Speed Skaters Erin Jackson and Corinne Stoddard: Ready for an Olympic Season

We are taking to the ice to get insight from Olympic speed skaters Erin Jackson and short track Olympian Corinne Stoddard. Although they compete in different speed skating sports—Erin’s in long track and Corinne skates short track—they both got their start as inline skaters. Erin famously made the 2018 Olympic team after transitioning to the ice a few months prior.

Both competed at Beijing 2022–Corinne competed in five short track individual and relay events, earning three Olympic diplomas in the process. After stumbling at U.S. Olympic trials, teammate Brittany Bowe gave her 500m slot to Erin so that she could go to the Games. Erin made good on that gift and won gold in the 500m.

Both speed skaters are looking ahead to qualifying for Milano Cortina 2026, and we got to talk with them at the Team USA Media Summit in October 2025. They both gave us insight into their sports and what the last Olympic quad has been like for them.

Short track and long track speed skating take place on different types of tracks. Short track typically shares the same ice with figure skating, and that’s how it will be at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Long track requires a long oval-shaped track. For many Olympics, it was held outside (you can even skate at the Lake Placid 1980 oval today!). After the poor conditions for speed skaters at Albertville 1992, the International Skating Union mandated that all future Olympic speed skating competitions be held indoors, where the climate could be controlled.

Needless to say, building a speed skating oval is expensive, so Milano Cortina 2026 has opted for a temporary venue, the first temporary speed skating oval in Olympic history. The speed skating arena for these Games will be in Rho at the Fiera Milano exhibition complex, and this past week, the venue was ready for testing. Speed skaters noted during the test event that the ice felt like a lake. Is that a good thing? We discuss that during our Milano Cortina 2026 segment.

There’s a lot of news on Milano Cortina 2026 this week. Alison reports back from an event she attended at the Italian Cultural Institute in New York where she learned about the branding and look of these Games.

Also, the torch relay is underway! Unfortunately, due to weather, the actual lighting of the flame occurred during a dress rehearsal, and the ceremony was held indoors. That said, for Kirsty Coventry’s first torch lighting ceremony as IOC President, it was a surprisingly good ceremony with some details we loved.

If you missed it, watch it here:

Milano Cortina 2026 also released its victory ceremony uniforms! This is the kit that the volunteers who take part in the medal ceremonies, carrying the medals and winning mascots, as well as ushering in the athletes and medal presenters.

As at Paris 2024, the volunteer corps for this task will be mixed-gender, but their outfits will coordinate:

The Italian blue comes out for the Victory Ceremony! Photo: Milano Cortina 2026

And even though the speed skating venue is making progress, there are some issues with the new ice hockey venue (with no Plan B) and a gondola in Cortina. Listen to the episode for more!

Plus, LA 2028 has a new sponsor, and Salt Lake City 2034 has changed its name to Utah 2034.

And we take a visit to TKFLASTAN to catch up with members of Team Keep the Flame Alive.

Follow our guests on social:

Erin Jackson is on X, Insta, Facebook, YouTube, website, LinkedIn, TikTok

Corinne Stoddard is on: Insta, TikTok, Facebook

We want to know if you are a Milano or a Cortina! Let us know by helping us raise funds to cover the production costs of our Milano Cortina 2026 coverage, which includes at least 32 daily episodes (and probably 100+ escapades that only your favorite Olympic and Paralympic aunties can get into). We need your support to make this coverage happen. Please make a contribution here.

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

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is an uncorrected machine-generated transcript and may contain errors. Please check its accuracy against the audio. Do not quote from the transcript; use the audio as the record of note.

420-Erin Jackson and Corinne Stoddard

Theme Music

Jill Jaracz: Hello, and welcome to another episode of Keep the Flame Alive, the podcast for fans of the Olympics and Paralympics. If you love the games, we are the show for you. I am your host, Jill Jaracz, joined as always by my lovely co-host, Alison Brown.

Alison, hello. How are you? Fine. Sure. No, I’m so excited to talk about this. You, you got to go to a Milano Cortina event.

Alison Brown: See?

We’ll get to it. It made, it made me feel very Italian.

Jill Jaracz: [00:01:00] I’m so excited that you got to go. We’ll get to that in Milano Cortina News. We have so much to catch up on. Because we did not tape over Thanksgiving. We had a, we had a show, but we did not tape a regular show. All this stuff happened.

Alison Brown: Things have been busy. It’s like, I think this happens every time we prerecord a show.

Something huge comes out while we’re, while we’re off that week and we’re, oh,

Jill Jaracz: girl. I know. So we have a ton to talk about. We have some great interviews,

Patron of the Week

Jill Jaracz: but first we had to shout out to a great patron,

Alison Brown: one of my favorites.

Jill Jaracz: Uh, they’re all your favorites. Come on. That’s true. But, but shout out to Patron Sam Bacon, who I crossed paths with at Paris.

I did not get to meet him in person, but like we were around the hockey venue at the same time in Paris. I was very bummed.

Alison Brown: That happened a few times to me. Yes. Where I was in the same event with someone, but just couldn’t get to where, or physically couldn’t get to where they [00:02:00] were because, you know, wandering around venues for us.

Can, can lead to trouble. So, Sam, we’re very sorry we didn’t get to meet you in Paris. Probably safer for you that we didn’t

Jill Jaracz: Sam will continue our thanks in a second, but speaking of getting lost in venues, so I was doing some. Olympics training yesterday night, and I’ve been rucking, but I have not, I did not go outside.

We’ve had a lot of snow and people don’t necessarily clean their sidewalks very easily and, and with the getting darker earlier, it’s been hard to get out. So I went to the gym with my backpack. And, got on the treadmill that will do hills, like really big hills. Excellent. And you can choose a virtual scene to walk through.

And they have alpine mountains and it’s just you on a road walking through the mountains and like I am training for getting lost. It’s just me. There’s a car that doesn’t stop. You almost get to the village and the scene resets. It’s gonna be [00:03:00] like I’m already, feeling it.

Alison Brown: You someday you’re gonna get on that road and be like, I’ve seen this someplace before and I survived, so I’m gonna be okay.

Jill Jaracz: That’s right. That’s right. And you know what, why else we’re okay?

Alison Brown: From our patrons.

Jill Jaracz: That’s right. Thank you, Sam. Bacon. We really appreciate all the support you give us year in and year out. It’s a lot of fun to have you be part of Stan. and if you would like to get a patron shoutout, you can look@flamelivepod.com slash support for the many ways to do so.

Speed skaters talk about their sport ahead of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics

Jill Jaracz: Alright, we are talking speed skating today. We got long track. We got short track. We got. Shuk Ani,

Alison Brown: We got gold medalist. Erin Jackson’s. That’s

Erin Jackson at the Team USA Media Summit

Jill Jaracz: right. So, first up we are talking with Erin Jackson Long Trek speed skater, two time Olympian at Beijing 2022. She won the gold in the 500 meters and she’s looking to defend that title in Milano, Corina.

At the team USA media summit, I went to some of her round table time, which was her sitting at a desk surrounded by [00:04:00] reporters and we all kind of lobbed questions at her. So the topics jump around a fair amount, as does the sound. I tried to even it out as best I could, but some people are farther away.

Some people are closer. so hopefully you can hear everything, It’s kind of fun to hear these because the topics jump around as you hear what different reporters are working on story-wise. So take a listen.

Erin Jackson on personal identity vs. athlete identity

Reporter 3: I think on the first day you might have said something about separating your identity, your personal identity from the identity sport and athlete. Is that right?

Erin Jackson: Um, right. Yeah. I guess I would say I, I don’t have my self worth wrapped up in my performance, you know? Um. Wins and losses are just part of everything.

And I don’t see a loss as a failure because, you know, there’s always something to learn from it. Like you have some athletes who, when they have a a bad race or a bad event, they wanna just like block it from their brains. But I feel like I do want to like reflect on even those bad performances to, you know, help me not make the same mistakes again.

So yeah, I just feel like I come into my performance really level headed.

Reporter 4: Was there [00:05:00] ever a point where you did attach yourself forth to the outcome of your events or.

Erin Jackson: Um, I don’t think so. I don’t think with, with sports it was ever that way for me, just because I didn’t grow up really as an athlete. Like I grew up as more of an academic or a student, and then got into focusing on sports much later in my life.

I was already 24 at that point. So I feel like that also helps me with, uh, with my approach to athletics and performance.

Reporter 4: And did you instantly see value in a loss or setback, or is that something you had that time to understand or?

Erin Jackson: Um, no, I think I, uh, yeah, I came in with, with that mindset. Of kind of having a, a good relationship with, with loss.

Yeah.

How Erin Jackson has changed in the last Olympic cycle

Reporter 5: So what’s changed physically and mentally from the last cycle that you prepared for?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, I would say a lot has changed, I guess mentally, you know, coming in as the defending champion, that adds a lot of pressure. But I think I really thrive on the pressure because, um, you know, it’s, I am, like I said before, I’m kind of like a, a calm, relaxed competitor and I feel like the pressure really [00:06:00] helps motivate me, like light the fire a little bit to get, you know, a little bit more oomph to my races.

Um, so yeah, I’m really looking forward to, uh, coming in and hopefully having a repeat

Reporter 5: physically anything changed.

Erin Jackson: Um, physically, yes. Um, so I have, uh, a lower back injury that’s been giving me some issues. I have three herniated discs. And yeah, this season really since December, January of this year, I’ve been, you know, really battling with that and trying to find solutions.

And I think we’re, we’re in a pretty good spot right now. Um, and I just had to do a bit of, uh, like rethinking how I train, like training smarter versus harder. Substituting some workouts to like relieve the strain on my back. Um, not doing, uh, a lot of lifting in the gym and taking on some aqua jogging. It looks kind of ridiculous, but it’s been a really great training method for me.

And then also a bit of elliptical too. Um, so yeah, just basically finding new ways to, to get some workouts in.

Reporter 1: Do you think this solution. Could extend your career with the back and everything to keep going past [00:07:00] 2026? Or have you made a decision?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, so I’m kind of taking it, you know, one day at a time.

Of course I would love to keep going. Um, but yeah, it’ll just come down to like how these solutions hold up for my back. Um, there is like the option of surgery that I could maybe explore, you know, after the games. Um, I have another teammate who had the, uh, the same surgery that I am looking to get, so it’s also kind of nice to see how she returns to, to play from that.

Um, so yeah, just taking it one day at a time. But yeah, of course I’d like to continue. I feel like I still have so much to learn.

Reporter 1: Is that Kimmy?

Erin Jackson: Uh, that’s Kimmy, yep. Yep.

Erin Jackson reflects on her participation in “Fox Special Forces”

Jill Jaracz: Fox Special Forces

Erin Jackson: Uhoh.

Jill Jaracz: How long did you have to prepare for that?

Erin Jackson: How long did I have to prepare? I don’t remember actually. It was probably, uh, it was at least a month I would say.

Jill Jaracz: Okay. Yeah. And then did you, what did you take away from that experience? And did you, did you have anything to apply to your athletic career?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, I definitely learned that, you know, I’m a lot tougher than I thought because I’m not much of a, a risk taker in that regard. And, um. I, I have a lot of fears, and they did a really good job of exploiting all of my fears on that [00:08:00] show.

