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Speaker 1: Welcome to an all new episode of her playbook, presented

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Speaker 1: by Kendra Scott. Game Day Just got Personal. Find your

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Speaker 1: winning look at Kendra Scott, where team spirit meets personal style.

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Speaker 1: Shop jewelry, accessories and more at your New York area

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Speaker 1: Kendra Scott store or online at Kendrascott dot com. My

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Speaker 1: guest today, I am thrilled to be joined by a

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Speaker 1: three time Olympian and American track and field athlete specializing

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Speaker 1: in the high jump. Please welcome to the show, Vashdie Cunningham.

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Speaker 1: Thank you so much for joining me today.

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Speaker 2: Vashti, thank you for having me. I'm really excited to

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Speaker 2: be here.

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Speaker 1: I'm so excited to talk to you, and we got

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Speaker 1: to start with some recent news. Obviously, you recently jumped

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Speaker 1: a season best one point nine to seven meters to

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Speaker 1: win the twenty twenty five Track and Field Outdoor Championship

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Speaker 1: in the high jump. This marked your seventh national title,

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Speaker 1: earning you a trip to next month's Worlds in Tokyo, Japan,

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Speaker 1: which is incredible. I know this season has had a

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Speaker 1: lot of ups and downs for you, but how rewarding

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Speaker 1: was that moment.

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Speaker 2: That moment was just a blessing. This season started out

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Speaker 2: really slow. It's been a rough one at that I

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Speaker 2: can say, But I think that being able to jump

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Speaker 2: the standard at the World or at the US Championships

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Speaker 2: was just a huge moment for me.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, and you mentioned jumping the standard and how much

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Speaker 1: adversity you've gone through this season. Talk a little bit

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Speaker 1: about kind of the differences that you've seen in your

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Speaker 1: own performances this year as opposed to years past.

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Speaker 2: I often joke with my friends this season, They're like,

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Speaker 2: how's your season going, And I'm like, this has actually

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Speaker 2: been my worst season as a professional in my career.

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Speaker 2: I'm used to jumping the standard at the first competition

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Speaker 2: of the year and then like playing get safe throughout

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Speaker 2: the rest of the season, knowing that I'm secured, But

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Speaker 2: this has just been a little bit of a different season.

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Speaker 2: I think God has definitely matured me throughout this season

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Speaker 2: and shown me that I need to rely on Him

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Speaker 2: rather than my own ability. But getting the standard at

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Speaker 2: that meet was like such a prime, prime thing for

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Speaker 2: me to do for my encouragement and just moving forward

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Speaker 2: to know that, like, just because the season started out

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Speaker 2: slow doesn't mean it's going to finish slow, right, And.

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Speaker 1: I mean that's got to be such an incredible mental

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Speaker 1: challenge for you as an athlete, as somebody who's used

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Speaker 1: to challenging your body physically, going through that mental challenge

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Speaker 1: and that mental adversity of navigating Okay, I'm somebody who's

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Speaker 1: used to performing at such a high level and who's

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Speaker 1: used to kind of my expectation is the standard, and

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Speaker 1: now having to strive to achieve that is a different,

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Speaker 1: different game a bit.

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Speaker 2: Oh yeah, Definitely, the mental aspect of it all has

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Speaker 2: been an uncomfortable space for me to navigate. I've never

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Speaker 2: really experienced on success so consistently in gay career until

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Speaker 2: twenty twenty five, and it's really taught me to just

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Speaker 2: shift the attention to God and what his intentions are

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Speaker 2: and what his word says about how he knows exactly

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Speaker 2: what we're going through and how he's concerned for us.

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Speaker 2: And so that's been like my only peace throughout the

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Speaker 2: whole season is knowing that he knows where I'm at

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Speaker 2: and that every good and perfect gift comes from Him.

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Speaker 1: Now, you are no stranger to the athlete mentality. Your

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Speaker 1: family is very athletic. Your mom was a ballet dancer,

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Speaker 1: your dad, Randall Cunningham played sixteen seasons a quarterback in

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Speaker 1: the NFL. Giants fans very familiar with his tenure with

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Speaker 1: the Eagles. Having that mentality and that environment.

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Speaker 2: To grow up in.

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Speaker 1: How do you think that shaped you as an athlete?

