"There were a lot of intense emotions that went with it," says gymnastics superstar Simone Biles when recounting her triumphant return to the Olympic stage, just over a year ago at Paris 2024. "There was always a part of me that thought, 'What if?' And I think that was my anxiety talking. So if I could lower that voice, then I felt more comfortable competing."

We all know what happened next: Biles scooped up a second individual all-around gold days after leading the U.S. to the Olympic team title. For this episode of the Olympics.com podcast, she speaks one-on-one with longtime gymnastics reporter Scott Bregman, sharing with him that, yes, she had dealt with cases of the twisties that haunted her at Tokyo 2020 in 2021 ahead of Paris. But she wasn't going to let them get in her way, and cleared her path to success with consistent therapy and strict boundary-setting.

Scott also speaks with Tokyo champion Sunisa Lee, who had her own comeback story in Paris after battling a rare kidney disease that threatened to end her career.

Host Nick McCarvel gets Scott's perspective on the post-Paris lay of the land for American gymnastics, with the U.S. Gymnastics Championships set for 7-10 August in New Orleans.

July 26th marks one year since the Opening Ceremony of Paris 2024, an eye-popping start to what proved to be an Olympic Games to remember.

While household names like Simone Biles, Tom Daley and Katey Ledecky soared, new stars in Leon Marchand, Noah Lyles, Summer McIntosh and Julien Alfred introduced themselves to the global Olympic audience.

We dive back into Paris in this special rewind episode, featuring stories you may have not yet heard of - both on and off the field of play. Olympic champions Hamish Kerr (athletics) and Toby Roberts (sport climbing) share what it meant to make history for their countries, and bronze medallist Gaby Dabrowski (tennis) details her journey to the podium - less than four months removed from a breast cancer diagnosis.

We also hear from then-IOC President Thomas Bach about his reflections on Paris 2024, check in on the legacy being left behind in France with the IOC's Tania Braga and speak with Jerome Tschupp, one of over 45,000 volunteers from Paris 2024, about his passion for the role - and much, much more.

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Re-live Paris 2024 landing page on Olympics.com: https://www.olympics.com/en/paris-2024-anniversary-relive-with-highlights-and-replays

Having combined for nine Olympic medals at Paris 2024, American swimmers Kate Douglass and Regan Smith deserved a little rest. The close friends join the Olympics.com podcast to discuss their downtime - and why they felt like it was so important as they both set goals ahead of LA 2028 in three years' time.

Among other topics, Douglass details an altered training approach at her collegiate alma mater in Virginia in a chat with host Nick McCarvel, while Smith opens up about her rivalry with Australia's Kaylee McKeown with Andrew Binner - and much more.

Both women are set to compete at this month's World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, where the swimming gets underway on 27 July. 

Kasra Mehdipournejad wants you to understand something about refugees: "We are someone like you; we're not different," he says on the latest episode of the Olympics.com podcast. "Same, same. We are human." It's a stirring message from the member of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in taekwondo, who reflects on his Paris 2024 experience with host Nick McCarvel with both World Refugee Day (20 June) and Olympic Day (23 June) top of mind. 

Mehdipournejad calls his Olympic debut "something really unique and different," and is already eyeing LA 2028. In the episode, he opens up on what his journey to the Games was like, how he'd like the Refugee Team to be an inspiration around the world and how his partner, Parisa, played a critical role in helping his dreams come true.

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Relevant links

• Pau Gasol's full interview with Rafael Nadal from the International Athletes' Forum 2025:

https://www.olympics.com/athlete365/news/iaf/tennis-legend-rafael-nadal-surprises-international-athletes-forum

British diver Tom Daley was just 14 years old when he made his Olympic debut at Beijing 2008. The now five-time Olympic medallist is a household name in the UK and beyond, and is sharing his story in a new Olympic Channel documentary, '1.6 Seconds.' Daley sits down with Olympics.com producer Scott Bregman to discuss the project, as well as reflect on his nearly two-decade-long career in the water - and how he navigated his biggest moments, including coming out as queer, the passing of his father, body image issues and more. Plus, fellow out Olympian Gus Kenworthy shares how Daley inspired him on his own journey.

'1.6 Seconds' is now available on Olympics.com for the U.S. audience. The documentary is set for a wider release on 14 June.

Running is an activity over 600 million people participate in on a regular basis. This week on the podcast, we speak with two world-class runners who compete in vastly different running spheres: Marathoner Desiree Linden and 1500-metre specialist Yared Nuguse. Linden reflects on her decision to move on from marathoning earlier this year - but how she's far from done with running itself. Meanwhile, Nuguse - in our featured interview for the episode - speaks with olympics.com producer Matt Nelsen about how his calm demeanor away from the track helps him on it. And yes, about that epic Olympic men's final last year at Paris 2024, where he claimed bronze.  

"We are always going to get other teams' best shots," basketball legend Sue Bird tells host Nick McCarvel on the latest episode of the Olympics.com podcast. The five-time Olympic champion has been named as the first-ever managing director for the U.S. women at a time when the game has never been more popular. But as the USA has won eight Olympic golds in a row, the rest of the world is getting better - quickly. "We always know people aren't always cheering for us," Bird said of that international challenge. "And that's just a part of putting on that jersey; it's a part the pressure. It's part of what makes it great."

What has the pre-Olympic season brought about in the winter sports of curling, ice hockey, snowboard and free ski? Host Nick McCarvel is joined by Olympics.com colleagues Chloe Merrell, Andrew Binner and ZK Goh in a special roundtable episode to give their reporting insights on those respective sports and their qualifying events for Milano Cortina 2026. Plus, exclusive audio from Olympic gold medallists Anna Gasser and Zoi Sadwoski-Synnott, curling world champs Grant Hardie and Rachel Homan, and rising American ice hockey star Taylor Heise.

Did Alysa Liu ever dream she could be world champion after two years away from figure skating? And what piques Ilia Malinin's interest about time-travelling to post-Milano Cortina 2026? Olympics.com contributor Gracie Gold, the 2014 Olympic medallist, got those answers and much more for this week's podcast, which features full sit-downs with both of the American champs from the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston in late March.

Jason Brown was unsure if he'd be able to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships. But after finishing eighth, the fan favourite is more hopeful than ever that he'll make his third Olympics at Milano Cortina 2026 next year. He sat down in Boston with Olympics.com podcast host Nick McCarvel for a one-on-one chat - including his advice for teammate Ilia Malinin, the two-time world champ. Plus, contributor Gracie Gold offers her takeaways from a memorable Worlds ahead of the Olympic season.