Hurdle with Emily Abbate

In this week’s episode, Emily’s sitting down with Anna Gibson, a powerhouse athlete who is truly redefining what it means to be well-rounded. Anna is a professional runner for Brooks and a newly-crowned 2026 Winter Olympian in ski mountaineering—or "skimo," as it’s affectionately known in the mountains.

Growing up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Anna was practically raised on skis, but it wasn't until she was already a seasoned professional runner that she decided to take on the world of competitive skimo—only seven months before her Olympic debut. Anna's journey is a testament to the fact that when you lean into curiosity and joy, the sky's the limit.

IN THIS EPISODE

• The "What If I Succeed?" Mindset: How reframing the fear of failure allowed Anna to embrace new challenges with zero hesitation.
• The Power of Being a Beginner: Why accepting she had room to grow became her greatest competitive advantage on the world stage.
• Plan B Philosophy: How having multiple passions and professional pursuits actually fuels her focus in each individual discipline.
• Tactical Crossover: The surprising ways track racing tactics and "jostling" translated to the start line of an Olympic skimo race.
• Nervous System Recovery: The importance of mental and physical decompression between high-intensity efforts, from Brooks Trail to Brooks Beast.
• Defining Success: How Anna moves beyond results to focus on becoming a well-rounded athlete and person.

QUOTABLE MOMENTS

• "You can simultaneously prepare for things, you don't know when they're going to happen. If you believe that you can do something, you can and you will."
• "I just had this feeling deep down that it would all work out. And it's very gratifying to feel like, okay, it actually did."
• "Trying to reframe it as 'what if I succeed?' and imagining what those two things look like and comparing them has been a very useful skill for me."
• "I think that the guiding principles have to be things that are renewable resources, and I think that curiosity and joy are two of those things."
• "Being a better athlete to me does not just mean winning the big trail races in the world... it’s really just a feeling in my body of gaining competence in every category that I’m able to."

SOCIAL
@annaagibsonn
@emilyabbate
@iheartwomenssports

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ASK ME A QUESTION: Email hello@hurdle.us to with your questions! Emily answers them every Friday on the show. 

Listen to Hurdle with Emily Abbate on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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