Keep the Flame Alive

We are 100 days out from the start of the Paris 2024 Paralympics! We think there's no better way to celebrate than by throwing things. We got to talk with Paralympian Justin Phongsavanh at the Team USA Media Summit for a few minutes and are thrilled that he had time to come on the podcast for a longer interview. Justin competes in para javelin in the F54 class (competes while seated) and won a bro...

It's a well-know fact that we love surface talk! Why? You'd be surprised at the research and engineering that goes into courts for specific sports. Today we're talking with Alise Kessler, Head of Volleyball for the FIVB, volleyball's international federation, and Lionel Arlin, Sports Federation and Events Manager for Gerlor, the manufacturer of volleyball--and many other sport--floors at Paris 202...

We're going onto the field with para shot putter Noelle Malkamaki to learn more about the sport from a para athlete angle. New to the para sport world, Noelle competed at Para Athletics World Championships in 2023 and won a gold medal with a world record-breaking throw. Noelle breaks down the sport for us, talks technique, and shares some of the adaptations she makes for training. We also discuss...

What happens when your event is dropped from the Olympics, but you're not ready to retire? Race walker, Olympic bronze medalist and TKFLASTANI Evan Dunfee returns to the show to talk us through that process.   Follow Evan on Insta and X !   In news from Paris 2024: The Olympic flame has arrived in France! The torch relay cauldron has been unveiled The Games' official theme music has been released...

Ice hockey made its second Olympic appearance at the first Winter Olympics (yes, you read that right). Alison shares the details about the eight-team tournament (all men, of course), the dominance of Canada and the US, and some of the characters who made Olympic history.  Sources: The Canadian Encyclopedia: https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canada-at-the-1924-olympic-winter-games O...

Breakdancing--or breaking--is the new sport at the Paris 2024 Olympics. If you're like Jill, you're mesmerized by it but can't figure out how it's judged. What are they looking for, and how does a b-boy or b-girl win?   Lucky for us, we've got breaking icon--and judge for Paris 2024--Ivan "Flipz" Velez joining us to break it down for us. Flipz talks about the culture of breaking within hip hop and...

When we think of athletes being professionals, we often think of the big bucks that are in major sports. But for most Olympic and Paralympic sports, the pot of money is pretty small and that's because the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) behind them are running on shoestring budgets.   On this episode we talk with Ramsey Baker about the challenges small NGBs face and how they think about sponsorsh...

Often considered to be the precursor to biathlon, military patrol was one of the more unusual competitions of the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. In this event, teams from six countries competed in a 30-kilometer ski race combined with a shooting segment that involved balloons. The weather and some unforeseen illnesses made it tough for the competitors, but one did emerge v...

Note: In this episode, we discuss discovery, treatment, and life with an eating disorder. If you would like more information about screenings, support, and treatment for eating disorders, please visit the National Eating Disorders Association for more information. Transitioning to life after sport can be complicated and difficult. On this episode, we welcome back TKFLASTANI and Olympian Samantha S...

Documenting different stories of the Games is vital to providing an accurate picture of Olympic history. On this episode, we talk with documentary filmmaker Gabriel Veras, director of the new documentary Athletes of War. The movie looks at the ongoing war in Ukraine from the lens of athletes who are trying to do sport and train for the Paris 2024 Olympics amidst bombed out facilities and the threa...

Today we're talking with Johanna Garton, author of the new book All in Stride, which is about the US Army's World Class Athlete Program and two runners who were part of it, Elvin Kibet and Shadrack Kipchirchir. Also featured in the book is TKFLASTANI  Samantha Schultz , who becomes friends with Elvin during their Army duty. Sammy gets to know Johanna as well and opens up to her about her struggles...

It's Women's History Month, so we're devoting this episode to the women of Chamonix 1924--all 13 of them.  At the first Winter Olympics, women competed in ladies and pairs figure skating. We take a look at this competition, as well as the men's event, to learn just how different this Olympic sport was back in the day when Austria was a powerhouse (let's just say it doesn't include ice set on a spe...

