Judging Olympic Breaking with Ivan "Flipz" Velez
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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 its evolution to an Olympic sport. He also points out what breaking judges look for during a battle. Surprisingly, it's not like other judged sports, but once Flipz breaks it down for us (get...
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Challenges of Small National Governing Bodies with Ramsey Baker
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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 about the challenges small NGBs face and how they think about sponsorship and broadcast rights in working to increase their budgets. Ramsey is a SVP at , a consulting firm that helps NGBs find sponsors and broadcast partners. Prior to joining , Ramsey spent 18 years at US...
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GHM: Chamonix 1924: The Military Patrol Competition
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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 victorious. Of course, it wouldn't be an Olympics without some colorful characters, and from this competition that includes Vaino Bremmer, the Finnish officer who competed in modern pentathlon in the...
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The Push to Paris 2024
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After the Olympics with Samantha Schultz
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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 for more information. Transitioning to life after sport can be complicated and difficult. On this episode, we welcome back TKFLASTANI and Olympian Samantha Schultz, who's one of the subjects in latest book After competing at Tokyo 2020, Sammy's transition to non-competitive life has been a big adjustment, and in 2023 she sought professional help for an eating disorder. Samantha shares...
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Athletes of War Director Gabriel Veras
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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 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 threat of death. We talk with Gabe about how he conceived this idea, made the documentary, and the athletes involved. Athletes of War at CIFF on Wednesday, April 10. Streaming will also be available for US and US...
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All in Stride Author Johanna Garton
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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 , who becomes friends with Elvin during their Army duty. Sammy gets to know Johanna as well and opens up to her about her struggles with body image and disordered eating. Learn more about Johanna at her . Get your copy through our ! Purchases made through this link will help the show earn money to bring you the most fun coverage from Paris...
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Chamonix 1924: The Figure Skating Competition
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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 specific Pantone color base). The competition features Olympic and figure skating legend Sonja Henie in her first Olympics. Entries also include many people who were influential to the history...
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Blind Soccer with USABA CEO Molly Quinn
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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 and follow them on , , and ! If you get involved with the team, we'd love to ! Plus: Medal reallocations from London 2012 (not a typo). Paris 2024 news with details on Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN), Village condoms, the , a , and more! Stadiumnovela...
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Women's Sled Hockey with Monica Quimby
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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 news: The flame lighting ceremony in Olympia is getting a . The Opening Ceremonies has a start time, and NBC its hosting team (one of whom may have ) Some Marathon Pour Tous bibs are up for grabs (). The International Paralympic Committee has released its for...
info_outlineIt'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 wanted to talk about monobob for a while, and Bree sheds some light on the sport for us, including body weight differences between the two events, why you need different sets of runners, and why they call it the lonely sport. Plus, we get into the costs of sleds and runners--you'll be shocked at how much they can cost.
Follow Bree on social @bobsledbree, and check out her YouTube channel and website.
Because it's two years until the next Winter Games, there is a bunch of news from Milan-Cortina, not all of it rosy.
The good news: The NHL is back in the Olympics! They've come to an agreement to have pro players compete at 2026 and 2030, and we are here for it!
The not-so-good news: The sliding track is one construction project we've been focused on, but there are more construction issues happening that could affect other sports and where some athletes sleep.
In Paris 2024 news, French police are investigating the way Paris 2024 CEO Tony Estanguet is paid and whether that is skirting French law in the wrong way.
Final spectator numbers for the Opening Ceremony have been announced--and they're quite a bit lower than originally planned.
Pride House is looking for volunteers, both in-person and remotely. Find more information here.
Tickets for Team NL house are on sale--and it's a pretty good deal! Find them here.
Following up from our Youth Olympic Games coverage, the IOC will announce the next Winter YOG host next year.
In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:
- Artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau
- Curler John Shuster
- Shooter Kim Rhode
- The Big O (or Owe)
- Author Andrew Maraniss--register for his March 5 book launch at Parnassus Books in Nashville here.
For a transcript of episode 323, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.
Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!
Photo courtesy of Bree Walker.
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Keep the Flame Alive: The Podcast for Fans of the Olympics and Paralympics with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown. New episodes released every week and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.
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