Andraya Carter knows a thing or two about resilience and reinvention. After three ACL injuries cut her basketball playing career short, the University of Tennessee graduate transitioned into broadcasting, where she now covers both all things basketball for ESPN. In this episode, we dive into how Andraya navigated these career transitions and found new ways to stay connected to the game she loves. She shares her perspective on overcoming physical setbacks, the mental fortitude required to deal with repeated injuries, and the importance of authenticity when working on some of sports media's biggest stages.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE

• Andraya’s Journey: From playing at Tennessee to becoming one of the most recognizable faces on ESPN.
• The Power of Preparation: Why Andraya believes in "reps" and how she prepares for different roles, from sideline reporting to color analysis.
• Defining Success on Your Own Terms: Navigating outside opinions and social media while staying true to yourself.
• The Importance of Connection: How Andraya’s grandmother influenced her desire to make others feel seen and heard.
• Mindfulness and Movement: Why movement and meditation (even in small moments like inside an Uber or on a plane) are essential to Andraya's wellness routine.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

On Career and Transition

• "Chasing a dream is a transferable skill. My dream was to be a professional athlete, I chased it, I didn’t get it, but the idea of having a goal and going for it to me is a skill."
• "Every rep was good for me because it was a rep. It was an opportunity to have a microphone, to speak, to be on camera, and it was fun."
• "The story of having a job to pay the bills while having a dream in the back of your mind is actually not uncommon."

On Resilience and Preparation

• "The ones who can be uncomfortable the longest are the ones that make it. You have to push through this discomfort."
• "I just started judging my performance based on—was I prepared? If I was prepared, I had my notes ... I was ready for this moment."

On Mindfulness and Authenticity

• "I hope that what translates to viewers ... is just my passion. I've been able to be myself on air ... Connecting to people has always been something that I try to take a lot of pride in."
• "Being present is so important. I hope people start to understand more how you really are your best self when you're present."
• "There's value in feeling valued, and value in being paid what you feel like you're worth and not what other people say that you're worth."

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@emilyabbate
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Emily shares an update following her egg retrieval procedure on Tuesday. She discusses the physical and emotional transition from the procedure to recovery, reflecting on the importance of self-care and the empowerment that comes with being proactive about her future. She also addresses the financial realities of fertility treatments and why she views this as her greatest act of self-love yet. Plus, she answers a listener question about managing negative comments on social media and shares a helpful boundary setting tip from a recent interview with ESPN’s Andrea Carter.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
Spring Fertility

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@emilyabbate
@hurdlepodcast
@iheartwomenssports

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In this week’s episode, Emily’s sitting down with Anna Gibson, a powerhouse athlete who is truly redefining what it means to be well-rounded. Anna is a professional runner for Brooks and a newly-crowned 2026 Winter Olympian in ski mountaineering—or "skimo," as it’s affectionately known in the mountains.

Growing up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Anna was practically raised on skis, but it wasn't until she was already a seasoned professional runner that she decided to take on the world of competitive skimo—only seven months before her Olympic debut. Anna's journey is a testament to the fact that when you lean into curiosity and joy, the sky's the limit.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The "What If I Succeed?" Mindset: How reframing the fear of failure allowed Anna to embrace new challenges with zero hesitation.
• The Power of Being a Beginner: Why accepting she had room to grow became her greatest competitive advantage on the world stage.
• Plan B Philosophy: How having multiple passions and professional pursuits actually fuels her focus in each individual discipline.
• Tactical Crossover: The surprising ways track racing tactics and "jostling" translated to the start line of an Olympic skimo race.
• Nervous System Recovery: The importance of mental and physical decompression between high-intensity efforts, from Brooks Trail to Brooks Beast.
• Defining Success: How Anna moves beyond results to focus on becoming a well-rounded athlete and person.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

• "You can simultaneously prepare for things, you don't know when they're going to happen. If you believe that you can do something, you can and you will."
• "I just had this feeling deep down that it would all work out. And it's very gratifying to feel like, okay, it actually did."
• "Trying to reframe it as 'what if I succeed?' and imagining what those two things look like and comparing them has been a very useful skill for me."
• "I think that the guiding principles have to be things that are renewable resources, and I think that curiosity and joy are two of those things."
• "Being a better athlete to me does not just mean winning the big trail races in the world... it’s really just a feeling in my body of gaining competence in every category that I’m able to."

SOCIAL
@annaagibsonn
@emilyabbate
@iheartwomenssports

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