Keep the Flame Alive

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 it's like to compete in both able-bodied and para sports, finding pants that fit muscular thighs, and traveling with shot puts.

Follow Noelle on Insta and TikTok!

In our Paris 2024 update, we have more kit news! Stella Jean has designed the uniforms for Team Haiti -- check them out here. Two corporate hospitality houses will open up in Paris (but may not be open to the public).

Paris news that's more Team USA-focused: iHeartMedia will be NBC's official audio partner. Steve Kornacki is joining NBC's illustrious list of analysts. And Flavor Flav is the U.S. women's water polo team's latest hype man.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Saliors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Beach volleyball player Kelly Cheng
• Para shooter McKenna Geer
• Superfan Sarah, who has spotted Team Cheerios
• The dulcet tones of Jason Bryant
• Listener Dan

Thank you to everyone who supports the show -- please tell a friend to check us out!

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

Thank you 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

Hang out with us online:

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Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 (make sure you listen along with us)
• That rainwater catchbasin that will help keep pollution out of the Seine is up and running. Will it be enough?
• If you're going to the Games, check out our Olympic and Paralympic travel journals!

Also, the World Games has selected its host city for 2029!

In our visit to TKFLASTAN, we have updates from:

• Artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau
• Boccia player Alison Levine
• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Pole vaulter Katie Moon
• Retired bobsledder Lauren Gibbs - check out her new workbook here
• Rich Perelman - Check out his AIPS Sports Media Award recognized piece!

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

Thank you 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

Hang out with us online:

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

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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

Olympics.com:

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/chamonix-1924/results/ice-hockey/ice-hockey-men

International Hockey Wiki:

https://internationalhockey.fandom.com/wiki/1924_Winter_Olympics

The Pink Puck:

https://thepinkpuck.com/2019/02/03/this-day-in-hockey-history-february-3-1924-gold-at-chamonix/

NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2022/02/07/1078270098/taffy-abel-medaled-in-the-1924-olympics-few-knew-of-his-indigenous-heritage

USA Hockey

https://teamusa.usahockey.com/page/show/2937749-1924-chamonix-olympic-winter-games

National Post

https://nationalpost.com/sports/olympics/the-stubborn-amateur-harry-watsons-journey-from-great-war-ace-to-olympic-hero-scoring-36-goals

Chamonix-Mont_blanc

https://en.chamonix.com/espace-pro-presse/1924-les-premiers-jeux-olympiques-d-hiver

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

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

Photo: IOC

Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2024, these episodes explore the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Hang out with us online:

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Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 it?!), it's a lot easier to watch a battle and see for yourself.

Learn more about Flipz at his website, and follow him on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X.

We also hear from Bboy Jeffro, who we spoke with at the Team USA Media Summit. He's got some interesting thoughts about flexibility and the differences between b-boy and b-girl battles. Follow Jeffro on Instagram.

In news from Paris 2024:

• Samsung has released details on its brand showcase Olympic Rendezvous @ Samsung
• LVMH will have a "cultural path" across some of its retail locations
• There will be an African House called Station Afrique at the Robert-César stadium
• NBC has more Olympic shows coming to Peacock--and a price increase

We have an update on that Chinese swimming doping issue from last week. WADA has issued a timeline related to the event that lays out the position it took.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Wrestler Alejandro Sancho
• Cyclist Mandy Marquardt
• Para shooter McKenna Geer
• Boccia player Alison Levine
• Artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau
• Wheelchair rugby player Chuck Aoki
• Commentator Olly Hogben
• The Montreal Olympic Park -- it's having a contest for reuse of the stadium roof materials. More info here.

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

Hang out with us online:

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

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 Ramsey Baker 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 Aggregate Sports, a consulting firm that helps NGBs find sponsors and broadcast partners. Prior to joining Aggregate Sports, Ramsey spent 18 years at US Figure Skating in various leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Director. Also, a doping case has rocked the swimming world. The World Anti-Doping Agency just confirmed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ ahead of Tokyo 2020, but took those positives to be inadvertent and dismissed the cases. However, this has many up in arms. We have plenty of news from Paris 2024, including:

• More hospitality houses
• An installment of our new medal-payment novela, in which the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations is furious with World Athletics (get your popcorn for this one!)
• Intel has an number of AI initiatives ready for Paris
• A Russian modern pentathlete wants to go neutral, and gets a rude awakening
• NBC will give some athlete parents heart monitors so TV viewers can see their reactions
• Paris police have cleared out another group of refugees

In our visit to TKFLASTAN, it's been a slow week, but race walker Evan Dunfee has some great news!

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

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

Photo courtesy of Ramsey Baker.

