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.

Listen to a special Winter Olympics episode of the TODAY podcast. Hear all the history-making moments, athlete interviews, and inspiring stories every morning on the TODAY podcast — your daily destination for news on the go. Follow and listen to TODAY now: https://link.chtbl.com/olympics_today

Stratton Mountain School is a small prep institution in southern Vermont, one that seems to excel at readying its students for a very successful field trip every 4 years to the Winter Olympic Games. We talk to some of the SMS alumni currently competing in Beijing about their experience at the school. Louie Vito, Ben Ogden and Julia Kern show the camaraderie that exists between its incredibly decorated and long list of 46 Olympic alumni. Follow The Podium now on Amazon to get automatic downloads and tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

The Slopestyle course that hosts the ski and snowboard events is turning heads because of its innovative features and ancient looks. Unmistakably, its inspiration is the nearby Great Wall of China. We catch up with Dirk Scheumann of Schneestern, the lead designer and course builder to understand his design philosophies and the cold realities on the ground in Zhangjiakou. 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.

Team USA consists of a record 224 Athletes for these winter games. They‘ve made it to the games on chartered flights and wear the same uniform, but each also has their own journey to the games. Amongst the crowd, connect with stories from the members of team USA. From loss to levity, see how the experience of the Opening ceremony means different things to Chris Lillis, David Wise, Red Gerard, Ryan Cochran-Siegle, Alex Hall, Summer Britcher and Winter Vinecki. Follow The Podium now on Amazon to get automatic downloads. And tune into the networks of NBC to watch every moment of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic games.

NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and 10,000m Speed Skating Gold Medalist Ted-Jan Bloemen explain how oval racing's truths carry over from the speedway to the ice. Speed, risk and constant improvement turn out to be the fuel behind both racers.Join Lauren Shehadi for Season 3 of The Podium from NBC Sports.Remember, starting February 4th, The Podium will speed up to a daily release schedule until the closing ceremony, and don't forget we're back for the 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games starting March 4th.

As sports fans stateside fall asleep on February 20th, 2018, the US is embarking on a historic run of performances. By the time they turn down the lights next, their medal count will have shot up by nine. Seven of those new medals are hanging around women's necks.American alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin and hockey player Kendall Coyne Schofield take us through that momentous day in Pyeongchang and how it tells the story of much more than a single 24hr period. Instead, that medal run is illustrative of the power and resilience of all female athletes and these two women's personal growth since. Join Lauren Shehadi on Season 3 of The Podium, from NBC Sports.

Recent Winter Games have seen less-than-abundant natural snow. But that hasn't changed the forecast for incredible performances.So what does a winter athlete's life look like with a lot less winter? American aerial skiers Ashley Caldwell and Justin Schoenefeld join host Lauren Shehadi to share how their journey to the games involves more days in the pool than on snow. Listen to Season 3 of The Podium from NBC Sports.

Big Air Skiing will make its Olympic debut in 2022. Everything about the format, venue and competitors point to an event high in airtime and consequences. Medals can be won in mere seconds, but below the scary stunts lie life lessons about patience and personal growth.Olympic medalist Nick Goepper is joined by sit skiers Josh Dueck and Jay Rawe to explore why they fell in love with big jumps, no matter the cost.Join Host Lauren Shehadi on Season 3 of The Podium from NBC Sports.

Biathlon is a fan-filled, high-drama and celebrity-making sport, just not in the US. And yet Amercian biathletes are etching their way into the competitive landscape abroad with every rifle shot and ski stroke.  Lowell Bailey, director of high performance at US Biathlon and current competitor Clare Egan take contrast their stateside and European realities and give us insight into the last winter olympic sport their nation has yet to medal in. Join host Lauren Shehadi on season 3 of The Podium from NBC Sports.

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.   

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

A few days ago, we referenced our sister podcast, In the Village, hosted by Elizabeth Beisel. Her recent interview with Katie Ledecky was so insightful and fun that we wanted to share it to The Podium audience. So for today's episode of our show, Katie Ledecky hauls her medal collection to In the Village to catch up with former teammate Elizabeth Beisel. The pair talk about the amount of outfits required for a finals day, transitioning from first timer to team leader and scheduling in 5 minute increments.

