Athletes
Archive
The Californian daredevil doesn’t want you to love his film. He wants you to be unsettled. And that may be the best thing about 'When Dogs Fly.'
More and more young female runners are signing pro contracts in a sport where racing as an elite does not guarantee financial success.
The Whitewater Grand Prix is paddling's most insane event, a scrappy, alcohol-soaked gauntlet that sends competitors down some of the most fearsome rapids in the world. It's so dangerous and spectator-unfriendly that many sponsors won't go anywhere near it. But it might be exactly what the struggling sport needs.
The sport of kayaking is at a bit of a standstill. Sales are down, there are fewer boats on the water, and the pros are making less, which is exactly why the Whitewater Grand Prix is so important.
Elite moms are crushing races just months after giving birth. Can the rest of us do that, too?
Of all the UCI's new anti-doping measures, around-the-clock testing is possibly the most controversial. But the Tour de France champion has spoken out in favor of the practice, even as his peers grumble that it's too invasive.
Hey, outdoor-equipment companies: Please stop ignoring women who rip
Two friends go on an annual adventure. This year, it’s in New Zealand, and we’ll be there every step of the way.
Michael Phelps and Killian Journet are both amazing athletes, but they occupy opposite ends of the spectrum. Where do you fall?
Pasta’s street cred has taken a hit recently as more athletes shun gluten and prioritize whole grains. But spaghetti still deserves a place on your plate for the simple reason that it's one of the best performance foods you can buy.
Cycling is finally grappling with its dark past. But until today’s pros speak out about practices within the peloton, nobody will know how far the sport has really come.
Cycling’s governing body knows there’s a long way to go before the peloton races clean. But in releasing a self-critical report, it has finally confronted the elephant in the room: its own complicity.
Marathoner Shalane Flanagan proves you actually can trust a skinny chef
The guy who is snagging Kilian Jornet’s speed records is just getting started.
Break new ground in your snowsports repertoire without breaking the bank
Gociety, a Denver-based startup, wants to harness one of the fastest growing movements in fitness—group workouts.
American cross-country legend Craig Virgin lays out the connection between distance running and farm work
While he was clearly not in peak form during the 2011 Tour de France, it was here where he cemented his reputation as an incessant attacker. Here he drives up the Alpe d’Huez, and although he was eventually caught and passed by Frenchman Pierre Rolland, Contador garnered kudos from the…
Stop that lawnmower! Your urban backyard is packed with hidden performance-enhancing plants that can be tossed together to make an ancestral wonder meal.
A marathon swimmer's reenactment transports theatergoers to the middle of the Florida Straits
Gear to help you focus on your surroundings, not your blisters
Bottom line? Eat like an elite to maximize health and performance.
A Frenchman plans to swim across the Pacific Ocean. Yes, that's as crazy as it sounds.
Pro photographer Larry Rosa looks for pain, postcards, and the hidden stories within every endurance race.
Some picks are unexpected—or downright geeky—but we'd run with any of them.
When it came time to find someone for the cover of our annual happiness issue, Stephanie Gilmore jumped off the page. With six world surfing titles and a balanced outlook on life we could all learn from, the surf star lives by some pretty simple words: "I'm going to just enjoy exactly where I am." Fortunately for Gilmore, she is usually in places like Hawaii, Mexico, and Sri Lanka chasing the biggest waves she can find. We caught up with one of surfing's best photographers, Morgan Maassen, who has been shooting Gilmore for years, both on and off the water. Maassen says it best, "Stephanie always has three things on her: a magic surfboard, some sort of exotic guitar, and her golden smile."
Stephanie Gilmore was a world-champion surfer when a brutal attack by a stranger nearly ended her career. Now she's back on top, with a sixth world title, and reveals how she found happiness again—in the most unexpected places.
Having lived on the cusp of stardom for the past decade, freekier Cody Townsend finally broke through with an epic couloir line in Alaska—but the 15-second clip that made him famous was the product of decades of hard work
Beginners, we have a secret for you. You don't need high-end gear or a fancy training plan to get better at skiing, running, or climbing. All you have to do is embrace the embarrassment and the pain—and don't forget to laugh. Trust us: It'll be good for your brain.
Professional road runner Tim Tollefson’s foray into trail running isn’t a traditional a zero-to-hero story, but the lessons he learned switching from pavement to dirt will help everyone, from beginner to the expert
Keri Herman only started skiing seriously in her senior year of college. Now she's an Olympian. Here's how she turned her late start into a competitive advantage.
Because no one podiums at noon or tags a summit at dusk without a proper first meal
An injury sidelined 17-year-old Ty Walker's Sochi dreams, but she's back winning competitions and taking names.
The 26-year-old downhill skier's advice on how to be a happy traveller? Always be prepared for powder days and impromptu concerts.
Dallas Seavey is the latest in an esteemed bloodline of Iditarod champs. Since 2012, he's won the race twice and set records as the race's youngest and fastest. This year's goal? Out-mush dad.