So, yeah, it was, uh, it was really tough, uh, mentally, physically, emotionally. Um, so yeah, I, I applaud the psychologists who came up with the ideas for that show because, uh, yeah, it, it was really tough, but I think it was a good character building experience for me. So I think I came out of it, you know, feeling a bit more confident with myself.

Um, you know, after those first few days, the first few days I got back, it was just like. Uh, I don’t know. I don’t even know how to describe it. Just getting back into reality and I was kind of like a shell of a human for a little bit. Um, but yeah, once I was able to reflect on it, I’m like, that was a, a really good experience.

So yeah, I’d recommend it if you wanna try it. I will tell you it’s not fun.

Jill Jaracz: Yeah,

Erin Jackson: it’s not fun, but you’ll learn a lot. Yeah.

Reporter 1: Whose idea was the aqua dog?

Erin Jackson: The aqua jogging. Um, I think our athletic trainer, he’s used it for other people who have injuries. I think just, you know, being in the water takes a lot of strain off the body, so it’s good for all sorts of injuries.

Yeah.

Where Erin Jackson finds joy

Reporter 6: What do you find joy in at this point in your career? What are you [00:09:00] finding? Joy? What, what gets you up in the morning to. To go out, do this. Yeah.

Erin Jackson: Um, I would say I’ve been a skater my whole life. Like it’s always been what I love to do. Like my first memories were skating up and down my driveway on those little plastic skates that you attach over your shoes.

So I’ve just been a skater for as long as I can remember. And then that morphed into being what we call a rink rat. Just someone who hangs out at the local skating rink, skating around to the music, eating pizza with your friends. So that was, you know, kind of my whole childhood. So that’s still what gets me going.

Like skating is just what I’ve always enjoyed doing. And now I have the added bonus of making a living out of it. So it’s like, what more could a person want? Just like skating in circles is my, is just, you know, my way of living right now. And, uh, the other things I get out of it, like being able to travel the world.

Um, meet new people. I, I would say it’s just a love of skating and a love of, a love of getting better.

Reporter 6: Doesn’t feel like a job right now. It still feels like something you love to do?

Erin Jackson: Um, no. I think, um, like being an elite athlete can definitely feel like a job a lot of the times, but I think it’s just [00:10:00] always important to remember like why we’re doing what we do and it’s, you know, for the love of our sport.

So, yeah, definitely. I always keep that in mind.

How life has changed for Erin Jackson since winning Olympic gold

Reporter 2: How much has your life changed? Since you won a goal in terms of attention and, and people knowing who you are and what has that experience been like?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, life has definitely changed a lot. Um, I’m a bit of like a, a quieter person, so like all the, all the media has been a lot.

But I think, like, I know that it’s a really important part of the job, right? Like for myself and for my sport and for the whole Olympic movement. So I try to be, you know, a good representative as much as I can and really take advantage of the attention when it’s here because, you know, uh, with the Olympic sports, you know, uh, the exposure comes and goes.

So I really try to make the most of it while it’s here.

Reporter 2: Who’s the person that you heard from that maybe you, you were not expecting? Or, and or what, what was the best thing that happened since you have,

Erin Jackson: um, let’s see. I had a few really cool experiences right after the, the Olympics. Um, I got to fly in a, a fighter jet.

And I got to pilot it a little bit too. I took us through one of the little [00:11:00] spins, we reached nine Gs of force, which was really intense. Um, and I also got to attend the Vanity Fair Oscars party, so after the Academy Awards. And that was really awesome just to, you know, hang out with a, a few celebrities.

Um, and yeah, I’ve spoken to a lot of schools, which is always really rewarding. ’cause you know, I’m a big advocate of. You know, combining sports and school, just, you know, being a, a lifelong student. So yeah, it’s been really awesome to kind of, uh, yeah, take it all in and give back while I can.

Reporter 2: Are you a speed junkie with the, the fighter jets?

Do you just like to go fast that, you know,

Erin Jackson: um, I like to go fast when I’m in control, so that one was definitely a little scary for me. Um, yeah, I would say even. I’m pretty nervous on the bike as well, like, uh, downhill biking. Uh, I have a pretty good agreement with my coach. Like, yes, I will go up the mountains in Utah as much as you want, as long as you let me ride in the car on the way down.

So, yes, I would say, uh, I’m not much of a, a speed junkie, uh, unless I’m on the ice or on my wheels. [00:12:00] Yeah.

Erin Jackson talks skating gear

Reporter 7: Um, two questions. One, how sharp do your skates get when you’re really tuned, and do you ever feel that like there’s something dangerous about having something that sharp. Distract your body?

Erin Jackson: Um, yes, I would say that, um, we are skating around with some weapons on our feet, but luckily, you know, it’s, it’s not like short track speed skating where you’re pack style.

Uh, there are only two of us out there at a time, so it’s, it’s pretty safe. Um, but yeah, our blades get pretty sharp. Uh, I guess to kind of describe how it’s set up, ’cause I don’t know if you’ve seen like maybe a hockey blade where it’s like an edge and then a hollow and then an edge. But with long track skates it’s more, uh.

Kinda like the, the edge of the phone there, where you’ve got a sharp edge here, a sharp edge there, and then the flat, the flat part. And when you’re in the corners, you’re riding the edges. And when you’re on the straits, you’re trying to ride the flats until you shift to the edge. So yeah, they’re, they’re pretty sharp, but yeah, it’s, it’s not too dangerous.

What Erin Jackson would advise her younger self and the impact she’s had on others

Reporter 8: What advice would you give your younger self.

Erin Jackson: yeah, that’s always an interesting question for me because I’m really [00:13:00] happy with how my life has gone and I wouldn’t want to change anything, so I wouldn’t wanna say anything to my younger self. Um, but if I had to, it would probably just be, you know, keep chasing your goals, keep chasing your dreams, like anything’s possible.

Yeah.

Reporter 9: You talked about representation earlier. I wonder like how you’ve seen the impact that you’ve had on. You know, black, black girls and black boys specifically manifest itself. If you find that they’re more curious about, uh. Speed skating about what you do about, you know, taking up Olympic sport.

Erin Jackson: Great.

Yeah, I think representation is super important because it helps to see someone like you achieving something. And we haven’t typically had that in winter sports and speed skating specifically. So I, yeah, I’ve really take on the responsibility with pride of, you know, being a face that others can look to and, you know.

Maybe get out and try the sports. And I think it’s really rewarding when I get tagged in these posts and these messages from parents showing me videos of like their kids out there skating or something. And, um, yeah, I just hope we have, you know, a [00:14:00] lot more representation in the years to come and I wanna be a part of that as well.

Um, so when I retire from skating and have a bit more time on my plate, that’s when I wanna start up the organization. Uh, to help fund some people, uh, into speed skating. ’cause it is a, a really expensive sport to get into. So that’s really like the big barrier to entry there. And, um, yeah, I wanna do whatever I can to, uh, make the magic happen for others.

How speed skating engages your body

Reporter 9: Are there any transferable skills in terms of like, kids who are in tick and ball sports now may actually have an aptitude for speed skating that they don’t realize?

Erin Jackson: Um, so that’s, uh, a really good question. Maybe I’ll take it from like another angle. Yeah. But, um, I think. Uh, speed skating. It, uh, it teaches you how to engage your body in a way that a lot of other sports don’t.

And I think that those skills can be transferrable to literally anything. Just having like the body awareness and especially like the core control. ’cause just like watching other sports, I’m like, oh, like this person could be way better if they learn how to control their body the way like some other athletes do.

Um, yeah, I think that, you know, training and speed skating can help with a, with a lot of things. Yeah.

Reporter 10: Erin, could you [00:15:00] say more about what you mean by core? Like talk a little bit more technically. What do you mean that you’re using your core in that way,

Erin Jackson: right? Yeah. So our sport, you have to engage a ton of muscles kind of in a certain sequence.

It’s a super technical sport. It’s a, a really precise thing. And, um, so like being able to engage your core and keep that super solid so that you’re not. You know, moving around a lot when you’re skating. Like, I don’t know if you’ve seen like, uh, many videos of speed skaters, but the ones who are really locked in, um, like the, the trunk of their body just kind of stays pretty steady and then everything else moves around it.

And that core control, I think is, is really helpful for athletes in general.

The importance of sleep for athletes

Reporter 10: Can I ask one other kind of weird question? There was a presentation this morning where they talked about sleep as a challenge for many athletes, because I’m just asking different competitors whether that’s a challenge for them.

How about you? Is sleep an issue in your training and your wellness?

Erin Jackson: Um, I would say I’m a, I’m a really good sleeper, thankfully. Um, I’m a really big fan of naps, so, um, people ask like, are you a morning person or an evening person or a night person? I would say I’m both, but I’m not an [00:16:00] afternoon person. Um, so yeah, my afternoons are normally for napping.

Um, but yeah, my, I’ve made some changes with my sleep recently and something that I hadn’t even thought about that it’s just so simple. Setting a bedtime and a, and a nightly routine. And once I started doing that, I feel like sleep just came so much easier once I get into, uh, a rhythm with it. So I think, you know, some people, when they have a day off, they wanna take that time to sleep in, but setting like a constant sleep and wake routine just makes everything so much easier.

So I have a constant sleep time, a constant wake time. And I guess one other. I guess, funny thing about reinforcing the night owl thing, um, 11:00 PM to 2:00 AM is like my major productivity window, so I need to make sure that I’m asleep before 11:00 PM or else I’m gonna be up doing stuff until two in the morning.

So my bedtime’s 10 45.

Reporter 10: Is sleep important to your wellness and training? Do you think about it as being. Part of how you are competitive?

Erin Jackson: Yeah. Uh, sleep is probably one of the biggest parts of recovery, um, mentally and physically. Like you need to, uh, allow [00:17:00] your muscles time to, to recover and also your brain to just like shut off for a bit.

So I think, um, sleep is one of the most valuable things you can do that and like proper fueling. Yeah.

Reporter 11: Was there something in particular that made you want to do the consistent wake up routine? Wake up time, sleep time.

Erin Jackson: Actually, the U-S-O-P-C came out and started a sleep study with us. And this was just recently, like we just went through this, um, over the summer and yeah, that’s when it really clicked for me.

I’m like, why don’t I have a constant routine? And it was just amazing to see like how much of a difference that made for, you know, being able to get up in the morning. ’cause I’m a, I’m a really big snoozer, like I’ll set my alarm like an hour and a half before I have to leave so I can just snooze forever.

Um, but yeah, it’s been really helpful. So I’m really appreciative to the U-S-O-P-C for getting that set up for us.

Reporter 12: How do you keep that consistent when you’re, you’re traveling all the time, you’re in different time zones all the time. Like how do you still keep the same time when your body is in like a different place?

Erin Jackson: Right. So I guess I haven’t, um, uh, experienced it and like with jet lag quite yet, just because we’re still in the [00:18:00] beginning part of our season and we’re spending most of our time in, in Salt Lake City. Um, but yeah, that’ll be, uh, an interesting thing to tackle as I move forward. But I think there will be.

Um, times where it’s not possible, but just trying to keep that routine as consistent as you can will, yeah. Make a difference.

