When we think of athletes being professionals, we often think of the big bucks that are in major sports. But for most Olympic and Paralympic sports, the pot of money is pretty small and that's because the National Governing Bodies (NGBs) behind them are running on shoestring budgets.   On this episode we talk with Ramsey Baker about the challenges small NGBs face and how they think about sponsorship and broadcast rights in working to increase their budgets. Ramsey is a SVP at Aggregate Sports, a consulting firm that helps NGBs find sponsors and broadcast partners. Prior to joining Aggregate Sports, Ramsey spent 18 years at US Figure Skating in various leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer and Executive Director.   Also, a doping case has rocked the swimming world. The World Anti-Doping Agency just confirmed that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for TMZ ahead of Tokyo 2020, but took those positives to be inadvertent and dismissed the cases. However, this has many up in arms.   We have plenty of news from Paris 2024, including:

• More hospitality houses
• An installment of our new medal-payment novela, in which the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations is furious with World Athletics (get your popcorn for this one!)
• Intel has an number of AI initiatives ready for Paris
• A Russian modern pentathlete wants to go neutral, and gets a rude awakening
• NBC will give some athlete parents heart monitors so TV viewers can see their reactions
• Paris police have cleared out another group of refugees

In our visit to TKFLASTAN, it's been a slow week, but race walker Evan Dunfee has some great news!

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

Photo courtesy of Ramsey Baker.

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

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Often considered to be the precursor to biathlon, military patrol was one of the more unusual competitions of the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924.

In this event, teams from six countries competed in a 30-kilometer ski race combined with a shooting segment that involved balloons. The weather and some unforeseen illnesses made it tough for the competitors, but one did emerge victorious.

Of course, it wouldn't be an Olympics without some colorful characters, and from this competition that includes Vaino Bremmer, the Finnish officer who competed in modern pentathlon in the 1924 Summer Olympics and was known for his aviation exploits.

Sources:

olympics.com

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/chamonix-1924/results/military-patrol/military-patrol-men

https://olympics.com/en/news/switzerland-land-military-patrol-gold

Olympedia

https://www.olympedia.org/results/1615

Inside the Games

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1118962/fact-of-the-day-mens-military-patrol

CBC Sports

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/1924-chamonix-france-1.812439

Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

https://en.chamonix.com/espace-pro-presse/1924-les-premiers-jeux-olympiques-d-hiver

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2024, these episodes explore the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

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Note: In this episode, we discuss discovery, treatment, and life with an eating disorder. If you would like more information about screenings, support, and treatment for eating disorders, please visit the National Eating Disorders Association for more information.

Transitioning to life after sport can be complicated and difficult. On this episode, we welcome back TKFLASTANI and Olympian Samantha Schultz, who's one of the subjects in Johanna Garton's latest book All in Stride.

After competing at Tokyo 2020, Sammy's transition to non-competitive life has been a big adjustment, and in 2023 she sought professional help for an eating disorder. Samantha shares her journey and continued work in recovery with us and what she's learned from her experience as an elite athlete. You can follow her on Insta and YouTube.

We have a lot of other news to bring you up to speed in the Olympic and Paralympic world:

• Paris 2024 will have another ticket drop on April 17 at 10am CEST - all sports will be available!
• The Eiffel Tower will be sporting Olympic rings.
• There are more water quality issues in the Seine, enough that Surfrider has written an open letter to the Organizing Committee about them.
• Serbia will have its first-ever Hospitality House at Paris 2024.
• World Athletes dropped a bombshell on the sporting world with the introduction of payments for gold medalists.
• General Mills Canada is supporting Paralympians -- look for special cereal boxes soon!
• A fire at the Montreal Olympic Stadium has caused upheaval in the training plans of many Canadian Olympic and Paralympic athletes/hopefuls, including TKFLASTANIs Alison Levine and Jacqueline Simoneau.
• LA 2028 will be announcing venue changes to its program over the coming year.
• The International Olympic Committee is developing a framework around support for under-age (minor) ahtletes.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Curler John Shuster
• Race walker Evan Dunfee
• USA Fencing CEO Phil Andrews
• Author George Hirthler - check out his fictionalized interview with Pierre de Coubertin here.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

Note: This post contains affiliate links -- if you purchase something through that link, we may receive a commission. This greatly supports the effort to keep our flame alive.

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

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Documenting different stories of the Games is vital to providing an accurate picture of Olympic history. On this episode, we talk with documentary filmmaker Gabriel Veras, director of the new documentary Athletes of War. The movie looks at the ongoing war in Ukraine from the lens of athletes who are trying to do sport and train for the Paris 2024 Olympics amidst bombed out facilities and the threat of death. We talk with Gabe about how he conceived this idea, made the documentary, and the athletes involved.

