Teshya Alo is 16 years old and 125 pounds. But on the judo and wrestling mats, she throws women twice her age and pounds heavier. And she beats boys. Now, she has her sights set on taking gold at both the judo and wrestling world championships–and eventually the Olympics. But it won’t be easy.
She is younger and less experienced than her opponents. She trains from Hawaii and the cost to travel to mainland and international tournaments drains her family’s resources. She’s a student at a private school for Native Hawaiians. And she’s going through puberty.
‘Winning Girl’ follows the four-year journey of this teenaged judo and wrestling phenomenon and her family, and in doing so tells the dynamic story of an elite athlete on her ascent, a girl facing the challenges of growing up and an entire family dedicated to a single dream.
From Larry Nassar abusing girl gymnasts to the scandal at USA Swimming, many recent news stories have exposed the sexual abuse of minors in sport all over the world. They suggest an even broader phenomenon.
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Eager for achievements, records and rankings, the sports industry has become a well-oiled grinding machine. Countless champions end up broken, forced them to keep pushing the natural limits of the human body.
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This is the story of world ski jumping champion, Lindsey Van, and her teammates, who took on the IOC in an epic battle to get women’s ski jumping recognized as an Olympic sport.
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