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Speaker 2: I think that it's shaped so much of me and

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Speaker 2: the way that I think, the way that I train,

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Speaker 2: the way that I recover mentally from certain things. I

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Speaker 2: definitely use my dad as much as I can from

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Speaker 2: his past experience to what even what he goes through now,

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Speaker 2: because is your career never ends. Just because you're not

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Speaker 2: playing or you're not competing doesn't mean that your legacy ends.

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Speaker 2: And so he's taught me so many things about when

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Speaker 2: he was at the top and he was starting and

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Speaker 2: he was playing, shifting to when he was benched, and

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Speaker 2: shifting to when he was booed by his own crowd.

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Speaker 2: And so there's just so much that he's taught me

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Speaker 2: through the years of dealing with fans and dealing with

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Speaker 2: media and also staying sane at where I am actually

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Speaker 2: in the midst of all of it.

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Speaker 1: Your dad, I know, travels with you quite a bit

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Speaker 1: and coaches you as well. What's that dynamic been like.

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Speaker 2: Uh, It's definitely been something that I've had to mature

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Speaker 2: to find my true gratitude for it. You know when

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Speaker 2: you're seventeen eighteen years old and you're planning on going

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Speaker 2: to college and then you just turn professional and realize like, oh,

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Speaker 2: I'm going to be home. I'm not going to get

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Speaker 2: away from anything or have my own time to grow

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Speaker 2: as my own individual in a new state. It's definitely

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Speaker 2: been something that was like a learning curve for me.

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Speaker 2: I'm always I've always been with my dad and traveled

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Speaker 2: with him, but it was different when I graduated high

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Speaker 2: school and I'm starting to make money and I'm still

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Speaker 2: listening to him try to like, Okay, you need to

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Speaker 2: be home at nine pm and you need to focus

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Speaker 2: like this. You don't need to be doing this, you

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Speaker 2: don't need to be doing that. And I'm like, look,

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Speaker 2: if I were in college right now, you wouldn't be

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Speaker 2: able to tell me all these things. And so just

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Speaker 2: over the years, this is my now ninth year as

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Speaker 2: a professional. Over the years, I've really got to understand

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Speaker 2: that it's truly a blessing to be able to travel

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Speaker 2: with my dad and to just spend the quality time

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Speaker 2: that we do together.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, well, it's of course too. When you see him,

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Speaker 1: he's your dad. I mean, sports fans zoom out and like,

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Speaker 1: this is the guy who's throwing Randy Moss touchdown passes

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Speaker 1: his rookie year. This is the guy who played with

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Speaker 1: Eagles for so long. You're like, this is my dad.

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Speaker 2: I don't want which I get.

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Speaker 1: That's such an interesting dynamic. You meant too for going college.

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Speaker 1: You turned down both volleyball and track and field scholarships

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Speaker 1: to go pro, immediately got a deal with Nike and

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Speaker 1: got that done. How hard was that decision for you

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Speaker 1: or was it hard?

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Speaker 2: It was a little bit more difficult for me than

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Speaker 2: it was for my dad and my mom. I think

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Speaker 2: my mom was in the direction of like, whatever you

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Speaker 2: want to do. But I really really loved volleyball, and

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Speaker 2: I really had dreams of just leaving Vegas, going off

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Speaker 2: on my own and just being able to be in

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Speaker 2: a program. And so it wasn't like an extremely hard decision.

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Speaker 2: My dad put it on the table. He was like,

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Speaker 2: you can either make money now or you can make

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Speaker 2: money in five years. And I was like, Okay, I'm

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Speaker 2: going to make money now. And looking back at it,

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Speaker 2: I sometimes miss volleyball. But I would never go back

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Speaker 2: and try and change anything about the way that God

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Speaker 2: brought this opportunity for me. Yeah, You've had so.

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Speaker 1: Many unique experiences through it, and you know a lot

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Speaker 1: of athletes will say, Okay, I'm going to do this

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Speaker 1: now while I can and go back and do school

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Speaker 1: later in life, which will always be an option. I'm

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Speaker 1: want to talk about your Olympic experiences. You've been to

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Speaker 1: the Olympic Games three different times, in Rio and sixteen

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Speaker 1: and Tokyo and twenty one in Paris, most recently in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty four. But Rio, that one really stands out

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Speaker 1: such a unique experience. You were eighteen years old, the

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Speaker 1: youngest US track and field athlete to make the team.

