Off The Podium - An Olympics Podcast

It’s Newscast time as we return with all the latest Olympic headlines and kick off our sports preview series ahead of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Games. Patrick Riley returns to the show to break down all the big stories, including the beginning of Kirsty Coventry’s IOC presidency, confirmation that NHL players will take part in next year’s Games, and a new city officially joining the race to host the 2036 Olympics. We also dive into snowboarding at the 2026 Winter Games — looking back at the sport’s Olympic history and forward to why Australia, Canada, and the US have plenty to...

A very special bonus episode drops today, giving you a sneak peek at an incredible chat we’ve got coming next month. We sit down with the voice of track & field in the US, the legendary Leigh Diffey, for an exclusive preview of this weekend’s iconic Prefontaine Classic in Oregon — and what American viewers can expect from NBC’s coverage. It’s a great insight into a world-class event, delivered by one of the best in the business — and the perfect warm-up for our full-length conversation with Leigh coming soon. Give it a listen and enjoy the ride!

An absolute treat coming down your speakers today to celebrate July 4th as we welcome back to the show legendary American swimmer, and 'the voice of swimming', Rowdy Gaines to learn more about his incredible career both in and out of the pool! We find out from Rowdy just how he is still buzzing after the Paris Olympics, and how a prediction he made on this show came very true and if that makes him a secret clairvoyant. He also learn more about his iconic three gold medals at the 1984 Olympics and just how the US boycott in 1980 still...

We're right back into the bobsleigh this week as we welcome back Aussie bobsledder Sarah Blizzard to catch up on everything that has happened since the 2022 Olympics, as well as how she is tracking towards Milano Cortina in 2026. We find out everything around her role in Beijing and learn just what an alternate bobsledder does during an Olympic Games, and how she was able to get through that period after the disappointment of not making it on the main team. We also find out how her current progress is going and hear her side of her epic journey with...

We are so pumped and excited today to bring you back one of our favourite guests on this show as we sit down with Aussie bobsledder Ashleigh Werner to learn about her journey across the sport since we last spoke to her four years ago! We hear about overcoming heartbreak for the second time on her Olympic journey after not making the team for Beijing, and find out just how she has been able to recover from that disappointment and the decisions she made to push towards her dream at the next Olympics in Milano Cortina. We also find...

Thought we had finished talking about the Paris 2024 Olympics? Think again! Because even though it's been less than a year since the Opening Ceremony of those Games, we're back to talk about it once again as we continue our Opening Ceremony review series by looking closely at the most unique Opening Ceremony in Olympics history. Is it perhaps too soon to chat about this again or has enough time passed to give us a different perspective of it? How excited is Ben to finally be able to give his full thoughts on what happened? Do we still want to...

We're back to the slopes today as we welcome back Aussie snowboarder Josie Baff to the show! Since we last spoke with Josie, she has gone on to massive success on the snowboard cross circuit, making her Olympic debut in 2022 as well as claiming World Championship silver in 2023 and multiple World Cup medals. We find out from Josie just what has brought about her success and how she is using it as momentum towards her second Olympics in Milano Cortina in 2026. We also find out more about her Beijing Olympics experience, including what it's like being besties with an...

It's Newscast time as we once again bring you all the latest Olympic news that has happened over the last month as Ben welcomes back the amazing Alex Loveless to the show to help him out! We find out what it was like to have Thomas Bach in Australia and learn why we are so jealous of high school kids in Brisbane. We also get some updates around some news from LA 2028 that we already knew, and news from Milano Cortina 2026 that we also kinda knew. Added to this we chat about the incredible Games of the Small States...

On a September Thursday evening in the year 2000, Ludi Wiggins was part of Australian Olympic history. Not only did she help break a 76-year medal drought for Australia at the Olympics in the sport of diving, she also became the first ever female to win an Olympic diving medal for her country, alongside her teammate Rebecca Gilmore in the women's synchronised 10 metre platform. Amazingly for the then 21-year-old, it was her second Olympics, having made her debut four years earlier in Atlanta as a 17-year-old, and it would be the second of four Olympic appearances in total that would...

Two of our favourite guests return to the show today as we catch up with Aussie curling icons Tahli Gill & Dean Hewitt to find out about their journey to get to their second Olympics in Italy next year! We find out just why their red hot form is tracking well into 2026 and how a coaching change has helped them not only prepare for this, but also have them avoid another awkward meeting during the Olympics. We also find out how a chance encounter with a certain former IOC President came about and just what it is like having dinner...

