Keep the Flame Alive

It's one year to go until the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics! Tickets went on sale today, which means it's time to figure out travel plans--and because Milan-Cortina is really spread out across northern Italy, travel between venue clusters is going to be much more complicated.   Not to worry though. Our Olympics travel expert Ken Hanscom is back to talk about traveling to Milan-Cortina for the...

Brazilian cross-country skier Bruna Moura joins us to talk about her continuing gritty journey to become an Olympian. A former mountain biker, Bruna took up roller skiing to help her recover from surgery. She found a love for the sport and transferred to snow to achieve her goal of representing her country at an Olympics. She was supposed to realize her dream in 2022 when she qualified for the Bei...

The one new sport on the program for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is ski mountaineering (aka skimo). What is this sport all about, and why should you watch it?    Sarah Cookler, Head of Sport for USA Skimo (USA Ski Mountaineering Association), joins us to talk about the sport, how it works, and how much fun its debut at Milan-Cortina will be.   Follow USA Skimo on Insta and X ! They're @...

Welcome to our look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics! We asked which historical Games should get a deep dive, and your response was to take another look at arguably one of the best Olympics of all time.   On this episode, Jill delves into how Sydney won the right to host the Games against a crowded field that included Beijing, Berlin, Manchester (UK) and Istanbul. Would Sydney win...

Movie Club returns to look at the 2024 biopic "The Fire Inside," which tells the story of Olympic boxer Claressa Shields and her journey to winning her first Olympic gold medal at London 2012. The movie also goes beyond her first victory to show what happens when the Games are over--and unfortunately, Claressa is one of the many Olympic athletes who do not see a financial windfall after the Games....

It's the final episode of our series on Chamonix 1924! Alison explores the controversial curling event, which had teams that didn't show up, players on multiple teams, and the designation of not being an official Olympic event--or was it? Listen to find out! For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com .   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame...

Now that the Paris 2024 Host Organization is winding down its existence as a functioning entity, we start looking at the legacies the Games will (hopefully) leave behind. However, it can take years--or even decades--to realize the impact of these two months. However, other cities can provide lessons in what's possible. We're rekindling our June 24, 2021 interview with Randal Roark and Michael Dobb...

We're closing out our year of podcasting with a new feature: Rekindled. This is where we bring back some favorite interviews we've had over the years. For newer listeners, it's a great way to hear how we met some of our TKFLASTANIs. If you have heard it before, it's fun to go back and listen to the interview now that we're post-Paris 2024 and see how our original conversation played out.   Alison...

Para swimmer McKenzie Coan returns to the show to tell us all about her experiences at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. She surprised herself by winning a medal and made the most of her time in Paris, particularly when it came to the famous chocolate muffins! Learn more about McKenzie at her website: http://mckenziecoan.com Follow McKenzie on Insta , TikTok , and X . Milan-Cortina 2026 has unveiled its...

Book Club Claire is back with our final selection of 2024, which is Today We Die a Little! The Inimitable Emil Zátopek, The Greatest Olympic Runner of All Time by Richard Askwith. This is the 2016 biography of the world-famous Czechoslovakian runner who competed in long-distance races at London 1948, Helsinki 1952 and Melbourne 1956, racking up five Olympic medals. What did we think of this legend...

What's more fun than bobsled? Bobsled and champagne! Hear all about the wild rides and lack of safety features that was the first Olympic bobsled (or bobsleigh) competition at Chamonix 1924.   For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com .   Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive! NOTE: An earlier version of this episode stated that Switz...

Paralympic para powerlifter Louise Sugden returns to talk about her experiences at the Paris 2024 Paralympics, where she finished 5th in the 79kg weight class. However, she also opted to change weight classes this time around. We discuss that decision, the process of what it takes to successfully move down, and whether it was the best choice for this competition.   Follow Louise on Instagram , Thr...

We spent the past weekend in Atlanta at the annual Olympin Olympic collectors and pin traders show. We had a fun time catching up with other collectors, pin traders, TKFLASTANIs, and--best of all--meeting some listeners! This was also Alison's first trip to Atlanta, so we had to do a little Olympic sightseeing. Nicholas from Olympic Rings and Other Things was kind enough to show us around! We also...

