The Kevin Karius Show - Mar. 13th, 2026 - Hour 4

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1:03stress, set boundaries, and actually feel like yourself again. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments, you just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, growth therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance, and some pay as little as $0 depending on their plan. Visit growtherapy.com slash start now to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. Growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. All right, welcome back to the big program, 1001 in Edmonton.

2:04In time now for the headliner of the day, brought to you by Mr. Rooter Plumbing, getting snakes deep and giving 110%. Day in and day out for all your plumbing needs, go to Mr. Rooter.ca as we are so lucky and excited to welcome in our guest to the studio here in West Edmonton Mall, Kelsey Mitchell, Olympic gold medalist. Good morning, Kelsey. Good morning. How are you? All great. Thanks for coming in. We've been trying to lock you down here to come in studio for a while, but with your schedule pretty busy, pretty tough. So happy that you could spend some time with us. Just back from Italy, what was the experience like for you this time in the winter Olympics? And we're going to talk a lot about the summer Olympics, obviously, too. Yeah, it was amazing. I mean, a lot colder. But no, it was amazing. We were there for three weeks total in the Dolomites in Cortina. And so woke up every day and just saw the mountains with like a fake background. It was, yeah, stunning. Got to do the opening ceremonies in Cortina, which was really cool, more intimate than I think it was in Milan. And that was the first time I ever did an opening ceremony.

3:05So that was special and got to do the closing, got to eat every day at the food court there. And yeah, it was cool and got to go watch Alpine Curly and your team Canada and then got to compete at the very end. So we were there for about three weeks and they're very early and then had to stay focused and kill time and then, yeah, compete at the end. Was that hard for you because, you know, you're looking at everything, as you said, you're going to some events, but your focus is at the tail end of the game. So what was that like for you? Yeah, I was confusing. I felt like I was at camp, to be honest. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, try not to stay too locked into early on because it's drained yourself. But with cycling, we would fly in like five days maybe before competing and then competing then we would get out. So, it was different for sure, but obviously the excitement was constantly happening and we were getting ready. And then once we started to get on the track again, it was kind of back to business. What were the opening ceremonies like? It was cool. They were smaller, so it was all kind of spread out across Italy. But yeah, it was cool. The whole town was out. Up on their like balconies or porches, we walked through the main town.

4:07Believe it was 70 years ago, they hosted the Olympics before and we did the same route that they did when they walked the opening ceremonies then. So, that was kind of cool. And yeah, it was just fun to be a part of it from the beginning because I've only ever actually tended to closing. So, to see from the start was special. Way different between the summer and winter with, as he said, because it was three locales, I guess, to have just one when you were in Tokyo, say. Yeah, but so for me, for Tokyo, I was three hours away from Tokyo. I was in Izu in a smaller little community there. Yeah. Yeah, and then in Paris, I was in a hotel outside of Paris. So yeah, to be there and to be with all the athletes made it feel more of the Olympic experience for sure. So, when you always, the headlines are always again, Canadian track cyclist turned Bob's letter. And before we get to the RBC training program and everything like that, what was the turning point, the kicking point that part of your life where you said, this is the next step that I want to try to be a world-class athlete in this sport?

5:11Yeah, so 10 years ago, my parents got me a birthday gift and it was to try the Bob's side track in Calgary. So, that was like the first moment where I kind of thought, oh my gosh, I could have a chance at competing for Team Canada at the Olympics. And so, I tried out in Calgary and in Edmonton, I wasn't fast enough or strong enough. And so, they said, come back next year. Anyways, when I went to the RBC training ground, that was kind of my hope was to go for Bob's side, but then cycling was there and they picked me up and obviously that went really well. But yeah, I needed a change of environment. I'd bid out in Ontario for eight years and just was kind of burning myself out on the bike. And so, changed it up, came to Calgary and was just rehabbing and there happened to be a camp there at the same time. And they asked if I wanted to try pushing this lead and I think 21-year-old me would be mad if I didn't do it. So, tried it, it was so much fun and then I decided to go all in on that. Did you try speed skating too? Yes, it's so hard. It's so hard. I thought I'd be good at it. I really did. I've strong legs. I know how to skate, but it's, yeah. It was tough. I felt the same way. When I was working in Calgary in 97, Katrina Lemay don't took some of the media out and

6:16I thought, oh, this is going to be nuts. I was like, I can't stand up, man. It's hard. It's like there's no edge. You have to, like, your legs are just firing at all times. All times. So, yes, that's support. Yes. This is going to be easy. I didn't even go around once. I was like, get me out of here. I'm just going to make a pass to myself. Yeah. It's a very humbling experience. Yeah. Kelsey Mitchell with us in the sports 1440 studio. So, let's go way back and you're at the University of Alberta and you're a soccer player. But even before that, you were at Nate, correct? So, we had actually a texture when we said you were coming in, I said, well, you know, from U of A to cycling to the Bob sled and everything and members like, hey, never mind she was at Nate. First, let's go back to that. Yeah, I actually Nate, U of A, then back to Nate. So apparently, I like to jump around. But yeah, I went to Nate and I played soccer there. I really just went to school to play soccer. My goal was to play for the Pandas. I was kind of a dreamer from when I was younger and so I got to accomplish that. And then in my second year, I was dealing with a lot of injuries and just wasn't playing super well. And I think I kind of had the point where I was like, I don't think I'm going to be