At the LA 2028 Paralympics, the US will compete in blind football (aka blind soccer) for the first time--but a national team is still in development. Molly Quinn, CEO of the US Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) joins us to talk about the process of building an internationally competitive team. Learn more about blind soccer at the USABA's website and follow them on X , Instagram , YouTube and L...

This is Episode 328. Women don't compete in sled hockey at the Paralympics--yet. That may soon be changing, thanks to growth of the sport around the world. Veteran Team USA sled hockey player Monica Quimby joins the podcast to tell us the latest developments in women's sled hockey and its path to Paralympic inclusion. In Paris 2024 news: The flame lighting ceremony in Olympia is getting a makeover...

This is episode 327. The Academy Awards are this weekend, so what better way to celebrate than with the Keep the Flame Alive Movie Club? Film Buff Fran is here to talk about the newest Olympic major motion picture The Boys in the Boat. Based on the book by Daniel James Brown and directed by George Clooney, it tells the story of the 8-man boat on the US men's rowing team and their uphill quest for...

This is Episode 326. During Tokyo 2020, we loved watching track cycling, but of course, came up with many questions about the sport. American Olympic hopeful Mandy Marquardt joins us to talk about her specialty, sprinting. We talk about the sprint and Keirin races. We also get into how the bike works, her uniform, and how expensive track cycling shoes can be. Follow Mandy on Facebook , Instagram ,...

Episode 325. Book Club Claire is here to discuss our latest book club selection,  If Gold Is Our Destiny: How a Team of Mavericks Came Together for Olympic Glory by Sean P. Murray. This book tells the story of the US men's national volleyball team and its development in its quest for gold at the LA 1984 Olympics. Haven't read it? Grab your copy through our Bookshop.org storefront (affiliate link)!...

At the first Winter Olympics, medals were awarded to mountain climbers for scaling the greatest peaks in the world. It wasn't even an actual competition that took place during the Games, but these men got Olympic medals nonetheless.  Alison explains how and why the Olympics awarded medals in Alpinism, including the fact that the team who won this award was truly a mixed-country team, the likes of...

Episode 324. We always love it when a TKFLASTANI comes back on the show! Canadian artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau is back to talk with us about her decision to put medical school on hold for a year and try for one more Olympics. Her road to Paris 2024 goes through Doha and the 2024 World Aquatics World Championships--will her duet be enough to get to her third Olympics? It's been a big news w...

It's two years until the next Winter Olympics at Milan-Cortina in 2026, so we are in a winter sports mood! Milan-Cortina's slidingnovela (where the sliding events will take place) has us curious about bobsled, so Australian bobsledder (bobsleigher?) Breeana Walker joins us to talk monobob. Bree competed at Beijing 2022 in both the two-woman and the monobob, placing 16th and 5th respectively. We've...

The Winter Youth Olympic Games 2024 has come to a close and the digital flame has been turned off. We run through the second week of competition, including feed beefs (or a lack thereof) and results from: Alpine Skiing Biathlon Cross-Country Skiing Curling Figure Skating Freestyle Skiing Ice Hockey - including why USA and Canada did not field women's teams in these Games Nordic Combined Short Trac...

The Olympics always has test events to make sure the venues are in working order and everything is ready to go for the Games. We've got one too--and that's the Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) that are taking place in Gangwon, South Korea (and using many venues from PyeongChang 2018!). Alison has wholeheartedly jumped back into double screening, and her maternal vibe is really coming out for these...

How did the Winter Olympics begin? We've got the story for you in our new Games History Moment (GHM) show, which for 2024 will focus on the first Winter Olympics that took place in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The origin story has drama, competition, backtracking, and throwing people under the bus--which goes to show that the International Olympic Committee has had telenovela-esque situations since...

Sports marketing and sponsorship expert Terrence Burn s is back to discuss how sports marketers don't get the Olympic brand. Terrence is the Owner, Chairman & CEO of T. Burns Sports Group, LLC , which does sports marketing, sponsorship sales/negotiation/strategy, bidding advisory services, and brand & communications development.  Terrence has a wealth of knowledge about the world of the Olympics -...