00:00What's going on Essence family? It's your girl Sheree Nicole here again for Essence Black Women
00:07in Sports and we're on the move and this time we're in the heart of Times Square right here
00:11in New York City at the Team USA Media Summit. It is one, two, count them, three days of power
00:17packed panels and interviews with not only the top athletes in the United States but also the
00:22top athletes in the world. I got a chance to chat with them about how they're prepping for
00:25the Paris games, their athletic journeys and so much more so take a look. I think the female fights are
00:32more action-packed than the male fights. Just watch it, it's really fun. My ancestors didn't fight for
00:39no reason. I'm just honored to feel these shoes. When I was around three years old is when I started
00:44Taekwondo. What does that mean for you to be able to expose young black boys to this particular sport
00:50in this way? It's everything for me. It's absolutely everything. I always wanted to be a mom. I always
00:55wanted to have a child. What was the biggest challenge though with motherhood that you've
01:02overcome as you move into these Paris games? I feel confident in myself but like I never know
01:06like am I going to be back to where I need to be and I think that that was something that I had to
01:10work on myself with. You're a Paralympic athlete. You're a black male. Can you just speak to the
01:15value that you bring to the table in that? It's a real problem that people of color around the world
01:20just don't know how to swim. It's life-saving value. I don't know if you could put like a dollar amount
01:24on that or not but that's what it is. What's your training and your prep been like for the
01:28Paris games? I train twice a day, five days a week and it's pretty high intense training.
01:35I can only imagine looking at these biceps. What does it mean for you as a woman of color,
01:41a Paralympian to represent our country? One word exhilarating. I know that I a thousand percent
01:49and where I am today because of the support that I had and the community around me to help
01:54cultivate like a winning mindset. If I'm being really honest like I'm trying to show up in
01:58spaces real blackity black like I like I want to be seen I want my hair to be different. There's only
02:03two things that you need to look up to that you control and that's your effort and your attitude.
02:08Right now our focus is on making the top eight and then like the focus will shift now because then
02:13it becomes all about the Olympic games because we know like every game is like a quarter-final game for us.
02:18I love it. Speaking of focus, give me that.
02:24Is there one team building activity that you've done? We have a team sports psychologist. I think
02:29that without that we wouldn't we wouldn't get to where we want to be no matter how hard we tried in
02:34the pool. How important is it for people like yourself to offer what you do as a level of exposure
02:39for other young players who may want to do the same thing? It's hugely important just showcasing to the
02:44younger people you know growing up that you can still compete at a high level. I had to you know
02:50hide behind a curtain a few times because my personality is too much or I'm just a lot but
02:56that's that's who I am. Being myself has just changed everything for me it's changed my mind it's
03:03changed my body it's changed my day-to-day life. I have motivation from my family my friends my coaches
03:10and that drives me to push myself forward. Is there a particular skill set that you have
03:15that you're working on strengthening as we move towards pairs? I think taking more time for rest.
03:20Everybody continues to say that which makes me a little concerned but I get it. It's a common theme
03:26but for specifically in track and field I think by start I'm trying to get a much faster more explosive
03:31start. This year's going to be a dominant year for me I'm finally healthy. Kenny you have a really cool
03:36nickname. Are you still are we still rocking with the nickname? Yeah we're still rocking with it.
03:40All right so Kung Fu Kenny. As promised everybody I still have my headband on because Kung Fu Kenny
03:45said I could have it on. He did say it looked nice I just want to make sure one more time am I good?
03:54For us it's just you know proving that we're the number two team in the world for a reason. What do you
04:00want people who watch the Paris games to really come to understand or love about three on three? I want
04:05everyone to think that they can do it. I want them to look at it and say oh I'm actually going to get
04:10out there and try it. Grant Hill managing director of USA basketball and was on the 1996 Olympic team.
04:17What is one thing that you use to anchor with your experience that you've used to anchor yourself in
04:22this job and one thing that you had to throw away and say hey it doesn't work with this generation of
04:26basketball players? I think like anything it's patience being able to adjust and adapt and in terms of
04:32things that I've had to kind of let go of I think I just collect and add. When I'm on the floor I think
04:38you see why I move the way I move. The way I move is because of how I present myself. I've been working
04:44on my moves. Okay I need I need you to rate me from one to ten.
04:56One through ten. One being the worst. Ten. My man. All right Essence fam and just like that it's a wrap for
05:04Essence Black Women in Sports. We've had an incredible time here in the NYC at the Team USA
05:09media summit. It's time to say goodbye so I'm gonna go ahead and get myself together. I got my good gym shoes
05:14on. I call them gym shoes to go to the subway to get to my hotel to get back to the ATL.
05:18Catch you guys later. It's your Sheree Nicole signing off.
05:26Actually I lied. That's cap. I'm getting an Uber. Catch y'all later.
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