Keep the Flame Alive

We're on a boat! Not really, but we're talking sailing this week. Americans Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea join us to talk about how the Olympic 49erFX class works, what the water in Tokyo is like and what it's like to try to consume five to six liters of water a day. Follow Stephanie and Maggie's endeavors on their website . On social they're on: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RobleSheaSaili...

Something big happened in TKFLASTAN this week, which led to this week's Lightning Round episode with TKFLASTANIs Stu Sheldon and Phil Andrews. We've got the details for you, plus an update on when Tokyo 2020 will release its decision on having spectators. Follow Phil on Twitter ! Want bonus content? We've got exclusive shows just for our patrons! Become a patron today at Patreon . ***   Keep the F...

It's another week with a TBach press conference, so we take the opportunity to dive into the International Olympic Committee's new five-year plan/math problem called Agenda 2020 +5. We also have a report from the IOC's Future Host Commission. Could the Olympics go back to Australia in 2032? Plus, more feelings about the International Weightlifting Federation and Tokyo 2020's new leader. Our TKFLAS...

The Olympics touts its gender equity -- but that means an equal number of men and women are competing at the Games, not that they have the same sports and events. On this episode we talk with Jordan Gray, a female decathlete who's working on that latter type of equality. Only men compete in the decathlon at the Olympics now, but Jordan's working to get the women's event included at the 2024 Olympi...

Grab your popcorn - it's Movie Club time! We welcome back Film Buff Fran to talk about our latest Movie Club selection, "The Other Side of the Mountain." How well does this 1975 telling of Olympic ski hopeful Jill Kinmont hold up? What are our TKFLASTANIs up to this week?  Giles Long and his new LEXI website Nick Cunningham coached bobsled this season Josh Williamson is an athlete to watch for Bei...

Today's guest is author and historian Dr. Cat Ariail. Cat is a lecturer of history at Middle Tennessee State University and author of the new book Passing the Baton: Black Women Track Stars and American Identity . We discuss how great female Olympic track athletes Alice Coachman, Mae Faggs, Wyomia Tius, Wilma Rudolph, Willye White, Earlene Brown changed the way society perceived Black women in the...

Book Club Claire is back to discuss the book World Class: The Making of the U.S. Women's Cross-Country Ski Team by Peggy Shinn. Read Claire's blog Light the Cauldron and follow her on Twitter. Our TKFLASTAN Update includes news from: Chloe Kim Alex Diebold Lauren Gibbs Phil Andrews Clare Egan We also have Games Updates from Tokyo 2020 - be on the lookout for "playbooks" that will guide the Organiz...

In part 2 of our interview with visually impaired Paralympian Ness Murby, Ness talks with us all about how the sport of para discus works and whether his guide dog Lexington is good at fetching the discus after throws. Ness and his assistant (and wife) Eva have qualified for Tokyo via the World Champs, but they have to get through team selection and hopefully automatic selection at the Canadian na...

This week visually impaired Paralympian Ness Murby is back to talk about how visual impairments work in his para athletics event, the discus. Ness told about the classification process, the importance of having a sports assistant, and who was more popular at the Rio 2016 Paralympics, him or his service dog Lexington. Ness and his assistant (and wife) Eva have qualified for Tokyo via the World Cham...

This week we're kicking off our year of looking back at Atlanta 1996. Sarah Dylla is an Exhibition Curator at the Atlanta History Center , and she's curated the museum's new exhibit on the Atlanta Games called Atlanta '96: Shaping an Olympic and Paralympic City . We talked with Sarah about the exhibit, how the Games got to Atlanta and how they affected the city….and yes, we've got Izzy talk too. F...

2020's been a doozy for the Olympic and Paralympic world, so we put together a contributor roundtable with Book Club Claire and Superfan Sarah to talk about the biggest stories from this non-Olympic year. Read Claire's blog and follow her on Twitter . Follow Sarah on Insta and Twitter . That wraps it up for this year -- here's to hoping for a great Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Thanks so much for listen...

We're on a boat! The last Lightning Round episode of the year features paddlers we've interviewed in 2020. First up is Andras Törő, 4x Olympian in sprint canoe. He's followed by kayaker Leslie Klein, who was chosen for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team and competed at the 1984 Olympics. Finally we have 3x Olympian and canoe slalom competitor Luuka Jones, who's earned the fern to compete for New Zealand i...

