Olympian, Speaker, Martha Henderson, OLY

It is in my nature to inspire others succeed. On a sailboat, that has always translated into being a leader of the crew rather than being the captain. I was often the first to be dropped from teams when pressure was applied to get a super star or someone’s friend on board. It was easier to get rid of the girl rather than say no to a buddy. The last time I was on an all-male team, I coached the less experienced team members to elevate their performance. Three days before a major regatta, the owner called and said “Good news! You can have this weekend off. I’ve hired a guy from the U.S. and he is going to make all the difference.” I was frustrated by being rejected and not valued for what I brought to the teams. I decided I wanted to have a team that appreciated what I had to offer, I decide to succeed. The things I wanted out of a team was to achieve, learn and most of all have fun! As I was making this decision, I bumped into another female sailor. She asked me to join her female team – just for fun. We competed against the all-male teams and not only did we have a lot of fun, we won … a lot!