7:17able to be a high level soccer player. And I think I'll need to start thinking about what's next in my career. So I went back to Nate and I took instrumentation engineering technology, like an oil field trade. I knew I'd get a good job after I graduated and there were no jobs in 2017. And so I got a job driving a truck for Strathcone County and that's when I had like eight hours every day to think about what I actually wanted to do with my life and realize sport was still very, very important to me. And then RBC training ground was kind of like my last hope to keep being an athlete. What year was the RBC training ground for you? 2017. 2017. So when you went to that, was it at the butterdome or when was it at? No, I had actually, so I went traveling for three months to find myself, Southeast Asia, came back and was kind of lost, didn't know what I was doing. And I had heard about RBC training ground and there's only one trial left and it was in Toronto. Oh, okay. So telling my parents that I'm booking a last minute trip to Toronto and they're like, why? And I'm like, I don't know the Olympics. They're like, what sport? And I'm like, I don't know yet. Like, we'll find out. And so, yeah, now they're so supportive. It was just kind of new.

8:18The program was brand new. We hadn't seen the success of it yet. And so, yeah, it was going out on a limb, but it was kind of my last chance. So tell us about the RBC training program and what it's meant to where you are now. Yeah. So it's age 14 to 25. So when I attended, I was 23. So I was a little bit older and it's any range of athleticism. If you are already at a high level in a sport, but you want that next step to be noticed by provincial or national coaches, you can go to this. If you want to find a new sport, if you just want to try it out and have fun for the day, it's a free event. It's an eminent tomorrow, but it's happening all over Canada, 20 different locations. And yeah, it basically just RBC believing in the youth and in the next generation and seeing who has potential. So when you say, and you talk to your parents and you said, well, I don't know yet. I don't know what sport. So when you got to Toronto and you went to the RBC training ground, were there other specific, you know, athletic events or the future maybe of another sport that you were like, okay, I'm going to try this. Or how did it work that you ended up in cycling?

9:19Yeah, well, I was really hoping Bob's late. So that's where the irony of it all now full circle. But I thought Bob's it would be for me like I came from a running sport. I was built the same as a lot of the Bob's sliders at the time. And so I thought that was kind of my future. And then I did a vertical jump. So they test your speed, strength and endurance and power, just pure athleticism. No skill towards any sport, but I had a good vertical jump. And they said, you've good leg power. Let's see how you are in a bike. And so I got on a walk bike, which I'd never been on before. And I put out like 1,300 watts and they were all impressed. I had no idea what it meant, but they were very excited. And they're like, you have potential. And that's kind of all I was hoping for was someone to believe in me. And so they contacted me the next day. And they were like, let's get you back out to Milton and get you on the velodrome and see if you could be a fit. So do you know what 1,300 watts are now? Well, now, yeah, now I know I'm like, well, that's impressive. So what was that? Shoot. It's so it's a seeded all out six second effort. So it's basically just your peak power. Power. Yeah, how quickly you can get up to speed and hit that peak. So you would hold probably like 200 watts.

10:22Someone who's quite fit on a ride for an extended period of time. I'm trying to think of what a good reference is. Probably I don't think I've hit much higher than that since then. So even training at full time, I just had a natural power on the bike, which has been good. But the record actually it held for a few years, but it recently was broken at the last final for training ground. So, but I was nice to see it go. So that's hopefully the next girl is going to have a lot of potential in the bike. Kelsey Mitchell with us in studio Olympic gold medalist in 2020 in Tokyo. So when you went back to Milton, like right now, and we're going to get to the velodrome here because technically it's probably better than what's in Milton now, the new one. But when you went to Milton, what was that experience like? Because now you're going, and that's like you say in 2017, we got a few more years, you're going to start to get on the World Cup circuit and things like that. What was that transition and that process for you? Yeah, so I actually started training full time in Edmonton.

11:23So I was joining in the winter, a brand new sport, where I was used to like kind of running around moving, where I was trying to learn how to ride a bike, a stationary bike, inside, staring out at minus 30 at the snow. But I just didn't love it at first. I was uncomfortable on the bike seat. My only relationship with cycling was if I'd rolled an ankle and I had to spin on a spin bike and I couldn't run. So it wasn't a super positive relationship, but then I was slowly getting better and better and showing potential. And I started to enjoy it that much more and then in May, so May 2018. So a couple of months after I started cycling, the national team invited me to come out for a camp and actually be moving on the velodrome. And so I went out there and I was terrible compared to them. I was a hazard out there. I was messing up people's warm-ups. I was trying as hard as I possibly could, but I just wasn't as fast as I'm. I couldn't get in the arrow position. And it was just a very frustrating experience because I obviously hate being bad at things. But it slowly started to get better and better. And looking back, it was a very fast transition. But obviously in the moment, I'm like, why am I not better?

12:24I'm trying as hard as I possibly can, but not seeing the results and catching up to the team. But yeah, so 2018 was kind of the year where I was all in. And they invited me to come to nationals. And then after nationals, I was invited on the team. And so then I moved out to Ontario. Well, was it the bank of the velodrome? What was it that you were, like you said, you hadn't done it before? What was the, where you couldn't get to that level that you wanted to as fast as you wanted to? Yeah, I was more just technical ability pedaling the bike. Like I wasn't as efficient yet. I didn't have the legs beat. Like I was comfortable moving my legs at like 60 rotations per minute, where they're riding at 100 to 120 and they're comfortable at that. And so that alone was a steep learning curve. And then I just didn't have the flexibility yet. I wasn't used to bending in half and being arrow and tucking my elbows. So I was a sail without like with my arm straight pedaling the spike. And so it's just all these little things add up and it makes you that much faster. And so it was just, I knew I had the power. It was just more so learning to pedal correctly and get arrow.