Athletes of War screens at CIFF on Wednesday, April 10. Streaming will also be available for US and US Territory residents through CIFF Streams from April 14-April 21, 2024. Order your stream here!

Keep up with the film and Gabe here. Follow the film and Gabe on Insta!

We're less than 113 days from the start of Paris 2024, so there's plenty of news from the City of Lights. The surfingnovela seems to be at an end....but the Seinenovela is heating up. 

If you're going to Paris, you may want to drop by the Mémorial de la Shoah to see the exhibit Les Jeux Olympiques: Miroir des Sociétés, which looks at history of Games as it reflects trends in societies and is used by country leaders use the Games for for political reasons, in particular Berlin 1936. It runs through November 10, 2024.

The International Handball Federation will also have a beach handball showcase from July 27-29, 2024 at the Maison du Handball in Créteil.

If you're staying home, you can go to a watch party from your couch. Peacock will have virtual watch parties with Alex Cooper, host of Call Her Daddy.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we have updates from:

• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Curler John Shuster
• Wrestler Alex Sancho
• Luge coach Jayson Terdiman

It's also time to select the Games which will be the focus of our 2025 history moment shows. Go to our Facebook Group to vote for your favorite!

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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Newsletter: Sign up at https://mailchi.mp/ee507102fbf7/flamealivepod

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Today we’re talking with Johanna Garton, author of the new book All in Stride, which is about the US Army's World Class Athlete Program and two runners who were part of it, Elvin Kibet and Shadrack Kipchirchir. Also featured in the book is TKFLASTANI Samantha Schultz, who becomes friends with Elvin during their Army duty. Sammy gets to know Johanna as well and opens up to her about her struggles with body image and disordered eating.

Learn more about Johanna at her website. Get your copy through our bookshop.org storefront! Purchases made through this link will help the show earn money to bring you the most fun coverage from Paris 2024.

So much news is coming out of Paris! Torch relay boat parades, flame luggage and cauldron location, volunteer kit, the Opening Ceremonies on IMAX, a food sponsor for the Australian Olympic Committee (what will you be eating for your Opening Ceremonies party?) and more!

Louis Vuitton is having a temporary exhibit of sport at its workshops in Asnières. Register online for LV's 30-minute guided visit.

Speaking of licensing deals, the International Olympic Committee and eight National Olympic Committees have signed a deal with Warner Brothers for Looney Tunes-branded Olympic products. 

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Rower Kristi Wagner
• Bobsledder Bree Walker
• Former biathlete Clare Egan
• Curler John Shuster - Team Shuster will be competing in the World Men's Curling Champs from Mar. 30 to Apr. 7!
• Figure skating analyst Jackie Wong, who was on NPR's Here and Now.
• Former cross-country skier Kikkan Randall, whose documentary KIKKAN is now on YouTube.

 

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

Photo courtesy of Johanna Garton/Roger Charlie.

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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It's Women's History Month, so we're devoting this episode to the women of Chamonix 1924--all 13 of them. 

At the first Winter Olympics, women competed in ladies and pairs figure skating. We take a look at this competition, as well as the men's event, to learn just how different this Olympic sport was back in the day when Austria was a powerhouse (let's just say it doesn't include ice set on a specific Pantone color base). 

The competition features Olympic and figure skating legend Sonja Henie in her first Olympics. Entries also include many people who were influential to the history of the sport.

Check out this video, which features Henie, Gillis Grafstrom and Herma Planck-Szabo: https://youtu.be/pIz-cDy7sv8?si=k2PkYJhtecpGeHJ_

Source list:

OlyMADmen

https://olymadmen.com/editions/29/sports/FSK

https://olymadmen.com/results/12622

 

Olympedia

https://www.olympedia.org/results/12598

 

Olympics.com

https://olympics.com/en/olympic-games/chamonix-1924/results/figure-skating

 

CBC

https://www.cbc.ca/sports/2.722/1924-chamonix-france-1.812439

 

Skateguard blog

https://www.skateguardblog.com/2015/02/the-gillis-grafstrom-story-part-one.html

 

Science Friday

https://www.sciencefriday.com/articles/history-ice-skates/

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

 

Photo credit: IOC

******

Keep the Flame Alive: Games History Moment with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown is released monthly. In 2024, these episodes explore the first Winter Olympic Games at Chamonix, France in 1924. Look for our regular episodes every week, with daily editions during the Olympics and Paralympics.

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

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At the LA 2028 Paralympics, the US will compete in blind football (aka blind soccer) for the first time--but a national team is still in development. Molly Quinn, CEO of the US Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) joins us to talk about the process of building an internationally competitive team.

