Keep the Flame Alive

We catch up with sprinter Kenny Bednarek and learn about his Paris 2024 experience running the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. He did bring home some hardware, but also had many learning experiences (and we're not just talking about dealing with the lack of A/C in Paris). We also look ahead to Kenny's 2025 season and how he's preparing for World Athletics' world championships.

Be sure to watch Kenny's documentary series Road to Gold on YouTube. Also check out his website and follow him on Insta and X.

Also on this episode:

• IT's the vibe, says Milan-Cortina 2026
• The Milan-Cortina coin collection is out
• The "Sabataggio" installment of the Slidingnovela
• Potential sports for French Alps 2030
• An exciting hire for Brisbane 2032 (that devastates Alison)
• Leadership announcements for SLC 2034
• New and continuing sponsors at the IOC - TBach is excited about them!
• News from TKFLASTAN

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thank you to our ongoing contributors and patrons! This show thrives because of our listeners. Want to give back? Learn more here.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

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We catch up with our para powerlifter Bobby Body and talk with him about his experience at Paris 2024, including:

• What it was like to compete on the final day of the Games
• Dealing with no-lifts that resulted in a 4th place finish
• What it's like to get Team USA kit when you've got a powerlifter's body--did Bobby hulk out of his ceremonies uniforms?

We also have news from past and upcoming Games, including a Paris 2024 concert and Milan-Cortina 2026 ticket and torch relay news. The Slidingnovela has another installment, and we have a major announcement about the show's future.

Plus, the International Olympic Committee has picked a year for the first eSports Games (not this year), and we have a lot of news from Team Keep the Flame Alive (TKFLASTAN).

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

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Runners Cathy Freeman and Marion Jones, two of the stars from the Sydney 2000 Olympics, could not have had more different outcomes to their experiences at these Games.

In this look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Alison has the amazing story of Cathy Freeman, who brought Olympic glory to Australia and the Aboriginal people.

Meanwhile, Jill unravels the complicated story of Marion Jones, who was the first women to ever win five medals in a single Games in athletics.

Until she gave them back--before the International Olympic Committee decided to strip them from her for doping. And went to prison for lying under oath.

For a full source list and transcript, please visit our website.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2025, these episodes explore the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

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It's one year to go until the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics! Tickets went on sale today, which means it's time to figure out travel plans--and because Milan-Cortina is really spread out across northern Italy, travel between venue clusters is going to be much more complicated.

Not to worry though. Our Olympics travel expert Ken Hanscom is back to talk about traveling to Milan-Cortina for the Games. He shares:

• What to think about when buying tickets
• Why Milan will be a great host city for the Games
• Where to stay if you can't find a hotel in Cortina
• What the roads are like between the different venue clusters

Follow Ken on X, and learn more about TicketManager on Insta, X and its website.

Besides travel, there's a lot of news from Milan-Cortina, which we dive into. The slidingnovela continues on, with both AP and Reuters articles citing sources that say progress on the new track is going well, but we're not sure what that actually means.

If you're going to Milan-Cortina for the Olympics, please let us know!

This episode also features news from Paris 2024, LA 2028, French Alps 2030, and a visit to TKFLASTAN to check in on our past guests. Many of them of competing right now in hopes of qualifying for Milan-Cortina!

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

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

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Brazilian cross-country skier Bruna Moura joins us to talk about her continuing gritty journey to become an Olympian. A former mountain biker, Bruna took up roller skiing to help her recover from surgery. She found a love for the sport and transferred to snow to achieve her goal of representing her country at an Olympics.

She was supposed to realize her dream in 2022 when she qualified for the Beijing Winter Olympics at the last minute. However, as she was riding to the airport to fly to China for the Games, she was in a horrific car crash, in which she sustained several serious injuries.

That setback hasn't deterred Bruna from achieving her goal, and she is back on the cross-country skiing circuit trying to earn enough points to qualify for Milan-Cortina 2026.

We talk with Bruna about how she found her sport and how athletes from underrepresented nations cobble together training, equipment and travel on the cross-country ski circuit. We also discuss her almost-journey to Beijing and how her accident fueled her drive to keep going toward her goal.

Follow Bruna Moura on Facebook and Instagram!

Our friend Nick Zaccardi wrote a great article about her journey – check it out here!

Also on today's episode:

The International Olympic Committee has pressed pause on its plans to hold an Olympic Esports Games in 2025. Sports Business broke the story (paywalled), and we talk about what that could mean for the future of the event.

