On the track, a relay team can make or break its race based on the quality of its baton handoffs. 2004 Olympic relay gold medalist and current Bethel University head track coach Andrew Rock walks us through the process of handing off the baton. And, we announce our virtual Closing Ceremonies meetup.

You can follow Andrew's teams on social @bethelxctf and visit their website.

As we mentioned on the show, the US women's 4x100 relay team had a tougher time qualifying for the finals at the Rio 2016 Olympics -- but check out this video, because the cameras really focus in on the handoffs, and you can see exactly what Andrew talks about.

In our visit to TKFLASTAN, we check in on Kelly Claes, MCamp, Chellsie Memmel, Shiva Keshavan and Chloe Kim. Check out Shiva's interview with our next book club author Abhinav Bindra and Chole's interview on Just Women's Sports.

In Tokyo 2020 new, the Paralympic schedule has been confirmed, and we have a short maranovela update.

Plus, the USOPC has released its 2019 annual report, which means we get to see where all of the money goes.

Thanks to all of our Patreon patrons who support the show. Please consider supporting us financially either with a one-time donation or ongoing support, as our expenses this year have greatly increased due to a forced rebranding. If you can't support us financially, please leave us a review on your favorite podcasting app or tell friends about the show.

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

photo: courtesy of Andrew Rock

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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.

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