Keep the Flame Alive

This week we're going back in time a little bit when Marketing didn't have the power of social media that it does today. In the 1990s, Olympic marketing was focused more around the event itself rather than making it an event consumers thought about regularly. Then came marketers like our guest Stuart Sheldon, who thought about ways to integrate sponsors and National Governing Bodies and the Olympics like never before. Hear about the transformation that took place in the world of sports marketing.

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.

Our very first Team Olympic Fever member Josh Williamson joins us to tell us how life's been during his first year as a bobsledder and what's on tap for this season. We also talk about our holiday gifts -- if you got something cool and Olympic related, share it in our Facebook Group!

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 a holiday week, so we're bringing you another set of Olympian Lightning Round interviews for your enjoyment. This week we've got hurdler Dawn Harper Nelson, water polo player Tony Azevedo and shotgun shooter Kim Rhode. Happy New Year!

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.

When you need Olympic-caliber hockey ice, you get the best in the world. For the PyeongChang 2018 Olympics, Adam Stirn got the call to be an ice technician at the ice hockey venue, where he drove the Zamboni on a nightly basis. Learn what makes good hockey ice, and just how difficult it is to drive a Zamboni!

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.

"Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful" came back for another season, and we've got another winner on the show! Lindsey Mayo, winner and Olympic hopeful in rugby, joins us to talk about her experiences on the show. We also check in with season 1 winner Josh Williamson, who appeared on this season. Plus, a lot of TOFU--and a most inspired Christmas gift.

You can follow Lindsey on Twitter.

Our friend Josh is on social at:

• Insta
• Twitter

Also, we've been making our own appearances! Listen to us on Ask Win (Win has a great Olympic story of her own) and Podcast Business Journal.

Thanks for listening, and until next week, keep the flame alive!

Photo courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee.

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.

This past weekend could've been d-day for boxing and weightlifting. The IOC Executive Board met to determine whether or not those two sports should remain on the Olympic Program for Tokyo 2020.

Weightlifting seems to be making improvements, but the IOC decided to put a freeze on boxing. What does that mean? Jill and Alison delve into what's going on within the AIBA, boxing's international federation. Like this controversy from Seoul 1988.

The freeze could potentially be a good situation. After all, something similar happened just a few years ago when the IOC decided to pull wrestling from the Tokyo 2020 schedule. We welcome back the dulcet tones of Jason Bryant, who explains how bad off wrestling was.

Check out Jason's site and wrestling podcasts at MatTalkOnline. You can also find him Facebook and Twitter.

Also on the show, Jill talks about the new documentary on Tommie Smith's and John Carlos' actions during the 1968 Mexico City Games. It's called "The Stand: How One Gesture Shook the World."

Plus, we have a short TOFU update! Check out Nathan Bartholomay and Deanna Stellato at the Golden Spin of Zagreb.

Don't forget to support the show! You can join our group of patrons and get your hands on fun swag.

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.

Kim Rhode is back on the show to talk about her Olympic experiences. She's got one of the most storied Olympic careers, having competed in 6 Olympics, having to learn a new event midway through, and earning a medal at each one of them. She's got some great stories, from fun in the Olympic Village at Atlanta, to having her son watch her compete in Rio.

We also recap "Scouting Camp: The Next Olympic Hopeful" Season 2, which was on over the weekend, and we have some Team Olympic Fever updates.

Kim Rhode's aiming for her 7th Olympics in Tokyo. You can follow her journey on social media:

• Facebook
• Insta
• Twitter
• Website

Thanks as always for listening, and until next week, keep the flame alive!

Photo courtesy of Kim Rhode.

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 Thanksgiving Day weekend in the US, which means Jill and Alison are busy carbo loading (well, to be fair, Jill's doing a 5K too). This week we debut a recurring segment: The Lightning Round.

In recent months we've asked our interviewees the same 5 questions. Hear how Olympic judo coach Jimmy Pedro, Olympic rower Tessa Gobbo and Olympic swimmer John Naber answer them.

It's perfect listening while you wait to baste your turkey or prepare other Thanksgiving foods....and if this isn't your holiday, you get a nice, short episode!

We'll be back next week with Kim Rhode, who dishes on some of her favorite Olympic memories. Let's just say that the Atlanta Olympic Village sounded like such a fun place!

Thank you for listening. This week, especially, we can't say thank you enough. Until next time, keep the flame alive!

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.

Legend in the house! 6x Olympian and 6x Olympic medalist Kim Rhode joins us to explain how the Olympic shotgun events work.

But first! We have a correction on the Hollywood version of the Blood in the Water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Olympics. Quentin Tarantino was the producer behind the documentary "Freedom's Fury," which was narrated by Mark Spitz.

Plus, there is a Hungarian movie (which Jill vaguely remembered finding but couldn't do so quickly) called "Children of Glory" produced by Andy Vajna and directed by Krisztina Goda:

• Entire movie: https://youtu.be/VS69waHIPL4
• Trailer (English): https://youtu.be/F32mX62TIug
• Movie website: http://www.szabadsagszerelemafilm.hu/

Back to this week's main event. We are honored to have Kim Rhode with us today. Kim is the first athlete – male or female – to win medals at six consecutive Olympic Summer Games in any sport, a feat she achieved between Atlanta 1996 and Rio 2016 and which only Italian luger Armin Zöggeler has equalled in the Winter Games. She is also the first Olympic shooter, male or female, to compete in all three shotgun events – trap, double trap and skeet.

[Not] Surprisingly, Kim's interview went long, so we're dividing it into two episodes. Today she explains how the shotgun sports work--from the uniform to the rifle to how much she shoots in ammo on a given day (thank you, Winchester, indeed). And here's some more info on her gun that was stolen.

Follow Kim online!

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Insta
• Website

Plus, we have not-so-surprising news about Tokyo 2020 and great news from our team. It's an action-packed episode!

And we're always grateful to our patrons, who keep our flames (i.e.--the podcast) alive. Join the patrons club today!

Photo courtesy of Kim Rhode.

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're jumping in the pool to talk with 5x Olympian Tony Azevedo about the sport of water polo. This is another sport that's no joke -- did you know it's the only sport that develops certain muscles in your feet? Tony gives us the lowdown on techniques, controversies with hand gluing and ball deflation, and what it's like to be in the Croatian celebrity press.

Also, the US Olympic Committee has de-sanctioned USA Gymnastics as a National Governing Body. We talk about the ramifications and timing of this decision.

You can find Tony online at tonyazevedo.com and follow him on:

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Insta

Check out his new company 6-8 Sports and see how it can improve your water polo game!

For more info about things we discussed:

See sculling in action here!

More info on The Blood in the Water match here!

(note: there is a documentary out there called Freedom's Fury, but its site isn't really supported anymore)

Support the show! It keeps our flame alive (i.e.--helps cover the bills, find more of our people, and create great new content):

• Patreon
• iTunes/Apple Podcasts - leave us a review!

Photo courtesy of Tony Azevedo.

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.