The importance of speed skating suits

Reporter 1: Is US speed skating even have used suits for the Olympics? And if so, you try it out. What do you think and how much of a difference does a suit make in a 500 case?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, the suit’s super important.

So with the technology in our sports, I feel like in our sport, the suit is the main thing. That’s kind of like driving innovation right now. And, um, I believe we’re gonna have the same style of suit that we had in 2022. So we’ve had a lot of time to kind of, uh, like get out all the wrinkles and things like that.

So I’m feeling really confident in our suits this time around.

Erin Jackson’s work with Edge Outdoors

Reporter 13: Can you share a little bit more about Match Outdoors, how it works when you got involved and what’s happened since you got

Erin Jackson: Yep. So Edge Outdoors is an organization based out of Seattle, Washington, and they provide. Uh, scholarship opportunities for [00:19:00] women of color to try out skiing and snowboarding. So I connected with this organization back in 2022 when their founder, Annette Diggs, asked me to be on, uh, their board for reviewing the applicants for that year.

And I kind of, uh, helped them pick out, you know, who they give the scholarship to. And since then we’ve just kept in touch. I actually just met up. Her and the scholarship recipients of this year when they were out in Park City and Salt Lake City. Um, so a few months ago. So that was really nice to reconnect with her and, uh, yeah, she’s still really excited about helping me, uh, start my organization once I’m ready for it.

Reflections on Brittany Bowe

Reporter 14: Brittany said that this is gonna be her last Olympics. I obviously go way, way back with her. Yeah. Just what has she, uh, meant to you as a friend and a competitor and and a teammate?

Erin Jackson: Right. Yeah. It’s been amazing having Brittany de Lo up to pretty much my whole life. I’ve known her for over 20 years.

We’re from the, the same little town in Florida. Uh, we grew up on the same inline speed skating team, so, you know, I was a bit younger coming into the sport. And I just thought it was the coolest thing that she was this world champion, like winning races all [00:20:00] around the world. But then she would come home and skate on my team.

So I thought that was awesome. And then, you know, fast forwarding to switching over to ice, she made the transition like several years before I did. So once again, you know, I was following her footsteps because by the time I switched over, she was already a veteran of the sport. She was already, um, a world champion, world record holder, all that amazing stuff.

And yeah, it’s just been really cool to have her as a mentor and a, and a lifelong friend. So I’m, I’m pretty lucky.

Reporter 15: Do you remember the first time that you met Brittany or interacted with her,

Erin Jackson: or? I do. There’s actually a picture of my first time meeting Brittany. Really. Um, I went to this event, so that was, uh, a homecoming event for her and, uh, our other teammates who had competed at the World Championships in 2002.

And I showed up to this event wearing my little artistic skates. ’cause I was, I started out, well, not started out, but before that I was an artistic skater, which is like figure skating, but on roller skate. So I showed up to this event and I got a picture with, uh, Brittany Bow and then my other teammate, Joey Mantia, he was also a, a long track speed skating medalist in 2022.

So yeah, I’ve got this picture, uh, [00:21:00] with them for my first time meeting them. My, my first introduction to inline speed skating was, was at that event. So it’s a really cool picture to have.

Reporter 16: How amazing is it that you have that backstory and then you have what happened in 2022 and, and just what, what does that story say about teammates and.

Sportsmanship and everything,

Erin Jackson: right? Yeah. I think when it comes to, uh, the Olympics and just sports in general, I think a lot of people just focus on the sport aspect of it. And I think that story showed the humanity of, of what we do and that we’re all people. And, um, I think it was just an amazing story.

Like Brittany said it best, she said that. You know, this was bigger than us. Like it was for team USA, it’s for the feeling of, you know, winning a, a gold medal as a country. So, you know, that’s why she did it. That’s why she made that amazing sacrifice for me. I think it was just amazing, an amazing way to show the world, like how selfless, how wonderful she is and, you know, as, as Olympians, how, how great we all are.

So it was a, a really cool story.

Reporter 2: Do you feel like women like her and Lindsay Vaughn that are older athletes are [00:22:00] maybe redefining what’s possible for older female athletes the way society viewed them?

Erin Jackson: Yeah, definitely. I think, um, yeah, they’re showing the world that they are strong and capable and just. I didn’t want to say, uh, an improper term, like BA women, um,

Reporter 16: you could say it.

Erin Jackson: but yeah, I think it’s, it’s really amazing. It’s really cool to, to see them, and especially giving back to the sport, right? Because, you know, sometimes you can lose, uh, like the, uh. What do you call that? I don’t wanna call it like the old guard, like when they move out, you know, sometimes you don’t have someone to teach the, the next generation, so it’s really nice to see them, you know, sticking around and giving back and, um, yeah, just giving all of us someone to chase.

On being a mentor

Reporter 17: How does it feel knowing that you are that? New generation of athletes to teach the up and coming generation.

Erin Jackson: Yeah, it, it feels amazing. I am always super excited, um, just like showing up to practice with my younger teammates. They’re looking so strong this year, so I think it’s gonna be an amazing, uh, year for us speed skating.

So I hope everyone’s gonna [00:23:00] gonna tune in. Um, yeah, I, I’m super excited and I mentioned before that, you know, one of the main things I’m looking forward to is. Watching the excitement on my teammates as they get to the Olympic Games and just, uh, watching them feel the energy of it all. So yeah, I’m, I’m really excited to be a part of that.

Reporter 2: A lot of people are talking about Jordan Stoltz, and now he’s, he’s gonna break out. What’s it been like being his teammate and have, how much are you looking forward to seeing what he does in, in Milan?

Erin Jackson: Yeah. Uh, Jordan’s a a really special athlete. He’s doing things that no one has seen before. It’s really, really impressive.

Um, so for people who might not know, he is a two time world championship. How do I say this? Two time triple gold medal champion at the World Championships. So he’s won the 500, the thousand and the 1500, uh, two years in a row. And unfortunately last season going into the world championships, he was really sick, so he wasn’t able to continue that record, but I’m sure he would’ve if he were healthy.

Um, but yeah, he’s just a, a phenom of the sport and it’s just amazing to see like how he’s pushing the boundaries. And when you have someone like that in the sport, [00:24:00] it really shows other people what’s possible and then it helps everyone get stronger. So he is doing an amazing thing for our sport. Yeah.

Reporter 1: Have you ever talked like five from your strategy with him from Olympic Gold Medal? Has there ever been tips shared between you guys?

Erin Jackson: I feel like with the 500, it’s, uh, you don’t have to think a whole lot with that one. There’s not a whole lot of strategy because it’s like you’re just going the, the whole time.

Um, but yeah, I mean, he’s, yeah, I def, I, I assume he is got a, a lot of good tips, but I mean, for the 500 it’s just. Start fast. Go fast and fast.

Erin’s involvement with roller derby since Beijing 2022

Reporter 1: Have you reconnected with roller derby in, in any way since? Since Beijing?

Erin Jackson: Since Beijing? Um, yes. Uh, when’s the last time? I think, uh, last summer I went to an event. I didn’t compete, but I went and helped out with, uh, my team bought skates.

They’re a team, uh, based out of Australia. So I’ve been with them since. 2009 with inline skating and roller derby. So I went there to kind of help out, uh, with like their, their vendor booth and helping out with coaching their team [00:25:00] at a roller derby competition. And then the summer before that, I believe was the last time I competed in roller derby.

And then I decided for my health and for my, my back safety that I should probably put that on hold for a little bit. Um, so yeah, I’ve, I probably don’t have a ton of roller derby in my near future, but you know, maybe once I get my back under control, I’d love to, uh, get back to it.

Reporter 1: So, wait, which summer, what year summer was it that you did compete in roller derby for last

Erin Jackson: year?

Um, that’s a good question. All my years run together. So it wasn’t this past summer. What was that, 2024. So it would’ve been 2023, I believe. Yeah.

Reporter 1: What was, what do you remember about. Getting back into it that year and then what was that like?

Erin Jackson: Yeah, I just think it’s so fun. It’s the only team sport I’ve done, so it’s just amazing to have that community and just have like people to share the track with.

It’s just, it’s such a fun sport. Like if you haven’t seen a roller derby event, like I, I really recommended it’s, uh, it’s really awesome. So it was cool to be there with my team. My team is based out of Jacksonville, Florida, so it was nice just to reconnect with them and just have fun out on the track. So it was a really good experience.

Reporter 1: Well, you mentioned Australia. You went to Australia for the event?

Erin Jackson: [00:26:00] Oh, no, no. Sorry. My sponsor team is, is Bond and they’re an Australian company sponsor. Uh, yep. That’s my sponsor team. But yeah, we are, uh, yeah, that’s kind of separate, but yeah.

Jill Jaracz: Who makes your, uh, in line your, your ice skating?

Erin Jackson: My ice skates, mark Hazy.

They’re actually based in New York, so yeah, just north of here, I think.

Learning to train smarter

Reporter 8: What lessons did you, do you take from the previous, the last Olympic cycle that you’ve applied to this, this, uh, time around?

Erin Jackson: Um, yeah, I would say, um, I think I’ve, um, excuse me, sorry. I think I’ve changed, you know, quite a bit from, from then to now.

This cycle is all about, uh, like I mentioned before, like training smarter, right? Not necessarily, uh, harder just because I’m a bit older now. I’m like, other than Brittany, I’m the oldest person I race in the 500. Um, so yeah, it’s just really finding the other ways to train, whether it’s, um. Like finding new ways to train safely or really focusing on my recovery and spending a lot of time in our like [00:27:00] sports med room and things like that.

So I feel like that’s the main thing that’s changed is being, uh, more aware of my body and my injuries. Yep.

How much does speed skating hurt?

Reporter 2: What are people who don’t follow. Speed skating. What do you want them to know about the sport? What do, what do you think people maybe don’t realize?

Erin Jackson: Right. Yeah. I think a lot of people don’t realize how much it hurts.

You know, it’s, uh, um, we build a lot of lactic acid, um, in our muscles, and that’s what kind of burns. It’s like the burning feeling that, that you get, because to go fast, you need to, I say the two things of speed skating sit low and push to the side. So the sit low part is what, what really hurts, especially when you’re building all those forces through the turn.

So, yeah, just know that we’re out there suffering, but that’s what makes it exciting, right?

Reporter 7: Are speed skater Is speed skaters using sodium bicarbonate

Erin Jackson: Um, yes. Yeah, sodium bicarbonate is, uh, yeah, one of the, the big things that, that athletes are using nowadays. And, um, let’s see. So luckily my race, the 500.

Um, we don’t get a whole lot of that leg burn like you do in the longer distances, but I am working on a thousand, so I, I need it for that one. Yeah.

Reporter 7: Do you use the [00:28:00] Morton, do you use that, that brand, the one from Sweden or something else?

Erin Jackson: Um, yes. I just used that one for the first time before I had been doing it the old fashioned way.

So, uh, the Morton way is a lot easier.

Reporter 7: Arm and hammer, that kind of thing. Like,

Erin Jackson: um, no, just like a capsuled. Yeah. Capsuled baking soda. Yeah. A little harder on the stomach. Yeah. Yeah.

Reporter 7: And when did you start using it?

Erin Jackson: Uh, sodium bicarbonate. Yeah. Um, I don’t remember. It’s been, uh, maybe since COVID year. 2021 maybe.

