | 2023 ESPYS (📍 @CapitalOne)'

Yes, it’s been a few months since the World Cup, but we committed to telling the stories of the entire first USWNT, so we tracked down one of the two outstanding players. Here she is!

Sharon was the first woman to be named U.S. Soccer Player of the Year and according to Michelle Akers, she's the ultimate badass. "You showed up at the game on a motorcycle and picture me, I'm just sitting on the ground, just happy to be there and totally intimidated, but you, Sharon show up on this motorcycle, and you're Joan Jett...In my mind, when you were on that US team, there was no one better."

How Sharon got there isn't a traditional story either (not that there even was a path to the USWNT because it didn't exist). Sharon was first introduced to soccer because "Mom wanted me out of the house" once she picked up a habit of doing things with her feet. Sharon had just watched a TV program on a woman born without arms; the woman was sitting on a stool threading a needle with her toes, and given that Sharon always wanted to be prepared, she immediately started learning how to do things with her feet. "Stuff happens to people" and I "wanted to be prepared if I were to lose my arms." To her Mom's chagrin, Sharon started using her feet to open doorknobs and doing all housework. Her Mom soon thereafter decided Sharon's feet would be better used playing soccer.

Since playing, Sharon has had jobs ranging from carpenter to travel agent and coach, and she just completed illustrating a brand new children's book: The Other Side Of Nowhere: A Jack and Sabrina Adventure (link to purchase below).

When asked why it's important people know the stories of the 1985 USWNT she shares, "you always have to have try and to push the limits because there's always going to be somebody somewhere that's going to try to keep you from doing what you want to do. If you want to, you want a better place in the world, you got to do a little bit more. Aim high and go."

TO PURCHASE SHARON'S BOOK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTLBLKH9?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_GG624XWC56EBY7A7P9VB&language=en_US
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Media used in this production:
-38 years after making history, first USWNT to be honored at Asheville City regular season finale, Chris Womack, June 29th 2023,
-The Forgotten Early History of Women’s Soccer, Laurent Dubois, January 22, 2016
-ESPN YouTube Channel, 'USWNT win the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage | 2023 ESPYS (📍 @CapitalOne)'