Since we last spoke with her in 2022, Breeana Walker has gone on to incredible success in bobsleigh. The Beijing Olympian has twice finished in the top two in the Crystal Globe standings, and created history in 2024 by becoming the first ever Australian sliding athlete to win a World Cup gold medal. But for 'Bobsled Bree', it's only the beginning, as she sets her sights on her second Olympics in Milano Cortina in 2026 and aims to create further history along the way. In another great chat with one of our favourite guests, Bree goes over just what has changed to...

When we last spoke with Australian taekwondo athlete Leon Sejranovic at the end of 2023, he was riding high off his World Championship success that saw him win a bronze medal. Full of confidence and in red hot form, Sejranovic headed into his first ever Olympics as a genuine medal threat and a chance to break a 24-year medal drought for Australia in taekwondo at the Olympics. Unfortunately for Sejranovic it wasn't to be, with the 22-year-old bowing out in the repechage round. Despite his disappointment from Paris, Sejranovic is pushing hard towards LA in 2028 and achieving his dream of...

For Australian shooter Elena Galiabovitch, her third Olympics didn't exactly go to plan. Competing in both the 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events, she performed below where she expected to be and left Paris bottling her experiences up and not wanting to talk about them. But as we welcome back Elena to the show today, she finally opens up about her experiences at the Games in 2024 and find out just what happened and how she now feels about the prospect of continuing on towards a fourth Olympics. It's a deep and emotional dive into the psyche of an...

We're back for our latest Newscast as Ben is joined by Jamie once again to go over all the big Olympic news from the last month. We chat about the recently announced LA 2028 plans, including updated venues and events and just why it all isn't good news for the 2028 Olympics. We also catch up on the newly announced social campaign for Team Australia ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics and discuss the recent findings from the 2024 Paris Olympics official report. Added to this a very important discussion around some of our favourite Olympic movies of all time and just why...

A special treat coming your way today as we sit down with Filipino gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar to talk about her incredible rise through the sport and experiences in Paris at her debut Olympics! We find out just how young she started in gymnastics and how her famous partents helped shaped her growing up. We also learn about the decision to compete for the Philippines over the USA, and just what it meant to her to be part of a history making team at the Paris Olympics. Added to this we find out just how close she came to not...

A massive interview coming down your speakers today as we chat with 2x US Paralympic track & field star Noelle Lambert about her journey in the sport, overcoming many obstacles to get to the peaks she has achieved as well as covering some of her extraordinary pursuits outside of her athletic career. We find out more about her early days playing lacrosse and how that shaped her into the incredible track athlete she is today. We also find out just how she was able to rise so quickly in athletics, and what that means for her continued progression through the...

Are you pumped to get into another Opening Ceremony review? And even more so given we're finally doing an Opening Ceremony from the 'golden age' of ceremonies? Well if you weren't before, you will be now as we bring you our review of the Vancouver 2010 Opening Ceremony and go over all the classic moments that made this such a memorable one! From awkward volunteers yelling and shovelling random snow, to over excited speech readers and Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado banging drums, it's an incredible opening ceremony that you simply must revisit! So take a trip down memory lane...

We're on target once again with our next episode as we bring you back into the great sport of shooting by chatting with Australian skeet shooter Joshua Bell to learn more about his career and unique discipline. We find out from Josh the specifics of skeet and just how it differs from other disciplines such as trap. We also learn why Australia is missing that Olympic medal in the discipline and why he believes he is on track to become the first ever Australian skeet shooter to medal at the Los Angeles Olympics in three years time. Added to...

He delivered one of our most memorable interviews of all time in the lead up to the Paris Olympics and he is back to tell us about his Olympic experiences and more as we bring back to the podcast the amazing Teremoana Jr Teremoana! After setting not only the boxing world on fire in Paris but the entire Australian sporting world, Teremoana goes over what it was like for him on the ground during his Games debut and opens up about why it's actually difficult to talk about his time at the Olympics. We also learn why he believes...