Yeah. Yep.

Does Erin Jackson trade Olympic pins?

Nicholas Wolaver: Did you have time to get into the Olympic pin trading during your time at the games?

Erin Jackson: let’s see. I’m not like a, what’s the word? It’s not something that I focus on, but whenever the opportunity comes off, yeah, I’ll definitely trade pins. Um, I think I love giving them more than receiving them.

Um, but yeah, I think penetrating is a super cool thing that they have going on.

Nicholas Wolaver: And had you considered designing your own pen?

Erin Jackson: I have considered designing my own pen. I’m just very indecisive. I’ve been working with a designer and we just can’t nail something down, but I definitely need to to get going on that.

So keep [00:29:00] your eyes peeled for some Erin Jackson fences eventually.

When Erin Jackson has free time…

Reporter 2: And what do you do when you’re not speed skating now? I know there’s not a whole lot of. Time, but

Erin Jackson: Oh, yeah. When I’m not speed skating, so I’m really fortunate to really like my teammates because, uh, we spend a lot of time with each other, but we like each other so much that we choose to spend time with each other outside of training.

So I hang out with my teammates quite a bit. We are actually kickball champions. Yeah. Um, so we’re on like a, we’re in a recreational kickball. And we, we didn’t win this past season, but we’ve won two other seasons. We just had kind of an off year this year. Um, but we’re coming back strong next year, uh, to take on the Yeah, this year’s champs.

And, uh, we also play a lot of pickleball. Okay. Which is pretty fun. And, uh, I would say outside of that, just spending a lot of time with my pets at home and, uh, and with my dad. My dad moved out to Salt Lake City in 2021. So it’s been really awesome having him there with me and just supporting me from closer.

And it’s also a lot easier to give him tech support when he is, uh, you know, in the same area as me. Um, so yeah, those are [00:30:00] kind of the main things. And

Reporter 2: Will is on this kickball team,

Erin Jackson: uh, Brittany’s on the kickball team. Oh, yeah. Um, Hillary was supposed to be on it, but I think she had some sort of, uh, Hillary Knight, the

Reporter 2: mm-hmm.

Erin Jackson: Uh, hockey player. Um, I think she had some sort of injury when it first started, so she decided to, you know, take a, a step back from that. Um, but yeah, my other teammates, uh, and Olympian, Kimmy Goetz, um, Austin Cleaver, other teammates, McKenzie Brown, and then former skater Brett Perry. Um, I mean, we have a pretty big team.

I don’t know if I can name ’em all. Oh, Lana Gehring. She’s a short track Olympic medalist and, uh, her partner Halle. Yeah. It’s a pretty nice team that we have. Yeah.

Reporter 2: When you get that many competitive people in something that’s like not the Olympics, is everyone’s still very competitive?

Erin Jackson: Uh, Brittany is very competitive.

Yeah. Brittany’s the one who’s always, you know, driving the competition and I’m the one who’s like, oh, we’re just out here having fun. So

Erin on speed skating in Milwaukee

Nicholas Wolaver: do you have a, uh, home rink or US rink preference between Salt Lake and [00:31:00] Milwaukee? Do you have a sentimental attachment to one versus the other?

Erin Jackson: Um, I think Milwaukee is a really special ring for me just because we always have the Olympic trials there.

So there are a lot of good memories associated with Milwaukee. And also the city has a really rich speed skating history. So whenever we have big competitions here, like the community really turns up for it. And, um, just seeing them fill the stands and seeing how passionate they are about the sport is really awesome.

And then also in Salt Lake City, we just have such a beautiful venue. It’s the one that they built for the oh two games. So the home of us speed skating has been based there since then when it was previously Milwaukee. Um, so yeah, we’re just really lucky to have really awesome venues and in Salt Lake City.

So ready for Salt Lake 2034 already with everything we’ve, we’ve kept up there. Um, but yeah, I think, I don’t know if I can pick a favorite. Uh, salt Lake is near and dear to my heart ’cause that’s where I live. But Milwaukee, I have so many good memories there.

Nicholas Wolaver: And when you travel to Milwaukee, do you make time outside of the competition to reconnect with any of the [00:32:00] legends who are based there or, or.

Make who come to the competition,

Erin Jackson: right. Yeah. I would say the main one would be Bonnie Blair. She’s, uh, yeah, just a really big legend and it’s amazing that she’s still giving back to the sport so much. Um, she is doing a lot of fundraising and she has her own team there and it’s just, yeah, really great to see what she’s doing.

And her daughter, uh, Blair is also, uh, skating really well. She was just in Salt Lake City for our, uh, world Cup trials that we had, and she’s making some really great improvements as well.

How Ocala, Florida, recognizes its Olympians

Reporter 1: How has Ocala commemorated your gold medal? Is, is there like a home of pretty bow billboard? Is there something in the high school, like when you go around Ocala have.

How can you tell it was the home of

Erin Jackson: um, yeah, I actually just found out, what is this a couple days ago that they, well, for people who don’t know, Ocala is considered the horse capital, right? So a lot of horses, I didn’t actually realize that until I was older and I told someone I was from Ocala and they said, oh, the horse place.

And I said, what do you mean? So I don’t know how, I didn’t even realize that, but then I started thinking, I’m like, we did have a lot of horses. Um. [00:33:00] So they have this thing where they put up these horse statues all around the town and like different people can sponsor them and, and design them the way they want.

So they recently put up a, a horse to commemorate, uh, their three Olympic medalists. So for me and Joey and Brittany and, uh, Brittany’s mom just sent it to me in a post where they were like unveiling this new horse. So I’ll definitely have to go check it out next time I’m in town. Yeah.

Nicholas Wolaver: So you haven’t been able to say yay or nay on the porch yet?

Erin Jackson: Oh, no. Um, well I saw a video of it. I think it looks really awesome. Yeah. Yeah.

Reporter 2: Do you have your,

Erin Jackson: oh, I get it. Yeah. Alright. It took me a minute. Yeah.

Reporter 2: Do you have your metal, like displayed anywhere cool, or,

Erin Jackson: um,

Reporter 2: in a drawer? What?

Erin Jackson: No, it’s in a little pouch, um, because I’m still traveling quite a bit, doing media with it.

So I normally keep it in the little pouch, um, in my travel bag. Uh, I normally joke that the only thing it’s good for is getting me stopped at security. So

Reporter 2: do you whip it out at TSA then and have to show it?

Erin Jackson: Yeah, yeah, typically. Yep.

Differences in speed skating ice and how to sharpen blades (or not)

Jill Jaracz: Do you notice, notice a difference in the [00:34:00] different types of ice at different ranks?

Like does air quality make a difference on how the ice reacts and how you Do you have to state on it?

Erin Jackson: Yeah, definitely. Ice is very variable, so rink to rink of course, and even day to day, the ice conditions can change quite a bit. So, yeah, one of the big, I can go back to, uh, like Milwaukee versus Salt Lake City.

So Milwaukee is a sea level rink with humidity. So the ice is gonna be a bit slower and then Salt Lake City is an altitude rink, um, without as much humidity. So then ice will be a lot faster, maybe a lot more brittle. So it’s just about, you know, getting to these competitions early to figure out, um, like the way each rink skates, and then also kind of the shape of the rink can change quite a bit.

So how you. Uh, how you like attack the angles of the corner and, and things like that. So there’s a lot that goes into, you know, skating at, at different rinks, and I think that’s part of what makes it pretty exciting.

Jill Jaracz: How does something like a slower, uh, slower ice affect your body? Especially like when you’re going [00:35:00] all out for a sprint,

Erin Jackson: right?

Yeah, I think I skate a little bit better on slower ice, especially coming from the inline side where, um, maybe I don’t have as much finesse or as much glide in my stroke than someone. Uh, who’s a bit more, I would say I’m, I can be a little bit inefficient. The way I skate my skating is more, uh, like high tempo.

So I think I thrive a bit more with the slower rinks. It kind of gives me a little bit of an advantage. And then the, uh, the faster rinks. I, I’m really working on my glide. I think that’s what’s really coming into play with the, the thousand, the distance that I’m trying to get better at. So, yeah, I’m definitely seeing improvements in my glide, but yeah, it all changes from rink to rink.

Reporter 9: You were talking about the escape blade edges earlier.

Erin Jackson: Yep.

Reporter 9: How much do you have to like maintain that and how key is that to sort of like some of what you’re talking about with like the efficiency in what you scale?

Erin Jackson: Yeah, the, the edge is super important. There’s a lot that goes into sharpening. Um, let’s see.

I, I got fired from sharpening my own blades at, at the Olympics. Um, [00:36:00] but I don’t know. In my defense, I sharpened my blades that entire World Cup season, and I won a lot of World Cups on my own sharpening. But then someone else saw me sharpening and was like, no, no, no. Um, but yeah, I recently just got back into sharpening my own blades in the last few months.

Um, and it is a lot of work. You have to be really patient with it because you can easily mess them up if you’re like, maybe watching TV or, or talking to someone while you’re sharpening. Um, but yeah, it’s, it’s a really important part, making sure that your, your edges are nice and ready to race. Um, yeah, there’s, I guess, a lot more I could go into technically, but yeah, that’s kind

Reporter 9: of about, about how long does it take per, per blade if you’re, you know, actually doing it the way you’re supposed.

Erin Jackson: Um, so you sharpen both blades at the same time. You put them in what’s called a, a jig, and it’s kind of like a frame. And then both of your, your blades or both of your skates are sitting blade up inside the jig and you run a sharpening stone over the top of your blades. Okay? And, um, I. If you’re in a hurry, it can take you 10 minutes and you won’t have a, a very good sharpening job.

And if you really, really take your time, it can take an hour or even more than that. Um, so I would say [00:37:00] I typically spend maybe 30 minutes on my blades. Um, but yeah, it’s a, it’s a very important part of what we do, but it can also be a bit painstaking.

Reporter 9: And you travel with jigs,

Erin Jackson: right? We travel with our jigs.

Um, we have to take ’em apart, um, to pack them, but yeah, we travel with our jigs and our stones.

Reporter 1: How often do you switch out your blades and switch out your boots?

Erin Jackson: Um, let’s see. I think, uh, that’s just like personal preference for most people. I would say, um, with boots maybe no more than every four years and with Blades, um, maybe once every season or season and a half, but you kind of rotate them.

So it’s like if you get a new set of blades, then your previous blades become your backups and you always wanna travel with backups. ’cause blades are really, uh, fragile. So you wanna make sure that you have something, uh, new to back up on if something happens to your main blades.

Reporter 1: So you’re gonna wear different boots in Milan than you will in Beijing?

Erin Jackson: Uh, no. I’ll be wearing the same boots. Yep.

Reporter 17: You talked about all the prep that goes into like the equipment and like knowing the ice, and I would love to hear a little bit [00:38:00] about what is going through your mind when you’re actually like, skating in and like, what decisions are you making in real time or are you.

You know, how are you like processing in the moment how to change your strategy and adapt?

Erin Jackson: Right. Um, so if I’ve done my job in training, then when I show up to the start line for a race, I should just go fully automatic, right? So, uh, yeah, that’s always the goal is to put in enough hours, you know, during practice and during training that you build all the muscle memories that when you show up to a race, it just, yeah, it just goes.

