The Podium

In the mid 2010s Curling, both Hardline Curling and American Olympic medalist curler John Shuster were facing a huge challenge from the powers governing this centuries-old sport. Hardline had come up with a controversial and revolutionary sweeping pad and Shuster has been dropped by USA Curling.  Their next moves would have lasting impacts on the game you'll see in February.

Both join host Lauren Shehadi to share their stories of early success, tumult and vindication in a time known as "broomgate". 

 Listen to Season 3 of NBC Sports' The Podium. 

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Only 1.8% of US ski area users are Black, leaving minority skiers and snowboarders with little representation at the top levels of the sport. 

Andre Horton, the first able-bodies black skier on the US Ski Team and Brian Rice, the first black snowboarder to be sponsored by a major US ski resort, join host Lauren Shehadi to discuss the experience of being a rarity in the lift line, the vibrant and supportive community they discovered within Black ski culture and the pipeline for putting more minorities in the mountains and on the podium.

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Quadruples are the culmination of generations of figure skating and snowboarding progress. Axels or Corks, these maneuvers defy what was thought possible for Olympic athletes. On this episode on The Podium, we explore the dizzying abilities required of modern competitors and the ramifications on artistry and injury. Vincent Zhou was the skater first to land a quad lutz at the games and shares his journey  with Marcus Kleveland, the youngest snowboarder to land a quadruple cork to understand the biggest move in Beijing.

Listen to Season 3 of NBC Sports' The Podium hosted by Lauren Shehadi.

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Over the next 8 weeks and right through to the closing ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have defined the Olympics and those that will shape the Beijing games. But we’ll also give you an intimate look into the unseen details that only the athletes themselves can tell. From curling innovations to big air ski tricks, inclusivity in winter recreation to epic medal runs, experience the lead up to Beijing with NBC Sports, the home of the Olympic and Paralympic games. Hosted by Lauren Shehadi, each episode features experts and athletes you’ll recognize along with those whose story you’ll be hard-pressed to forget. Prepare for season 3 of The Podium, an Olympic podcast from NBC Sports.

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All good things come to an end. Through delay, innumerable challenges in just putting on the games and the actual sporting competition itself, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and all involved have excelled beyond expectation. Now, the world unites to celebrate the end of a shared moment: the last of the first global sporting event in over 18 months.

Brittney Reese reflects on a sport-defining career in women’s long jump and Mike Tirico give us a parting thought before going into the booth the call the closing ceremony.

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The sting of missing out on Olympic glory can be a hurdle to overcome as well as a fuel for future success. Ultimately, delayed gratification may just be the ultimate prize.

We speak with the second American woman to win a wrestling gold, Tamyra Mensah Stock, about how previous failures motivate her on and off the mat. Keni Harrison was the favorite coming into US Olympic Track & Field Trials in the 100 meter hurdles for Rio, but had to watch the Games on TV. She leveraged that into record- setting times that set her on the rhythm that clinched a medal in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Listen to The Podium daily during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for new insight into the stories you know and the ones you’ll be happy to discover.

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From using your podium performance to speak for a wider group or simply turning your chopsticks around for a shared platter, gestures big and small are a defining feature of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.

Hear from Women’s Shot put Silver-medalist Raven Saunders about how her personal style speaks volumes and explore the Japanese world of social gestures with etiquette expert Ben Sparrow.

Listen to The Podium daily during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for new insight into the stories you know and the ones you’ll be happy to discover.

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Running from steeple to steeple in the Irish countryside, over fences and through streams might seem like a task far removed from the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. And yet 2 events, run on 2 or 4 legs, remind us that utility is at the core of the Olympics, and that manufacturing once-natural challenges may seem a little forced, but that finding our force is why we compete in the first place.

We speak to women straight off of their 3000 meter Steeplechase heats to discover what attracts them to this event. Doug Payne of Team USA’s Eventing squad tells us why equestrian sports, especially the cross country discipline, are as beautiful as they are complex.

Listen to The Podium daily during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for new insight into the stories you know and the ones you’ll be happy to discover.

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The 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games feature the most sports and events in any modern Olympics. Organizing and participating, notably, in Track and Field and Water Polo, involves mastering a lot of pandemonium.

Athletes like Maggie Steffens and Valarie Allman join us from their chaotic fields of play to explain why chaos creates additional challenges for the athletes, but that having a lot going on is part of the culture that make these events so exciting.

Listen to The Podium daily during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for new insight into the stories you know and the ones you’ll be happy to discover.

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Athletes prioritizing their health and wellbeing has been a through line in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. And while that may sound like a given considering these are the highest performing physical specimens on earth, the public is being exposed more than ever to the hardships often hidden by the podium steps or outshined by the glimmer of Olympic medals.

MyKayla Skinner, Simone Biles' teammate, gives us a glimpse into her own mental process as Team USA’s female gymnasts cope with the pressure both within and outside themselves. Silver medalist wrestler Adeline Gray explains how finding balance helped her breakthrough at her second Games.

Listen to The Podium daily during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for new insight into the stories you know and the ones you’ll be happy to discover

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