13:26So who were your coaches back in 2018 that helped you get to that level? Were you, you go to the 2020 Olympics and reach the pinnacle? Yeah, well, so I started in Edmonton with the Juventus Club at the Argao Velodrome with Alex and Garo as my coach. And it was, it's such a great group. I came from team sports, which I loved coming to an individual sport is a lot harder. It's kind of all on you, but it was, yeah, just a really supportive group, especially being new to the sport at an older age. And then from there, when I moved out to the national program, I was with the team there with the sprint coach there and all the support. And just seeing what high performance sport was in Canada for the first time. And it was really impressive. Like we had nutritionists. We had, I was getting physio and I was like, this is amazing. It was incredible. And so that was kind of how high the bar was set for me with high performance in Canada. And then just throughout the years, like obviously we've lost some funding and then switching to Bob's Lane, seeing the winter sport and the funding for that and the support for that was just kind of night and day. And so I've seen like a full spectrum of what sport is in Canada, which is kind of cool.

14:30But yeah, moved out to Ontario and was training there full time. And went to Pan Am Games, won a gold medal there and then set a world record and then did the World Cup season and qualified for the Olympics in 2020. And then obviously COVID happened. And so a year delay, but it was a blessing and disguise for me. And yeah, went to the Olympics and was able to bring home a gold. When you were talking about that transition from team to individual, what did you make of that? What were some of the obstacles for you? Did you like it? How long was that time where you're looking around? I'm like, hey, I'm by myself here. Pros and cons to it. Like at first, I didn't love it. I missed having my teammates working together for a common goal is something that like I really liked about sport. And so being out there on your own was kind of daunting and all the pressure was on you. But then I learned to really appreciate it because it was like all the hard work that I put in versus someone else. And it was all on me and I kind of learned to love that. And then as I progressed through my sport, through my athletic career, I started to miss the team

15:33and like miss the environment of all working together and having the same goal. And so I think that's also what helped with Bob Slay is it is a very team sport. And so I got to have that aspect back, which I'd really loved and missed. Well, that's the cool thing because you kind of, and I mean, it's not like a soccer team, but you sort of come full circle where again, you're relying on someone else. 100%. Yeah, those Bob's ones are heavy and you cannot move them alone. And so just seeing everyone work together, even if you're not getting in the sled, was like really special and cool to see and kind of reminded me how important team is. You say just how heavy they're and you're tough to move. Obviously, was it what you expected? And you said you tried it when you were a lot younger. But now you're a little older, you're probably stronger than what you were when you first tried it. Yeah, they're still heavy. Yeah, it was very different than what I expected. Like you see at the Olympics, the sled brought to the line and then you see them go down and then the sleds moved off and you're like, oh, cool, that's a cool sport. But it's like, there is so much work that goes on in the background. Like we're moving those sleds.

16:34We're polishing those runners for hours. We're getting it ready to go down and we're driving it across Europe to all the different races. And it's like kind of on the athletes where in cycling, I would have my bike ready for me. I would barely touch it on race day because I was getting ready to race. So it was just, yeah, night and day from cycling to Bob's Lane. And I'm betting that, say, teams from Germany have technicians and larger staff and a larger contingent to help out with that compared to smaller Canadian teams. Yeah, it was very apparent on the international stage, seeing the gap with funding and support between Canadian Bob's Lane and the rest of the world. We're going to talk about funding and training possibilities and where that can go and where it needs to go. And unfortunately, we only talk about it every four years. It seems in our country. And we've had many athletes on that are Olympians. And we just, we had Brendan McKay on who won bronze in Italy. And we talked about his journey. And we're going to talk about that with Kelsey Mitchell.

17:35When we come back on the Kevin Kerri Show on Sports 1440 presented by Sports Select on Sports 1440 AM radio. We're also streaming on YouTube, X Facebook, Instagram and Twitch. All right, welcome back to the big program, 1021 in Edmonton. Kevin Kerri Stucco Delbert, Josh Fenwick with you here on Sports 1440 AM radio. We're so lucky to have Kelsey Mitchell, Olympic gold medalist and cycling with us in studio. Segment number two, Kelsey. Thanks for spending some time with us this morning. No problem. It's been a lot of fun so far. And I'm learning a lot about Watts and everything. Someone texted in and said, Carious could get to about 85 Watts. I don't even know if I could reach 85. No, you could. I don't know. So maybe I just want to go back to Paris and leading up. You weren't sure if you were going to be going to Paris. When did you find out after you were on the World Cup? And I think I saw the last race was January 11th in Samarits, if I'm correct on that. For Italy? Yeah. Yeah, we were, the qualifying period was from October until January.

18:38And we didn't know how many sleds we would qualify until the last race, which was actually January 20th, I believe. So I wasn't even in that race. So I had done the best I could, had as fast a push as I could throughout the season. And then it was just kind of seeing where I ranked among the other breakmen. And so we were able to qualify three sleds, which was very exciting, which means three breakmen were going and then two alternates. So there was six of us on tour. So five of us were going to be able to go to the Olympics. And then it was a matter of if I would be racing or not. And so, yeah, got the call. I think on Tuesday, January 28th or something like that. And then we left on the 31st. So it was pretty bang, bang. Yeah, no, it was a quick turnaround. Yeah, well, at least you got to spend a lot of time in Italy. Oh my goodness. Yeah, it was stunning. In November, we got to go there for about two and a half weeks and just be in Cortina and be on the track there. Yeah, I'm Rocky Mountain fans all the way, but the Dolomites are pretty amazing. Every, you know, all the pictures that we saw nightly, I mean, it's just unbelievable. As you said, sometimes it doesn't even look real.

