Keep the Flame Alive

Buckle up for biathlon! We're talking with U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program members SPC Sean Doherty (3x Olympian) and SSG Deedra Irwin (2022 Olympian) about the sport, competing at altitude, skiing with a rifle on your back, and how you come back after a tough race.   Plus, Milano Cortina 2026 got the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in good enough shape for a test event. Will the paint be dry?...

Olympic excitement is building, as more athletes qualify for Team USA! This week is the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, so to get ready to watch that, we talked with figure skaters Amber Glenn, Jason Brown, and PV2 Spencer Howe to hear more details about their programs for this year.    After the event is over, U.S. Figure Skating will make the final selections for the 2026 Olympic team. Cheer...

(Not Olympic Champion) Sarah Hughes of The Runthrough podcast joins us to preview the figure skating competition for Milano Cortina 2026. Who's likely to be on the podium for the pairs, ice dance, men's and women's events?   Listen to The Runthrough, which also features Olympians Ashley Wagner and Adam Rippon, on YouTube @TheRunthrough or your podcast app. They're @therunthroughpodcast on Insta.  ...

John Cushing and Michael Weadock from Anything But Footy join us for a rousing look ahead at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics.   ***Are you a Milano or a Cortina?*** Let us know by helping us raise funds to cover the production costs of our Milano Cortina 2026 coverage, which includes at least 32 daily episodes (and probably 100+ escapades that only your favorite Olympic and Paralympic aunties can...

Alison interviews 4x Olympic bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor on her long career in the sport and being an athlete/parent. Then Jill and Alison interview U.S. Army World Class Athletes LTC Chris Fogt and SGT Frank Del Duca. Fogt is a former bobsledder turned coach for USA Bobsled. Del Duca is an Olympic bobsled driver looking to qualify for his second Games. Follow our TKFLASTANIs on Insta: Elana Me...

In our final episode on the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics, Alison is thrilled that the demon chicken has returned to the Paralympic Closing Ceremony. Then Jill looks at the legacy (both good and questionable) of these Games. Were they the greatest Games of all time (at least in 2000)? Listen to find out! Plus, we look forward to the Winter Olympics we'll cover during our 2026 history-themed...

On this episode of Keep the Flame Alive, we have conversations with Olympic speed skater Erin Jackson and Olympic short track skater Corinne Stoddard that we had at the Team USA Media Summit. Follow Erin and Corinne on social: Erin: https://www.twitter.com/@ErinJackson480 https://www.instagram.com/@speedyj https://www.facebook.com/ErinJackson480/ https://www.youtube.com/US%20Speedskating https://s...

Book Club Claire joins us for a discussion of Seth Berkman's 2019 book A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History , about the 2018 Winter Olympic Korean women's unified ice hockey team. This story happened during the podcast's lifetime. What did we remember? What was new news? Did we fall for the IOC's unification propaganda?   Plus, our Milano Cortina 2026 sliding n...

We're exploring the worlds of Olympic and Paralympic ice hockey this week! First, the women's Rivalry Series between Team USA and Team Canada came through Cleveland. Jill got to attend a practice and the game. Along the way, she interviewed goalie Ava Mc Naughton and defensive player Rory Guilday. Next we have para ice hockey interviews from the Team USA Media Summit, where Alison talked with two-...

In our penultimate episode of our Sydney 2000 Games history series, Jill takes a look at the Olympic rowing competition, specifically the women's coxless pairs race, which featured Missy Schwen-Ryan and Karen Kraft from the USA racing for the gold that eluded them at Atlanta 1996, even though Schwen-Ryan was missing something. Watch that race here: https://youtu.be/xYPyReaxjyY?si=-jCqJHlMQJUw60sL...

Introducing your favorite Olympic Aunties Jill Jaracz and Alison Brown! If you're obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics or just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work, you've found your people. Join us each week--and daily during the Games--for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes, coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find...

We are sliding down the luge track in this episode, interviewing three women from Team USA's luge team, who are vying to compete at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics. First up, singles luger and 2022 Olympian Ashley Farquharson returns to the podcast to explain some of the technical details--and physics--of the sport. Then we talk with women's doubles lugers Sophia Kirkby and Chevonne Forgan. Women...