Um, so yeah, I don’t have a whole lot of, uh, thoughts going through my mind when I’m actually racing. At least not many that I remember after the fact. But, um. Yeah, I would say the main things would be just the very basic cues of making sure that I’m sitting nice and low. Um, ’cause that’s kind of the, the main component for speed skating is that if you’re sitting in a nice deep position, you can build speed.

Jill Jaracz: Thank you so much, Erin. you may have heard. I was the one who called, who talked about Fox Special Forces.

Alison Brown: You were fascinated by Fox Special Forces. I still am. I’m so glad [00:39:00] you got that in.

Help Keep the Flame Alive get to Milano Cortina 2026!

Jill Jaracz: You know what else I’m fascinated about?

Alison Brown: Our fundraiser?

Jill Jaracz: Yes. I’m, you know, just as Erin Jackson is hoping to make it back to the Olympics, we are hoping to make it back to the Olympics as well.

Alison Brown: We’re doing pretty well in the fundraiser. We’re about halfway there, but we still have a long way to go, so we still need all of your help out there.

Inan, getting to our goal of getting Jill and I to Milan and Cortina and all the expenses that go along with that, and producing the show every day for 32 days.

Jill Jaracz: That is correct. It is a marathon. It’s not a sprint, and is a lot. There’s a lot involved. Uh, technically we have some extra expenses that we don’t have during the regular years.

And, the Olympics of course have their own set of fun expenses in terms of travel costs and, getting around and, and all of that, those kind of things. So thank you to all of you who have donated so far. It really [00:40:00] warms our hearts to see so many names pop up and, I, I feel embraced by shook Stan.

Alison Brown: We feel the warmth of the flame and if the warmth of the flame is not enough for you, we’ve got some pretty fun thank you gifts going out there to all our supporters.

Jill Jaracz: Very excited. We have, many show shout outs that I am looking forward to doing something special.

With this time around. We have mascots coming our way.

Alison Brown: Oh, you can share with me any kind of pet that you want to be our mascot. We take all kinds, not just dogs and cats.

Jill Jaracz: That’s right. So check it that out. You can go to flame alive pod.com. It’s right on the front page to click through to our fundraiser and, help us get all the way to Milan and Cortina.

Back again.

Alison Brown: That may be the hardest part.

Jill Jaracz: Might be the hardest part. You know what’s not the hardest part? I.

Corinne Stoddard Interview

Alison Brown: Talking to Corinne.

Jill Jaracz: That’s right. So next up, Allison and I got one-on-one time with [00:41:00] Olympic short trek speed skater Corinne Stadard. Corinne competed at Beijing 2022 and got seventh in the 1000 meters eighth in the 2000 meter mixed relay and women’s 3000 meter relay.

18th in the 1500 meter and 32nd in the 500 meter. She was very, very busy.

Alison Brown: That’s a lot of races.

Jill Jaracz: That is a lot of races. since then. She’s steadily improved and at the 2024 World Champs took home three medals and she is looking to make her market Milano. Corina, take a listen.

Corinne Stoddard: My name is Corrine Stoddard,

Alison Brown: so short track. We love short track. I’m gonna start with the first question. Socks or no? Socks?

Corinne Stoddard: Socks, definitely. Socks.

Corinne Stoddard on the different types of short track relays

Alison Brown: You’ve done relays both mixed and with women. Mm-hmm.

Tell me about the difference of working with the boys and then not the boys.

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah. The mixed relay is [00:42:00] a lot shorter of a race. It’s half the distance that, well, two thirds of the distance that we do for the women’s relay. Um, so. The mixed relay goes by really quickly, and it’s basically just a full sprint from the start, whereas the women’s relay is a little more strategic.

Um, so usually just the plan of the race is a bit different and uh, obviously it’s just different, you know, going out. I always start in the, in the mixed relay, so going out for the boys when they’re going really, really fast, that’s always exciting. Um, and then in the women’s really it’s always exciting for me to get to you know, make some moves at the end of the relay and pass it off to Kristen to finish it.

Tactics in short track

Alison Brown: So we read some things where you’re working on your tactics. Mm-hmm.

How is that working and what kind of changes are you making?

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah, so at the first two World Cups, there were two races I definitely could have, uh, had golden, but just, uh, tactical error.

I got passed in the last. , And basically I was just leading every race from start to finish, quarterfinal semi-final, final. And with the new schedule that the [00:43:00] ISU has put out, we only have about 20 minutes in between races. So to do that, it’s pretty hard when your competition is really strong and they’re sitting in your draft, the whole race.

So just changing my tactics a little bit where I can be a little more relaxed and not have to lead the quarterfinal in semi-final. Um, so I have a little more energy in the final to do what I wanna do.

Alison Brown: So fatigue is an issue.

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah. Yeah. It’s just, uh, I’m putting a lot more energy out in the earlier rounds than I need to be for how strong I am, but I just, I really feel comfortable out front.

So it’s just a little bit, uh, gaining confidence to know, like I don’t need to be super stressed in the earlier rounds to be out front versus the final. I want to be out front, obviously.

Jill Jaracz: How is it passing people? Then, I mean, ’cause being out front, if you stay out front, you don’t have to worry about trying to get through.

Yeah. Is that where the the

Corinne Stoddard: um, yeah, it’s also just like an early, I mean, in the final, I like to be out front just ’cause I like to control the race and I like to, just [00:44:00] be out there and not have to worry about people taking me out or blocking me out of the front, you know? Versus in the quarterfinal and semifinals, I feel like I’ve been leading a lot, mainly because.

I get a little nervous about getting taken out and not making it through the next round, or you know, like just things short track is so, there’s a lot of luck involved in terms of if you get bombed or not, which bombed meaning like someone makes a really bad pass on you and you get taken out, and if you’re not in the top two and that happens, you don’t get advanced to the next round.

So it’s mainly just a safety blanket for me to be out front. , To make those changes of, you know, being more comfortable, like, oh, I, I don’t have to lead this and I can make moves at the end, uh, will really help me secure more goals in the future, I think.

Alison Brown: Does that change based on who’s in your heat?

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah. I mean, obviously every, uh, race is a, the tactics are a little different depending on who’s in your race and, you know, like. What their strengths are and what their weaknesses are compared to you. [00:45:00] Um, so your tactics change a little bit depending on who’s in your race.

Alison Brown: Yeah. Who changes your race the most?

Corinne Stoddard: Hmm. There’s a couple, Courtney Sal, Kristen Santos, Troy Jiang. Kim Gilly, Xandra Valor. those are our top women. and yeah, if you have a race where like three of us top women are in a semi-final and only two of us are guaranteed to make it out, that definitely changes the tactics, uh, for everyone.

They also change their tactics. Yeah, just knowing what your competition might do.

Jill Jaracz: So do you make race plans race by ra? Heat by heat, as you see who’s gonna fall into your lineup?

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah. Yeah. Me and my coach go over who’s in the race and what we think they might do and what I should do, depending on what they might do.

Jill Jaracz: How much does your brain hurt at the end of a day or at the end of a competition versus your body?

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah, more my body. But it’s definitely ’cause short track. You get [00:46:00] out there and you have a plan and then all of a sudden. That plan is not gonna work depending on what someone else did, and you just have to be super adaptable and change your race plan immediately, and have other tools in your bag that you weren’t gonna use.

Alison Brown: Do you approach the different distances differently? I mean, obviously there’s different skills and tactics. Yeah. But do you approach each distance differently?

Corinne Stoddard: Yeah, I mean the 500 is obviously just all out as hard as you can go. Just a sprint. that’s probably my weak assistance ’cause I’m not a sprinter.

But this year I’ve definitely been a lot better in it. Like last year I wasn’t making finals, I wasn’t on the podium. Whereas this season I was in both a finals and I was on the podium once in the 500. So my top speed is definitely getting better. Uh, but my two main distances are the thousand and the 1500.

and yeah, the 1500 usually starts out a little slower than the thousand just ’cause it’s a longer race. but yeah, the thousand usually starts out pretty fast and just try to hang on. And the 1500, it’s more of a, like progressive starts slower and ends [00:47:00] faster.

Alison Brown: On those longer races. Obviously you have to keep your focus.

So besides thinking about what’s happening on the ice, what are you keeping in your head? Like during the race? During the race?

Corinne Stoddard: Mm. Yeah. I’m mainly focusing on who is where and how I feel. Also, like if I’m out front and I’m still feeling like really good, then I might try to pick it up a little bit, make people behind me hurt a little bit more.

Physicality for short track race distances

Alison Brown: Yeah. When you said, about not being a sprinter, is that more a preference, a physicality, or what you’re good at?

Corinne Stoddard: Um, more like a physicality and what I’m good at, like, I’m just not like really a fast Twitch athlete. Um, not like, I’ve never been like a super explosive athlete. I’ve always been an endurance athlete.

Like before I switched over to ice, I did inline skating and I was a long distance skater, so like. 10 K, 15 K points, races, elimination races. So I’ve always been more of a endurance, like long distance skater. But this season I’ve definitely seen a lot of [00:48:00] improvements in my sprints. So I’m kind of hopeful that I do have a chance at meddling even in the five at the games.

Jill Jaracz: What kind of ice do you like?

Corinne Stoddard: Um, I love the ice in Utah ’cause that’s where we train. it’s super glide and fast. , Because I like to skate from the front. It’s nice to. Be skating on faster ice, whereas if you’re on slower ice, it hurts a lot more to be out front than in the draft. So I definitely prefer faster glide ear ice.

But Milan, when we were there last year, it was pretty quick ice, so I’m excited to race there.

Jill Jaracz: Excellent. Thank you so much. We’re good. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you so much Corinne. Please follow Erin and Corinne on social. We will have links to their social media pages ’cause there are a lot of them, in the show notes.

Milano Cortina 2026 News

Jill Jaracz: Okay, you got to go to a Milano Cortina [00:49:00] presentation at the Italian consulate in New York. Is that Tell, just go tell me all about it.

Milano Cortina branding presentation at the Italian Cultural Center in New York City

Alison Brown: So, technically it wasn’t the consulate, it’s the, cultural. Center. Okay. Which is attached to the consulate. They’re li they’re literally next door to each other in the same block in New York City.

there were several presenters there and it was amazing. Let me just start with saying it was amazing. So, Maurizio Maari spoke. He is the permanent, uh, representative for Italy at the un. So they had just passed the truce the day before I was there. Ooh. Or a couple days before. So he talked about how this was a very proud moment for Italy that 165 countries had co-sponsored, and that’s why they did it without a vote.

We talked about that, how it was done without the vote, that it was just, passed by consensus because there were so many co-sponsors and that they were very hopeful that it was a beautiful moment for the international community. He said all the right things. Here’s what I really wanna talk about.

[00:50:00] Rafaella Penner is the brand identity and look of the games director. She had the same job for Torino.

Jill Jaracz: Really?

Alison Brown: Yes. That surprised me. So she talked a lot about the design and all the design elements. So we got a couple of insights. So first of all, there’s only 30 people on the entire design team.

Jill Jaracz: Wow.