19:38No, it looks like a fake background. Looks like a painting or something like that. So out of the two sports that you pick that go to the Olympics might be the most costly, you know, for individuals. You know, there are other sports obviously. But I mean, the cost that come to, you know, with being a Bob's letter and a cyclist, I don't even know where we're at here. But so how do you look at how the financing goes? We've discussed that with many Canadian Olympics and unfortunately we talk about it every four years. The funding, you know, with the government has put forth to try to get more money. They haven't been able to do that in the last couple years. But there is monthly funding that has increased as well. So we're yet with this as far as, you know, the funding that you need. And obviously you're doing other stuff to try to get. The hustle doesn't have to hurt.

20:38If performance pressure is making it hard to breathe, growth therapy helps you navigate stress, set boundaries, and actually feel like yourself again. Whether it's your first time in therapy or your 50th, grow makes it easier to find a therapist who fits you, not the other way around. You can search by what matters, like insurance, specialty, identity, or availability, and get started in as little as two days. There are no subscriptions, no long-term commitments. You just pay per session. Grow helps you find therapy on your time. Whatever challenges you're facing, growth therapy is here to help. Grow accepts over 100 insurance plans, including Medicaid in some states. Sessions average about $21 with insurance and some pay as little as $0, depending on their plan. Visit growththerapy.com slash start now to get started. That's growtherapy.com slash start now. Growtherapy.com slash start now. Availability and coverage vary by state and insurance plan. Work most fast. Every email, report, and proposal counts.

21:41That's where Grammarly comes in. It's your one place to think, write, and finish. Grammarly's AI agents help you find natural phrasing. Fine-tune tone and confidently write wherever you work. It's the premier writing tool that 93% of users trust to get more work done. In a world of generic AI, don't sound like everyone else. With Grammarly, you never will. Download Grammarly for free at Grammarly.com. Two events and things like that. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's tough, especially competing internationally. You see what other countries get, and it's just like, how are we supposed to be able to compete with them when they have more funding, more support? I think Canada, I mean, the world's in a tough spot with funding and sports is usually the first to lose out. But I don't think there's been an increase from the government for sport in 20 years, which is crazy if you think of it like a business. If you're not investing in your business or at least matching inflation, I don't know how you can expect it to succeed or be successful.

22:42Obviously getting the increase monthly, if you're a card at athlete in Canada, you're able to get a funding from the government, which comes every month. And as the highest level possible, I believe it's 2100 a month, which is amazing. And we're very grateful for it. But obviously, to live off of that and do this long term, it's quite tough. And so getting sponsors or going to events and trying to get people behind you and on your team is part of the job, which I didn't realize early on, that that would kind of be what you're doing as well as an athlete. After winning the gold medal, so many people are like, oh my gosh, you must be rich. And I'm like, well, I won a gold medal in track cycling in Canada. So it's not the most common sport, but the support is there. It's just the financial where we're really lacking. Well, I mean, this was facilitated by our friend, Corey Bablitz. And now he's taken you on and helping you out, being from Bablitz, wealth management, also RBC. So how was that helped you and made you able to do and continue training and things like that?

23:43Yeah, I've met some amazing people who have supported me through my career so far and they big shout out to them because I wouldn't have been able to do the Bob Slay season without them. It was a $25,000 team fee, which out of pocket and just joining the sport and not knowing that I'd have to pay that would have been a lot just out of pocket. So very grateful for them. And then obviously, with the RBC training ground, it's helping fund the next generation of athletes. And then there's an RBC Olympian program. And if you're a part of that, you can get funding from them to continue training at the highest level possible. And so, yeah, it's tough. And I think that we did the best we could in Italy with what we had. But Canada's kind of wondering what happened. Like, why aren't we on the top step? Why aren't we on the podium? Why aren't we competing with the best in the world? And I think it all kind of had to happen for Canada to see and kind of be upset and get behind their athletes again. Yeah, for you being a Bob Slider and I threw the four years at you in the commercial break, he went, whoa, whoa, whoa, it's 2030. It's a long time away because we've got another Summer Olympics in between at 2028.

24:45But let's look at the future here in 2026 and 2030. And even though you say I want to take a little time here to think about things, but obviously, you know, you always think about stuff like that when you're at the top of the heap, especially in cycling. Yeah, I love being an athlete. I love representing Canada. It's my dream and I'm getting to live my dream. And so I want to do it as long as I'm competitive for as long as I can. And so, yeah, the goal is to get back on the bike and go for LA 2028 and then we'll reevaluate after that. I'm getting older and watching all my friends, you know, get married, have kids and start a family and financially be doing very well. And so it's like, how long am I going to put that off and how long am I going to be willing to be making very minimum wage and support my life and career. So, yeah, it'll be some tough decisions to make. But right now, I'm enjoying my time off and then excited to get back at it and then hopefully be back competitive for a 2028. Well, you gave me a kind of a perfect segue to bring in your boyfriend here. And I got to get the name right.