When you win a medal at the Olympic Games, your names is etched in history and plastered all over the ticker tape. Sometimes, the names of our Olympic champions fit just a little too well and lead us to ask: Is it in the name? Jagger Eaton explains his family's naming conventions and not so rock'n'roll celebration plans. Tennys Sandgren and Austin Krajicek talk to us while nursing their bronze medal match loss and women's 200m breaststroke medalist Annie Lazor keeps the man who gave her such a speedy name at the forefront of her mind. 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.

What just happened and what might happen are the two things an Olympic athlete can't do much about. Getting past them, as we'll hear, is a challenge at every level. To explore the mindset of taking the games stroke by stroke, we spoke with Gold medalist Chase Kalisz about staying ready overnight for morning finals and with golfers finishing their final rounds with varying levels of satisfaction. 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.

Two sports new to the Olympics in Tokyo are based on imagination. Visualizing and then executing a sequence of movements in precise order and in total control are key to both Sport climbing and Karate's Kata. We revisit Sakura Kokumai's explanation of Kata as the first practice takes place on Olympic day 8. Off the tatami and onto a wholly vertical plane, american climbers Kyra Condie and Nathaniel Coleman tell us how to get a hold of any problem. 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.

Time, it's the measure by which most sports are played. For 3x3 Basketball and Olympic boxing, two sports with more prominent and lengthy versions, the lack of time plays a huge role in making every move more crucial and exciting. We caught up with Team USA's 3x3 Women's Basketball team and finals-bound boxers to see what's it's like to have no time to lose. 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.

Two countries with strong hockey ties look to begin new legacies of success in the summer sport by leveraging their history and history-making into participation and support back home. We're joined by Elizabeth Murphy, who is not only part of the first Irish women's field hockey team at the Olympics, her squad is the first female Olympic team of any kind for the Emerald Isle! Canadian field hockey has been overshadowed by its icy cousin in domestic sports culture, but gained momentum in hot conditions and the game's multicultural appeal are nothing to shake a stick at. 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.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics are alive with beeps, from vending machines to the backing up of athlete transport shuttles. Most of us don't think twice about the virtual birdsong of digital chirps around us. But for some athletes, that's the sound of their most ambitious dreams coming true. Hear from Connor Fields, the defending Gold medalist in Men's BMX racing, about how reading the beeps of a start gate is key to outpacing the competition. History-making Anastasija Zolotic explains how she connected the circuits to an electrifying win in Taekwondo. 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.

We're sharing an episode of the new TODAY podcast – live from Tokyo! Join Savannah Guthrie & Hoda Kotb each morning for all the insider news, history making moments, and great interviews from the Olympics. You can LISTEN to us anywhere you go! On your commute or on the run, you'll get your daily dose of news, every morning. Follow and listen to TODAY wherever you get your podcasts. Listen NOW to TODAY

While participants at these Olympics are well-versed in guidelines, mother nature follows no such plans. As tropical storm Nepartak threatened to strengthen into a Typhoon and make landfall on July 27th, organizers and athletes began treating the weather as more than small talk.We connected with surfers to see how a disruptive force for other events gave their final day of competition a boost. Katie Zaferes also joins The Podium to explain how managing temperature earned her an Olympic medal.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.

After failing to win a medal on the opening day of the Summer Olympics for the first time since 1972, the United States has secured its first podiums in Tokyo, unleashing a flurry of hardware for Team USA. Connect with Jay Litherland and Emma Weyant, the U.S. athletes who helped uncork the medal count, to hear how good victory tastes! 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.

What is lost can't be replaced, but it can drive us to new heights. That's the case for so many things about the 2020 Tokyo Games, dubbed the “Reconstruction Olympics”, from the venues to the athletes competing in them. On Olympic Day 2, we take you to the small exhibit that's at the heart of the biggest sporting event on earth. Italian rower Luca Rambaldi and American beach volleyball star April Ross share how losses both recent and decades-past can give us the extra bit required to win. 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.

The new Olympic sports in Tokyo might be brand new for many fans of the games, but they begin an exciting fresh chapter of an existing book. This gives us a rare opportunity to discover “new veterans”. Hear how Felipe Gustavo risked it all to make his mark on street skateboarding and showed a generation of skaters that a gritty Brazilian competitive fire could become a long-term career. We catch the GOAT of 3x3 Basketball, Dusan Bulut, post-game to ask what's fueled his rise from street-ball to the Olympics. 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.