Halfway There: Amy Wotovich Hits 50% in the Most Ambitious Interview Mission in Olympic History
Amy Wotovich, a Harvard-graduate and founder of Back The Team, has set out to interview 100% of the 2026 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic team. Singlehandedly.
A complete mindset record of an entire national team at a single Games does not exist in the history of the Olympic movement. Wotovich is building it. And as of today, she’s halfway there.
Her conversations span the full breadth of Team USA with veteran Olympic champions sharing their stories alongside first-time Paralympians. And across 152 interviews, four themes have emerged with striking consistency.
WHAT 152 U.S. OLYMPIANS AND PARALYMPIANS HAVE IN COMMON
01 · BETTING ON THEMSELVES
“People told me, ‘You will never successful as an ice dancer.’ And I said, you know what? You can say that, but I’m going to try. You have to take a risk on yourself. Have the courage to take that chance. Don’t let what other people say make you doubt yourself.” - Emilea Zingas, U.S. Olympic ice dancer, 2026 Winter Games
02 · A DELUSIONAL LEVEL OF SELF-BELIEF
“We had this big semifinal game against Italy. If we won, we went to the gold medal game. And when I made my last shot to win, everybody afterwards was like, ‘Weren’t you nervous? How’d you do it?’ And I’m like, I’ve literally played through that shot a million times in my head. I just knew that I was going to make it.” - Cory Thiesse, Olympic silver medalist, first American woman ever to medal in Olympic curling
03 · A GENUINE, DEEP LOVE FOR THEIR SPORT
“The love for this sport runs so deep, it’s so profound, that any lows just really can’t keep me down. The feeling of carving, the feeling of being swift and sharp, it’s something I crave. The highs are too high to let my lows take me down.” - Mikey O’Hearn, U.S. Para alpine ski racer, made his Paralympic debut in Cortina on a torn ACL
04 · BALANCE, AND THE VILLAGE BEHIND THEM
“My husband and I took a big chance: logistically, financially, making sure that we could do it as a family. It was a very humbling experience getting back into top form. But now, seeing my daughter at the finish line…I still get emotional about it.” - Kelly Curtis, 2x Olympian skeleton athlete, competed in 2026 as a new mother
Wotovich brings a competitor’s perspective to this mission as a former springboard diver for the Harvard Crimson. She is fueled by the belief that mindset matters, and it’s trainable.
She attributes her success thus far to the camaraderie within the athlete community. “From day one, athletes have been opening doors for their teammates to participate — and some, believe it or not, say they're rarely asked for interviews at all. That energy is contagious and has helped this project take on a life of its own."
With 152 interviews down and 152 to go, the second half of the most ambitious interview mission in Olympic history begins now.
Latest athlete stories are available at www.backtheteam.org.
