Keep the Flame Alive

It's Day 3 of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and the excitement is everywhere--except on the tram that Alison was stuck on. We talk transportation, venue commutes, as well as more about daily life here in France. Plus, Jill got a tour of Champions Park and has the lowdown on this new addition to the Games. The sports on today's program are: Archery Artistic Gymnastics Badminton Basketball Beach V...

It's Day 2 of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, and the athletes do not disappoint! A dynasty continues, the French fans get behind their team, and there's an all-TKFLASTAN fencing final. We've got all of the results for the day as well as more adventures from Paris. The sports on today's program are: Archery Artistic Gymnastics Badminton Basketball Beach Volleyball Boxing Canoe Slalom Equestrian Fe...

The rain put a damper on most of today's action, but that hasn't stopped the athletes! We experienced amazing competitions today and have results and news from: Artistic Gymnastics Badminton Basketball Beach Volleyball Boxing Canoe Slalom Diving Equestrian Fencing Football Handball Hockey Judo Road Cycling Rowing Rugby 7s Shooting Surfing Swimming Table Tennis Tennis Volleyball Water Polo Plus we...

Let the Games begin! We've just experienced the most unique Opening Ceremonies in Olympic history. We break it down from two perspectives--Jill was on the Seine for the show (in the rain), and Alison was at a watch party. Who had the better time? Don't forget - the only way that we're able to bring you this unique look at the Games is thanks to donations from listeners like you. Please support us...

  It's Day -1 of the Paris 2024 Olympics, and one tournament is nearly over! More sports join in on the action, and we've got results from: Archery Football Handball Rugby Sevens Alison went to a ton of press conferences today and has reports from: USA Basketball World Aquatics Word Anti-Doping Agency International Testing Agency Plus, Jill covered a party for the K-9 cops and dogs here from aroun...

Even though the cauldron isn't lit, the Paris 2024 Olympic Games have begun! We've got pre-Opening Ceremonies action in: Football Rugby Sevens Find out how TKFLASTANI Perry Baker and Team USA fare in their first two games of the group stage. Plus, we can tell you what goes on in the stadium that you can't see at home! If you're still planning on coming to Paris, we'll tell you what to look out for...

We have made it to Paris, but first it's the last of our Team USA Media Summit! We're talking with: Sport climbers Brooke Rabatou and Jesse Grupper Taekwondo fighter CJ Nickolas Badminton player Beiwan Zhang Weightlifters Jourdan Delacruz and Hampton Morris Archer Casey Kaufhold Shooter Mary Tucker Triathlete Morgan Pearson Modern Pentathlete Jess Davis Savner Then we've got news from Paris: Trave...

This is our last Paralympics-focused episode before the Paris 2024 Summer Games start! We're excited to bring you our remaining interviews from athletes we met at the Team USA Media Summit (with links to their Instagram accounts): Para triathlete Grace Norma n Para shooter Marco DeLa Rosa Para cyclist Dennis Connors Goalball player Calahan Young Para powerlifter Bobby Body Runner Jaydin Blackwell...

We are getting in boats today and going on the water! At the Team USA Media Summit, we talked with Olympic kayaker Evy Leibfarth, canoeist Nevin Harrison and rower Michelle Sachser. All three competed at Tokyo 2020 and have qualified for Paris 2024.   Evy competes in canoe slalom (whitewater) and this year will compete in canoe single, kayak single, and kayak cross, which is a new event for Paris...

Para taekwondo was first on the Paralympic program at Tokyo 2020, and it's looking to make a big statement at Paris 2024. On this episode, we talk with   American para taekwondo fighter Evan Medell, who competes in the K44 class of the men's 75+ kg weight class. At Tokyo, Evan broke his foot during his semifinal match against Asghar Aziziaghdam and lost that bout. However, he came back that same d...

Team USA BMX cyclists join us to talk about what's in store for Paris 2024! We start with BMX freestyle and Olympian Hannah Roberts, who won silver at the sport's Olympic debut in Tokyo. Hannah tells us how BMX freestyle courses are built (keyword: janky) and attempts to explain the sport's judging.   Then we move over to BMX racing with Olympic legend Alise Willoughby and first-time Olympian Cam...