It's 100 days to go until the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics! We have all the latest on these Games from the Team USA Media Summit in New York City (aka our test event) including podiums, more torchbearers, and a new Team USA plane. We also talked with Peacock reps to find out what the viewing experience will be like this time around--will the feed beef cease to exist in 2026? We want to know...

Paddler Dame Lisa Carrington, New Zealand's most decorated Olympian, joins us to talk about kayaking and how the sport varies from solo races to doubles and fours. We also discuss her children's book "Lisa Carrington Chases a Champion" and her new partnership with Zespri kiwifruit. What's Dame Carrington's favorite kiwi? Kiwi vs. feijoa? Where are her silver ferns? We've got answers! Follow Dame C...

We are excited to talk with Doug Levy, author of the book Hero Redefined: Profiles of Olympic Athletes Under the Radar . The book contains amazing stories you may not have known – or athletes who for some reason or another, made our collective conscious for a Games and then fell off the radar. We talk with Doug about some of those stories.   Learn more about Doug and the book at his website, and f...

It's the latest installment of our retrospective on the 25th anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics! Jill looks at the Paralympic Football 7-a-Side competition, while Alison explores the Olympic television advertising campaigns in the U.S. Playlist of ads referenced in this episode: Nike slasher ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXTBrRjb4Zg McDonald's ad https://www.youtube.com/w...

Olympic figure skater Nicole Bobek has long been on our list of athletes to interview, and we're thrilled she's able to come on the show! In 1995, Nicole dazzled at the US Championships, winning gold and then taking bronze at the Figure Skating World Championships later that year.  Her career on and off the ice has had a lot of highs and lows, from her beautiful performances to dealing with injuri...

Wheelchair rugby is a mixed-gender sport, but not many females play. One way to increase their numbers and playing time is to see if they're classified fairly. We talk to Dr. Thomas Rietveld, research associate in wheeled sports and technology at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at the University of Loughborough , who worked with Dr. Vicky Tolfrey on a project for World Wheelchair Ru...

You know how Olympic and Paralympic athletes go around and speak at schools and do other types of education-related events? How do they get those gigs? Well, there are organizations who help with that. Athletes for Hope is one of those connecting organizations who work with athletes on causes that are near and dear to them and connect them to schools and non-profits so they can do speaking and oth...

All year long we're celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Sydney 2000 Games, and this month is the actual month of the Games' anniversary! The Sydney 2000 Olympics opened on September 15, 2000, and over the next 17 days, won over the world with its competitions and amazing hospitality. On this episode, we look at new sports and events on the Olympic program: Triathlon (new sport), women's pole v...

It's back-to-school time, so we wanted to hear what it's like for an elite athlete to go back to college. Olympic luger Ashley Farquharson explains how she's taking advantage of the Guild/Team USA partnership and getting her bachelor's degree at Purdue Global. Follow Ashley on Instagram  and TikTok . She's @ far.quhar.son. On Facebook go to: facebook.com/farquadstarsquad. Plus, Will Whiston, EVP a...

History is in the making this week with the first-ever women's para ice hockey world championships. This is a big step forward toward inclusion in the Paralympics. To talk about the women's game, we are talking with para ice hockey officials Brooke Nunemaker and Brad Roethlisberger, who have some great insight on the game. (c) 2025 Kiss & Cry Productions LLC

It's the final week of the World Games - Chengdu 2025! We're joined by John Moorhead, 2017 World Games athlete and current USA Fistball secretary, to get some insight as to how the athletes in Chengdu have enjoyed their time at the World Games. Jill and Alison also recap their week 2 watching, with thoughts on: Boules Breakdancing Cheerleading Gymnastics Drone Racing Flag Football Inline Skating M...

The 12th edition of the World Games, Chengdu 2025 is underway! We discuss what sports and events we and other listeners have been bingeing on our feeds. We start with the excellent Opening Ceremonies, which took a cue from Paris 2024.  Sports we discuss include: Canoe Polo DanceSport Dragon Boat racing Finswimming (we have a lot of thoughts about freediving) Floorball Gymnastics (including thought...

It's our monthly look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics! This time, Jill looks at the Olympic equestrian eventing competition, including venue construction, difficult quarantine processes, and a vastly different competition format than you see in today's Olympic eventing.  Check out the cross-country course and its amazing fences: https://app.crosscountryapp.com/sydney-2000/phase-d-...