25:46I'm going to ask you too, but I think it's Stefan Bodichert. Am I close? Close, yeah. Okay, can you just tell us, you got to say it from the horse's mouth here. Okay, but it shows the ride. Well, do you sure? Yeah, okay. It's not easy to suppose that. Not bad. So, from Germany? Yeah, I'm from Germany. Visiting here, my boyfriend and spending time together. That's cool. So, you comment the worst time. It's like minus 19 today. It's supposed to be spring out here. Yeah, I kind of used to it. I was here before. So, it wasn't even colder. The Christmas time. Yeah, well, there you go. Well, please come in the summer. Yeah. Yeah, you'll go between the two with Christmas and like, don't we have the best summers here? Yes, and he doesn't seem to come in the summer issue. Yeah, she's trying to sell the Canadian summer. I haven't experienced it here in Edmonton, just in Ontario a few years ago. Yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to spend summer here. How did you guys meet? Like, what? Cycling.

26:46Yeah. World Cup in Milton. Yeah. Yeah, I had to impress her on the cycling stage. Yeah, I'm a track cyclist as she's doing, like 50% of the time now. Being a Bob Slater and a track cyclist. And that's how we met. And yeah, you spend the time together for a lot of... It's cool. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's cool. I don't know how to look at that. Even we were in the commercial break, we were talking about Leon Drey's saddle. And his popularity in Germany? Yeah, he's not pretty famous. I just like read in Germany. Yeah. Because he's, I just recently read an article on a big German newspaper about him. And he was just like explaining, like, he's not even mad. Because like, he's not around. It's not a pre-common sport in Germany. We have like football or soccer, he says. And it's like above everything. And there's all the focus on it. And then he said he's loving the city of Edmonton.

27:47And he has been in the best country. He can like think about it like for his sport. So he's selling Canada for me, yeah. So I was just mentioning, yeah, Leon is doing a very good job, I think, for Edmonton people like Liking German. So good city to be here. Yeah, you knew about Edmonton, not from Leon. Oh, how was that? Oh, yeah, a funzo Davis. Oh, well, by your Munich for sure. Yeah, a funzo Davis. Yeah, he got hurt again the other day. So hopefully he's going to be okay for the World Cup coming up here in Canada. That'll be an exciting time for sure. So Kelsey also, too, you haven't seen the velodrome yet. In its finished stage, but you're going to go to the new velodrome tomorrow. Tomorrow, yeah. The RBC training grounds being hosted there. The first one of the season actually. So yeah, get to attend an RBC training ground event in Edmonton in a velodrome, which is pretty crazy in full circle for me. So yeah, and again, this is a world-class facility now moving forward.

28:50So instead of people going to Milton, you're going to be coming here. Yeah, which is great. Like it's, yeah, a dream come true. I think obviously for the Western half of Canada, there's two velodromes now out east. One in Quebec and Braumont and then one in Milton. And so to have one out here and have the athletes coming through. And it's just, yeah, it's a game changer. And I think this is kind of what we need to be investing in in the future in Canada. Not the niche sports, but a little bit smaller sports and getting more kids involved in sport. It'll be a little better than Argyle, huh? Argyle had it's, it was, yeah. It's a character. Yes, it was, it's where I learned. So I have, yeah. I walked the track. I was doing a story on a young man. I can't remember his name now. Oh, young guy before when I was at global and I walked the track and I was like, hmm, obviously. Well, I started in October and I wrote it, bundled up in like a winter coat. My coach said, go do 15 laps. I was by myself. I was freezing and it was just so bumpy, so uncomfortable. And I'm like, why am I doing? Anyways, yeah,

29:51they would blow off the lower level. That's what they, oh, it's no off. Yeah, exactly. When I was reading your Olympic bio, you mentioned Georgia Simmerling. So tell me both the importance of Georgia. Yeah, I love her. I need to update it. It's been a while, but she did Alpine skiing and then she did ski cross and then she did track cycling. So she competed at three different sports at the Olympics. And first time I met her, it was just good vibe. She's a, she's a great person, great role model and just likes to work hard. And I think I really bonded with her over that. And then yeah, she's in Calgary now. And so I got to see her quite a bit. And she's married to Steph LaBae and have two little twin girls. And they're just the next phase in life. And so yeah, she's doing really well. And I definitely admire her work ethic and work ethic and what she did with sport again. Kelsey Mitchell with us on sports 1440. What do the next, I don't know, several months look like for you. As you said, you have to take some time because it's such, I can't imagine how overwhelming

30:52the training and everything else is when you get to the Olympics. And you know, I kind of look at even, look at the hockey players. They go right back into it and you know, the other athletes here, they get some time to kind of, you know, rest and, and, you know, decompress and all that stuff. So I think with all my wisdom now that I've learned rest and recovery is so important. And I think when I started, it was just go-go-go and I was seeing success and getting the results and I didn't want to stop. And then leading into Paris, I just burnt myself out and promised myself I wouldn't do that again. And so taking some time and letting the body recover, the mind letting me be away long enough to actually really miss the sport and want to come back because the next two years will be a grind. Qualification starts this October for L.A. And so yeah, it'll just be like getting back on the bike, getting my fitness back. I've lost a lot of my endurance. So slowly getting that back and yeah, there's Commonwealth games that comes up in July. We'll see where I'm at for that. If I think I could be competitive, then I'd love to go. But if not, they're in Glasgow. And then if not, it would be worlds in October