Perhaps the new IOC President will have thoughts on the direction that event should take. This week, the seven candidates meet in Lausanne to present their candidacy to IOC membership.

Plus, we have news from TKFLASTAN, including results for a number of our winter athletes and some great honors for our para archer Matt Stutzman.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

The one new sport on the program for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is ski mountaineering (aka skimo). What is this sport all about, and why should you watch it?

Sarah Cookler, Head of Sport for USA Skimo (USA Ski Mountaineering Association), joins us to talk about the sport, how it works, and how much fun its debut at Milan-Cortina will be.

Follow USA Skimo on Insta and X! They're @usaskimo.

Also on today's show:

• Massive problems with the bronze medals from Paris 2024 - this New York Times story is worth a read too
• Ticket news from Milan-Cortina 2026
• We've officially dubbed the sliding track situation our "Slidingnovela"
• The neutral athlete situation for the 2026 Olympics
• Doping news

TKFLASTAN has had a big week--we've got results, honors, a tough situation, and some listener views on Sydney 2000 and The Fire Inside.

Links mentioned on the show:

• New York Times - Paris 2024 medals: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/business/medals-paris-olympics-lvmh.html?unlocked_article_code=1.q04.1cnv.YIzYe5LEOIeL&smid=url-share
• Milan-Cortina ticket price chart: https://milanocortina2026.olympics.com/s3fs-public/documents/2024-10/20241009_Test_Table_A4_B_NO_VISA.pdf?VersionId=lyYTMUMYb_8kSLnKWQaNuSfmhp6_vUrk

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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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

Welcome to our look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics! We asked which historical Games should get a deep dive, and your response was to take another look at arguably one of the best Olympics of all time.

On this episode, Jill delves into how Sydney won the right to host the Games against a crowded field that included Beijing, Berlin, Manchester (UK) and Istanbul. Would Sydney win on merit, or was there something fishy going on with their bid?

Then Alison looks at the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics and Paralympics, with its grand walk through Australian history, big star performances and the epic cauldron lightings.

Especially fun to watch:

• Sydney 2000 bid song: https://youtu.be/J8FIw5Ra-aU?si=9juBaYlBr15NP8H6
• Opening Ceremonies song "Under the Southern Skies": https://youtu.be/zC3qm3If8Z8?si=JHOT8DYaAELGSvyI
• Olympics Opening Ceremonies: https://youtu.be/qsLLzL27hYA?si=nUO_UDpajeD8SPLx
• Paralympics Opening Ceremonies: https://youtu.be/rkZ9LtoMaNg?si=4synpfUbPqqGf2bs

For a full list of sources and a transcript, please visit our website: http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

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

Movie Club returns to look at the 2024 biopic "The Fire Inside," which tells the story of Olympic boxer Claressa Shields and her journey to winning her first Olympic gold medal at London 2012. The movie also goes beyond her first victory to show what happens when the Games are over--and unfortunately, Claressa is one of the many Olympic athletes who do not see a financial windfall after the Games.

Also on the show:

• News from Paris 2024 (how about those finances?!)
• News from Milan-Cortina 2026 (ticket lottery is coming up, and Plan B is coming together)
• News from TKFLASTAN

VOTE FOR US! We're nominated for a Sports Podcast Award, but we need your vote to get to the top of the podium. Vote here by Jan. 13! https://tinyurl.com/flamealiveaward

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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

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

It's the final episode of our series on Chamonix 1924! Alison explores the controversial curling event, which had teams that didn't show up, players on multiple teams, and the designation of not being an official Olympic event--or was it? Listen to find out!

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

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

Now that the Paris 2024 Host Organization is winding down its existence as a functioning entity, we start looking at the legacies the Games will (hopefully) leave behind. However, it can take years--or even decades--to realize the impact of these two months.

However, other cities can provide lessons in what's possible. We're rekindling our June 24, 2021 interview with Randal Roark and Michael Dobbins, who worked for the City of Atlanta during the planning and execution of Atlanta 1996. They, along with Leon Eplan, wrote the book Atlanta's Olympic Resurgence: How the 1996 Games Revived a Struggling City, which details the efforts of city workers to make Atlanta a world-class city and welcome guests from every country to its door.

Our interview shed a lot of light on the little projects a city can accomplish thanks to the deadline of the Olympics.

The book is an interesting read, and you can find it on our Bookshop.org site (affiliate link). Books purchased through that link support the show's operating budget.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

***

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. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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

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