Off The Podium - An Olympics Podcast

As we continue to learn more from our Paris Olympians and their experiences at the 2024 Olympics, we're excited to bring back Judoka Josh Katz to the show to find out more about his time in Paris! We find out just what happened during his match at the Olympics, and how he has managed to recover from the disappointment it brought him. We also learn about how he was able to experience the Olympics differently at his second Games and how he has reflected on the experience after a few months. Added to this we find out just what is next for him, why there have been some extra challenges since he has come home and just why he has to replace a special piece Olympic equipment he has had for over eight years! It's an epic chat that you simply can't miss!

Who loves field hockey? We do! And you know who else does? Australian Olympian Tatum Stewart! And lucky enough for you we are joined by Tatum today to learn more about her passion for the sport and her epic rise through the ranks that led her to making her Olympic debut in Paris only a few months ago! We learn from Tatum what made her pick up a hockey stick and take that journey, as well as what chance meeting with a former Hockeyroo led her to take it just a bit more seriously. We also find out more about the Hockeyroos performance in Paris and just why the disappointment of losing in the quarter-final will only make them better in four years time. Added to his we find out more about some of her unique experiences in Paris and the unique people she met, just why she could be a major international DJ sometime soon and learn more about her epic TikToks! It's an insightful and entertaining chat that will make your day even better!

We're back into another epic interview today as we move back into the sport of rowing to learn more from Aussie Paris Olympian Paige Barr about her extraordinary career and Olympic experiences! We find out about Paige's journey in the sport and her rapid rise through the ranks in the world of rowing. We also find out about the challenges involved in selection for Paris and what that moment was like once she found out she was going to her first Olympics. Added to this we learn about why her music taste often doesn't sit too well with her teammates, just how good those chocolate muffins were in Paris and whether or not a title she received in high school means she can be captain of all things to do with boats! It's an incredible chat that will row yourself into excitement! So get to listening!

It's been a while since we have brought you a CLASSIC OPENING CEREMONY REVIEW and we're doing exactly that today as we go all the way back to 1976 and look at the Opening Ceremony for the Innsbruck Winter Olympics! Why is there so much marching band music? Seriously. Are so over it that we just can't talk about it? Or is it the fact that there isn't anything to talk about? Like...a few flags being waved, some marching countries, a speech that doesn't happen and the biggest flame you have ever seen in your life? Really...how are we going to do this? You're going to have one hell of a ride as we learn more about Austria in the seventies in an episode you'll have to hear to believe! Just don't say we didn't warn you about the marching music....(SERIOUSLY MAKE IT STOP!!!!!)

Super excited to bring you another incredible interview today as we sit down with New Zealand artist and film maker Zakea Page. In 2020, Zakea was the winner of the design contest for the Winter Youth Olympic medals, becoming the first ever New Zealander to design medals for an Olympic Games. It was with this moment that Zakea saw an opportunity to do something even more unique, and he soon found himself performing at the Opening Ceremony in Lausanne during the Youth Olympics. Zakea goes over just how he was able to achieve that very distinctive feat, what it meant to him to be able to represent New Zealand at the Youth Olympics in a way that perhaps could be the most unique ever seen, and just what part of that experience gave him a moment that made him feel 'immortal'. Added to these amazing stories, we learn more about how he took his Youth Olympic experience and turned it into a documentary that has been dominating the global film circuit, find out just how he is in a very unique club that involves the likes of Sir Paul McCartney, Celine Dion and Bjork and also learn what it is like to hug Thomas Bach, Olympic Champion Fencing. It's an amazing interview that you simply can't miss!

With the Paralympics over, we wanted to bring you a very unique and special episode that might just be the most original we have ever done on Off The Podium. Today we are celebrating a truly iconic Olympian in George Eyser, an American gymnast who back in 1904 set the record for most Olympic medals won in a single day when he claimed six medals in gymnastics. What is even more incredible about George's achievement, is that he did so with a wooden leg. It's an amazing story about an amazing Olympian that very few people know the truth about, until earlier this year when Pulitzer Prize finalist writer Joshua Prager penned an amazing article going over George's career and uncovering some previously unknown facts about the man who has remained a mystery for more than 120 years. We sit down with Joshua to learn more about George, just why he decided to put 12 years of his life into writing this article, and find out just whether or not this incredible story might be on the path to the Hollywood treatment now that it has been fully revealed. It's an amazing episode that you won't soon forget!

Well it's officially time to say goodbye to everything Paris 2024 related as the 2024 Paralympics have drawn to a close, and we're back to go over everything to do with the Paris Paralympics in true Off The Podium style! We go over all the big moments, big athletes and big sports that we loved watching along the way! We also talk up just why some sports at the Paralympics are far better than the Olympics and what we would like to see worked into more future Paralympics! Added to this we learn just how sad we are that Paris is over and that we have to wait another four years for another Summer festival of sport! It's all here and more in our epic Paralympics 2024 recap that you simply can't miss!