Alison Brown: That’s everything. Metals, uniforms, uh. Ura, the font, any design element goes through her 30 people and all of her 30 people have different specialties. So some of them are artists, some of them are graphic artists, some of them are designers, some of them are technicians. So it all comes together in this one team because as she said, there’s no expert in metal design.

Like there’s nobody who specializes in that. You have to have all these different elements put together. To create all the different pieces of the Olympics because it is a unique [00:51:00] look of an event. So I got to ask her a question, which I was very excited about. I asked her about why they were doing so much futuristic things.

You know, Milan and Cortina has such a long history. Italy has such a long history, and first of all, she told me it was a good question. So I was like, thank you, Rafaella. She said that they, people around the world know Italian history. They know the Renaissance, they know the art, they know the design, but what they don’t know is the future forward looking part of Italy.

So that’s how they wanted to focus the design, to bring people more aware that Italy is a very progressive country, that it has a lot of modern elements to it as well.

Jill Jaracz: That is interesting, and I would say like Milano is probably the most modern of the cities perhaps.

Alison Brown: We’ll see when we’re there, but yes, it definitely has a [00:52:00] very forward looking edge to it as compared to say Rome or Florence, which definitely more embraces.

It’s history and not that Milan doesn’t embrace its history, but what is it selling the city on? And they really wanna sell the city on. We’re modern, we’re moving forward. We have a futuristic edge to us. I thought that was interesting, interesting take. And doesn’t everything they’ve done now make so much more sense?

Yes. Right. The, the whole design of it, I kept saying, why are we not embracing Italian history design? That’s why. Interesting. But here was the really fun thing. So she talked about the design of Tina and Milo and I found out why we ended up with the flow. If you remember, there was, a contest to choose the mascots and one of the choices was the two flowers, and we really liked them.

Mm-hmm. Apparently so did the design team, so when the contest was over. [00:53:00] The design team really didn’t wanna let go of these flowers, so they tried to figure out a way to incorporate them because they couldn’t just override the vote. It had been a national vote and the, the people had spoken, but I got the impression from what Rafa said, that the design team was kind of disappointed in the choice that was made.

She did not say that, so I don’t wanna put words in her mouth, but definitely they wanted to figure out a way to not let go of these flowers that they clearly, clearly enjoyed and were very excited about. So that’s how we got the flow where they’re friends of the mascots is how she described them.

So also at the talk was, Marta Panini, who was a, rhythmic, gymnast who won a bronze medal in Rio. David Burnett, who was a photographer, you know, of our Lou Jones and Mark Edward Harris, who’s just done so many, so many Olympics. And then Claudio Pari was, he’s the director of [00:54:00] the Italian Cultural Institute in New York.

And what was very funny was a lot of people in the audience. Spoke both Italian and English, even though they were, American, American residents, but a lot of them were bilingual. So I heard so many conversations going back and forth between languages, which was so much fun, and I got so excited when I could catch a phrase.

Even I’m doing better catching phrases in Italian than I ever did in French. Oh, good. Yeah, good. ’cause I was bad in French in terms of catching phrases, but it just like I keep joking about the souls of my ancestors. Were just in my ears saying, you, you’ll understand what people are saying to you.

Just be patient. But yeah, fantastic event. If you’re anywhere near, near New York City, the Italian Cultural Institute does these kind of talks regularly and they’re free and open to everyone. Wow. But I was really fascinated by Raphaella and what she had to say. That [00:55:00] was the most, that is insightful for us.

Jill Jaracz: That is so interesting. I still wanna know if. Figure skating fans are gonna throw the flow onto the ice for ‘ cause that’s a big thing.

Alison Brown: You know, are we gonna create little bouquets of the flow? That would be pretty awesome.

the, and you know, the design team would be thrilled. The other thing that she said that was really interesting was when they place the rings, and this is so obvious when she said it, when they place the rings in a venue, they plan it for photographs.

Oh yeah, of course. So if they know a photograph, like a finish line, or they check the placement of the rings to make sure if you’re photographing a finish line, that the rings are in the back of your picture.

Jill Jaracz: Yes, and that was one thing Mark Edward Harris said. When he took pictures, he really tried to get either the logo of the city or the rings in the picture so that you could [00:56:00] instantly identify where it came from.

Alison Brown: Exactly. And David Burnett talked about that as well. And one final thing I’m gonna say, they did not have a torch there, which was disappointing, but she made a point of saying that the torch was designed to be filmed in motion. And not for still photography. So we’ll have to see once we start getting, ’cause the torch relay, we’re gonna talk about that in a second.

We’re gonna start seeing this torch in motion. And we weren’t necessarily thrilled with the torch. It was a little bland, but they really wanted to highlight the flame and how it looks while it’s moving.

Jill Jaracz: Interesting.

But I’m so glad you got to go to that. That sounded so cool. And we got some, we got some inside scoop, so thank you. Absolutely.

The Milano Cortina 2026 torch lighting ceremony

Jill Jaracz: Speaking of the torch relay, it has started, did you watch the ceremony?

Alison Brown: I did watch the ceremony. Disappointed, of course, because Oh, of the rain.

Yeah. Not personally disappointed. I was thrilled personally, but the [00:57:00] rain did wash out the whole outdoor, and they had to be inside. So the actual torch lighting that we saw, I assume, was the rehearsal the day before rehearsal? Yes. We’ve done this before and they just kept it dry in the back.

Jill Jaracz: Yes. In the little torch holder, right?

So the ceremony was indoors, but we got to see the IOCs drone capabilities, or o BSS drone capabilities on a full display. They,

Alison Brown: they had rehearsed that drone more than the dancers did? I think

Jill Jaracz: so. The cool thing about that is they took overhead, Shots of the area. It felt like for one of the first times we were seeing

Alison Brown: things that we have not seen before.

Jill Jaracz: Yeah. So you could really get a feel for how big the space was in terms of the ruins that, that they usually have the lighting around, around the temple of Hara [00:58:00] and, uh, the other ruins in the area. But it was just, that part was really cool. the. Ceremony was inside the archeological museum of Olympia in kind of a main room.

It was in an exhibit hall, so it was in a main room, and then it like if you’re going into a section of rooms in a museum, and they’re all kind of connected. So part of it was also in the next room. People would line up there and they, you’d see the goddess, Nike, the winked goddess of victory.

Kirsty Coventry’s first lighting as president,

Alison Brown: and she got choked up. Wasn’t that beautiful? She did. It

Jill Jaracz: was, and,

Alison Brown: and that moment where she really expressed her emotions like that. Number one, I loved, I love when, when people in power are human like that and, and publicly human and comfortable with that.

But it certainly made me feel like, yeah, we are in a new era.

Jill Jaracz: Yes, we are in a, definitely a new era, but it also made me feel like it’s. [00:59:00] Just emphasizing the importance that an athlete is now leading the organization and that, I mean, we’ve had three athletes in a row, but I think you are seeing that importance grow and the understanding that athletes can and should be leading this organization that’s all about an event for them.

And uh, she had some very touching words. About what Athens, meant to her as an athlete, because that’s where she really won her first medals and what being an Olympia really means to her as well. And it’s just, yeah, it, you could really tell how much the whole movement really touches her every day, and she’s grateful to be able to lead the organization.

You also had, The Greek president was there for his first ceremony as well, and Tebo was there.

Alison Brown: Saw Tebo sighting was, oh, hey Tebo, how are you doing? You look good. Retirement is working out for you.

Jill Jaracz: So it was a typical ceremony. [01:00:00] You sing the Olympic anthem, you have the kids choir singing the Italian and Greek anthems.

Read the poem, the Light of Olympia by Texas Doka. then you had your speeches from the mayor of Olympia, Giovanni Mago, who’s president of Milan Cortina 2026, who interestingly said he ran with the torch in 2006 through Rome, and he’s gonna do the same route again. Oh, for this? This one? Yeah.

Alison Brown: That he said that.

Jill Jaracz: and after Kirsty Coventry spoke, the Hellenic Olympic Committee president spoke, and then, yes. Okay.

Alison Brown: Before you go there,

Did you realize that was a new president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee since Paris?

Jill Jaracz: No, I did not.

Alison Brown: No, because he looks exactly the same as the old Helen president.

I think they grow them in an on an olive tree, and they just pluck off the next president of the HOC.

Jill Jaracz: So after the speeches, which were pretty short, all things considered [01:01:00] everything, everyone kept everything. Pretty quick, time to light the flame, so they cut to the dress, rehearsal, new music. New choreography,

Alison Brown: same dresses from the Paris, which were new from same dresses from the Paris, which are so talk about beautiful in motion.

Jill Jaracz: Yes. I really liked this ceremony. Because I actually did go back and look at the Paris one real quick. ’cause there were elements where I went, I don’t remember this from before. ’cause I thought they usually, they kind of recycle the stuff and things, but the choreography seemed a little bit more flowy.

A lot more movement than just kind of walking around in a circle. And, less of the male soldiers featured,

Alison Brown: they seemed to get more of and more action at the beginning, like before the ceremony began. Mm-hmm. They had a whole intro section where they were highlighted. So once we got into it, it was like, okay, boys, sit down, let the ladies take over.

Jill Jaracz: Right. [01:02:00] And, The Paris ceremony had singing in it, not the music had a, had vocals, and this music did not have vocals. And I thought it was very lovely and very, the, the movement of the music, it was very little thing. And the movement of the dancers, it was, I, I really enjoyed it went on faster than the Paris

Alison Brown: ceremony, it felt like.

Jill Jaracz: Yes it did. I also liked that. Yeah. Yeah. Cut back to the museum. They do the whole, they light lit the flame, with the parabolic mirror. Put the flame in a bowl. The bowl transfers to another part of the ground and they, light a torch again. And then they cut back to inside the museum where they’ve got the flame that’s been saved.

And, Then there’s one last prayer. They light the Milan Cortina torch.

Alison Brown: All I kept thinking about during this, this segment as they’re moving this bowl of fire around, are there poor museum curators? [01:03:00] Who are just probably being sick in another bowl in the back of the museum saying these things have survived for, you know, 3000 years and you’re gonna burn it down.

Jill Jaracz: They’re marble statues. Marble statues and marble benches. Did you notice the marble benches? Like they pushed them together in the center, but they couldn’t move them much farther. ’cause they were heavy. I did.

Alison Brown: I was hoping they were plaster, but no, they were probably marble. So the

Jill Jaracz: first torture was, uh, Pedro’s, Who is, uh, from Greece? He’s a rower, competed at Paris in one bronze. The torch is long. Did you notice that it’s a long torch?

Alison Brown: It is very long and skinny. And the reason you noticed it was because of the next torch bearer who was not very tall,

Jill Jaracz: right? So, Stephania, uh, Belman very famous [01:04:00] crunch country skier in Italy.

She led the cauldron in Torino 2006. She joins him, he comes outside. They cut outside the release, a Dove and Patriots runs out and he’s, he’s on his way to go see and pay homage to, , pure de Bertin’s monument, which contains his heart. and Stefania, Bea joins him, and she’s tiny. They call her the tiny tornado, and that torch is about half the size of her.

Alison Brown: I mean, it’s a good thing. She was a cross country skier, so she knows she’s got good upper body strength, right? To hang onto that thing and not slam her in the knee with it.

