“I had a very tough practice in 2017 getting ready for the senior nationals and I remember running the sprints and doing the overload . . . and then laying on the mat in complete stillness, in my mind and in my body. It was then that it hit me, “This is why I do it.” I think a lot, I’m very cerebral and wrestling gave me stillness in a way that I didn’t know how to get without it. It was [during] one of my favorite training moments when I was laying on the mat and realizing, oh, this is why I do it. Like not for performance, not for the Olympics. But this is why I play as hard as I play, so that I can sit in the stillness and enjoy just being no one else. Got it.”

Leah’s journey back to a place of stillness required the courage to stand up to a bully and a broken system, the strength to fight for her dream and the willingness to be brave and create a training environment that allowed her to heal, to flourish and to define success on her own terms.

A three-time CIS (USport) Champion, Olympic team member in 2012 and an Olympic alternate in 2016, Leah is now committed to giving all her knowledge and understanding of excellence to Indigenous athletes; a community she is passionate about and where she believes there is much resilience, talent, heart and opportunity.

Leah Ferguson is without question a Hero in Our Midst. We are so grateful she agreed to join us.