The Podium

Paralympians are well-versed in the challenges of life and sport, and yet fun sems to permeate the ranks of competitors at all levels. Through the experiences of Team USA’ Brittani Coury & Lera Doederlein, we’re reminded why we should all seek fun in sport. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

Top sit ski racer Andrew Kurka is collecting Paralympic heartbreaks that would shake even the toughest competitors. While the Alaskan had ambitious goals to add to his Paralympic medal collection in Beijing, the void in his trophy room from these Games has marked an even bigger win: the triumph that comes from getting back up, and out on the slopes. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

Visually-impaired skier Danelle Umstead and her guide Rob Umstead share every twist and turn of their lives and their Paralympic aspirations on and off the slopes. The couple discuss race strategy, headset etiquette and why facing down the biggest challenges is possible, and faster, together. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

The 6 month gap between paralympic games has left athletes with an unprecedented challenge: finding their podium form after going all-in for Tokyo. Oksana Masters and Kendall Gretsch kick into high gear and even higher medal counts, explaining what it takes to go from one winning season to the next in record time. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

Mike Schultz designed a prosthetic leg to help him return to motorsports racing, but it’s the process of adapting his design for other athletes that he found his way to the Paralympic podium, and his most meaningful work. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

As the 2022 Winter Paralympic Games begin, we look into the increasingly united front of para and able-bodied athletes through the experience of skier Thomas Walsh. Walsh and host Mallory Weggemann expand on how para athletes may better embody traditional sportsmanship despite their less traditional ways of competing. Follow The Podium now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch coverage of the 2022 Beijing Winter Paralympic Games.

There's a city in central Florida that has proven to be the epicentre for American long track speed skating excellence. We speak to medalists Erin Jackson, Brittany Bowe and Joey Mantia to figure out just what about the subtropical town makes fast athletes on ice. Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. We thank you for tuning into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games and stay tunes for the 2022 Paralympics starting March 4th.

Indigenous athletes are rare in the Winter Olympics, but for the select few in Beijing like Greenlandic biathlete Ukaleq Slettemark and Team USA hockey player Abby Roque, their unique background is a point of strength. Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

In a sports landscape of ultra-specialized athletes, there is meaning in finding the compromise of doing different sports in different seasons.We talk to nordic combined skiers Taylor Fletcher & Jared Shumate along with summer and winter Olympian Nathan Crumpton about what it takes to shift gears between multiple sports.Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Skiers like Paula Moltzan return to the same training and competition venues year after year, allowing them a front row seat to the distressing spectacle of climate change.We check in with her and On Her Turf’s Alex Azzi to collect stories and actions from winter Olympians concerned about the future of snow and ice.Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Doubles luge is like two people dancing on a knife’s edge. And while the soundtrack may not exactly make it to your Spotify favorites, its rhythms and steps are much closer to the heat of a crowded dance floor than the sub-zero Yanqing weather might lead on. Luge Medalist and Dancing with The Stars contestant Chris Mazdzer helps us make the link between ballroom dancing and this most intimate of sliding events. Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Olympians in Beijing are proudly donning their matching national uniforms from the ice and snow to the dining hall. Despite, or perhaps because of that uniformity, small gestures and equipment choices are speaking volumes about the athletes who populate the results sheet. One athlete and one sport seem to be getting their message across quite well: Andrew Blaser in Skeleton. He joins Lauren Shehadi to explain why equipment choice can be so much more. Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

There’s one telltale way to spot an Olympian, and it’s not their muscular physiques or worldly attitudes. It has become tradition for each to get the Olympic rings tattooed on their bodies. Kaillie Humphries and Elizabeth Beisel tell us why they wear their Olympic experiences on their sleeves. Follow The Podium now on Spotify to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Grabbing your snowboard or skis while midair has both style and efficiency advantages, but within that simple action lies a gripping world of variations and personal history. US freeskiers Nick Goepper, Mac Forehand and Colby Stevenson are joined by snowboardcross racers Lindsey Jacobellis and Nick Baumgartner to explain how grabs can hand you gold or leave you empty-handed. Follow The Podium now on Apple Podcasts to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Elana Meyers Taylor was meant to bear the flag for Team USA. Instead, she spent the first days of these games in isolation following a positive COVID test for her, her husband and toddler. Elana’s situation allows Lauren Shehadi and On Her Turf Blog editor, Alex Azzi, to explore the added challenges that female Olympians face and how they do so with unbridled optimism for an increasingly equal sports landscape. Follow The Podium now on Apple Podcasts to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

With the world’s eyes focused on them, it’s no surprise Olympic champions are giving a thought to how they look. Nathan Chen, dressed by Vera Wang, and Julia Marino by Prada are the newest Olympic medalists to mix winter sport and high fashion and join host Lauren Shehadi to talk about their own take on high-flying fashion. Follow The Podium now on Apple Podcasts to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

In sliding sports, the all-important clock tallies the forces of speed by time. But there is one variable every skeleton, luge and bobsled athlete always wants more of: Weight. US four-man bobsled team of Frankie Del Duca, Jimmy Reed, Carlos Valdes and Hakeem Abdul-Saboor are trying to get to the very upper limit of the allowed weight to maximize speed and five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender explains how making yourself heavy is about being light in your mental approach. Follow The Podium now on Apple Podcasts to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Every podium at the Olympics is accompanied by a song, but for skier Colby Stevens and figure skaters Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue, music is part of what propels them to medal ceremonies to begin with. On today’s show, soundtracks to win medals to, directly from the athletes that won with them. Follow The Podium on Apple Podcasts now to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Training, performing and winning is better done with those we love. And that extends right up to sharing the podiums steps. Madison Chock and Evan Bates are creating love stories on and off the ice, and now on Olympic podiums. Jaelin Kauf stood on a mogul podium with her mom as a toddler and has turned that support into an Olympic Silver. Follow The Podium now on Apple Podcasts to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

Watch something long enough and certain trends start to appear. Commentators Todd Richards, Todd Harris and Trond Nystad’s unique abilities are to get you closer to the action despite being 1000s of miles away from Beijing. With that experience, we turn to each to figure out why their respective countries excel at the Winter Olympics. Follow The Podium now on Amazon Music to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.