Paris 2024 Olympic silver medalist SSG Sagen Maddalena on this episode to talk with us about the shooting competitions and what the Olympics were like at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre, a few hours away from Paris.   A former NCAA athlete, Sagen is a member of the US Army's Marksmanship Unit, where she's a shooter and instructor for the unit's International Team.    Paris 2024 fueled Sagen's driv...

Both Alison and Jill are experiencing some post-Paris 2024 blues, and they share what they're doing to combat it--you'll have to figure out whether Alison is being a 90-year-old or not, and you can do so while listening to our  Paris 2024 playlist .   Another way to combat it is to talk with someone who's been there. We're excited to welcome para cyclist Samantha Bosco back onto the show. Samantha...

For some sports on the Olympic program, it's easy to understand how they evolved: Swim fast, run fast, jump high, score a goal. But sports like artistic swimming? Where did that come from? On this episode of the podcast, we talk with Vicki Valosik , author of Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water , who delved deep in to the world of synchronized swimming to discover its roots--and al...

It's been a little over a month since the Paris 2024 Paralympics ended. How does that expereience resonate with our TKFLASTANIs once real life has settled back in? Wheelchair basketball gold medalist Brian Bell and para shot put gold medalist Noelle Malkamaki return to tell us how the Games were for them and what's next (or not) in their lives. Follow Brian and Noelle on Insta! We also have some n...

Alpine skiing is one of the core sports on today's Winter Olympic program, but it wasn't even an event at the very first Winter Olympics at Chamonix in 1924. Instead, the only skiing that mattered was cross-country, ski jumping, and Nordic combined. Was there drama? Of course! And it started in qualifications. We've got the full story here, including Mother Nature's revenge, an incorrect podium, a...

This past weekend, Jill and Producer Ben found herself in Salt Lake City for a few days, which gave her the opportunity to visit some of the Salt Lake City 2002 venues to see how the legacy of those Games continues on. In this episode, hear what it's like at Utah Olympic Park , home of the 2002 ski jumping, Nordic combined and sliding competitions. Currently, the park is a training and competition...

It's been nearly two months since Paris 2024, but athletes who have spent years training for the Games are still processing what happened there. Today we're talking with Canadian race walker Evan Dunfee about his Paris 2024 experience. Paris was Evan's third Olympics and marked a radical shift in his race schedule--for the first time his marquee event--the 50K walk--was off the program, and he'd b...

People choose to uproot their lives and move to the US for many reasons, and on this episode we hear one immigrant's story. Elvin Kibet came to America for opportunity--and that opportunity inspired her to give back to her new home by serving her country in the US Army and its World Class Athlete Program unit. Elvin shared her story in author Joanna Garten's book "All in Stride: A Journey in Runni...

It's an epic show today because we have epic listeners! We dissect Paris 2024 with you and discuss: what it was like to watch at home more details of trips to the Games  how Paris rates compared to other Games training with a future Paralympian trying visually impaired sports tattoos how well Texan Olympians did Plus, Jill shares a story from her past that's spurred behavior that's almost too emba...

Although we're home from Paris, we still have a lot of Paris 2024 content to share with you! Here's some mixed zone tape from the last couple days of competition. Jill talked with several athletes after their final competitions, so we have: Para powerlifter Bobby Body, who just missed out on the podium Sitting volleyball players Lora Webster and Kaleo Kanahele after winning the gold medal Wheelcha...

It's the last day of the Paris 2024 Paralympics, but there's still plenty of competition before the Closing Ceremonies. Jill heads to para powerlifting to see TKFLASTANI Bobby Body lift, while Alison sees a major showdown at Bercy Arena for the end of the women's wheelchair basketball tournament. Unfortunately, scheduling issues prevented our heroes from getting the required stickers to see the Cl...

 It's the penultimate day of the Paris 2024 Paralympics! Jill heads to the Grand Palais one final time to see TKFLASTANI Ellen Geddes compete in the women's team epee competition and lose a little more of her hearing thanks to the French fans. Plus, there's one more game of monster blocking in sitting volleyball, and it's a doozy. Meanwhile, Alison gets in another para athletics session, sees TKFL...