00:00Alana, I want to start with you. First of all, who do you have there? I want to thank you
00:03for
00:04being with us. And just talk about, this is not your first Olympics, but why it meant so much to
00:09be on top of that podium again and to have your family with you. I have my son here, Noah,
00:15and he
00:16is very excited. So he's trying to press all my computer keys and everything. But the real reason
00:22it was so exciting is because they're my motivation. My kids, both of them, my older son, Noah,
00:28my older son, Nico, who's six, and my younger son, Noah, who's three. They're my motivation for
00:33continuing in the sport. They're both deaf. And I just wanted to show them that regardless of what
00:39the world tells you, you can go after your dreams and you can pursue them. And fortunately for me,
00:44it ended at a gold medal. I mean, that's so amazing because for so long, first of all,
00:48it was women can have it all. And then it was maybe women can't have it all. And then,
00:52but there's this idea that maybe women can have both. And can you talk a little bit about,
00:58Kaylee, what the difference is between that? Like, maybe we can't have everything,
01:01but you can be a mom and be a badass Olympian at the same time.
01:06I think for a lot of years, especially growing up in a very male-dominated sport, you know,
01:10you always get told as soon as you hit 40, it's done. As soon as you become a mom,
01:14your body's never going to be the same. And there's all these misconceptions. And a lot of my
01:18career, I've had a lot of people, you know, say that I couldn't do things, place a target on my
01:23back. It was never going to happen. And so believing in yourself, believing in what's
01:27possible and dreaming big is a huge part that I think Alana and myself have always done.
01:32And so to be able to stand on that podium, you know, for me to be able to earn two
01:37medals at this
01:37Olympics, to know that I did it, you know, a year and a half postpartum, there was a lot of
01:43doubt,
01:44even in my own mind, but I wanted to go out there, put my best foot forward. I had a
01:48great team
01:48surrounding me, believing in me and what was possible. And, you know, Alana and I were able
01:53to get it done and be able to show everybody that because you're a mom, because of, you know,
01:57whatever limitations people want to place upon you, you know, if you dream big and work hard,
02:01you can make anything happen.
02:02Alana, I want to ask you, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is correct.
02:06You have the most medals for a black athlete in the Winter Olympics in history, correct?
02:13Yes, that's correct.
02:14I mean, we could just mic drop at that and leave it there. I would literally tell that
02:19to everyone I met from, like, the grocery store to the post office. But one of the other moments
02:23that I thought was so amazing is, you know, you guys are both in your 40s, too. So not only
02:28are
02:28you moms, but you are on the older end of spectrum for people who are doing the Olympics. And that
02:33was
02:33a big story this year, too, was older athletes coming back and proving they've still got it.
02:38What was it like to know, as a mom of two kids, as a woman in her 40s, that you
02:44were standing there
02:45on top of that podium with yet another gold medal around your neck?
02:49I mean, that's the thing. It took me two kids and almost 20 years to finally win a gold medal.
02:54You know, I've been fortunate to win medals before. So to finally win a gold at this age and having
03:01two
03:01kids when it's improbable, when it's against all odds, was really cool. And it just goes to show you,
03:06like, I am a big proponent of the village I've had around me and I've had a lot of great
03:11people,
03:11whether it's nannies, whether it's my husband, my kids, for the most part, are behind our dreams.
03:17Listen, we're talking about the realities. I think this is perfect, yes.
03:22You know, it's just been a journey from start to finish. But I think it's really cool to show
03:26that if you're given the right support system, if you have the right supports, there's no limit to
03:31what women can accomplish, regardless of the age, regardless of how many children they have. But
03:35I just want to emphasize it does take a village and it does require a lot of support. I think
03:40we
03:40need to just do more as a society to make sure women are supported at all stages of life.
03:46Kayla, let me ask you lastly, just about like one part of that village. And that is you guys as
03:50teammates and like what kind of conversation exists about what you all are going through these big
03:55moments in each other's lives and how you're thinking about that particular part of the village,
04:00the team itself, figuring all of this out.
04:04Yeah, Alana and I have been fortunate. We've shared five Olympic podiums together. So,
04:10you know, most of our career has been on the Olympic podium together. Just like any athlete's
04:16journey, you have an individual path. And I think motherhood is no different. You know,
04:21my path is different than Alana's path. And, you know, we're similar, yet very different in a lot of
04:27aspects. But I think for me specifically, and I hope Alana can say the same, you know,
04:33we've really pushed each other. I think when it comes to motherhood, you know, she's a little
04:37farther ahead than I am. Her kids are a little older, but there were there were questions. You
04:42know, what happens if you could ask to go to the hospital? What happens when you're on tour and this
04:45happens? And so I've been able to and she's been gracious enough to kind of fill me in on what
04:51happens, having been in that side before. And then there's, you know, the sport side of things.
04:56And I get to be the athlete I am because she motivates and pushes me to be the best because
05:02she's working super hard to beat me and vice versa. There are times, you know, when I win a race
05:08by a
05:08hundredth of a second and she's won a race by a hundredth of a second. And so we push each
05:13other
05:13to be the best. I know she's out there working every day. And I think that's what makes us so
05:17successful on Team USA as a whole that we can be on the podium for five Olympics in a row
05:22together
05:23because, you know, we've got great support as a whole within USA Bobsled and Team USA. But we
05:29really push each other to be the best version. I know she's out there working hard. I'm out there
05:33working hard. Neither of us can relax really when it comes to the competition piece. But at the end of
05:39the day, we know that we're supported with our team and our team of teams. And that's really what
05:44elevates us as a nation compared to the rest of the world. It takes a village. Sometimes
05:48it's an Olympic village. Sometimes the people we have around you.
Comments