It's been a while since we've brought you a Newscast episode but that's about to change today as we bring you all the latest Olympic news to get you pumped and excited! Ben is joined by Jamie Lyko to go over all the big happenings in the world of the Olympics over the last month, with plenty to cover! We have a new IOC President, some venues finally happening for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics as well as some very interesting ideas for future city hosts of both the Summer and Winter Olympics! We also bring you some other updates including...

We're shooting back into your speakers today with the return of one of our favourite guests, Australian shooter Sergei Evglevski, to hear about his experiences at his second Olympics in Paris and everything else in between. We find out from Sergei just what happened on the ground at the Games and how he is now reflecting on his performance more than eight months later. We also learn just how the sport has reacted to the viral nature of a certain other shooter in Paris and whether that is a good or a bad thing for professional shooting. Added to...

Luke Perry has risen the ranks of indoor volleyball, going from the suburbs of Perth in Australia right to the very top tiers of the sport in Europe to be widely recognised as one of the top liberos in the sport. But how does a kid from a country that has little volleyball coverage go to the biggest stage in his sport to become one of the best players in the world? We learn from Luke more about his journey and discover just how a promising Australian Football career transitioned into volleyball. We also find out just how he...

History was made last month in Australian winter sport when for the first ever time at a World Cup, Australia swept a podium in the women's freestyle skiing aerials at Deer Valley. In fact it wasn't just a podium sweep for Australia, with the top four places all belonging to athletes wearing the green and gold. Finishing third in that event was Abbey Willcox, who secured her third career World Cup podium in the process, and today joins us on the show to talk about that moment and her extraordinary career in the sport of freestyle skiing. We find...

Since first joining us on the podcast in 2023, Stacey Hymer has continued her rise through the sport of taekwondo that saw her go all the way to her second Olympics in Paris in 2024. It was a rise that also saw her took gold at the Pacific Games in the lead up to her second Olympics, a gold medal that Hymer used as a spurring point as she pushed to break Australia's 24-year medal drought in Olympic taekwondo. And although an Olympic medal wasn't to be for Hymer in Paris, she took a lot away from her time at the...

Since last appearing on this podcast, Grace Brown has gone on to massive things. The Australian cyclist created history in Paris at her second Olympics by becoming the first ever Australian woman to medal in the road time trial, a medal that just happened to be gold. The gold medal was Australia's first of their record breaking Paris 2024 campaign, and also happened to be the first ever summer gold medal for a member of Team OTP. Grace then added two World Championship gold medals to her name a month later, and retired from the sport. And in another great...

With another 50 episodes in the bank it's that time to bring you another BEST OF episode, as we go over our last 49 episodes that brought you memories, laughs and everything else in between for THE BEST OF OFF THE PODIUM PART 9! You'll hear the best bits from episodes 401-449, which includes our entire Paris 2024 coverage as well as some incredible interviews and hilarious special episodes! It's the episode that will bring you all the memories and entertainment you need today! So click away and get to listening!

Now that we're less than a year away from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics, we're continuing to get excited by speaking with some great winter athletes on this show! And what is even better is when we bring back a former guest for another chat, as we welcome back Canadian freestyle skier and Olympic medalist Lewis Irving to learn how his preparation is going for next year and just what we can expect from him at the 2026 Olympic Games! We learn from him how a serious crash not long after we spoke with him in 2023 has shaped his lead up...

We're taking a brief break from our recent winter content to go back to summer and also return to the Paralympics today as we chat with Australian paratriathlete Jeremy Peacock about his incredible career and journey in the sport as well as his Paris Paralympic experiences! We find out from Jeremy about why it took him so long to get involved in his sport as he opens up about some very raw challenges that he had to overcome in order to reach that point. We also learn more about his Paris experiences, including whether the fact that he is...

We're now less than a year away from the 2026 Winter Olympics which means we're back to bring you our fifth LOOKING AHEAD episode where we go over all there is to look forward to about the Milano Cortina Olympics next year! We go over why these Games are set to be so unique with their geography, and whether we like just how much they are spread out or wish things were a little more compact. We also go over the new events and new sport set to take the Olympics by storm, hear the official anthem for the Games...

A very special episode to close out the month today as we sit down with one of the most well known Olympic historians on the planet, Philip Barker, to learn about his career in the world of the Olympics and learn more about his very unique profession that we all pretty much dream we could have! We find out just how Philip got in to the Olympics and how that path took him towards his current profession. We also find out a vast variety of incredible Olympic stories and facts, as Philip goes over some unique insights into the...

