Keep the Flame Alive

We're less than 500 days away from the start of Tokyo 2020, so we thought it would be fun to look back at the last Games held in Tokyo and compare the two. Tokyo 1964 was special for many advances, both for the Games and for the country of Japan–it's interesting to note those changes and wonder how we'll experience with the next Summer Games.

Plus, we have a lot of TOFU (which includes Jill, surprisingly), as well as other Olympic news, including this Kickstarter about a Munich 1972 design book.

Don't forget to support the show–there's not that much time before Tokyo 2020, and we'd like to have the resources to do more great things with this podcast. We appreciate all the support we get so very much!

We're less than 500 days away from the start of Tokyo 2020, so we thought it would be fun to look back at the last Games held in Tokyo and compare the two. Tokyo 1964 was special for many advances, both for the Games and for the country of Japan–it's interesting to note those changes and wonder how we'll experience with the next Summer Games.

Plus, we have a lot of TOFU (which includes Jill, surprisingly), as well as other Olympic news, including this Kickstarter about a Munich 1972 design book.

Don't forget to support the show–there's not that much time before Tokyo 2020, and we'd like to have the resources to do more great things with this podcast. We appreciate all the support we get so very much!

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Alison is back, so we're doing a deeper dive on the new sports proposed for Paris 2024. Last October, we talked with The Sports Examiner's editor Rich Perelman about the proliferation of sports in the Olympics, so we're bringing you that conversation. Plus some TOFU and news from Tokyo 2020.

Check out Rich's publication and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Jill's flying solo this week, but that gives us more time for the start of our exploration of the new Olympic sports on the Tokyo 2020 program. This week we're talking with sport climber (and American Ninja Warrior competitor!) Josh Levin. Josh talks with us about the 3 disciplines of sport climbing: speed, bouldering and lead climbing. We knew it was a physically tough sport, but the mental game and the cooperation among athletes is also incredibly impressive.

Follow Josh online:

• Website
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Insta
• LinkedIn

And check out one of his American Ninja Warrior competitions!

We'll have Josh back to talk about his climbing career and his pursuit of Olympic qualification on a future episode, so stay tuned.

So many events for our Team Olympic Fever members this week! Jill mentioned that you can watch Samantha Achterberg compete in a modern pentathlon world cup in Cairo -- check out the competition at UPIM-TV and on Facebook (try here or here for the latter)

Thanks to all of our Patreon patrons -- join the fun here!

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Photo credit: IFSC / Eddie Fowke

It's Part 2 of our interview with diver Laura Wilkinson! She talks about earning the gold in Sydney while having a broken foot, then also about Athens 2004, Beijing 2008 -- and now her potential comeback for Tokyo 2020.

Plus, Paris 2024 has announced the new sports it wants to put on the program -- this could b-interesting (if you know what we mean). And Indonesia wants to bid for 2032!

Follow Laura online:

• Website
• Hope Sports Podcast
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter

Photo courtesy of Laura Wilkinson.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

Book Club Claire is BACK! Join us for our discussion of David Maraniss' Rome 1960: The Olympics that Changed the World. Follow Claire on Twitter and check out her Olympics blog -- she's got some great entries from the US Curling National Champs and the US Figure Skating National Champs, both of which she attended!

Our next book selection will be The Second Mark: Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold by Joy Goodwin. Buy a hardcover, paper copy or Kindle version through these links to Amazon, and you'll be supporting the show (we get a commission on these purchases). We'll meet again around the end of April, so you've got time to read!

Lots of sad news this week, including the death of The Flying Finn, Matti Nykänen who was one of the most celebrating ski jumpers in the world, earning medals at both Sarajevo 1984 and Calgary 1988 (where he swept the golds). He was wildly popular in Finland, and we're on the hunt for this biopic called "Matti: Hell is for Heroes." Check out the trailer.

As always, we appreciate our Patreon donors -- join today, and Alison might make you Jell-o!

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

We have a legend in the house this week! It's part one of our interview with Sydney 2000 gold medalist Laura Wilkinson. In this episode Laura explains how the sport works -- and something unusual that a lot of divers have in common.

Follow Laura:

• Facebook
• Insta
• Twitter
• Website

She also has her own inspirational podcast called Hope Sports where she interviews athletes about their journeys on and off the field, their successes and their struggles. We highly recommend it!

We also talked about that epic moment from the Seoul 1988 diving competition, when Greg Louganis smacked his head on the board--and still won the gold.

Plus some Tokyo 2020 mascot updates and a little slice of TOFU!

Don't forget to support the show--it all helps to bring you a better podcast and more features leading up to Tokyo 2020!

Photo courtesy of Laura Wilkinson.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

If you're an Olympics buff, you likely have some souvenirs lying around, but Teri Hedgpeth gets to work with one amazing Olympic collection. Teri's the first Archivist for the U.S. Olympic Committee, and she talks with us about what she walked into when she started the job (it has to do with basement storage), some of the unique items in the collection (including a Marshall Islands $75 coin) and how she gets donations.

If you're on LinkedIn, follow Teri - she regularly posts pictures of interesting artifacts from the collection.

Do you have a favorite Olympic souvenir? Share it with us on our Facebook Group - or tag us on Insta and Twitter. We'll also share some of our favorite artifacts this week.

Tomorrow's the beginning of the month, which means our Patreon patrons get their bonus material--check us out and join the club! Your donation goes a long way into keeping the show going, especially as we prepare for Tokyo 2020.

Photo courtesy of Teri Hedgpeth.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

It's another Listener Request episode! On a blustery October day, Jill went to Long Island, NY to take in the US 30K Race Walking National Championships, where she chatted with several of the judges, including Gary Westerfield and Maryanne Daniel to learn more about this very misunderstood sport and how magical it can be. No, seriously--it's way cooler than the media makes it out to be every four years.

Plus, we've got a big heaping of TOFU of ice!

Thank you to all of our patrons that signed up this past week. Bronze level and above patrons get access to exclusive audio clips, and if you want to learn more about race walking (you know Jill asked about the money), in February you'll get a nice long edition of deleted content from this race (race walks take hours; a regular episode doesn't). Join the club today at Patreon!

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.

It's going to be Milano-Cortina vs. Stockholm-Åre for the right to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. This week we talk about the two bids and start pondering which will win the IOC's vote come June 24-26.

The IOC also recently published an essay on how it wants to evolve the Games for future generations. This was interesting because it likely signals a change in the Olympic program. We've got some listener feedback about this and talk about the sports that could be in danger.

DISCLAIMER: OLYMPIC® is a trademark of the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee ("USOPC"). Any use of OLYMPIC® in the Olympic Fever podcast is strictly for informational and commentary purposes. The Olympic Fever podcast is not an official podcast of the USOPC. The Olympic Fever podcast is not a sponsor of the USOPC, nor is Olympic Fever associated with or endorsed by USOPC in any way. The content of Olympic Fever podcast does not reflect the opinions, standards, views, or policies of the USOPC, and the USOPC in no way warrants that content featured in Olympic Fever is accurate.