As the Paris Paralympics continue, we are continuing on with our mini-series interviewing Paralympic legends. And today it's a big one, as we speak with legendary Australian swimmer Melissa Carlton about her extraordinary career that netted her nine Paralympic medals across two Paralympics. We find out about her start in the sport and her move from South Africa to Australia, and just how she went on to become one of the biggest name athletes in the state of Tasmania across the 1990s. We also learn about her journey to the Paralympics and just how she found the differences between swimming in Atlanta and at home in Sydney. Added to this we find out just what she has done with her medals, how she feels about being an iconic Tasmanian and how she was able to turn her successful swimming career into a successful career outside of the pool. It's another amazing interview with an amazing athlete that you can't afford to miss!

The Paralympics are here! And to celebrate the occasion we are continuing our mini-series in speaking to some Paralympic legends as we sit down with five-time Australian Paralympian in the sport of swimming, Matt Levy, to learn about his epic rise in the sport and his amazing achievements at the Paralympic Games. We find out how attending the Sydney Paralympics in 2000 was so inspirational for Matt and why that made him take up swimming on a more competitive level than he had ever before. We also learn about how he was able to adapt so quickly and find his way to the Paralympics only a few years later in Athens, and how through all of his Paralympic appearances he was able to use past performances as fuel towards achieving greater success. Added to this we learn more about his part in the epic 4x100m freestyle 34 points relay win in Tokyo, how he has used his story to help out others on a grand stage since his retirement and whether or not he feels a bit weird not being at the Paris Paralympics given it's the first time he hasn't competed at the Paralympic Games in 24 years. It's an amazing interview from one of the greatest Australian Paralympians of all time, so don't miss it and get to listening!

With the Olympics over for another four years, it's now time to switch focus to the Paralympics in Paris which are set to begin in less than a week. And in the lead up to the 2024 Paralympics we thought it would be a perfect opportunity to chat to some legends of the event and learn more about their unique and incredible individual journeys through sport. Today we begin this mini-series in perhaps the biggest way possible from a Canadian perspective, as we speak with the most decorated Canadian Paralympian of all time, Michael Edgson, to learn about his amazing career in swimming and just how he was able to achieve such success on the world stage. We find out just why swimming was his chosen sport and what it was like to rise through the ranks in Canada in the late 70s and early 80s towards his Paralympic debut in 1984. We also find out how he came to choose his specific strokes and which stroke he just never had a liking for. Added to this we hear the most extraordinary stories behind his most famous races, and why one of them actually came from defeat rather than victory, some epic tales of hanging out with some legendary Canadian athletes and just why he decided to hang up the goggles after the Barcelona Paralympics, despite still being so young. It's an absolutely incredible interview that you simply can't miss!

After an incredible last few weeks of amazing Olympic action, we bring our Paris 2024 coverage to a close with one last special episode! Join Ben as he brings you some exclusive snippets on the ground in Paris during the Olympics, featuring a variety of thoughts and insights as he documents his journey throughout the 16 days of competition. We also hear from some very special guests, including Jill and Alison from the 'Keep The Flame Alive' podcast, our special contributor Patrick Riley and two very special guests that you won't want to miss! It's one hell of an episode with one hell of an insight into the greatest show on earth!

Wow. That's all we can say. The Paris 2024 Olympics are done, and we definitely need to take a breather after all the epic times and moments we have seen over the last few weeks. And to take that breather, what better way than to bring you another episode to close out the Games in style! We go over all our favourite moments, find out more vibes and gossip from the ground direct in Paris and find out just how terrible our pre-Games predictions were. We also of course come for the ATHLETE OF THE GAMES, names in a new form this time, as we give out the most prestigious possible award any athlete can get. It's one hell of an episode to bring to a close one hell of an Olympics that were Paris 2024!

All good things must come to an end, and after the Paris 2024 Olympics set the bar so high with the opening ceremony, we're here to discuss whether the closing ceremony was able to vault over that bar or not! We're privileged to have another ground floor call-in guest to give us instant reactions of the ceremony as the stadium emptied, talking about everything from floating pianos to athletes rushing the stage to most importantly how Tom Cruise looked and smelled up close. We also have the final day of competition to cover including the spectacular finish of the women's marathon and Sifan Hassan pulling off a near impossible feat. And if that could be beat it may have been the down to the wire final seconds of the women's basketball final. And as we bid farewell to our dear friend Thomas Bach, we also find out just who will win our final ever Bachie for athlete of the day, and whether or not we can resist the temptation to give it to another athletics athlete. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to download our closing ceremony episode and listen now before it self destructs! 

