Heartbreak, Determination, and Living Out Loud with Lea Davison

Be A Good Wheel

Amber speaks with Lea Davison, a two-time Olympian in mountain biking. In this conversation, they discuss how Lea got into mountain biking and the idea and importance of competitive collaboration: how she and her American teammates worked together as a team to secure Olympic spots, in the individual sport of mountain biking. Davison shares the essential role that fun has played in her success, how she responded to the heartbreak of not being selected for the Tokyo Olympics, and how she has created space for girls and women in cycling through Little Bellas, the non-profit organization she founded with her sister. Lea also opens up about her journey to publicly coming out, why she felt like she had to choose between her Olympic dreams and being gay, and what made the difference for her to finally “live out loud.” She talks about the ongoing challenges faced by women and the LGBTQ+ community in sports and how she’s picking up the mic to literally and metaphorically use her voice to make things better for other athletes.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Lea’s website: https://www.leadavison.com/
• Lea on Instagram: @leaeatsalot
• Lea’s Ted Talk on Competitive Collaboration: How to Win When You Don’t
• Lea’s Moth Style Talk at Middlebury: Purpose and Place: Voices of Middlebury
• Little Bellas
• Athlete Ally
• Emily Capodilupo Head of Data Analytics at Whoop at TEDxBoston
• Lea’s Sponsors:
  • Allied Cycle Works
  • L.L Bean
  • Bona Fortuna

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