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Speaker 1: What was that Olympic Games like you like for you?

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Speaker 1: And was that what you expected?

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Speaker 2: That? That was an experience for sure. I had no

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Speaker 2: real experience of being on a world's team before. I

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Speaker 2: didn't even really know that I could have qualified for that.

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Speaker 2: It just like kind of happened earlier in the year.

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Speaker 2: I had a moment of success with the World Indoor

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Speaker 2: Championships where I was not even really looked at as

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Speaker 2: somebody who could have won until the week before or

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Speaker 2: when I had the US trials for that I ended

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Speaker 2: up winning and getting the standard and then being invited

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Speaker 2: last minute to come back and jump with for Worlds

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Speaker 2: and I ended up winning. And I had no idea

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Speaker 2: how big that would have been in that moment or

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Speaker 2: how it would have impacted my career as a high jumper,

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Speaker 2: And so going to the Olympics was something that I

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Speaker 2: was just hearing throughout the year. But when I got there,

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Speaker 2: I was so young, I was so shy. I didn't

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Speaker 2: know a single person besides my roommate, which was Sidney McLaughlin,

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Speaker 2: and we were both the youngest on the team, and

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Speaker 2: I just remember like we were just like two kids

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Speaker 2: in this big world and we didn't know what to do,

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Speaker 2: what to expect, who to talk to. And that was

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Speaker 2: something that I remember because I have been now twice

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Speaker 2: since then and every experience is different. I remember like

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Speaker 2: taking these long hour drives to go hang out with

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Speaker 2: my family because I would just stay in the room

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Speaker 2: all day. And then I remember the competition. The competition

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Speaker 2: was crazy. The bar came in higher than I've ever

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Speaker 2: came in in a competition. I'd want to say, it

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Speaker 2: came in at maybe six feet or six', one and

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Speaker 2: that's usually like my second or third. Jump so it

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Speaker 2: was just a crazy. Experience but there's one moment THAT

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Speaker 2: i think about from that, competition and it was the prelim.

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Speaker 2: ROUND i had two misses AND i had one more

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Speaker 2: attempt to make the height to go to the, finals

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Speaker 2: AND i hurt my ankle like the second, jump AND

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Speaker 2: i had one more jump, left and AND i looked

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Speaker 2: at my dad AND i was, shaking AND i was so,

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Speaker 2: scared AND i was, LIKE i don't know If i'm

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Speaker 2: going to make. This AND i had all the pressure

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Speaker 2: of everybody telling, me like you're gonna be the youngest

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Speaker 2: gold medal and he was just told, me looked at,

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Speaker 2: me and he was like Trust. God and SO i

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Speaker 2: just took everything out of my mind AND i went

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Speaker 2: AND i, jumped AND i made it into the, finals

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Speaker 2: AND i was just, LIKE i don't even know what

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Speaker 2: to do after. THIS i felt LIKE i won the

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Speaker 2: competition AND i had a whole nother day of, jumping

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Speaker 2: but it was that was an experience That i'll never

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Speaker 2: forget that.

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Speaker 1: Is, Incredible AND i, mean what an incredible moment, too

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Speaker 1: of just a test of your mental strength and your

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Speaker 1: fortitude and that of SAYING i don't know IF i

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Speaker 1: can push, on and you, know whether people are competing

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Speaker 1: In Olympic games or just overwhelmed with life and, moments

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Speaker 1: there's those moments that we all realize where we, THINK

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Speaker 1: i CAN i handle, this CAN i take this? On

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Speaker 1: and you just got to push through and just trust

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Speaker 1: Like i'm okay with whatever the. Outcome, yeah what an incredible. Experience,

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Speaker 1: now you mentioned the standard often for fans listening to

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Speaker 1: the show or for listeners out there who are maybe

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Speaker 1: not as familiar with track and field and, go what

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Speaker 1: is the standard when it comes to high?

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Speaker 2: Jump, okay so the standard there's a standard for every.

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Speaker 2: Event for the, sprints you need to run a certain

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Speaker 2: time to even be qualified to make it to The

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Speaker 2: olympics or to The World. Championships for high, jump you

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Speaker 2: have to jump a certain height for the women one ninety.

