Legendary Olympian Madeline Manning Mims has the distinction of being America’s first (and currently still only) female athlete to win the gold medal in the 800m run, which she achieved at the Mexico City 1969 Olympics. She added a silver in the 4x400m relay at Munich 1972, competed at Montreal 1976, and was selected for the Moscow 1980 that stayed home due to the US boycott of those Games.
After her competitive career, Madeline found another calling: Chaplain. She’s been a volunteer chaplain at every Summer Olympics since Seoul 1988, being a presence of faith for athletes during the Games.
That’s right. There are chaplains and religious officials at the Olympics. What do they do? In part one of our interview with Madeline, she explains the role of an Olympic chaplain and the history of how they came to be at the Games.
Learn more about Madeline’s organization, the United States Council for Sports Chaplaincy here.
In our visit to TKFLASTAN, we hear from:
- John Register
- Marnie McBean
- Olya Abasolo Ovtchinnikova
- Dr. Victoria Jackson
Plus, tons of news from Tokyo 2020 and possible new event formats for Paris 2024. TBach accepts the Seoul Peace Prize–and he’s got a few thoughts about protests at the Olympics.
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Keep the Flame Alive: The Podcast for Fans of the Olympics and Paralympics with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown
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