In our look at the 100th anniversary of the very first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France, Alison dives into the speed skating competition, which pitted two very different global styles against each other. Add an uncooperative Mother Nature, and you've got a doozy of an event! Special thanks to listener Manu for his contributions to this episode. For a transcript of this episode, please visi...

Paralympian Samantha Bosco joins us today to discuss her story as a Paralympic track and road cyclist. Samantha won two bronze medals at the Rio Paralympics, in the C5 3km pursuit on the track and the C5 time trial on the road (C5 riders include those with movement affected at a low level in one arm, moderately affected in one leg, or the absence of all, or part of an arm).   Samantha had planned...

We're in the thick of Olympic and Paralympic Trials for Team USA! On this episode, we're featuring some of the gymnasts who will be vying for slots on the Team USA's artistic gymnastics team this weekend. Yul Moldauer and Brody Malone talked with us at Team USA's Media Summit in April, and they'll be competing to get onto their second Olympic team. Learn more on how to watch the gymnastics trials...

The U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials are just around the corner, so we're talking with para swimmer Jamal Hill. Jamal is a freestyler, specializing in sprints. At Tokyo 2020, he competed in the 50m freestyle S9 , where he won the bronze medal, and in the men's 100m freestyle S10 class, placing 6th. He was also part of Team USA's men's 4x100m freestyle 34 points relay and men's 4x100m medley 34 poin...

Team USA Wheelchair Basketball player Brian Bell joins us to talk about the ins and outs of this Paralympic sport. Brian has been part of Team USA for the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, both of which were gold-medal-winning performances. Brian and Team USA will be looking for the three-peat at Paris 2024. Follow Brian on social! He's on Insta and X . Also, Jill is at the U.S. Olympic Swimmin...

We're getting aquatic on this episode, sharing Team USA Media Summit interviews with all sorts of swimming athletes. We've got (athlete links are Instagram accounts--follow them!): Water Polo Ben Hallock - Captain of the U.S. Men's Water Polo team. Paris 2024 will be his third Olympics Maggie Steffens - Captain of the U.S. Women's Water Polo team. Paris 2024 will be her fourth Olympics Ashleigh Jo...

While you wouldn't think para swimming is much different from able-bodied swimming, the Paralympic classification system makes it a more complex sport to follow. Classification helps level the playing field (although we learn here that it's not the most perfect system), but the diversity of swimmers and abilities means that there are a lot of classes in this sport. Case in point, our three guests...

We're exploring team sports on this episode of Keep the Flame Alive. At Paris 2024, there will be 11 purely team sports: artistic swimming, basketball, basketball 3x3, beach volleyball, football, handball, hockey, rowing, rugby sevens, volleyball, and water polo. Athletes don't just have to be in top physical shape, they also have to work well with their teammates in order to achieve success. As w...

We're hopping on a horse and riding along with Paralympian Beatrice de Lavalette on this episode of Keep the Flame Alive. Beatrice competed for Team USA at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics in para dressage, finishing 5th in Individual Championship Test - Grade II - Open) and 6th in Individual Freestyle - Grade II - Open. We've talked about para dressage for visually impaired riders , so with Beatrice we...

Olympic sprinter Kenny Bednarek joins Jill and Alison for a discussion about sprint starts, running the curve on a track, and the principles Kung Fu Kenny lives by.    Follow Kenny on Insta , X , YouTube , Facebook and TikTok !   The latest news from Paris 2024 has a transport focus, including shuttles to remote venues and updates on Uber policies during the Games. Plus, more tickets will drop eve...

On this episode we're bringing you more tape from the Team USA Media Summit, and we're talking with three Paralympians: Multi-Paralympic medalist wheelchair tennis player David Wagner, para judo athlete Liana Mutia and gold medal-winning para table tennis player Ian Seidenfeld.   David talks with us about clay courts. Liana tells us how she had to entirely relearn how to compete in judo after losi...

We're happy to have Ben Waterworth, one of the hosts of Off the Podium join us. Off the Podium is an Australian/Canadian collaboration, so we wanted to get their view on what's going on with Paris 2024. We preview some of the big sports and names and look forward to the excitement that awaits us this summer. Also, Ben tells us the issues with the Gabba, Brisbane 2032's proposed stadium.   Find Off...