Every year we like to sprinkle in a few episodes about the history of the Olympics, and next year we're going to focus those episodes on just one Games. We asked you on social media which Games we should cover, and to announce the winner and talk about these Games are Ruth Fitzpatrick and Chris O'Reilly from the brilliant podcast Olympipod . Find Olympipod on Insta and Twitter -- and be sure to li...

This week we've got two conversations covering different elements of gender and sport. First up is Jackie Silva, 3x Olympian and gold medalist in beach volleyball, who is a driving force behind the #LetHerRun movement . This movement supports those women, including Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand, who've had their athletic careers cut short because they were deemed "not woman enough." Jackie talks...

The Velvet Voice of John Register returns, and this time we're talking about his Paralympic experiences. John tells us how he was on track to make the Olympic team until a horrific accident closed that door and opened a window into the world of the Paralympics. John talks about learning how the other half lives when experiencing the Atlanta 1996 Games, and how good hosts can create an exceptional...

We're celebrating U.S. Thanksgiving with an all-author edition of our Lightning Round series. Enjoy some hot takes from Stephen Wenn and Robert Barney, David Davis and Andrew Maraniss. Stephen and Robert 's book The Gold in the Rings: The People and Events that Transformed the Olympic Games is published by University of Illinois Press. Learn more about David Davis ' books, including his latest: Wh...

Film Buff Fran is back for the first non-English-language movie we're featuring in Movie Club: "Gold: The Dream that United Our Nation," on the 1948 Indian field hockey team that competed as an independent nation for the first time at the London 1948 Olympics. Will it move us? Will we break out into a Bollywood song and dance number? Will Alison show us her abs? You'll have to listen to find out!...

When your Olympics is halfway around the world, how does your body clock affect your performance? We talk with researcher Renske Lok about circadian rhythms and the surprising way they can affect Olympians' competitions. Read about Renske's research on Scientific Reports: Nature Research . You can follow Renske on social: Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Our TKFLASTAN Update includes news from:...

It's part 2 of interview with Madeline Manning Mims, the multi-medal winning Olympian and trailblazer who became an Olympic chaplain. We talk with her about her experiences at 3 Olympics and her part in the 1980 American-led boycott, all of which paved the way for her calling in her gamesmaking role. You can learn more about Madeline's organization, the United States Council for Sports Chaplaincy...

Legendary Olympian Madeline Manning Mims has the distinction of being America's first (and currently still only) female athlete to win the gold medal in the 800m run, which she achieved at the Mexico City 1969 Olympics. She added a silver in the 4x400m relay at Munich 1972, competed at Montreal 1976, and was selected for the Moscow 1980 that stayed home due to the US boycott of those Games. After...

Book Club Claire is back for a lively discussion of A Shot at History: My Obsessive Journey to Olympic Gold and Beyond , by Abhinav Bindra, India's first individual Olympic gold medalist who competed in the sport of air rifle. Does it hit the bulls-eye as a good read, or does it miss the mark? Follow Claire on Twitter and read her blog. Our TKFLASTAN Update includes news from: (don't forget links)...

Houry Gebeshian not only became Armenia's first female Olympic artistic gymnast, she also got a move named after her at the Rio 2016 Olympics! We talk about how she developed the Gebeshian, an uneven bars mount, as well as how she came to represent Armenia, and what it's like to be an Olympian from a country that doesn't have a lot of resources. Follow Houry online on Insta , Twitter and Facebook...

In our efforts to learn more about how para sports work, we talk with 1996 and 2000 Paralympian John Register about the mechanics of running blades (aka running legs). This is (hopefully) our first interview with John, who competed at the 1996 Paralympics in swimming and the 2000 Paralympics in silver long jump (got an American record of 5.41m), and 5th in 100m and 200m. He's currently a keynote a...

September 25, 2000 is known to Olympics fans as Magic Monday, where athletics fans got to see nine finals, including Cathy Freeman and Michael Johnson winning the 400m races. Nick Zaccardi , l ong-time Olympics editor at NBC Sports, joins us to talk about what made Magic Monday legendary. Follow Nick on Twitter and Insta , and read his many articles at NBC Olympics . What all happened on Magic Mon...

What's it like to become the first Olympian for your country in the sport of skeleton? Israeli athlete AJ Edelman tells us about his experiences in the sport of skeleton and his current work in building up Israel's bobsled and skeleton team in hopes of competing at the Beijing 2022 Olympics. Follow AJ on Insta and Twitter! Follow the Israeli bobsled team and check out its website . TKFLASTANIS in...