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Antonina "Tonya" Samoilova (@tonya.samoilova) ) is a record-setting Ukrainian mountaineer and alpinist known for scaling the world's most formidable peaks while raising global awareness for her homeland. She began her high-altitude mountaineering journey relatively recently in 2018, starting with Mount Kilimanjaro, and quickly transformed into one of Ukraine's most prominent endurance athletes. She is the first Ukrainian mountaineer in history to conquer the five highest mountain peaks in the world—Everest, K2, Kangchenjunga, Lhotse, and Makalu, and the first Ukrainian woman to summit Mount Everest three times (2022, 2023, and 2024). In May 2024, she completed a rare double-header by summiting Everest and Lhotse within 24 hours, setting a national speed record for a female climber. During her 2025 ascent of Kangchenjunga—the world's third-highest peak—she survived running out of supplemental air 200 meters from the summit, pushing through 20 harrowing minutes without oxygen at 8,400 meters. Samoilova uses her global platforms and extreme ascents to act as a prominent voice for Ukraine. In 2022, she was the only climber from Ukraine to unfurl her country's flag at the summit of Everest, broadcasting a message to "Stand with Ukraine". In 2023, she made international headlines by capturing the world's first drone footage from the summit of Everest alongside the Ukrainian flag. She frequently uses her expeditions to raise funds for Ukraine's Armed Forces and volunteer medical battalions, often dedicating her dangerous ascents to fallen Ukrainian defenders and her own family serving on the front lines. Connect with Tonya: https://www.antoninasamoilova.com/ CAPTAIN: THE ATHLETE'S GUIDE TO BEING AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM LEADER is now live on Amazon! 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FOR ORDERS OF 10 OR MORE, WE OFFER A $5 PER BOOK DISCOUNT. EMAIL [email protected] to place your order. BOOK A SPEAKER: Interested in having John or one of our speaking team present to your school, club or coaching event, either in person or virtually? Looking for leadership training for your student athletes, a coach development workshop or parent education? We are still booking Fall 2026 events, please email us to set up an introductory call [email protected] PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS, AND JOIN 2026 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS FROM SYRACUSE MENS LAX, UNC AND NAVY WOMENS LAX, AND MORE! These are just the most recent championship teams using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes and support teams. Many of these coaches are also getting THE CHAMPION SPORTS PARENT so their team parents can be part of a successful culture. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you? We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next? Click here to visit John's author page on Amazon Click here to visit Jerry's author page on Amazon Please email [email protected] if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone. This weeks podcast is brought to you by our newest sponsor, Zone 14 Coaching. Zone 14 Coaching is a company built by coaches for coaches. If you have ever ended a session thinking, "Did that practice really hit the mark?" you will love what they have created. Zone 14's next-gen journals for coaches and players help you plan every practice, reflect on what worked and track progress all season long. Built on intentional coaching and backed by neuroscience, they bring structure and purpose to your training. Visit zone14coaching.com and use code Champions20 for 20% off. Or if you want to outfit your whole team or club and improve consistency across coaches, you can get in touch with Zone 14 via their website to discuss bulk discounts. This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports. Sprocket Sports is a software platform for youth sports clubs. Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites, communication tools and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams. Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs. So if you've been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG.