Book Club Claire on "Above & Beyond: Tim Mack, the Pole Vault and the Quest for Olympic Gold"
Release Date: 07/31/2025
Book Club Claire on "Above & Beyond: Tim Mack, the Pole Vault and the Quest for Olympic Gold"
Keep the Flame Alive
is back for our summer reading selection: by Bill Livingston. Tim Mack won the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics (perhaps a surprise winner), and this book details his very long journey to the top of the podium and the unique training methods he developed that helped him achieve his goal. What did we think of the book? Listen to the show to find out! Our next selection is by Seth Berkman. This tells the story of the combined Korean women's hockey team that competed at PyeongChang 2018. We're looking forward to reading a story that took place during the life of this podcast!...
info_outline
2x Paralympian Noelle Lambert Talks Running Blades, Paralympics
Keep the Flame Alive
Today we are talking with 2x Paralympian Noelle Lambert who competes in the 100m and long jump. We get into the details of running blades (and how much they cost), how she improved her 100m between the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Paralympics, and how she's training for LA 2028. Noelle is also the founder of the Born to Run Foundation, which raises money to provide sports prosthetic legs for amputees. Born to Run is having its next bi-annual golf fundraiser on September 22. Go to or its to learn more. Follow Noelle on TikTok and Instagram: @noellelambert Also on this episode: London 2012...
info_outline
Keep the Flame Alive Celebrates the Big 400!
Keep the Flame Alive
This week, Keep the Flame Alive is celebrating a big milestone: Our 400th regular episode! This episode is an online party with many citizens of (Team Keep the Flame Alive, which are our guests and listeners of the show), and we're thrilled to be joined by: Past guests Sean Colahan, Harry Blutstein, Rich Perelman, Roy Tomizawa and Listeners Ean, David, Mark, Patrick from Chicagoland, Meredith, Sarah and Tommy Producer Ben and Book Club Claire Like all great party conversation, it runs the gamut and includes Milan-Cortina's ever-expanding budget, potential politics at LA 2028, the IOC...
info_outline
Sydney 2000: The Cover-Up and the Comebacks
Keep the Flame Alive
We travel back to 2000 for another look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. This month Alison explores what's considered to be the biggest Paralympic scandal of all time, Spain's cheating in the Basketball ID tournament. Then Jill looks at the Olympic Road Cycling events, which feature inspirational legends, amazing comebacks, and Lance Armstrong. If you want a thoroughly depressing look at doping in cycling during this era, here's a handy infographic: For a complete list of sources used in this episode, visit For a transcript of this episode, please visit ....
info_outline
The Surprising Early Legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics
Keep the Flame Alive
It's been nearly a year since we said, "Bonjour!" to the , so what's been happening in Paris since the cauldron went out? Let's take a look at the initial legacy of these Games! We look at the money, initial economic impact, audience figures, building legacies, and elements of the Games that are still impacting Paris. If you're interested in training in the sport climbing warm-up gym, check out .. If you want to swim like an Olympian, the newly-built (and very gorgeous) is now open for swimming and so much more. has opened in Bobigny to provide another workout facility that includes...
info_outline
Wheelchair Tennis with Charlie Cooper
Keep the Flame Alive
We're delving into the sport of wheelchair tennis with American Charlie Cooper, who's currently ranked #2 in the world for junior wheelchair singles. He talks with Alison about the sport and his plans to qualify for LA 2028. Plus, we also talk with Dr. Thomas Rietveld, a researcher at the Peter Harrison Centre for Disability Sport at Loughborough University in the UK. Dr. Rietveld's PhD thesis examined wheelchair tennis chairs, so he answers our burning questions about tennis chairs that we had after Paris 2024. Follow Charlie on Insta: Learn more about the Peter Harrison Centre for...
info_outline
Olympic Technology with Pascal Wattiaux
Keep the Flame Alive
We're talking technology at the Olympics with Pascal Wattiaux, IT Consultant and former Director of Technology at the International Olympic Committee. He got his start with Olympics technology at Albertville 1992, and most recently he consulted with Paris 2024. He's seen massive amounts of change in technology used at the Olympics--and what it takes to deliver it. He tells all about the tech challenges of an Olympics–and there’s so much that you may have not realized. Follow Pascal on ! The big news from is that the ice hockey groups and schedules are out. Who from the NHL...
info_outline
Thorpedo and the Experiment: Para Swimming, Swimming and Wrestling at Sydney 2000
Keep the Flame Alive
It's our monthly look back at history--all year long we're looking at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. This month Alison tackles the massive Para Swimming competition, which includes the Paralympics' all-time medal winner Trischa Zorn. Then we stay in the pool for the Olympic swimming competition, which is just epic, given Australians' love of swimming and their enthusiasm in the stands at Sydney 2000. There are so many stories that it was difficult to choose just one, but Alison looks at the Australian swimming legend Ian Thorpe (aka Thorpedo) and the amazing performance of the...
info_outline
Dr. Michele K. Donnelly on Gender Equity at the LA28 Olympics
Keep the Flame Alive
In April, LA 2028 announced that it would be the first Olympics to have more quota spots for women than men. That’s a win for women’s sports, right? Not so fast. Our gender in sports expert Dr. Michele K. Donnelly returns to peel back the layers of LA 28’s press release and tell us how fair these gender numbers really are. Dr. Donnelly is an associate professor in Sport Management at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. Learn more about her work . In Milano-Cortina 2026 news, the Armani-designed Italian kit has been unveiled. We have some milky white thoughts about it. In LA 2028...
info_outline
Olympians' Mental Health Update with Dr. Kristin Keim
Keep the Flame Alive
We welcome back sports psychologist Dr. Kristin Keim to talk about the kinds of mental health issues Olympians, Paralympians and other elite athletes are facing in 2025. This includes finding your voice, what it's like to be an American athlete today, social media, cyberbullying, disordered eating, and more. As always, Kristin is frank about the pressures athletes face today and about the advice she gives her clients. It's definitely therapeutic to listen to her! Learn more about Kristin at her , and follow her on . We also have a ton of news from the Olympic world, including updates...
info_outlineBook Club Claire is back for our summer reading selection: Above & Beyond: Tim Mack, the Pole Vault and the Quest for Olympic Gold by Bill Livingston. Tim Mack won the gold medal at the Athens 2004 Olympics (perhaps a surprise winner), and this book details his very long journey to the top of the podium and the unique training methods he developed that helped him achieve his goal.
What did we think of the book? Listen to the show to find out!
Our next selection is A Team of Their Own: How an International Sisterhood Made Olympic History by Seth Berkman. This tells the story of the combined Korean women's hockey team that competed at PyeongChang 2018. We're looking forward to reading a story that took place during the life of this podcast! Get your copy now, and look for this episode to drop in November.
Also on today's episode, we have news on the one-year anniversary of the Paris 2024 Games. Ice hockey will have blended officiating teams at Milano-Cortina 2026. LA plans to become more accessible. The World Games had its first torch relay.
Reminder: you can watch World Games 2025 online at the World Games' streaming platform. (https://live.theworldgames.org/) The World Games start on August 7, 2025.
In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:
- Fencers Lee Kiefer, Lauren Scruggs, Nick Itkin, Alexander Massialas and Gerek Meinhardt
- Racewalker Evan Dunfee
- Wheelchair tennis player Charlie Cooper
- Goalball player Calahan Young
- Shooter Sagen Maddalena
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: Where possible, we use affiliate links. If you purchase something through one of these links, we may earn a commission.
***
Keep the Flame Alive: The Olympics and Paralympics Fan Podcast with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown. New episodes released every week and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics.
Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support
Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod
Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod
Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com
Hang out with us online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod
Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod
Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod
Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe
VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348