Show of hands who enjoyed day 15's never ending string of medals awarded today? We definitely might have! Strangely though we're still discussing yesterday's show with a continued plea to leave the poor athletes alone. Unless you're there to cheer for New Zealand killing it today, in which case join us as we give them their due, even if it might go against our show's mission statement. We watch along as US goes for the one gold medal in basketball that might have broken the country if things went in the wrong direction, and witness Sweden making history in beach volleyball. And if you thought Tokyo and Paris had the hardest marathon in history do we have news for you. You won't believe the facts we discover today from the 1904 St Louis marathon, which has to be heard to believe. Once again we ask for a show of hands on who plans to download and listen to us today. Records will fall if your hand is raised!

Please forgive the tears of joy coming from Colin and the shot voice after the Men's 100m relay today, but we do have more important things to discuss on Off the Podium, mainly the sport of BREAKING! Just what did we witness today? Do we understand it? Do we like it? Do we want more? And even aside from our feelings on the sport we have a huge behind the scenes rally today for one particular B-Girl to potentially win our Athlete of the Day. There is still plenty of non Breaking discussion as we go over the huge Men's Soccer final that will go down as one of the best games ever. We're keeping the anticipation going through the show for a special report on Taekwondo, and while the Men's 100m Relay brought a tear to Colin's eye (even though he's typically void of emotions), we try to figure out if the American team has managed to complete that first exchange yet at the time this episode airs. If you can successfully receive the baton of an episode we're passing you today then give it a good listen!

It felt like a day full of upsets in Paris, but we are anything but upset to be here to cover all the events from Day 13 of the Paris 2024 Olympics! With Covid hitting the track and field, we saw historic wins in the 200 metres, 400 metres and javelin, but it was the team sports that really captured us today as we saw a huge last minute come from behind victory in the basketball. While there were medals for both Australia and Canada, it's the hope of future medals in water polo and beach volleyball that seem to be exciting us the most, so naturally we are offering some bribes to a certain friend of the show to sway the results in our favour. We also feature our very first surprise listener call in to build up anticipation for the coming of breaking and modern pentathlon. So get masked up and keep a safe distance as you listen to our latest episode on everything that went down in Paris today!

We are back for all your Day 12 cover of the Olympics here on Off The Podium! It was a historic day for Australia at the games, but sadly we have no Australians here to talk about it, although we definitely share our love from across the pond. But that's nothing compared to our love for Lithuania today as we cover a feel good story of the games in the Discus between father and son. We also continue to talk up maybe the most exciting sport on the field so far with the Women's Pole Vault which had us on the edge of our seat and constantly changing our allegiance. While skateboarding continues to impress us more than in Tokyo, we question whether it is Olympic ready as a sport yet. Raphael joins us for the first time during these games to tell us all about his experience being in Paris last week. And with all the discussion on sports we also deal with a tragedy involving a snow globe. What does a snow globe have to do with the Olympics? You'll be surprised when we find the connection. So tune in to our episode as we vault through everything day 12 had to offer!

Day 11 saw many of our Off The Podium nations continue to falter in the team sports, so Colin and Jarrod are here to create new national teams to cheer for as we go over all the events of today's Olympic schedule! We surprisingly talk up Skateboarding as we marvel at everything an athlete can accomplish at the age of 11-14, and not a day beyond. Also providing plenty of giggles today was the near hilarious end to the Men's 1500m finals that saw a sneaky finish nobody saw coming. We also suspect some alliances may be at work as we choose our Bachie winner for Athlete of the Day, and a counter alliance may or may not be in play against it. To get to the bottom of all the behind the scenes scheming, make sure to download our latest recap and make sure to pick a side!

Just when we thought it might be a rest day here on Off The Podium, we're hit with all the action and excitement of Day Ten, and Colin is joined once again by Alex to go over every historic moment from the day! We talk up everyone's favourite new sport the Kayak Cross with our first ever gold medalists in Noemie Fox and Finn Butcher. There was also no disappointment in the return of the Triathlon Mixed Relay which has proven to be the most exciting mixed event of the Olympics. Of course nothing could top the final field event of the day where a once in a lifetime pole vaulter kept over 70,000 fans eating out of the palm of his hand long after his medal was secure. While no awards would be chosen today by Charlie the Cat, he does make a brief appearance which leads us down a regretful rabbit hole on pet behaviour. So if you've been dying to find the ins and outs of badminton, find out if Eddie Redmayne is competing in the Olympics, or learn who scored free underwear for life, we have the episode for you!

We are back on Day Nine to declare the one and only Novak Djokovic the new King of the Court, and any listener of our show will be surprised to hear a fair amount of love coming from of all people, Jarrod! With swimming wrapping up we bid farewell to two queens of the pool, with Colin having some harsh words for the decision makers in the relays. There's plenty of love to go around today as we also bow at the feet of Noah Lyles for backing up all his talk in perhaps the closest 100m finish we've ever seen, Ethan Katzberg showing off the greatest look anyone has seen in the modern Summer Olympics, and of course the one and only Nicola Olyslagers, and we're turning the tables and writing a nice note to her today in a special fan message. So open up that diary to the Day Nine entry and get ready to write about all your highlights from our daily coverage in today's episode!