Keep the Flame Alive

u5gLKIsoqxsBhrgsB1kg The 2022 World Games are underway, and we are glued to the feeds! Today we talk about the sports we've been watching and how the World Games has made us love multi-sport events all over again. If you haven't been watching the World Games, check out the feeds at Olympics.com. It's really cool to see some sports with disciplines that aren't in the Olympics. It's also cool to get...

The 2022 World Games kicks off today in Birmingham, Alabama. Why should we care about a non-Olympic or Paralympic event? The International Olympic Committee is connected to this, and we've got some details on their relationship. We're also joined by World Games medalist John Moorhead, who won bronze in American Football at the 2017 World Games in Wrocław, Poland. John tells us about his experience...

We talk a lot about more nations getting involved with sports, or smaller nations having more presence at an Olympics or Paralympics. For a nation to be at the Games, they need to have a national governing body in the sport – but what does it take to start one? On this episode we're talking with skeleton athlete Shannon Galea, who has dual citizenship with Canada and Malta, and who founded the Mal...

Book Club Claire is back for another session of book club! This time we've got our first Paralympics-related selection: "Driven to Ride: The True Story of an Elite Athlete Who Rebuilt His Leg, His Life, and His Career" by two-time Paralympic Snowboarder Mike Schultz (affiliate link). Follow Claire on Twitter and Insta , and on YouTube her channel is C Nat . Keeping with the Paralympics theme, in o...

Nordic Combined is the only sport on the current Olympic program that is only open to men. Many athletes are working to change that, including Team USA's Annika Malacinski. We talk with Annika about how the sport works, which surprisingly involves a lot of body measurements (see: ski jumping suit scandal at Beijing ), and we learn about one of the best winner's prizes ever. Annika gets pretty fran...

Wheelchair curler Steve Emt returns to talk with us about his experiences at the Beijing 2022 Paralympics. Follow Steve: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stephen.emt Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/stephen.emt LinkedIn: http://www.l inkedin.com/in/steve-emt And his website, steveemt.com In our Albertville 1992 moment, Jill looks at the men's ice hockey competition, notably, thoughts on hocke...

Olympic Host Cities usually get a reputation for spending a ton of money building venues that become white elephants, but that's not necessarily the case. The International Olympic Committee has released a report that catalogs all of the modern Olympic venues and what's happened to them. We delve into this report and examine the IOC's findings. We find some surprises--and sadly, some disappointmen...

It's Memorial Day weekend here in the U.S., and we're breaking our tradition of publishing a Lightning Round episode to bring you an interview with Olympic speed skater  Erin Jackson , one of our TKFLASTANIs who appeared on our friend Elizabeth Emery's podcast Hear Her Sports . For a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://wp.me/pbRtIx-1SB We'll be back next week with a full dose of us....

Today we welcome Paralympian-turned-broadcaster Rob Snoek. Rob competed in athletics at the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Paralympics before transitioning to a career in sports broadcasting. Today Rob calls all sorts of sports and has worked with the CBC on their Olympics and Paralympics coverage since 2002. At Beijing 2022, Rob was the CBC's  snowboard play-by-play announcer for the Olympics, commentating...

Josh Williamson, our very first TKFLASTANI, makes a return visit on the show. He's no longer an Olympic hopeful; he's now an actual Olympian, and we couldn't be more proud of him. Josh tells us about his experiences at Beijing 2022, which involve COVID positives, an unusual competition, lots of issues with security during the Closing Ceremonies, and a robot who said he was beautiful. In our look b...

John Coates has stepped down as president of the Australian Olympic Committee. UIPM, the modern pentathlon federation, has selected a sport to test to replace the horse showjumping discipline. The International Skating Union is set to vote on raising the minimum age limits for senior-level athletes. So much going on in the world of the Olympics this week! In our history moment, Alison explains the...

Author David Davis returns to the show to talk about his book Waterman: The Life and Times of Duke Kahanamoku, about the legendary 3x Olympic medalist and surfing pioneer. David's book has been turned into a documentary that will air on PBS' American Masters in May.   Duke Kahanamoku won back-to-back gold medals in the 100m freestyle at the 1912 and 1920 Summer Olympics. He also won silver at the...

Photographer Mark Edward Harris was one of the friends we made in the Closed Loop at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. We talked with him about his craft--and his several frostbitten fingers. Learn more about Mark at his website and follow him on Insta . Plus, Alison's got a funky costume story from the Albertville 1992 Opening Ceremonies. We raved over the outfits worn by the country escorts duri...

