Keep the Flame Alive

The International Olympic Committee is a juggernaut that in 2021 brought in $4.2 billion in revenue . But the organization wasn't always that wealthy, and it took a lot of work to create the programs that brought the IOC from the brink of destruction to the global powerhouse it is today. Michael Payne was one of the people who helped the IOC right its course. As the organization's first marketing...

As is our tradition, we're dedicating our first episode of the year to the Games that will be the focus of our history moments in 2023. You have selected Seoul 1988, so we are really excited to dig into these Games. To kick things off, we've got Olympic historian Bill Mallon to share some of the background, big moments, and legacies of these Games. In our check in with Team Keep the Flame Alive ,...

We're closing out the year by giving you a little taste of the bonus audio that our silver medal level and up patrons receive every month. This includes deleted scenes from interviews, post-interview debriefs and--new for 2023--rule changes that will affect how you'll understand the sports on the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic programs. In this episode we explore the rule changes you'll notice...

We've got company over for the holidays! We're celebrating the end of 2022 with John Cushing and Michael Weadock, the lads from Anything But Footy, an Olympics and Paralympics podcast focused on Team GB and the Games. How was London 2012 in the eyes of Americans? Was Atlanta 1996 the worst Games ever? And what does legacy really mean? All this and more as we cross the pond to chat with our fellow...

Film Buff Fran is back with one of her all-time favorite movies, "The Cutting Edge" starring Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney. Can the icy figure skater and the rough-and-tumble former hockey player get past their differences in order to become an Olympic-caliber pairs team? Also on this episode, we have our last Albertville 1992 history moment, in which Jill looks at CBS' highlights videotape. In our...

LA 2028 will be here before you know it, so we wanted to learn a bit more about what's going on behind the scenes at the Organizing Committee. Izzy Cerullo, two-time Olympian in rugby sevens and current commercial and consumer insights associate at LA 2028, tells how she landed a gig on the other side of the Olympics and what insights she's looking at. Plus, Jill might have sighed more than Alison...

If you love Izzy, this episode is for you! In November Jill had the opportunity to go to Atlanta and was able to get a behind-the-scenes look at the Atlanta 1996 archives at the Atlanta History Center. Collections Manager Erica Hague showed Jill a few of the thousands of things they have in storage and walked her through TKFLASTANI Sarah Dylla's exhibit on the Atlanta 1996 Games . To see photos an...

It's Thanksgiving in the U.S., so we've got an all-Paralympic lightning round heading your way. First up is para shooter McKenna Geer. McKenna won bronze at Rio 2016 and also competed at Tokyo 2020 in air rifle. Next we have para dressage rider Sydney Collier. Sydney finished seventh at Rio 2016 and was an alternate for the U.S.' Tokyo 2020 team. Finally, we're joined by Rob Snoek, who competed fo...

Book Club Claire is back for our last Book Club meeting for 2022, and we're discussing Snowball's Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley & Lake Tahoe by David C. Antonucci. Know nothing about the 1960 Winter Olympics? Neither did we until we read this book, and it's got all sorts of fun details that are surprisingly relevant to other parts of this episode. Plus, Walt Disne...

We're just weeks away from registration for the ticket lottery for the Paris 2024 Olympics, so our TFKLASTANI travel expert Ken Hanscom is here to tell us about the new way tickets will be sold (and why it's OK to not win a spot in the first ticket lottery). He also talks about the lodging situation, so you can start planning your trip! Follow Ken on Twitter and Insta . He also runs the Paris 2024...

We're getting on the track -- the short track -- with Ryan Shane, US Olympic hopeful in short track speed skating. Ryan's got the details of the sport and answers some of our burning questions left over from Beijing 2022! And we've got some ice talk! You know how we love ice talk! Ryan recently made the Team USA roster for the Fall Short Track World Cup Circuit, so be on the lookout for his compet...

Ever wonder what goes into creating an Olympic gymnastics floor routine? Choreographer and gymnastics judge Nicole Langevin joins us to explain some of the required elements and how gymnasts pack them into a minute-and-a-half. Among Nicole's routines include TKFLASTANI Chellsie Memmel's comeback routine and TKFLASATNI Houry Gebeshian's Rio 2016 routine (which has a really cool story behind it). Fo...