Jill Jaracz: Right? And then they start running and they run and they run. And I’m thinking, wow, they are doing a really good job. running together with that torch in between them both holding onto it.

And I keep thinking, I actually got Google maps out because I thought this is a lot farther run than they have run before. Because they were, and it was a bit, it was like because they were

Alison Brown: inside, they weren’t outside, they were [01:05:00] inside

Jill Jaracz: they had to run like 1.6 kilometers versus like maybe one if you’re outside.

Google Maps did not like me trying to walk, walk from the temple area, so that’s approximate.

Alison Brown: but it was long.

Jill Jaracz: It was a long, long run. And I will say the flame on the torch, the Milan torch was hard to see. Sometimes

Alison Brown: I think that was because of the weather that it was blowing out. Yeah. Yeah. It was probably very, very small because it was cold and rainy and and windy, which is why they had to move inside.

So I have a feeling that the flame was not blowing out because it is power. Right. But I have a feeling the flame was very, very tiny for most of that run. And they’re running, so it’s even getting more. Right.

Jill Jaracz: So, yeah. And it’s in the, like in the back of the torch. but you could see the gas moving. Yes.

You always can. So, , at the monument to Pierre de Cooperton, it gets passed off [01:06:00] to Luger. Arman Ziglar, who’s like the most successful Luger of all time. I believe He gets

Alison Brown: 427 Olympic medals,

Jill Jaracz: right? Yes, exactly. He runs up the stairs and then brand new. This was new and he is running past people standing along the route with flags of different countries.

There is a band that starts play in Chariot’s A Fire,

Alison Brown: which was so fantastic. You know how much I love that movie and that music? No, it just, there is nothing Greek about this moment and not even that much Italian except for Armand Ziglar. But man, was it just perfect?

Jill Jaracz: It was, it was so fantastic. Like I, I wanna know who put this all together.

Because was it an Italian influence? Was it the Greeks who decided that little, let’s bring it on in, let’s get it back. Chariots a fire.

Alison Brown: It’s, and her [01:07:00] team, because they’re amazing.

Jill Jaracz: Maybe. And then you go, well, Paris, why didn’t you think of that?

Alison Brown: ‘ cause that’s the Olympics that it was 1924. Right? Right. But it was, it was just perfect.

And I hope it’s in. Every ceremony from now on.

Agreed. So,

Jill Jaracz: and then that was pretty much it, it got handed over to, another Greek torch bearer, because now the, the Greek take over and do a short relay, they’ll hand it over to, Milan. Probably while you’re listening to this, it’s already in Milan’s hands. , I did love the fact that the Greek torch bearer also had three burly guys around him also. Olympians like it was a, nothing is happening to that flame. He is well protected, right? These giant men, three of them jogging behind in triangle formation, flame in front.

Oh, it was so good. So good. On December 4th, the torch will be handed over to Milano, Corina for good, [01:08:00] and a tennis player. Jasmine Paulini is going to bring the torch from Greece to Rome. And then we go all over Italy. I’m ready. I’m ready. So excited, so, so excited.

We have opinions about the Victory Ceremony uniforms

Jill Jaracz: Also exciting.

Alison Brown: Wow. We have,

Jill Jaracz: oh, oh. that’s a tone.

We have victory ceremony uniforms,

Alison Brown: or as I like to call them, metal girls. But there is also metal boys, but in this picture, they’re all men and women, unlike Paris where they seem to use very young, you know, maybe college age kids. These were all grownups in these pictures.

Jill Jaracz: Right, right, right. The look is the winning design of a creative contest that was held among three fashion schools and the design from Academy DeBrea one. and the press release we got said it did the best at quote, capturing the vibrant, dynamic and contemporary Italian spirit that characterizes the games end quote.

Press release also [01:09:00] said this was intentionally unbranded clothing, which I thought may have been some shade at Paris 2024. the color palette is mainly, again, the Italian blue, that royal blue and the, the one picture they gave us, it looks more Navy. but in better lighting it, the richness of that blue shows through, we’ve got puffer coats.

We’ve got navy pants wide legged that have a shine to them. We have, either a zip up pullover sweater or a like turtleneck sweater that’s got a little cutout at the waist. Not cut out of the waist, but the hem has got a, A v uneven. Yeah, the hem is uneven. Right? There’s blue leather gloves. And, there’s a bucket hat for the ladies and a, kind of a newsboy type camp for the men.

And brown shoes. And then the puffer coat can be belted. And it’ss got, I

Alison Brown: only the women’s coats were belted.

Jill Jaracz: Oh, okay. I didn’t know if you could choose. [01:10:00] Men’s coat were straight. And then, they’ve got tan piping around the lapels and down the front. Yeah. So you have, you have a tone on your face.

Alison Brown: The only thing I like about this outfit are the gloves. Oh, really? And I, I shouldn’t say that. I do sort of like the sweater.

I think it looks sloppy.

Jill Jaracz: Interesting.

Alison Brown: You know, we’ve seen some really amazing medal outfits for the past two Olympics and Paralympics. And I have to say, I remember I did not love Paris because of the color scheme at first, but then when I saw it in motion and kind of how much they picked up the 1924 throughout and how that was part of that design scheme, I’m hoping I will change my mind on this one.

But the tan shoes are bad. They look like grandpa shoes. Everybody’s hems are too long. They all have puddle pants. The shiny material looks like something from Saturday Night Fever, [01:11:00] 1977. I mean Italian. And we keep saying this, and I hate this because now Rafaela is my friend, but Italian design should be better than this.

What really got me was how ill fitting they all were.

Jill Jaracz: Well, I will say when you say straight outta the seventies in the. on the website. We’ll have a picture of this. And there is a guy who looks straight out of the seventies, he does with the big glasses and the beard, and he’s, just got these shiny pants and, I kind of like the shoes myself, but that’s me.

Alison Brown: Hey grandma,

Jill Jaracz: they look comfortable. They look like they’re okay for walking in the snow. We’ll see, they’re kind. We also can’t see a ton of the design of the shoes because they’re covered by pants.

Alison Brown: Everybody’s got puddle pants. Everybody’s pants are too long for them, and not in that cool wide legged trouser way in that it’s all gathering around your ankle and looks like your pants don’t fit.

Nothing gets me angrier when people do clothes like this. You know, [01:12:00] design. And they don’t properly fit their models. Mm. It’s

Jill Jaracz: lazy. I’m curious what the coats will look like in person, because with the belt, I will say, I, I mean with the belt, it reminds me of a puffy version of a London fog. Yes. The whole thing.

Trench coat, which is kind of dated, but is that gonna come back too?

Alison Brown: I don’t know. We’ll see. You know what, and I think I complained about the fit for the models for Paris too, that they had puddle pants. People fit your models, do a running stitch. It takes five minutes. It’s not rocket sciences running stitch.

Jill Jaracz: Well, we will see how they look in person and maybe we’ll be wrong again. the Olympics. Put a series of photos on Instagram and with better lighting it looks much better. The blue looks much better. Okay.

Venue Talk: There’s no Plan B for the hockey arena

Jill Jaracz: Venue talk. We got a lot of venue [01:13:00] talk

Alison Brown: hockey Nola.

Jill Jaracz: It’s not that I’m so excited to have a novella, but so the, the big news in many outlets is that the Santa Julia ice hockey arena, the main ice hockey venue is still under construction and must be finished in time because there’s no Plan B,

Alison Brown: they

Jill Jaracz: can’t go to Lake Placid according to the Associated Press.

The Milano Cortina Chief Games Operations Officer, Andrea Francesi said that there’s also no precise date for when the venue will be handed over, but he’s confident for the moment that it will be done in time. And Francesi also said that the companies involved has sped up their work.

Hope so significantly. I hope so. we did get a press release today, Wednesday, the 3rd of December, that the new arena’s gonna host a tournament on January nine to 11. So guess it’s gotta be done for that. Right?

Alison Brown: There is scuttlebutt, and I’m sure you’ve read [01:14:00] this, and I read this in a bunch of places, that the players association of the NHL is very unhappy right now.

Jill Jaracz: I have not read this. Yes. Not surprised because they probably know what I mean. They were at Sochi, so they would know new venue. And new venue does not sound like If you don’t have the venue done in time for a good test event, because that’s a month less than a month away. If there’s stuff that’s really significantly wrong with the operations.

Of not just the ice, but stuff’s wrong in the locker room. Stuff’s wrong with the bathrooms. Stuff’s wrong with the concessions. You are gonna have angry players and angry fans, and you’ve got the NHL back to your show. you don’t treat the players right, they’re gonna walk right away.

Alison Brown: And you know, very basic, bad ice equals bad injuries.

Yeah, and NHL players are [01:15:00] not gonna risk that. Right. Where would the, I mean, the NHL owners don’t like this to begin with, right? So you’re gonna put them on bad ice and risk their million dollar players. Yeah. You think Sid Crosby is gonna, well, Sid Crosby would do anything for Canada, but I mean, you think his team wants him going on bad ice?

He is an old man. We need to protect him.

Jill Jaracz: The hockey players will be bubble wrapped for their games.

Venue Talk: How’d the speed skating test event go?

Jill Jaracz: Speaking of test events, the speed skating venue had its test event, which was a junior World Cup race. This was fun to imagine. Skaters told the associated press that it felt like skating on a lake because the track is about 20 C centimeters above the concrete floor.

This is a, because it’s a temporary venue, it’s at the big convention center out in row, and you’re dealing with a concrete floor that they’re putting a temporary track on, so [01:16:00] you’ve got tubes of freezer stuff. Underneath the surface and you’ve got a little bit of insulation in between, so it sounds hollow and it cracks a little bit in the outer corner.

So that’s a little bit of interesting. Skaters have been able to give feedback to the Ice Master, mark Messer, who will make, who made improvements during the week that they were there, and he said that safe ice was the priority. They can tweak it to be faster. Okay, so that’s interesting though, first time that a temporary venue has been used for speed skating at the Olympics.

So this will be, uh, an interesting one to watch for sure.

Alison Brown: But this is what you do at a test event. You find the problems and you fix them.

Jill Jaracz: Right? And I would say ideally your test event would be earlier than this, but they couldn’t really, ’cause it’s a temporary venue,

Alison Brown: right? It’s being used for something else.

So you, you would really rather have two test events. But this is pretty good.

Jill Jaracz: Right? And I’m sure they’ve got [01:17:00] skaters out there. I’m sure they can tap a community to help them out, but that’s, that’s making progress there.

Venue Talk: The Cortina Athletes Village is ready to welcome the world

Jill Jaracz: The Cortina Athletes Village is ready. Did you see this one?

Alison Brown: I did. It reminded me very much of one of the, venues in China where they had all those temporary buildings.

Oh. Where we had snowboarding. Was that John Shaku? was just all this complex of temporary buildings, you know, all mobile home looking, and it all looked really nice, but then you had to walk on the wood ’cause there was no actual sidewalk for you.

Jill Jaracz: So yeah, the, Corina Athletes Village is going to be, basically.

Almost 400 rented mobile homes tucked into the valley about 10 minutes north of Cortina itself. If you wanted to walk, it’s gonna be like an hour walk down to downtown. each trailer has two rooms and each room is about 200 square feet. Up to two people will stay in each room. Every room is heated.