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Speaker 2: Seven i'm gonna just say it's six feet. FIVE i

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Speaker 2: don't know what the change, is but that's like a

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Speaker 2: very high. Standard there's not many women in THE us

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Speaker 2: who jump six feet. Five i'm one of two women

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Speaker 2: who have The World championship. Standard the other women's high

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Speaker 2: jumper is actually not competing right, now So i'll be

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Speaker 2: the only one from THE us going with the. Standard

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Speaker 2: but it's like the, aim that's where you. Aim you

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Speaker 2: look at that height for the whole season and you

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Speaker 2: try to achieve that just to have the weight off

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Speaker 2: of your, shoulders because if you don't achieve, that then

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Speaker 2: it goes down to a point, system and that all

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Speaker 2: matters about what type of competitions you're.

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Speaker 1: In, yeah, Yeah and that just kind of fluctuates each

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Speaker 1: time and each, competition and it puts a little bit

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Speaker 1: more pressure on some of the more nuanced. Moments, now you,

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Speaker 1: know your First Olympic, games you mentioned you were kind

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Speaker 1: of bright eyed and not quite sure what to take on.

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Speaker 1: There as you became more of a veteran in this,

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Speaker 1: space how did your role with you, KNOW teamu and

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Speaker 1: also with the way that you approach these events evolve

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Speaker 1: over the.

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Speaker 2: YEARS i think that my role kind of shifted a little.

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Speaker 2: BIT i, Mean i'm still like a really shy girl

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Speaker 2: when it comes to these big competitions and team. EVENTS

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Speaker 2: i feel like SINCE i didn't go to, COLLEGE i

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Speaker 2: missed out on meeting a lot of the professional athletes

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Speaker 2: and just knowing everybody when you come into the professional

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Speaker 2: side of. It So i'm a little bit shy when

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Speaker 2: it comes to being in the big group settings and

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Speaker 2: in the team, meetings LIKE i sit with the same

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Speaker 2: people WHERE i sit by, myself so that role kind

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Speaker 2: of never. CHANGED i never became like the team captain

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Speaker 2: or anything as of. Yet and then moving forward in the,

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Speaker 2: COMPETITIONS i feel like just being able to see the

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Speaker 2: girls THAT i jump against From, europe the girls From

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Speaker 2: australia over the course of, time and like getting to

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Speaker 2: know them outside of the competition has just made me

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Speaker 2: so much more comfortable AS i compete against. Them not

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Speaker 2: LIKE i get out there and we're talking and painting

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Speaker 2: nails or anything like, that BUT i look at them

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Speaker 2: And i'm, like we are going through the same. Thing

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Speaker 2: we have all of the pressure that this is the biggest.

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Speaker 2: Competition the whole world is watching The, olympics and it's

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Speaker 2: good to see a familiar face out. There.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah that is a huge stage because it is

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Speaker 1: literally the whole world. WATCHING i, mean you, know, here

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Speaker 1: guys when they win A Super, bowl say we're world,

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Speaker 1: champions but this is quite literally on the world. Stage

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Speaker 1: it's a whole another ballgame, NOW i. Know you, know

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Speaker 1: we talked about how much your dad is such a

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Speaker 1: support and a coach and a presence and it has you,

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Speaker 1: know followed your track and field. Career how much do

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Speaker 1: you remember about following his football? Career are you a

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Speaker 1: football fan still and did you you know what was

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Speaker 1: were some of your favorite memories growing up around that.

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Speaker 2: Environment, YES i definitely remember going to some of the

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Speaker 2: games WHEN i was younger and just seeing the way

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Speaker 2: that people light up when they saw, him and when

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Speaker 2: he would stop and sign or stop and take, pictures

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Speaker 2: and just the impact that he had on the fans

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Speaker 2: and on, people like he still has the. Impact when

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Speaker 2: we came To, miami we were getting our rental car

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Speaker 2: and we were checking, out and the guy who checked

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Speaker 2: us out just lit up with like the brightest eyes

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Speaker 2: and he was, LIKE i was telling my kids about.

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Speaker 2: You AND i just look at my dad and like

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Speaker 2: not try to give him too much, attention But i'm, Like,

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Speaker 2: okay like you still got. It, Yeah i'm like you're that.