Sports marketing, sponsorship and bid city consultant Terrence Burns is back for part two of our conversation. This time we're talking bidding for the Olympics. Which bids surprised everyone? Which bids failed miserably? We've got the details! Learn more about Terrance's work: https://www.tburnssports.com/ Get more bid stories on his blog: http://www.terrencehburnsblog.com/ Follow him on Twitter:...

What's it like to be an Olympic sponsor, and how has sponsorship and marketing of the Olympics evolved? Terrence Burns of T. Burns Sports Group is here to give some insight into this history.   Follow Terrence on Twitter and read about his adventures consulting on Olympic bids at this blog .   In our Albertvile history moment, Alison looks the legendary Italian skier Alberto Tomba--better known as...

Grab your popcorn and pull up your chair! Film Buff Fran is back for another edition of Keep the Flame Alive's Movie Club. This time we're watching the 2016 Jesse Owens biopic "Race." Will it inspire us to become sprinters?   In our Albertville 1992 history moment, Jill starts looking at the bobsled competition. This competition has it all: Scandal! Spying! A color pukesplosion! This week: Scandal...

Content warning: This episodes contains discussions of eating disorders. During the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, our listeners had a ton of questions about ski jumping (particularly with that suit controversy). We talked with Blake Hughes, former USA Nordic Women's Ski Jumping Team Director and Head Coach of USA Nordic Sport, to sort it all out. From ice tracks to ski suit tailors to thoughts on...

We're back after technical problems and a medical emergency derailed the show last week. This show is worth the wait though! We're excited to have British Paralympic bronze medalist Louise Sugden on the show this week to help us learn about the sport of para powerlifting and setting goals that keep her motivated to go further in the sport. The European Para Powerlifting Championships take place Se...

Book Club Claire is back for a not-so-marathon discussion about TKFLASTANI marathoner Abdi Abdirahman's book Abdi's World: The Black Cactus on Life, Running, and Fun.  And plants. We also talk plants. Our next book will be Snowball's Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley & Lake Tahoe by David C. Antonucci. Get your copy through our Bookshop.org storefront (affiliate link)...

It's time for another Lightning Round episode with some of our TKFLASTANIs - and this time, we're keeping it in the world of athletics. Runner Madeline Manninng Mims talks with us about being a Tigerbelle and just how hard training could be. Race walker Evan Dunfee shares where you can get the best doughnuts in Canada. And marathoner Abdi Abdirahman shares the secret to getting good pins for his O...

Theater collaborators Gordon Leary and Julia Meinwald have brought the Olympics to the stage in the new musical "The Magnificent Seven," which tells the story of the women's team artistic gymnastics competition during the Atlanta 1996 Olympics. How did they bring this show to the stage, and just what is "sports blue"? We talked with Gordon and Julia during a limited run of the show Off Broadway th...

It's time for movie club! Film Buff Fran is back with the official film of the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics "One Light One World, " directed by Joe Jay Jalbert and R. Douglas Copsey. In our Albertville 1992 moment , Alison has part 2 of her deep dive on the women's figure skating competition. In news from TKFLASTAN we have updates from: Connor Fields ' and his retirement from BMX racing Michel...

We are so excited to have David Maraniss on today's show to talk about his new book Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe. Path Lit by Lightning came out this week, and we talked with him about the book and Thorpe, who won the pentathlon and decathlon at Stockholm 1912, but had his medals stripped because it was later discovered that he had been a professional athlete.  Follow David on Fac...

Big changes are coming to the sport of modern pentathlon for the Paris 2024 Olympics. Contributor Ben Jackson talks with Team GB Olympian Jo Muir, who breaks down what they are and how the sport will look. Also, what's hotter? Tokyo at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics or the United Kingdom in summer 2022? Follow Jo on Insta: @jomuir_194 and @poised_pilates . In our news from TKFLASTAN, we have updates from...

It is two years to go until the Paris 2024 Olympics begin! To celebrate, we're talking with George Hirthler, author of The Idealist , a historical novel about this founder of the modern Olympic Movement. George was recently honored with the  International Olympic Committee's Pierre de Coubertin medal for his service to the Olympic Movement. We talk with George about the baron's life and his though...

We've been mesmerized by the last week of the World Games (and not just by how many American Idol contestants have come from Alabama), so we've got more of the action from Birmingham 2022, including thoughts on the artistic gymnastics disciplines we wish were in the Olympics, feed replay beefs and what could possibly be the deal with the mascot of the 2025 World Games. Plus, we open the phone line...