It’s [01:18:00] got its own bathroom and shower. And rooms for Paralympians have accessible showers, toilets, and beds. The rooms look pretty plain. the Associated Press was the first ones to get a good look at it. So they did the reporting. Plane rooms, bed, bedside table, closet. The village itself is about 1.4 kilometers long, so if you’re on the outside, you got a, a little hike to get into the main, cafeteria area.

And the, there’s a, a common area that’s also got a gym game, room offices, relaxation areas, and a laundromat. So after the games, this whole village comes down and the homes will be reused at camping sites around Italy and some are already earmarked for a hockey club in Bruco cost of this 38 million euros.

Alison Brown: Okay. And you know these athletes will be judging those rooms up.

Jill Jaracz: Let’s hope so. ’cause they do look pretty. I mean, they’re always pretty basic and you. [01:19:00] It’s one of, it’s one of those funny things. You always think, oh, the athletes village. The athletes village, and you get there and they’re, really plain sounding or you know, not necessarily what you thought of because they’re not gonna put the money into making them super fancy.

Alison Brown: They need those fancy blankets that they had at Rio. Yes. That would judge them up a lot.

Jill Jaracz: That will judge them up. So maybe the branding team. Is working on some

Alison Brown: stuff. I have a job for you.

Transport Talk: No gondola? Fewer tickets

Jill Jaracz: We’ve got some transport and ticket talk. We do. CNN is reporting that organizers have capped the number of tickets for events in Cortina because they’re worried about traffic congestion. Specifically because there are delays in the construction of the new Aino Repe cable car that will take people from the town center to the Ana Alpine Skiing Center for Women’s Alpine events.

That ain’t ready.

Alison Brown: Am I gonna get stuck on another gondola?

Jill Jaracz: Don’t know because it’s not ready yet. [01:20:00] We’ll put a link to the, the article in the show notes because, there were delays. There were also, , delays because some residents tried to block the construction. Then they found cracks in some stuff, and it’s just been a long slog.

but. There’s also delays in preparing the collection points for spectators and problems in finding drivers and shuttles. So this has meant that the organizers cut 15% of spectator estimates. For now, initially, they expected 200,000 people, I would imagine over the whole time, because Cortina is tiny.

It’s 5,500 people. When you think of how many people are going to be there for, you know, you’ve got your sliding, you’ve got your curling, and you’ve got your women’s Alpine events there. A lot of people come through

Alison Brown: and hopefully us,

Jill Jaracz: right? So Simco is the construction group [01:21:00] in charge of the project. They also build the sliding track, so of course they say.

They’ll be done with most of it in December. They will test it in January.

Alison Brown: Don’t worry, we fix.

Jill Jaracz: That’s right. Without the cable car, there’s just one road to Ana.

Okay. after the games, the cable car is expected to help with traffic congestion afterwards too, because Cortina is so small, there’s no railroad station there, and there’s just one road in and out of town. So they could use some help with the traffic congestion as well.

The Milano Mega Store is open!

Alison Brown: Mega store is open.

Jill Jaracz: Ha Yeah. Half your note, half note, mega Store and Milano near the Duomo is open about 1200 square meters open seven days a week. Get your stuff now. Before I get there,

Alison Brown: I do need a Tina and and Milo, that’s for sure.

Jill Jaracz: I know. And some flow.

Alison Brown: And some flow. I wish they called it something else though.

Jill Jaracz: I know. But [01:22:00] the flowers. And the flowers, it’s flow.

Will Russian and Belarusian skiers and curlers compete at Milano Cortina 2026?

Jill Jaracz: Skiing and snowboarding events may have some Russian and Bellus competitors in Milano Cortina because according to reports in the athletic, Cass has, the court of arbitration for sport has ruled that skiers should be allowed to participate in qualification events.

And according to the Sports Examiner, the Russian Curling Federation plans to appeal the ban as well. Whether or not that means there’s time for them to get in, I don’t know. And

Alison Brown: this also matters for the Paralympics. Because if you remember, the Paralympics, yes, voted to let them in, but the issue has been, well, they can’t compete in the qualifying events, so they wouldn’t be there.

But if they can, then they will. And because the IPC reinstated full privileges to Russia and Belarus, so this could get interesting. Yes.

Belgium’s having a Winter Olympic Festival

Jill Jaracz: And if you happen to [01:23:00] be in Belgium in February, the Belgian Olympic and inter federal committee will be hosting a Winter Olympic Festival in Middle Karica from February 7th through 22.

This looks really cool. It’s gonna be a big fan fest, and they’re gonna have a fan village where you can watch competitions on big screens. You can cheer on Team Belgium. They’ll have a bar. You can go ice skating, you can try other winter sports. They’re gonna have other sport demonstrations there. Open from 10:00 AM to 11:00 PM every day.

It’s free, but there’s a charge if you want to go skating, so you could bring your own skates and just pay the skate rink fee. Or you can rent skates there as well. We will have a link to that in the show notes.

Alison Brown: I wonder if King Philippe and Queen Matilda, we’ll be there,

Jill Jaracz: baby, the show. That’d be awesome.

Alison Brown: That would be awesome if they did a little skate holding hands around. Oh, come on. That would be adorable.

LA 2028 News

Alison Brown: As if that wasn’t enough news. LA has been busy.

Jill Jaracz: They [01:24:00] have been busy,

Intuit signs on as a Team USA and LA 2028 partner

Jill Jaracz: so Intuit has signed on as a multi-year partner of Team USA and a founding partner of LA 2028. What that means is they got stadium naming rights.

Alison Brown: So the Inuit Dome will be the Inuit Dome?

Jill Jaracz: Yes. So that is where the La Clippers home stadium is.

It will host men’s and women’s five on five basketball at the games. and if you’re planning your ticket purchases, ’cause you know registration and all that. Soon. the Intuit Dome is like a 20 minute walk from SoFi Stadium, so that’s a walkable. Venue happen. So if you’re watching some swimming, wanna catch, get some basketball opportunity.

Intuit’s also gonna work with LA 2028 to, co-create a program for small businesses to help them become suppliers to the games. And they will expand financial education program for students in LA and for team USA for select athletes, they will get free TurboTax tax preparation.

Alison Brown: [01:25:00] How do you include sponsorship Money? They’ll know. They’ll know. TurboTax will know.

Utah 2034 News: Name change alert!

Alison Brown: I forgot we had music for Salt Lake City. Oh, no. No, it’s not.

Jill Jaracz: That music might change too. I still might change it. If they changed the name for Salt Lake City, 2034. No longer Salt Lake City. It will be known as Utah. 2034. You have a tone?

Alison Brown: Well, I mean it 2030 can be the French Alps. We can be Utah for 2034. I don’t see the problem. A lot of people are upset about this.

Jill Jaracz: Well, I think because. we’re so used to the games as being a city, and it has been not true for ages, right? Because you always have to have venue or sports in [01:26:00] other areas. so I think Milano, Corina is one of those that just said, Hey, we’re gonna start using two Bay Cities. French Alps said, okay, we’re.

Gonna be the French Alps. And Utah has come in and said, we’re gonna be the state because we want to, unite the state in this endeavor. We want to acknowledge that the games are not gonna be just in Salt Lake City.

Alison Brown: And it allowed them to do that Funky new graphic.

Jill Jaracz: Yes.

Alison Brown: Four letters of Utah, four numbers of 2034.

Yes. Which again, very controversial font.

Jill Jaracz: Right. So they, they created a black and white placeholder logo for the event, and it’s, , created by the Works Collective draws from the Utah landscape and indigenous people. So it does look very. It’s got an indigenous feel. That’s what I thought when I first saw it.

And there’s elements that look like the arches and some monumental [01:27:00] things in areas of Utah as well. So you get that, that red sandstone mountain indigenous feel to it.

Alison Brown: I thought it looked like boomerangs.

Jill Jaracz: Oh, okay. It’s also supposed to draw from the grid design system in many Utah cities.

Alison Brown: Did the trains work like boomerangs?

Jill Jaracz: I don’t know. I don’t know. The black and white is designed to be better visibility. That was some, Paralympian input so that the whole picture will serve as the word mark for the games until the official games time logo comes in 2029. If you travel to Salt Lake City, between now and then, you will see an art display of the logo in the arrival departure level of the Salt Lake City Airport.

And when you leave the airport, you get to see the 2002 arch.

Alison Brown: That was Salt Lake City. This is Utah. Utah, 2034.

Team Keep the Flame Alive News

Alison Brown: [01:28:00] Welcome to Shuk Stan.

Jill Jaracz: It is the time of the show where we check in with our team, keep the flame alive. These are past guests and listeners of the show who make up the citizenship of our very own country. Shuk Stan, A lot of sliding news.

Alison Brown: Yes, skeleton racer Shannon Glia. Finished first and third at the first North American Cup races of the season in Whistler, Canada.

These are the first winter medals for Malta in international competition.

Jill Jaracz: We have bobsled results from the first two World Cups in Mono. Bob Brie Walker took third at the World Cup in Corina and fourth at Innsbruck, and then in the two women she finished 18th. In both of those events, in the Men’s two Men, Josh Williamson was.

Driver Frank Duca and they finished fifth at Corina. And then in the Four Man, he was with Frank again and finished 16th at Cortina and 25th at Innsbrook

Alison Brown: At the Cortina [01:29:00] Luge test event, Ashley Faron finished fourth in Women’s singles and Sivan Forgan and Sophia Kirkby.

Finished fifth in Women’s Doubles team USA finished fifth in the team Relay, and the tour now moves over to Winburg, Germany this weekend for the First World Cup of the season.

Jill Jaracz: Cross country skier, Bruno Mora has kicked off her season with multiple races in Finland and two weekends in Sweden. She’s competed in the Women’s 1.2 kilometer Sprint Classic, the 10 Kilometer Classic and the 10 kilometer free.

Her finishes have included, one did not start, one did not finish, and placements ranging. And placements ranging from 72nd to 46th. She has been able to rack up some FIS points along the way and is ranking higher than she ranked last season. So good for her for a good start.

Alison Brown: Outstanding,

Jill Jaracz: and congratulations to you for getting the cover story on the December, 2025 issue of the Journal of Sports Fala.

Alison Brown: Thank you. And then thank you for [01:30:00] saying that title. ’cause that’s another one of the words along with memoir and Reper that I can’t say.

Jill Jaracz: So we will put a link to that in the show notes as well. And that, yeah, that was super exciting. They reached out. That was a lot of fun.

Alison Brown: It was fun to re to to work on that article.

Review of the week

Jill Jaracz: Also fun is our review of the week.

Alison Brown: Yes, run Young 50 said, I love Jill and Allison’s endless enthusiasm for all things Olympic and Paralympic and their expert knowledge and wide range of guests they feature. I’ve learned a lot from listening.

Jill Jaracz: thank you.

You run young 50.

Coming soon to Keep the Flame Alive

Jill Jaracz: And that’s gonna do it for this episode. Please do not forget to support our fundraiser and help the show provide you better coverage from Milano. Corina, next week will be our final installment of our look back at the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympics. Was it The greatest games of all time.

You’ll have to tune in to find out. Thank you so much for listening,

Alison Brown: and until next time, keep the flame [01:31:00] alive.