We've never hidden our admiration for Olympic pin collecting on this show and we have always wanted to dive deeper into what is often called the unnoficial sport of the Olympic Games. Well today we are finally doing so as we bring you a very special episode on what it takes to become an avid Olympic pin collector as we are joined by German pin collector Yorick Spieker to learn more about the unique hobby and just how big of a hobby it actually is! We learn how Yorrick found himself at his first Olympics as a 19-year-old and...

After returning to the slopes last week with a great returning winter guest, we're doing the same once more today as we welcome back Australian skeleton racer Nick Timmings to find out how he is prepping for the 2026 Olympics, how the Beijing Olympic experience was for him in 2022 and everything else in between! We hear from Nick about why his Beijing experience wasn't exactly what he was hoping it to be but how it helped spur him on in continue in the sport and track towards his second Olympics next year. We also find out how his Beijing experience...

After starting the year off with a bang last week, we're continuing into 2025 with another massive interview as we welcome back one of our favourite guests to the show in Canadian ski jumper Ale Loutitt to catch-up on her impressive achievements since our last chat and look ahead to what we can expect from her at the Milano Cortina Olympics next year! With a World Championship, Junior World Championship, World Cup overall bronze and a World Record being added to her resume since our last chat, just how does Ale compare each of these achievements? We find out, as...

An absolute treat coming your way today on the show as we chat with iconic Canadian Paralympian Chantal Peticlerc to learn more about her incredible career that saw her go on to be the equal most successful Canadian Paralympian of all-time! We find out from Chantal just how hard her competitive instinct drove her across her career, including some very unique methodologies she used in order to achieve even higher standards. She also talks about the impact of THAT race in 2000 in Sydney against Australian Louise Sauvage and how that was a turning point in not only her career...

We're on target to break a drought on this show today as for the first time in a few years we get back to the great sport of archery! And what better way to do it than speaking with Aussie Olympian Peter Boukouvalas about his recent experiences in Paris and learning more about the great sport he competes in! We find out from Peter about which other sport he could've been an Olympian in and just what unique thing happened to get him to switch from that intro archery. We also learn about the very unique training regimes from...

It's been a while since we've hit the sand for beach volleyball but we're back to talk about as we sit down with Aussie Olympian Mark Nicolaidis to learn about his career and his experiences in Paris earlier this year! Mark has had a stellar rise to the top in his sport, a rise that started off on the indoor courts in Queensland and saw him become a pirate. How? Well you'll find out in this chat. You'll also find out how his partnership with Izac Carracher was able to blossom so early and bring them immediate success when...

We're excited to return to the sport of judo today on Off The Podium and for the very first time interview the brother of a former guest as we speak with two-time Australian Olympian Nathan Katz about his judoka journey as well as his Olympic experiences! We learn from Nathan's perspective about what it was like growing up in such a judo obsessed household and why he always wanted to pursue the sport he loved so much. We also find out more about his two very unique Olympic experiences, including just how he went from sitting in a car...

Pumped to be able to go back into the vault for our latest CLASSIC OPENING CEREMONY REVIEW as we transport you back to 1998 and review a fascinating Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics opening ceremony! Just how pumped are we to talk about sumo wrestlers and children of the corn? Why did so many winter athletes in 1998 want to look like spys from the 1950s? Do we appreciate the ceremony taking place during the day and the fact it was the last one we have ever seen not take place at night? How great is napkin man? Were we shocked to see...

It's rugby 7s time here on Off The Podium as we chat with Aussie triple Olympian Henry Hutchison about the highs, lows and everything else in between from his incredible career! We find out from Henry just how important the 2003 Rugby World Cup was to him and how that set him on a path towards being a triple Olympian. We also find out what it was like playing the sport in Melbourne after moving there from Sydney, and just how the city has embraced rugby over the years. We also learn more about each of his unique Olympic experiences...

Are you ready for a punchy interview? We certainly are! As we return to the sport of boxing today to chat with Australian Olympian Tiana Echegaray about her epic career and journey through the sport and of course her Olympic experiences in Paris earlier this year! We learn from Tiana about her incredible story that took her from a mundane 9 to 5 job in Sydney five years ago to the Olympic Games in Paris. We also learn about how her tight family and strong community upbringing helped get her to that point, as well as just how she wants to...