Dying To Ask

There's no crying in baseball. But, the truth is a lot of tears were shed when the Olympics dropped baseball and softball from its sports lineup after the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Each host city has the opportunity to add sports to their Olympic schedule.

Japan loves baseball. So, baseball and softball are back for the first time in 13 years.

That was great news for Team USA softball players who have struggled to make a living in the sport since 2008.

The return of softball is also the return of legendary player Cat Osterman.

She's one of two members of the U.S. Olympic Softball Team with any Olympic experience. Osterman came out of retirement for a shot at another Olympic gold.

"It was full circle. I went to the youngest to the oldest (on the team) now but, yeah, there was a 13-year gap between the last Olympics and this one. It's been a sport that I think has been missing the Olympics. I know, specifically I have missed being in the Olympics," said Osterman.

On this Dying to Ask:

How Cat Osterman made the decision to come out of retirement for Tokyo 2020

What she plans to do when she re-retires after the Summer Olympics

The work habits you need to stay at the top of your profession for an extended period of time

How to stay engaged in your job when you've done the same thing for a long time

"Absolutely not."

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin can't make it any clearer that she has zero intention of coming out of retirement for another shot at Olympic glory.

Franklin was only 17 when she became an Olympic darling at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. She won four golds and a bronze in swimming.

But, back spasms became challenging just two years later at the Pana Pacific Championship.

She went on to make the 2016 Rio Olympic team and won gold in the 4 x 200-meter relay.

Franklin retired in 2018.

At 26, she's newly married and expecting her first child this summer. She's embraced her role as a mentor to Team USA's younger swimmers and is passionate about spreading awareness about water safety to prevent accidental drownings in backyard pools.

On this Dying to Ask:

How athletes know that a sport's mental toll is as great as the physical toll

The advice Missy is giving to Olympic hopefuls during the pandemic

And what it's like to be in your Chapter 2 at the ripe age of 26

Hannah Roberts could become the youngest U.S. Olympic cycling medalist since 1912 this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.

At 19, she'd also be the first woman in her teens to win an Olympic cycling medal.

Roberts is used to doing big things at a young age.

She's a two-time world champion in BMX freestyle. The sport is making its Olympic debut this summer.

It's one of two BMX disciplines in the Olympic schedule. Freestyle riders compete similarly to park-like skateboarders and get scored on how well they execute tricks.

On this episode of 'Dying to Ask':

How the pandemic brought on the lowest point in Hannah Roberts' life

How she dug deep to rediscover her motivation and get the Olympic dream back on track

How becoming a newlywed changed her athletic outlook

How Roberts says she'd use the platform that comes with an Olympic gold medal to increase pay equity in her sport

You probably don't know Yin Rani by name. But, I'll bet she's made you reach for a glass of milk.

Rani is the creative genius behind this year's Got Milk Olympic ad campaign.

Got Milk? That's the question that launched one of the most iconic ad campaigns in the 1990s.

Rani gave Got Milk a modern makeover in time for the Tokyo Olympics. The year delay turned out to be a campaign game-changer.

The new ads feature the Olympics' newest sports like skateboarding, karate, BMX freestyle and softball.

On this Dying to Ask:

What producers did to keep Olympians safe from COVID-19 on set

The tone Olympic sponsors need to strike coming out of the pandemic

What Rani learned about athlete mindset and resilience after working with Olympians for the first time

The king of the backstroke has no intention of relinquishing his crown at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Ryan Murphy is one of the biggest names in swimming. He's been breaking pool records since he was 5 years old.

He made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games. He swept the backstroke events and won a third gold medal in the 4 x 100m medley relay. His leg set a world record.

The former UC Berkeley swimmer went pro in 2017 and has had his eye on defending his Olympic wins ever since.

The pandemic delayed the games, but not the dream.

Fellow swimmer Nathan Adrian opened lanes in his newly purchased swim school to swimmers like Ryan when the lockdown started.

"To kind of take things day by day, that was something I struggled with at the beginning. But as I, as this kind of kept on going on and kept on going on, I really got used to being flexible day to day, and I think that's a really valuable skill," Murphy said.

Murphy continued his training in Berkeley in his college pool and has fine-tuned his mental game an unusual way. He creates pressure to deal with pressure.

On this Dying to Ask:

How Ryan Murphy finds a competitive edge by living with constant pressure

Why he feels a need for speed at all times

And why it's better to embrace than fight flexibility

Chances are you took a lot of walks during the pandemic.