31:53would kind of be the next goal. So what other sport are we looking at? It's got to be another one on the back burner. Yeah, people keep saying this and I'm like, well, really, I'd like to try rowing. But honestly, I've missed the bike. Yeah. And I'm just so excited to get back to it. I know I can be good at it. I know it can be one of the best in the world. And so yeah, just excited to get back at it. Did you ever go down to the Edmonton Rowing Club? No, I haven't. But I have some rowers who meddled in Tokyo and Paris and asked if I could ever go with them. And they're like, anytime. Anytime you want to get on the boat, we'll go. You've got to try it. Ow. Well, kayaking. Maybe I don't know. It will rowing's more full-body leg. Yeah, probably. My upper body's not there. Yeah, with that extension. So well, thanks so much for coming in. This has been a lot of fun. Nice meeting you, Stefan. Thanks for having me. Thanks for having us, yeah. And hopefully we can chat again soon. Enjoy some time off here. And maybe go to the Whiter's game on Sunday. And you guys can see Leon Dreyson. Yeah, well, wait a minute.

32:53Maybe go to the morning skate, talk to him. See what he says. Yeah, he probably pumped. Oh, and fellow Germans. Hey, there are so many people that come over, like, tours. And he makes, like, they'll come to the morning skate. Yeah. And like, it'll be a, I don't know, a party of 12 or 20 sometimes. Really? And then they'll stay after and he'll sign some things. Oh nice. You'll all talk to German and whatever. So, but thanks so much for coming in. Really appreciate it. Thank you. When we come back, we'll get to some of your texts. 833-401-1440. Did Corey Conner's just put one in the drink, Duke? He did. He was punching out from the thick of it and punched a little too good and rolled right into the crack. He's leading right now at 9 under that. We'll change once he's done the 12th hole coming up here. It's the Kevin Kerishow with the Duke Delburn. Josh Fenwick on Sports 1440. Presented by Sports Select on Sports 1440. A.M. Radio. And we're streaming on YouTube. X Facebook, Instagram and Twitch. All right, welcome back to the big program 1041.

33:55Ian Edmonton can't beat sunny James to close out the week. Text 833-401-1440. Hey, what do you think's going to happen tonight in St. Louis? Oilers taking on the St. Louis Blues. It's the third meeting of the season between the two teams. Back to back for both teams. The Blues were in Carolina last night. It is a two-hour and 15-minute flight from Raleigh to St. Louis. The Oilers were obviously in Dallas where they got throttled. 7-2. It is about an hour and 40-minute flight from Dallas to St. Louis. So the Oilers would have arrived earlier than the Blues did last night. Having said that, being on lucky enough to be on the Oilers Charter quite a few times. Wouldn't there be on a back-to-back or coming home after a late game? Quite a few times. Wouldn't there be on a back-to-back or coming home after a late game?

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35:56Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I'm inviting you to witness history as me, and my Howie-do-it-gaming team take on Gilly DeKing and wallow $267 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner, plus a half-time performance by multi-platonom artist, Travis McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against NIO. Right now at globalgaming league.com. That's globalgaming league.com. Everybody games. The maps app that came with your phone? It's fine. If you enjoy waiting and guessing and inefficient routes, or you could use MapQuest. MapQuest is back with live directions, real-time traffic, and faster routes. It moves when you move. Best of all, no prints are needed, no paper, no more misturns, just you and the app. Get there fast with MapQuest. Download the MapQuest app on the app store or visit MapQuest.com. MapQuest, still getting you there.

36:56The pedals to the metal up there. They're not exactly saying, we'll just sort of throw on crews and whatever. They're making up time as much time as they possibly can. What's that dude? Is that not a signfield bit? There's like, oh yeah, we're making up some time in the air. What do you mean making up time? Why are you not going as fast as you can all the time? Well, I think, I don't know, maybe they don't want to burn too much fuel. I'm sure that's a consideration. Yeah. Like, if you're driving your truck or your car, do you burn more gas when you're driving on the QE2 at a buck 40, or when you set crews at 110? That's right. So that's one of the things. Especially if you're into the headwind, trying to maintain that higher speed, obviously. Absolutely. Burn some more, but if you got a favorable tailwind, you can drive faster and burn less gas. That's right. It's all about the science, Kev.

37:57We might not be a mass show, but we're going to make science. That's right. Yeah, we could figure, you know, it's like the... Scientology, maybe. The electric train going 40 miles an hour, and the wind going the other, you know? What is the net speed? Well, which way does the smoke blow? That's what the question is, right? Sure. Well, then, you know, the electric train doesn't blow smoke. Is that what was written on your physics diploma? That's why I lost. You're just reading, you're just like, wait a minute. You write, then, that answer like the train doesn't blow smoke. They're like, Kevin, nowhere in this question, did it say it was an electric train? MTR says, what's the food like on the charter, Kevin? Well, it's not airplane food. I can say that. That's some good gobbagool. Well, how it works is that you have the coaches and the athletic staff, and then there's media. Well, there used to be. Now, there is no media, except for... The team broadcasters would be on the plane. And, you know, I think Jean and Louis get to go sometimes. Does that not fall under team broadcasters?

38:58No, it doesn't. Because I know they're technically sports and employees, but they are the teams. Sometimes they're not always on. Like that's the way it is. Like they're flying in the same flight as spec on the closest commercial one or what? Yeah. And that may have changed as far as, you know, because, you know, with how Jack has gone over to TV. But before that, it was always, you know, it was just the Chad guys. And now it's changed, I think, a little bit. But for the most part, there's no other media, except for that. And then they have about a... Oh, I have 10 or 12 foot off a table with everything you could possibly imagine. And then obviously the food and for the media guys, they're all like, when I was doing the games with Rod Phillips, Rod would have his two, three reds and a scotch. And I actually had several reds as well, especially after a win, Duke. It was always a good feeling. But the other thing too, MTR, is that there was... One of the first games that I ever did was coming back from Washington and like a five-hour flight.

