Top Olympic swimmer Missy Franklin, ice hockey gold medalist Angela Ruggiero, and 2x track and field gold medalist Ashton Eaton join us for a panel to discuss mindset, goal setting, and resilience in sports and life.
Missy Franklin was raised in Centennial, Colorado, began swimming competitively at the age of 5 and competed in her first international event in 2009 at the age of 14. She established herself as one of the top swimmers in the world when she won 5 medals – 3 of them Gold – at the 2011 FINA World Championships in Shanghai. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Missy won 4 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal. Missy’s performance in the 200-meter backstroke broke the world record in the event and also marked the first time that an American won the event in 40 years. She followed her Olympic success by winning 6 gold medals at the 2013 FINA World Championships in Barcelona, and, at the time, became the most decorated female swimmer in history at a single World Championship. Missy brought home her final Gold Medal from the 2016 Rio Olympics for her performance in the 4 x 200 relay. Missy was awarded the 2015 Collegiate Woman of the Year and the Honda Cup for her collegiate athletic achievements.
Missy has been named “World Swimmer of the Year” and “American Swimmer of the Year” by Swimming World Magazine and earned the ESPY for Best Female Olympian in 2013 and Best Female College Athlete in 2015. Missy was appointed Vice Chair of the Global Board for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation where she provides oversight and guidance for the organization’s global work, which includes funding more than 250 Sport for Development programs around the world. Though she retired in 2018, Missy’s hard work didn’t stop. She completed her degree in psychology and a minor in education at The University of Georgia and shifted her focus to speaking engagements, brand partnerships, and philanthropy.
Angela Ruggiero is a leading figure in the global sports world, having served as an elite athlete, business leader, investor, and advisor. Angela is a 4x Olympian and Gold Medalist for Team USA ice hockey, and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. She currently serves as chairperson and co-founder of Sports Innovation Lab, a data-powered market research firm focused on the intersection of sports and innovation, as well as a Hockey Operations Advisor to the New York Rangers. She has been named to Sports Business Journal's 40 Under 40 List, Forbes’ Top 25 Most Powerful Women in Sport, and is a Member of the US Olympic & Paralympic Committees and the International Ice Hockey Federation’s Hall of Fame.
Ashton Eaton is a 2x Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon from London 2012 and Rio 2016. He is also an innovation engineer at Nike. Prior to Nike he worked at Intel’s Olympic technology Group on 3D motion capture using computer vision and AI for sport performance analysis. He has degrees in psychology and mechanical engineering from University of Oregon and Portland State University. He currently lives near Portland Oregon with his wife and two children.
Moderated by Kate Johnson.