It's Women's History Month, so it's only appropriate that our first book club selection of 2023 celebrates female athletes. Book Club Claire is back to discuss Inaugural Ballers: The True Story of the First US Women’s Olympic Basketball Team by Andrew Maraniss.
It's part 2 of interview with Madeline Manning Mims, the multi-medal winning Olympian and trailblazer who became an Olympic chaplain. We talk with her about her experiences at 3 Olympics and her part in the 1980 American-led boycott, all of which paved the way for her calling in her gamesmaking role.
We welcome John MacLeod back to the show to talk about his experiences as a member of Team Canada's 1976 Olympic water polo team. John tells us what it was like to make the team, travel behind the Iron Curtain and march in the Opening Ceremonies. We also discuss what it was like to return to normal life after having a great Olympic experience, and how that transition can be difficult.
It takes a village to house an Olympian, but what does it take to create that village? Yvan Dubois, Director General of the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games and Mayor of the Montreal Olympic Village tells us how it's done. He was one of the first to create the environment that makes the Olympic Village special and contributes so much to the magical experience of the Games.
Montreal 1976 is the poster child for how not to build a cost-effective Olympics. The city went into a ton of debt, which infamously took 30 years to pay off. But that doesn't mean it's full of white elephant stadiums. We found out what's going on at Parc Olympique today.
Bonjour à Montreal! Jill and contributor Ben Jackson report in from the Montreal 1976 Olympic Village, where they've been exploring the venues from these Games. Jill also talks with Canadian Olympian Olya Ovtchinnikova, who competed at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in sabre fencing.