It's time for another Lightning Round! This week we showcase our "quickfire" questions with three athletes who were in the mix for going to Beijing 2022: Wheelchair curler Steve Emt, doubles luger Jayson Terdiman and biathlete Clare Egan. Learn about their earliest memories of the Games and their favorite souvenirs. Visit Steve's website: http://www.steveemt.com Follow Steve on social: Facebook: h...

Now that we're back from Beijing 2022, we're able to restart our history segment. This year we're focusing on the Albertville 1992 Winter Games, and what better way to reboot this bit than by chatting with ski historian Tom Kelly. Tom shares some of the big skiing stories of these Games, including the demonstration sport that turned deadly.   Plus, the Paris 2024 Olympic schedule has been released...

It's Part 2 of our contributor roundtable with Book Club Claire and Superfan Sarah, with more hot takes on the Beijing 2022 Olympics and Paralympics. Plus, Jill has a story she's been waiting seven weeks to tell. Heading to TKFLASTAN to check in on Team Keep the Flame Alive, we have news from: Erin Jackson Clare Egan Felicity Passon Kelly Claes Alex Diebold In our Games updates, there's news from:...

We are back from Beijing, so it's time to talk about all of the things we couldn't get to while we were in China! Coming along for the fun are contributors Book Club Claire and Superfan Sarah. We talk with them about the US experience vs. the China experience, as well as:   More bus issues A scare at the airport The Russia situation The "Green" Games So much security Entering and leaving the warm...

Jill and Alison are on their way home from the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics, and a long flight is a perfect time to catch up on movies, so we thought it would be good to have another session of Movie Club with Film Buff Fran. This time, we're talking about the 2015 film "Eddie the Eagle," a biopic on the surprise star of the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics, Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards. How well does...

Although it seems like they just started, the snowflame has been extinguished, and the Beijing 2022 Paralympics are over. We cover the final day of competition as well as the Closing Ceremonies – how does this show stack up to the rest? Sports on today's schedule: Para Alpine Skiing – Men's slalom Para Cross-Country Skiing – Relays Para Ice Hockey – Gold medal game   For a transcript of today's ep...

We're at the penultimate day of the Paralympics, which means we're at the medal rounds of the team competitions. We're also saying good-bye to our volunteer friends at the venues—and in Alison's case, that means taking pictures and signing autographs. Sports on today's schedule: Para Alpine Skiing – Women's slalom Para Cross-Country Skiing – 10K/7.5K free Para Ice Hockey – Bronze medal game Wheelc...

It's Day 8 of the Beijing 2022 Paralympics – competition may be winding down, but our adventures in Beijing are certainly not! Jill's in Beijing for para ice hockey and wheelchair curling, while Alison's out in Zhangjiakou for an adventure at para snowboard. Sports on today's schedule: Para Alpine Skiing – Giant slalom Para Biathlon – Men's and women's individual Para Ice Hockey – Semifinals and 5...

It's Day 7 of the Beijing 2022 Paralympics, and well, Jill and Alison lose it over a transportation story. What could have possibly gone wrong this time? Sports on today's schedule: Para Alpine Skiing – Giant Slalom Wheelchair Curling – End of the round robin tournament For a transcript of today's episode, please visit: https://wp.me/pbRtIx-1GA   RED ENVELOPE CAMPAIGN: This show does cost money to...

It's Day 6 of the Beijing 2022 Paralympics! Jill and Alison are both in Beijing today for Wheelchair Curling and Para Ice Hockey Playoffs (with Alison's new Czech friend, who, we find out, does have a name!). Plus, Jill had a fun Shoey Rhon Rhon moment in the mountains that she forgot to mention, and we learn how involved it is to make curling ice. Sports on today's schedule: Para Cross-Country Sk...

It's Day 5 of the Beijing 2022 Paralympics - Jill's back in the mountains for para biathlon. Alison interviews Shuey Rhon Rhon and has a field day at para ice hockey with her new Czech friend! Sports on today's schedule: Para Biathlon – Women's and men's 10K Para Ice Hockey – Group play Wheelchair Curling – Round robin action For a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://wp.me/pbRtIx-1Gw...

Jill has one of her best days up at Zhangjiakou, thanks to para snowboard cross in-house announcer Oscar, and it's Alison vs. the Mountain in Yangqin. Who will win? Today's sport schedule includes: Para Alpine Skiing – Super Combined Para Cross-Country Skiing – Men's 20K Classic and women's 15K Classic Para Snowboard – Cross finals Wheelchair Curling – Round Robin Action For a transcript of this e...