Book Club Claire on "Snowball's Chance"

Book Club Claire is back for our last Book Club meeting for 2022, and we're discussing Snowball's Chance: The Story of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games Squaw Valley & Lake Tahoe by David C. Antonucci. Know nothing about the 1960 Winter Olympics? Neither did we until we read this book, and it's got all sorts of fun details that are surprisingly relevant to other parts of this episode. Plus, Walt Disney was involved with the ceremonial aspect of these Games, which definitely peaked our interests.

In other big news, Paris 2024 announced its mascots: The Phyrges! We've got the story behind these two symbols and our thoughts on how they'll be as mascots.

We also have another chapter in our Modern Pentathlonovela and the Kamila Valieva doping situation.

In our Albertville moment, Alison shares the story of the temporary stadium that housed the ceremonies - and what happened to it after the Games.

Checking in with our Team Keep the Flame Alive, we have competition results and news from:

• Shooter Tim Sherry
• Beach volleyball player Kelly Cheng
• Table tennis player Melissa Tapper
• Handball player Sarah Gascon
• Speed skater Erin Jackson (that link goes to her Hear Her Sports interview where she talks about the differences between inline and speed skating)
• Figure skater Nate Bartholomay
• Retired luger Shiva Keshavan
• Marketing consultant Terrence Burns

We also have some news from Milan-Cortina 2026 on the speed skating venue -- which includes another flashback to Winter 1960.

For a transcript of this episode, please visit: https://wp.me/pbRtIx-236

Thank you to all of our patrons who keep our flame alive. If you appreciate this show and would like to give back, please visit our support page for ways to do so.

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

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 Keep the Flame Alive: The Podcast for Fans of the Olympics and Paralympics with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown

 

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