The 35-year-old U.S. skier returned to the world cup this week with a mariachi-inspired spandex suit and a vengeance
We're not sure we'd try Ian McIntosh's bold lines, but we'd certainly give his favorite stomping grounds—and gear—a try.
As America's favorite ski racers compete at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, a new book tells how they changed the game forever.
Peter Kray’s new novella, The God of Skiing, has a lot to say. We’re not quite sure what it all means, but we sure did enjoy the ride.
In honor of his 70th birthday, Eddy Merckx launches a new heritage line, starting with the limited-edition Eddy70.
In a new effort to protect national parks and wilderness areas from commercial photography, the feds have started going after amateur filmmakers with big social media followings.
Brolin Mawejje, born in a country with no snow, plans to make history at the 2018 winter Olympics.
The world's best scales an iconic (frozen) waterfall
Surround your teens with furniture inspired by the 11-time world champ
The Super Bowl virgin on running hills, eating yogurt, and guarding Revis Island.
More cowbell, more Lindsey, Mikaela, and Bode—and one excessively adrenaline-fueled event you can't miss
All good things. “The Climb,” which airs Sunday, tracks the pro skier’s 22-month rehab and singled-minded determination to reclaim women’s skiing’s top spot.
Want to undo the damage of your desk job in 10 minutes? Crawl like a kid and start spinning like a Sufi monk.
The official photographer of the Ouray Ice Festival on surviving the cold (and possibly falling slabs of rock) to get the shot you've been dreaming of.
From that time Lance Armstrong showed us how to fix a flat tire to an investigation into USA Swimming’s sex abuse scandal, we look back at the stories that defined the year.
Patagonia's Jenna Johnson is on a mission to get women into high-tech gear that can take on real adventures.
A veteran of 25 Tours de France, James Startt is the senior American journalist in the press room of the world’s biggest bike race. Here is just a small selection of some of his favorite images from 2014.
Meet Chloe Kim, a snowboarding prodigy who threw her first backflip off a natural feature at age six. Next up: Aspen's X Games.
More than 76 years ago, a visionary Australian coach had an epiphany that forged a generation of super-athletes: true fitness is all about translating fear into raw power.
One of the most surprising heroes of World War II was a pint-sized shepherd nicknamed The Clown—and his fitness wisdom can change your life.
The Oiselle founder knows her company is much smaller than the behemoths. But that doesn’t mean she's scared to take them on—in politics, or in fashion.
When a longtime triathlete took on a Kokoro camp—a beyond-extreme fitness challenge modeled on the Navy's Hell Week for SEAL candidates—his first question was purely about the pain: Can I survive this? The second was more metaphysical: Should I even want to?
Strength is useless if you don't hone your agility—the skill of translating power into meaningful movement. And it all starts with mastering the "Kong vault."
For years, it seemed like drug testers would never get ahead of cheaters. The Russian bribery scandal raises an even scarier possibility: the testers are dirty too.
A purpose-made shoe for your next (or first) FKT
The two-time Olympian will lead the women’s national squad to the 2015 World Cup—and share her secrets to unleashing athletic potential.
What was he thinking? (No, really, we asked him.)
Examining the perpetual youth and singular talent of surfing's king
More pain quest than workout, misogi is the secret, punishing ritual that has revolutionized Atlanta Hawks supershooter Kyle Korver's game. You have time for this—if it doesn't kill you first.
There’s a new competition raging among elite runners: the beer mile, in which you do four laps around a standard track, chugging a 12-ounce brew at the start of each loop. If you can do it in under five minutes—without hurling or passing out—you’re not just fast. You’re a hero.
The pro skier and mountaineering badass shares her favorite winter destination and gear.
A conversation with Irvin Muchnick and Tim Joyce, journalists who have spent years documenting the horrible story of sexually abusive swim coaches—and dogging a national governing body that they think is beyond repair
Locally sourced venison is free range and organic—and impossible to get. But that might be about to change.
For adventurers, explorers, athletes—and anyone else who's been really, really good this year.
The pride and joy of USA Nordic skiing knows a thing or two about training hard and treating yourself. Presenting Simi Hamilton's top five training tips to achieve cross-country glory.
The Olympic champion's favorite place to ski and sticks for the park.
With a bevy of new ski and snowboard films in theaters this month, a quick primer on what sets ski porn apart from other titillating genres.
Olympic gold medalist now training for the Super-G
The Olympic gold medalist on dominating slalom—and what's next on her agenda
Tips for developing a rock-hard core from the two-time Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc winner
The pro traveler needs cutting-edge survival gear as he explorers the farthest reaches of the planet. And his favorite place to play might surprise you. (Hint: It’s in the Midwest.)
With warp-speed ascents that include the Matterhorn (1:56) and Denali (9:43), ultrarunner turned alpinist Kilian Jornet Burgada is the king of the endurance world's latest obsession: fastest known times. And now he plans to run up Everest.