***

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

Hang out with us online:

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

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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 1924 Summer Olympics and was known for his aviation exploits.

Sources:

olympics.com

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/chamonix-1924/results/military-patrol/military-patrol-men

https://olympics.com/en/news/switzerland-land-military-patrol-gold

Olympedia

https://www.olympedia.org/results/1615

Inside the Games

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1118962/fact-of-the-day-mens-military-patrol

CBC Sports

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/1924-chamonix-france-1.812439

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

https://en.chamonix.com/espace-pro-presse/1924-les-premiers-jeux-olympiques-d-hiver

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: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2024, these episodes explore the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Hang out with us online:

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

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

X: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 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 Schultz, who's one of the subjects in Johanna Garton's latest book All in Stride.

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 her journey and continued work in recovery with us and what she's learned from her experience as an elite athlete. You can follow her on Insta and YouTube.

We have a lot of other news to bring you up to speed in the Olympic and Paralympic world:

• Paris 2024 will have another ticket drop on April 17 at 10am CEST - all sports will be available!
• The Eiffel Tower will be sporting Olympic rings.
• There are more water quality issues in the Seine, enough that Surfrider has written an open letter to the Organizing Committee about them.
• Serbia will have its first-ever Hospitality House at Paris 2024.
• World Athletes dropped a bombshell on the sporting world with the introduction of payments for gold medalists.
• General Mills Canada is supporting Paralympians -- look for special cereal boxes soon!
• A fire at the Montreal Olympic Stadium has caused upheaval in the training plans of many Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes/hopefuls, including TKFLASTANIs Alison Levine and Jacqueline Simoneau.
• LA 2028 will be announcing venue changes to its program over the coming year.
• The International Olympic Committee is developing a framework around support for under-age (minor) ahtletes.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Curler John Shuster
• Race walker Evan Dunfee
• USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews
• Author George Hirthler - check out his fictionalized interview with Pierre de Coubertin here.

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: This post contains affiliate links -- if you purchase something through that link, we may receive a commission. This greatly supports the effort to keep our 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

Hang out with us online:

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

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 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 threat of death. We talk with Gabe about how he conceived this idea, made the documentary, and the athletes involved.

Athletes of War screens at CIFF on Wednesday, April 10. Streaming will also be available for US and US Territory residents through CIFF Streams from April 14-April 21, 2024. Order your stream here!

Keep up with the film and Gabe here. Follow the film and Gabe on Insta!

We're less than 113 days from the start of Paris 2024, so there's plenty of news from the City of Lights. The surfingnovela seems to be at an end....but the Seinenovela is heating up.

If you're going to Paris, you may want to drop by the Mémorial de la Shoah to see the exhibit Les Jeux Olympiques: Miroir des Sociétés, which looks at history of Games as it reflects trends in societies and is used by country leaders use the Games for for political reasons, in particular Berlin 1936. It runs through November 10, 2024.

The International Handball Federation will also have a beach handball showcase from July 27-29, 2024 at the Maison du Handball in Créteil.

If you're staying home, you can go to a watch party from your couch. Peacock will have virtual watch parties with Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we have updates from:

• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Curler John Shuster
• Wrestler Alex Sancho
• Luge coach Jayson Terdiman

It's also time to select the Games which will be the focus of our 2025 history moment shows. Go to our Facebook Group to vote for your favorite!

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

Hang out with us online:

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

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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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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 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 with body image and disordered eating.

Learn more about Johanna at her website. Get your copy through our bookshop.org storefront! Purchases made through this link will help the show earn money to bring you the most fun coverage from Paris 2024.

So much news is coming out of Paris! Torch relay boat parades, flame luggage and cauldron location, volunteer kit, the Opening Ceremonies on IMAX, a food sponsor for the Australian Olympic Committee (what will you be eating for your Opening Ceremonies party?) and more!

Louis Vuitton is having a temporary exhibit of sport at its workshops in Asnières. Register online for LV's 30-minute guided visit.

Speaking of licensing deals, the International Olympic Committee and eight National Olympic Committees have signed a deal with Warner Brothers for Looney Tunes-branded Olympic products.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Rower Kristi Wagner
• Bobsledder Bree Walker
• Former biathlete Clare Egan
• Curler John Shuster - Team Shuster will be competing in the World Men's Curling Champs from Mar. 30 to Apr. 7!
• Figure skating analyst Jackie Wong, who was on NPR's Here and Now.
• Former cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, whose documentary KIKKAN is now on YouTube.

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

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

Photo courtesy of Johanna Garton/Roger Charlie.

***

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

Hang out with us online:

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

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/flamealivepod

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

Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348