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Speaker 2: Guy but it's definitely it was definitely different growing. Up

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Speaker 2: LIKE i was, young AND i didn't go online and

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Speaker 2: watch his highlights all the time BECAUSE i had him coaching,

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Speaker 2: me AND i had him just raising me and my

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Speaker 2: brother at the, time and SO i definitely didn't understand

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Speaker 2: UNTIL i got to about like middle, school just how

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Speaker 2: incredible what he was doing. Was i'm still a football.

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Speaker 2: FAN i don't know if you want to know who

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Speaker 2: my team is BECAUSE i see all the giant stuff

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Speaker 2: in the.

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Speaker 1: BACKGROUND i, mean you gotta gotta gotta tell all.

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Speaker 2: Right all, RIGHT i mean this is.

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Speaker 1: Fair you, know this is friendly. EXPECTED i, mean you've

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Speaker 1: got to be your dad's spent the majority of his.

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Speaker 1: Career there a lot of memories there that totally is.

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Speaker 1: Fair and, listen The giants And eagles play twice a.

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Speaker 1: Year we'll, we'll we'll have fun with.

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Speaker 2: It, yeah Maybe i'll see you out there one of these,

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Speaker 2: days exactly.

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Speaker 1: Exactly it's got to be such a unique. Experience AND

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Speaker 1: i can imagine. Too you're so, young and again you're,

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Speaker 1: like this is my, dad and it's not until you

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Speaker 1: see it through somebody else's, eyes the guy giving you

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Speaker 1: the rental, car or the people lighting up when you see,

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Speaker 1: Him you're, like, wow this is this is the reaction

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Speaker 1: to the guy who you, know we're having dinner every

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Speaker 1: night and and he's making Sure i'm doing the best

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Speaker 1: in terms of my own homework and athlete and all

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Speaker 1: that kind of. Stuff as, you you, know have grown and,

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Speaker 1: evolved not just as an athlete but as a young

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Speaker 1: woman and all. That what are some of the things

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Speaker 1: that you wish you could tell your younger, self some

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Speaker 1: piece of advice that you've learned at this point in

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Speaker 1: your career that you, Think, wow HAD i known that

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Speaker 1: WHEN i was, sixteen, eighteen just getting started on this,

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Speaker 1: journey how beneficial that would be.

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Speaker 2: Something THAT i would tell my younger. SELF i think

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Speaker 2: THAT i would tell my younger self that the weight

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Speaker 2: of what everybody is saying does not. Change like who

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Speaker 2: you are and What god has for, you the plans

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Speaker 2: That god has for. You i've NEVER i wouldn't say

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Speaker 2: THAT i was ever somebody who really cared what people

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Speaker 2: had to, say but definitely coming in this into the,

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Speaker 2: Career LIKE i remember going to my First, Olympics like

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Speaker 2: there were so many people telling me, Like i'm going to,

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Speaker 2: win and so it was locked in my mind, that

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Speaker 2: like it doesn't matter If i'm eighteen years, OLD i

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Speaker 2: have to win because everybody's telling Me i'm gonna. Win

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Speaker 2: AND i have to AND i can't disappoint, them BUT

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Speaker 2: i would definitely tell myself That god's plan is so

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Speaker 2: much bigger than what my plan is for, myself and

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Speaker 2: the things That he can do are going to succeed

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Speaker 2: WHAT i even plan to. Do so that would be

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Speaker 2: my number one tip to my younger.

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Speaker 1: SELF i love that because so often we have such

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Speaker 1: high expectations for, ourselves or we are so hard on

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Speaker 1: ourselves when we fall short of our own personal goals

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Speaker 1: or the goals that are loved ones set for. Us

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Speaker 1: but then when you zoom out and you look at

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Speaker 1: the bigger picture and, Realize, okay there's a lot more

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Speaker 1: to this story, here and it all makes sense in

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Speaker 1: hindsight right exactly exactly. That Ashley, cunningham thank you so

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Speaker 1: much for taking the time. Today it has been such

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Speaker 1: a pleasure talking to, you And i'm wishing you nothing

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00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,920
Speaker 1: but success as continue this journey and with worlds coming

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Speaker 1: up and all, that and we'll be.

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Speaker 2: Watching thank you so. MUCH i really had a great

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Speaker 2: time talking to you as. Well thank.

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