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Welcome to the Unfiltered Waters Podcast, where we dive deep into the untold stories of athletes. Our podcast brings together the wisdom and experiences of two Olympic champions, Katie Hoff and Missy Franklin. Join us as we journey through the lives of athletes, showcasing their triumphs, challenges, and the unfiltered reality of what it takes to become a champion. We invite you to partner with us on this inspiring and impactful venture.
120 Episodes
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In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with USA Swimming CEO Kevin Ring at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to mark his first 100 days in the role and break down the future of USA Swimming. Kevin shares the organization’s newly approved mission, vision, values, and four key pillars, dives into the 2026 budget deficit and why increased national team investment and bringing Pan Pacs to the U.S. are strategic moves ahead of LA 2028, and explain...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Isabeau Levito, 2024 World silver medalist and 2023 U.S. National champion, for a candid conversation about expectations, confidence, and staying true to herself on the road to the Olympics. Isabeau reflects on the pressure of being “one of the expected spots,” the difference between skating because you get to versus because you have to, and how learning to s...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, two-time Four Continents silver medalists and one of Team USA’s Olympic pairs teams. Emily and Spencer reflect on the emotional roller coaster of nationals, bouncing back from a rough short program to secure their Olympic spot, and the injuries and setbacks that nearly derailed their journey. They open up about the power of routin...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Amber Glenn, three-time U.S. national champion and newly named Olympian. Amber reflects on the pressure of performing under expectation, the milliseconds that separate success from mistake, and what it really takes to adjust in real time when things don’t go as planned. She opens up about embracing nerves instead of fighting them, staying grounded through rhy...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, ice dance partners who have navigated one of the most challenging and transformative seasons of their careers. Christina and Anthony reflect on the emotional toll of uncertainty, including Christina’s journey to U.S. citizenship, and what it took to stay grounded while chasing an Olympic dream that felt anything but...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Andrew Torgashev, U.S. Championships silver medalist and newly named Team USA member, fresh off one of the most emotional weeks of his career. Andrew reflects on the adrenaline crash after making the team, the quiet moments no one sees, and how he learned to manage nerves that followed him even off the ice. He opens up about visualization, grounding technique...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Ilia Malinin, reigning world champion and widely known as the “Quad God.” Ilia reflects on the mental and emotional cost of constantly pushing the ceiling of what’s possible, navigating expectations that come with redefining the sport, and why embracing imperfections has been essential to his growth. He opens up about fear, failure, and what people don’t see ...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Madison Chock and Evan Bates, world champions, Olympic medalists, and one of the longest-standing partnerships in the sport. Madison and Evan reflect on what it takes to stay great over multiple Olympic cycles, the willingness to evolve and reinvent themselves, and how navigating injury, doubt, and major career pivots ultimately reshaped their trajectory. The...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik, ice dance partners and 2026 Four Continents champions, fresh off a whirlwind stretch that changed their lives. Emilea and Vadym reflect on qualifying for the Olympics, the moment it finally felt real, and what it means to exhale after chasing a lifelong goal. They open up about partnership, trust, and why committing to mental...
In the next episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Max Naumov, U.S. national medalist, for an honest conversation about emotion, resilience, and the mental side of competition. Max reflects on performing under pressure, learning to sit with nerves instead of fighting them, and how embracing uncertainty has changed the way he approaches skating. He opens up about confidence, vulnerability, and why allowing him...
In the first episode of Meet Team USA Figure Skating (Frozen Waters), a special mini-series from Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Alysa Liu, a Beijing 2022 Olympian, World Champion, and the first woman to land a quad Lutz. Alysa reflects on stepping away from the sport at a young age, trusting her intuition, and returning with a renewed sense of creativity, connection, and purpose. She opens up about self-expression through skating, fashion, and choreography, the importance of saying n...
In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down in Austin, Texas during the USA Swimming Pro Swim Series with Olympic champions Katie Ledecky, Bobby Finke, Simone Manuel, Kieran Smith, and Jack Alexy to break down how elite athletes actually fuel training, competition, and recovery. From pre-practice meals and post-race nutrition to cooking habits, travel fueling, and lessons learned the hard way, this conversation offers practical, real-world insight for athletes at any level. Whether ...
In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down in Austin, Texas during the USA Swimming Pro Swim Series for a fast-paced, fun, and surprisingly insightful conversation with Gen Z athletes Regan Smith, Anna Peplowski, Claire Weinstein, Rylee Erisman, and Charlotte Crush. From slang like “sat,” “chopped,” and “aura farming” to trends, fashion, social media habits, and what actually defines Gen Z culture, this episode breaks down how the next generation of athletes think, talk, and show u...
In this episode of Unfiltered Waters, Katie sits down with Chari Hawkins, a Paris 2024 Olympian and U.S. heptathlon champion, for a powerful conversation about perseverance, identity, and belief in elite sport. Chari opens up about the long road to the Olympics, rebuilding confidence after setbacks, navigating mental health and pressure, separating self-worth from performance, and why being underestimated became one of her greatest strengths. ----- Subscribe to the show on your favorite...
We spent the day at the University of Virginia and sat down with Katie Grimes for a conversation that felt especially meaningful. In this episode, Katie opens up about her transition from training as a high school athlete at Sandpipers to life at UVA, how dramatically her routine and independence changed, and why the team culture has been the steady anchor through it all. She reflects honestly on a challenging NCAA season, learning to separate her identity from performance, and trusting the p...
Heads up: You’re listening to a highlight compilation featuring clips from several Unfiltered Waters episodes. Audio will switch between episodes without an audio cue. To close out 2025, we pulled together the moments you loved most. This episode is a highlight reel of the conversations that resonated, surprised us, and stuck with this community. From coaching wisdom and Olympic perspective to honesty about pressure, growth, and life beyond sport. You’ll hear unforgettable moments fro...
Katie sits down with Jamie Anderson in New York City at the Team USA 100 Days Out Media Summit for a wide-ranging conversation ahead of the Winter Olympics. Jamie reflects on her journey as the most decorated snowboarder in Olympic history, what inspired her comeback after becoming a mom of two, and how watching the Paris Olympics and Simone Biles reignited something she thought might be done. She opens up about balancing motherhood and elite competition, traveling internationally with young ...
We spent an entire day inside the University of Virginia’s program and sat down with head coach Todd DeSorbo to understand what makes UVA one of the most dominant teams in NCAA history. In this episode, Todd talks through the culture he inherited and how it transformed into the five-time national championship standard it is today. He opens up about leading athletes across two teams, keeping training fresh, balancing chaos with structure, managing big personalities, navigating major NCAA chang...
For this Dynamic Duos episode, we sat down with sisters and Olympic medalists Gretchen and Alex Walsh to talk through the bond, the rivalry, and the daily life behind one of swimming’s most steady, consistent partnerships. We get into how their personalities balance each other, how they’ve learned to support one another on race day without adding pressure, and why their best moments in the sport have always come when they lean into who they are instead of trying to be anything else. They shar...
Reaching 100 episodes feels surreal, so we wanted to slow down, look back, and celebrate what this show has become. In this episode, we revisit the moments that made the biggest splash, the conversations that took us deeper than we expected, and the guests who surprised us, challenged us, and left a mark. We talk about the episodes that changed us, the behind-the-scenes stories nobody heard, and the emotional highlights from the first interview with Caeleb Dressel all the way through the most...
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