39:59And I had the two seats total beside me. I couldn't touch the seat in front of me. I had a TV right beside me. And there was a movie that I don't even know if it was out on video yet. I had a Hogan-Dawz ice cream bar in one hand and a big glass of red wine in the other. And the flight attendant, and it's the same crew all the time. Andrew was her name. She came and sat beside me and said, is everything all right? I said, are you kidding me? I said, I have it better here than I have it at home. And that's how nice it is on the charters, for sure. So, what do you think happens tonight? It's the third meeting of the season for these two teams. The last time they met Conor Ingraham had a shutout. 27 saves. It was January 18th at Rogers Place. The Blues won the other game at the Enterprise Center. I guess they call it now. 32 was the final in that game. Earlier in, I think that was November. So, Duke had it in, in or out. You went tonight. That's three out of four.

40:59That is a successful road trip, man. That is, if you were going and saying, okay, if you could get four out of a possible eight points, I think most people would be happy with that. But now that you've got four already in the bank, you've got to look at the mentality as, these are the St. Louis Blues. This is a team out of the playoffs. This is a team that got rid of Shen. Got rid of Falk. Who else did they get rid of Duke? Anything? I don't know. Those were the main two. Well, that's kind of, they did not enough getting rid of Paraco or Thomas, obviously. But yeah, a team that was in clear sell-off mode at the deadline. As Gregor said, it's, you know, Bennington played last night. So, you're going to get a hole for, maybe that's worse. You think Bennington? But Bennington's been good since the break, since the Olympic break. And he's come back and he's played well. He's one of those guys that has continued to play, you know, at that good level. So, I don't know. You got a feeling on this one, Duke tonight? Well, Kevin, I'll tell you what you'll run. I'll tell you this. I'll tell you what it says. Like, I will for the third week in a row,

42:01be betting the over on this hockey game. Six and a half. Just two games tonight, and I am, in fact, seeing six at Sports Select. Wow, free money. Six. I'm seeing six. Now, you can look at this a couple different ways, I suppose. Both teams on the second half of back-to-back, so fatigue potentially playing a role. What the teams do when they, or maybe a little bit on the more tired side, ease back a little bit, try and win a, try and win a bit of an ugly game, especially the conclusion of a road trip for, for the Oilers here, and in what are a very important two points from their own perspective in the Pacific Division and Western Conference standing? So could you see a bit of an uglier, grittier, two, one, three, two type hockey game? Yeah, I suppose so. But at the same time, the Blues have been playing their best brand of hockey here in the last couple of weeks. So tough turnaround for them, obviously, coming back from Raleigh last night, but they're flying high. They just beat the Hurricanes, the best team in the Eastern Conference. I expect them to bring a very strong foot forward.

43:03And you talk about guys like Dylan Holloway, Bill Phil Broberg, always a little extra Oilers legend, draft legend, draft, draft legend. Yeah, it's playoff draft legend Dylan Holloway. Never got, never caught on the line up, but there's always a little bit of an extra chip on their shoulder when they, when they play against an old team, as, as is natural for anybody, I think, for the most part. So I'm still, I'm still looking at over six goals in this game. Man, watching what the others did last night, it's kind of tough to have much belief in them going into this. But you only have to run a couple days, and they beat the average. So call me a pessimist, I suppose. But I, if I was putting down a little too lager on one game, I'd be taking blues to win and, and over six goals. So the Kings play the Islanders tonight. So you got to think at this, if the Oilers don't win tonight, and the Kings do win, that would put L.A. three back to the Oilers with two games in hand. So now again, you're treading water. And your sharks, sharks are four back with three games in hand,

44:03which you mentioned earlier. And then you go to the other side of that coin, the Oilers are just two back of Vegas, three back of Anaheim for the two higher seeds inside the division. And Sandwiched in between the sharks and Kings, by the way, the Kraken, who are still kicking around, maybe the most quiet playoff contending team across the NHL this season. They continue to plot along and take care of their own business. So it's, it's still very congested inside this somewhat meager, Pacific division, to Duke Oat. Not only who's going to make the playoffs, but who's going to get the three spots, who's going to be the Wildcourt team, and possibly waste 10 days against Colorado or Dallas. Yeah. Man, it's, it's, it's exciting. Final, what are we talking? Doesn't in a half games of the regular season here, there's, there's lots to be decided across the board, not just for the Oilers. What's on the goal for you this weekend, Duke? I am headed out to Manville, Albert, the defending champion team of the Manville Reckterney. I was told by my good friend, Scott Roland, Superintendent of the Manville Riverview Golf Course, who is one of the guys that puts together the squad,

45:06that due to the championship, they were running back the same club, which included me getting invited back, but I've played in this tournament for many years now. The other Roland brother Reed, Ty Arnold, Ben, Ben Clark, excuse me. Here's my curious thing, Kevin. Last year, and I talked about this when I got back for Manville. The three guys, they're older guys, and I apologize, the camera of their names they'll talk my head. They started the tournament, this Manville Reckterney, however many years ago, 20, 30 years ago, they'd never won it. They won it last year, and a couple of them were playing with their kids on the team too, who I think were 18, 19 years old. Is that collection of old dogs and young buck coming back to, because that proved imperative. We were playing for some of the lecture, and oh, by the way, our goalie of record last year, Carson Susie's brother, who some say is actually the best athlete in the Susie family, father, notwithstanding, because everyone agrees he's the best. Are you staying in a hotel, are you going, hotel, have you been to Manville, Kevin?

