The Only Way Is Through is a podcast from Under Armour focusing on athletic greats and what it takes to be the best. On this episode, legendary interviewer and journalist Cal Fussman sits down with heptathlete Georgia Ellenwood to hear about the win that made her proudest, her hopes of joining the Olympic team for the 2020 games, and what it takes to put seven intense events together – hurdles, high jump, shot put, a 200-meter race, long jump, javelin throwing, and finally an 800-meter race – to make one winning score. “You can see it two ways,” Georgia says. “You can see that it's seven opportunities for something to go wrong, or seven opportunities for something to go right.”
Cal talks with Georgia about the sheer physical strength and commitment it takes to be a competitive heptathlete, putting in full eight-hour days at the gym to make tiny gains in every event – since it’s a point system, Cal explains, a heptathlete can actually come in second in all seven events and still win. “That’s actually what defines me,” Georgia laughs, “because I never really shine in any of the events. I just am very above average in all of them.” But it requires an incredible amount of mental power and focus, as well, Cal points out, especially when it’s competition time and she has to complete all seven events in only two days, pushing her body and brain to their ultimate limits. Georgia agrees: “The mentally draining part is you wake up with a body that feels like it couldn’t work through three more events...I try and see the second day as a whole new day; like, even if the first day was bad, let’s try and bring a new perspective to this day.”
Though she’s one of the best heptathletes in her level and she has high hopes of making it to the 2020 Olympic team, she’s humble, and her sense of humor and authenticity is praised by her colleagues and coaches. “Humility was huge with us,” Georgia’s father, David Ellenwood, tells Cal. “If you don’t respect your opponent, if you don’t respect the work it takes to get great, then what’s the point of participating?” Listen to this episode of The Only Way Is Through to hear about Georgia’s proudest win, her commitment to her dreams, and what makes her stand apart from the rest to be one of the best.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
Photo: Getty Images