Learn more about blind soccer at the USABA's website and follow them on X, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn! If you get involved with the team, we'd love to hear from you!

Plus:

• Medal reallocations from London 2012 (not a typo).
• Paris 2024 news with details on Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN), Village condoms, the basketball draw, a Cultural Olympiad event, and more! 
• Stadiumnovela updates from Brisbane 2032
• News from the latest IOC Executive Board meeting

And we have updates from TKFLASTAN, where we hear from:

• Nordic combined athlete Annika Malacinski
• Wheelchair curler Steve Emt
• Sled hockey player Monica Quimby
• Commentator Olly Hogben

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

 

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

 

Photo courtesy of the US Association of Blind Athletes.

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

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This is Episode 328. Women don’t compete in sled hockey at the Paralympics--yet. That may soon be changing, thanks to growth of the sport around the world. Veteran Team USA sled hockey player Monica Quimby joins the podcast to tell us the latest developments in women's sled hockey and its path to Paralympic inclusion.

In Paris 2024 news:

• The flame lighting ceremony in Olympia is getting a makeover. 
• The Opening Ceremonies has a start time, and NBC announced its hosting team (one of whom may have auditioned with this)
• Some Marathon Pour Tous bibs are up for grabs (enter by March 18).
• The International Paralympic Committee has released its guidelines for neutral athletes at the Games. 
• TBach had a few words to say about Russia.
• Team Australia released its kit.

In news from TKFLASTAN we have updates from:

• Decathlete Jordan Gray
• Nordic combined athlete Annika Malacinski
• Para shooter McKenna Geer
• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Skeleton racer Brendon Doyle
• Para equestrian Sydney Collier
• Paddler Luuka Jones
• Rower Kristi Wagner
• Shooter Kim Rhode
• Artistic swimmer Jacqueline Simoneau
• Boccia player Alison Levine

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

 

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

 

 Photo courtesy of Monica Quimby.

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

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VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

This is episode 327. The Academy Awards are this weekend, so what better way to celebrate than with the Keep the Flame Alive Movie Club? Film Buff Fran is here to talk about the newest Olympic major motion picture The Boys in the Boat. Based on the book by Daniel James Brown and directed by George Clooney, it tells the story of the 8-man boat on the US men’s rowing team and their uphill quest for gold at the Berlin 1936 Olympics.

If you've seen it, let us know what you thought of it!

Also in this episode, we dust off our Tokyo 2020 music for a follow-up about the Belorussian coach who sent home athletics sprinter Krystisina Tsimanouskaya.

We have tons of news about Paris 2024! The opening ceremony on the Seine with free tickets for hundreds of thousands of people has gotten an audience makeover--tickets now are being given out by invitation only and all ticket holders will have to go through security checks.

The Athletes Village is now complete--mostly on time and on budget! We've got the details.

The Paris 2024 official posters have been released! Created by illustrator Ugo Gattoni, the two posters can be combined into a single image, making it the first diptych in Games history. 

Plus, so much hospitality house news! Will you apply to volunteer at Team NL House or Team NZ House (go Silver Ferns!)? Will you get VIP tickets to Club France?

Also from the follow-up file, the justice system works quickly in France, and the surfingnovela has another installment.

In TKFLASTAN news, we hear from: 

• Bobsledder Bree Walker
• Pole vaulter Katie Moon
• Para powerlifter Louise Sugden
• Speed skater Erin Jackson
• Sailors Stephanie Roble and Maggie Shea
• Author Andrew Maraniss

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

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

***

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.

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

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This is Episode 326. During Tokyo 2020, we loved watching track cycling, but of course, came up with many questions about the sport. American Olympic hopeful Mandy Marquardt joins us to talk about her specialty, sprinting. We talk about the sprint and Keirin races. We also get into how the bike works, her uniform, and how expensive track cycling shoes can be.

Follow Mandy on Facebook, Instagram, and X. Team NovoNordisk is on Insta and X. Check out her website too!

In Paris 2024 news, it's a mere six months until the Paralympics start, which means that Alison will be watching wheelchair rugby before we know it!

We also have a few details about Olympic Opening Ceremonies and another ticket drop.

Tickets for Team Ireland House have gone on sale, and we have details about what that entails. Also look for activities at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris.

Plus, a new square to check off if you're playing "What will the media blow out of proportion?" bingo.

In news from TKFLASTAN, we hear from:

• Bobsledder Bree Walker
• Para shooter McKenna Geer
• Pole vaulter Katie Moon
• National governing body exec Phil Andrews

For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

Thank you to our ongoing contributors and patrons! This show thrives because of our listeners. Want to give back? Learn more here.

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

***

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.

 

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

 

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

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VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348