But, we'll bet you didn't walk with the same purpose Nick Christie and Robyn Stevens did.

They're America's top race walkers and they're speeding toward spots to represent Team USA this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.

They're also a couple in real life and they've spent virtually every minute of the pandemic living and training with each other.

Nick and Robyn avoided all contact with the outside world in fear that catching COVID-19 would ruin their athletic careers.

As endurance athletes, they worried the long-term effects would negatively impact their respiratory systems.

So, they moved to the middle of nowhere. The Mohave Desert, to be exact.

They committed to coaching each other and emerged from quarantine for their first race in February and won their respective U.S. Championships.

On this Dying to Ask:

The extreme lengths Robyn and Nick went to in order to not get COVID-19

How little contact they've had with anyone but each other

How to dig deep and find happiness when you don't have a lot of control over your life

Robyn's mental health hack that could be an instant game-changer in your life

Five new sports will debut at this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Skateboarding is one of them, and Maurio McCoy wants to bring home gold for Team USA.

Skateboarding features two events: park and street.

Park competitions take place in a bowl and emphasize athlete flow and tricks. Street competitions feature a course that creates real-world obstacles like stairs and rails.

McCoy is a street skater and he can thank his big brother for his Olympic dreams.

His brother handed him a skateboard at the age of 4 and the rest is history.

McCoy moved to Los Angeles from Pennsylvania right before the pandemic. He spent quarantine skating and falling in love with his new hometown.

"I don't have to deal with weather — sunny here for the most part. I like that it's been good for my skating," said McCoy.

On this Dying to Ask:

What skateboarders think of their sport joining the Olympics.

How skateboard "attitude" helps McCoy handle life stress.

What life is like as a pro skateboarder (spoiler: it's pretty awesome and McCoy knows it).

Making a third Olympic team isn't easy.

Add in a pandemic and a yearlong Olympic delay and it creates challenges for Olympians like Kim Conley.

Conley represented Team USA in distance running at the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

The UC Davis grad and New Balance-sponsored athlete was on track to qualify for her third Olympic team in the 5000m when COVID-19 struck.

Runners were fortunate when the lockdown started since running wasn't canceled and doesn't require a practice facility in proximity to other people for training.

But distance running in your 30s isn't always easy. Recovery takes long. Injuries can happen at any time.

But Kim was feeling healthy and made the decision to double down on her commitment to making that third Olympic team.

That led to a major life decision to leave Northern California and relocate to Flagstaff, Arizona.

And she's reaped both physical and mental benefits ever since.

On this Dying to Ask:

How Kim made the call to leave her support system in Northern California and move to Flagstaff, Arizona

How athletes avoided COVID-19 this past year

What Kim feared might happen to her career if she tested positive for coronavirus

And how to fine-tune your own grit when your life plan goes sideways

Ariel Torres is a real-life Karate Kid and Team USA's best chance at a medal in karate at this summer's Tokyo Olympics.

Karate joins judo and taekwondo as the third martial art to enter the Olympic lineup after Japan named it one of five sports debuting at this summer's games.

Torres started karate at the age of 6 at the suggestion of a pediatrician to control his endless energy.

Like Daniel LaRusso in "The Karate Kid," he fell in love with the sport. Like Daniel LaRusso, he's from New Jersey. Unlike Daniel LaRusso, he loves "Cobra Kai."

The hit Netflix show is giving the sport a rebirth just in time for fans to cheer on athletes like Torres in Tokyo.

Torres is ranked number 10 in the world in his sport and is a featured "Got Milk" sponsored athlete.

On this Dying to Ask:

Why Ariel says the Olympic postponement is the only reason he has a shot at competing in Tokyo this summer.

What happened to him during quarantine that changed him as a man and as an athlete.

How the Netflix show "Cobra Kai" is fueling karate's growth as a sport.

And how you can be a more disciplined person by utilizing a few tricks from Ariel's training.

Delayed.

Delayed.

I never thought it was possible to delay an Olympic Games. It turns out it is very possible to put the world's biggest sporting event on hold.

It turns out you can press pause on a lot of life when there is a pandemic.

But now, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (in 2021) seems to be on track to actually happen this summer.

In this season of the "Dying To Ask" podcast, we'll continue our deep dive into how to fine-tune your mindset by learning mental hacks from some of the toughest bodies and brains around, Olympians and Olympic hopefuls.

Here's a preview of what to expect and a recap on why I'm obsessed with all things Olympics.