Kiko Matthews made history on March 22 by becoming the fastest woman to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean solo and unsupported. Not only did she crush the previous record by a week, but she did it eight months after having a tumor removed from the base of her brain stem. The 36-year-old former schoolteacher from Herefordshire, England had never rowed [...]
Tricia Downing was right in the thick of things at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. She wasn't an athlete eyeing a medal at the time, but she played an integral role to a team that was. Then 26, she was the official press officer for the USA Table Tennis team. "When I was there watching all the athletes at [...]
A pioneering group of accomplished rowers set 11 new world records while becoming the first rowing team to cross the Arctic Ocean. The expedition, known as The Polar Row, traveled from Norway to Svalbard, and attempted to get to Iceland. However, the crew fell short by about 340 miles, and for two weeks, they were stranded on Jan Mayen, an [...]
Most people don't go from retirement to collegiate athlete. Then again, Sean Tulley isn't most people. He's a 49-year-old retired Army helicopter test pilot who recently made the rowing team at St. Mary's College in Maryland. After a 20-year career in the military, Tulley decided to take advantage of an unused GI bill tuition entitlement, and enroll in a four-year [...]
It was another incredible year at Purpose2Play. We're honored to be the media outlet some of the world's most inspiring athletes choose to tell their stories to. Before we move on to 2017, let's reflect and look back on our top 16 stories from 2016 as measured by pageviews. Photo courtesy of Michael Somsan and Dominic Bernardo 16. [...]
Photo: Runacrossamerica/Instagram Happy Thanksgiving, Purpose2Play readers! In honor of the day, we checked in with six athletes we did feature stories on this year to see what their Thanksgiving traditions are and what they're most grateful for this year. Without further ado, their answers: Suzy Favor Hamilton (Former Olympic Runner) My favorite tradition is just our Thanksgiving get [...]
Looking back at our top five stories from September, which include features on some athletes with extraordinarily rich narratives. 5. South Dakota High School Football Team Suits Up Every Sunday Morning To Feed The Homeless Friday nights are known for high school football games underneath the bright lights all across the nation. And in Rapid City, South Dakota, things are [...]
Photo courtesy of Gevvie Stone By Kim Constantinesco If you're lucky, you may catch a glimpse of U.S. rowing silver medalist Gevvie Stone. She's the one moving swiftly on top of the water and up the ranks in medicine. The 31-year-old doctor from Newton, Mass. has balanced Olympic training and medical school and impressed everyone along the [...]
Row, row, row your boat, but Stein Hoff, 70, won't be gently rowing down any stream. The Norwegian man set off on Sunday from a pier in Manhattan. The nose of his 24-foot boat was pointed toward England. That's because over the next three months, he will attempt to row over 2,000 nautical miles across the north Atlantic Ocean without [...]
Imagine spending 257 days rowing across the Pacific Ocean, only stopping twice (in Hawaii and Samoa) between the United States and Australia to restock supplies. That's what the Coxless Crew did between April and January 25, becoming the first all-female team (and the first four-person team) to row across the Pacific. The British crew traveled the 8,446 miles from the [...]