46:06I don't know. Is there what, are you going to drive? I'm not driving back for you. No, no, no, my buddy lives, like right across the street from the ring. I'll be crashing. There's no hotel in Manville, like a little super eight. They didn't even have a bar anymore. The Manville bar closed a couple of years ago, which is a real shame, because I loved going there. Really fun place. The owner was a bit of a nut, got into some really interesting conversations with that guy over the years. No, I think there's a new bar open, but I heard it's maybe not very good. I don't know. Either way, we'll be drinking in the dressing rooms, maybe we'll head for a bite to eat somewhere in town, a little shindig at buddy guy's house, all to be determined, Kevin. I'm taking a cooler full of beer with me, I'm taking my hockey bag, and I'll be back for a tropics game, hopefully Sunday night with another Manville wreck tourney. You're going to walk in again on Monday, late creamer after the AIDS walk. But guess what, I'll be here all the same. Josh Fenwick plans on tomorrow, so you're coming in. Do you got the triple S before Hoops City, and then also did you watch the BAM, or did you read the BAM interview? I did not read the BAM interview.

47:07No, I went looking for it and then promptly gave up. So you're going to be arguing this with Paul Sir? I'll go and read the BAM interview. I'll go find it or I'll watch it online or something. So yeah, I'll watch that because I have my own personal opinions about what BAM did. Stork night deserves to be celebrated nonetheless. Don't care how they got there. So yeah, we're doing the triple S, and then I'll be doing Hoops City, and I believe right after that, I have to confirm with Declan that he confirmed with Donovan because it was his job. But we're doing a little thought experiment, essentially, that will be going up on our YouTube sometime next week. That was brought up on the lowdown with low tide, so we'll be recording that tomorrow afternoon with Mackenzie, Declan, and Donovan and I, and then get to see my sister tomorrow night. Get to hang out. The question, one question with you regarding the BAM 83. Sure. And I don't know if this is true or not, and I don't know if it was the Wizards broadcasters or the heat.

48:08Did someone say when he was at 81, he should have just stopped at 81? I don't believe anyone said that on the broadcast. I can't remember. I thought it was on the broadcast. But that's entirely possible. I don't remember that, but I know that was the big thing online. Was all the Lakers fans were saying, oh, he should have stopped at 81. There was an athletic article that said, he should have stopped at 81. And my clear cut argument for that is records are made to be broken, cry your eyes out. So, yeah, that's where I stand on that. Well, it's not a record, Duke. It's above average. Well, true, because it's not a record. Well, it still is the record. Most points in an NBA game since the NBA merger. Most points in an NBA game that was captured on film. This is also true. We still don't know if we'll actually did it, Kev. Tyrese Halbert now believes. He said, I saw Ben score 83. I believe that Will Chamberlain scored 100 points.

49:09Good show, good week, fellas. Coming up at the top of the hour, it is fantasy frenzy with the former Roshep Teeber. Connor Halley and the Duke of Delburn. At 12 o'clock, it's the lowdown with Alan Mitchell. We've got the Jason Greger show at two o'clock till five. And that's when Andrew Walker will be in the studios with Donnie P and Landon Ferraro with the pregame show Puck Drop. Oilers and Blues around, ah, 608. Hey, World Baseball Challenge, same time as well. Great night of sports viewing. Fox Sports all night until the triple S at nine. Paul Sur and Josh Fenwick with Hoop City from 10 to 12 tomorrow. Before all that time, now for a sports 1440 update brought to you by Sean Cunningham of Remax Real Estate. Get the home team advantage for your next move in the Edmonton area. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, call or text Sean directly at 780-265-0165. Hey, thanks for listening, everyone. Really appreciate it. And thanks for all the great texts and all the great

50:09interaction we could not do the show with Ocho. Hope you have a wonderful Friday and a great weekend, too. We're back with you at Seven Bells Money Morning with Eddie Steele. AI is transforming customer service. It's real and it works. And with Finn, we've built a number one AI agent for customer service. We're seeing lots of cases where it's solving up to 90% of real queries for real businesses. This includes the real world complex stuff like issuing a refund or canceling an order. And we also see it when Finn goes up against competitors. It's top of all the performance benchmarks, top of the G2 leaderboard. And if you're not happy, we'll refund you up to $1 million, which I think says it all. Check it out for yourself at Finn.ai. Hey, it's Howie Mandel and I'm inviting you to witness history as me. And my Howie do it gaming team take on Gilly DeKing and wallow $267 million gaming in an epic global gaming league video game showdown. Four rounds, multiple games, one winner. Plus a halftime performance by multi-platamartist,

51:10Travis McCoy. Watch all the action and see who wins and advances to the championship match against Neo right now at globalgaming league.com. That's globalgaming league.com. Everybody games. Life's busy. Don't let banking slow you down. Whether you're paying bills, setting savings goals, or just splitting the checks. Atlantic Union Bank makes managing your money easier. With helpful people and user-friendly tools, we make sure banking with us fits you. Call, visit us online, or drop into an Atlantic Union bank branch today. Atlantic Union Bank. Anyway, you bank.