Tennis player Emilio Nava on being raised by two Olympians - and training with Carlos Alcaraz

If you have a look at Yusra Mardini’s Instagram feed – there are clues about what she does: pictures of swimming training and plenty of selfies. She’s clearly an international standard athlete. But her story runs deep – after fleeing Syria and swimming for 10km alongside a boat of displaced people looking for a new start, she ended up in Germany training for the Olympics. She refuses to be defined by her status as a refugee and wants you to reassess what you think about the word too. In a huge act of kindness, marathon runner Gatkuoth Puok Thiep gave up his place on the Refugee Olympic Team. He lost his father, mother and sister to the war in South Sudan. His inspiring story, although tragic, is full of hope about the future. We sat down with both for World Refugee Day. Don’t forget to subscribe for more of the best Olympic talking points every week. And leave a five star review on iTunes and other places if you liked what you heard. We want you to think just like an Olympian. LINKS: SPORTSPIEL: https://sportspielonline.com/ BOOK: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/yusra-mardini/butterfly WE ARE ONE DOCUMENTARY: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/features/we-are-one/

19 Jun 201822min

Everywhere Luka Doncic has gone – he’s won. From the Eurobasket with Slovenia to the Euroleague with Real Madrid, the 19-year-old is hot property for the NBA Draft. But what makes him so special? And could we see Slovenia finally compete and even challenge at the Olympic Games? We speak to ESPN’s Senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski about why basketball dealmakers are so interested. Plus, we hear from to Bostjan Nachbar, who has played in the NBA and in Euroleague. He’s also Slovenian, knows Doncic and the pitfalls facing a young player trying to make it in the USA. Don’t forget to subscribe for the best Olympic talking points each week. LINKS: WOJ POD: http://art19.com/shows/thewojpod BOOK: https://www.mcdbooks.com/news/announcing-kobe-bryant-s-the-mamba-mentality WE ARE ONE DOCUMENTARY: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/features/we-are-one/

13 Jun 201823min

Physical trauma is, on the surface, much harder to stomach than any emotional pain. Imagine choosing between sparring a few rounds with a boxer compared to being called a few names. The choice seems easy. But, as an elite boxer watches cuts and bruises heal after a big fight, they say it's the emotional scars that can last a lifetime. Olympic bronze medallist boxer David Price has faced the worst of both. Price has suffered both internet abuse and brutal knock-downs. He admits to crying (in a positive way!) ahead of his last fight against Alexander Povetkin and argues that physical pain is much easier to handle than the mental. Plus, USA boxing coach Billy Walsh gives us some tips on how to stay in the best mental condition. LINKS: PEOPLE’S FIGHTERS: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/features/the-peoples-fighters/ PODCAST: https://www.michaelneill.org/podcast/ DOCUMENTARY: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1330059/

6 Jun 201826min

When two-time Olympic silver medallist figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva announced that she was leaving her coach to join Brian Orser in Canada, it was a surprise. We managed to grab a word with the two-time world champion about anime, meeting EXO, and her thoughts on PyeongChang. But she also gave us the lowdown on what she thinks of moving to Canada. ***LINKS*** EXO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdssuxDdqKk TRAILER FOR NEW DOC: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/playback/five-rings-films-the-peoples-fighters-official-trailer/ PODCAST RECOMMENDATION: https://armchairexpertpod.com/ BOOK RECOMMENDATION: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16175114-making-mavericks

30 Mai 201827min

It’s not every day that you receive an invitation to visit the home of one of the biggest skateboarders around. So the Olympic Channel Podcast naturally leapt at the chance to speak to Nyjah Huston at his apartment in Los Angeles. Why on earth are we concerned about skateboarding? Well, the sport is going to be at Tokyo 2020. And if you have any doubts as to why skateboarding should be at the Olympic Games – this episode should set that straight… LINKS SLS: http://streetleague.com/ Nyjah’s ‘Til Death part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBgbBrxj2to Danny Lozano profile (in Spanish) http://www.go-skateboarding.com/?p=15858 Joe Rogan Podcast: http://podcasts.joerogan.net/ ATHLEAN-X: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe0TLA0EsQbE-MjuHXevj2A

23 Mai 201823min

Surfing legend and 11-time world champion Kelly Slater invited us to his new ranch in California, USA. He has created a wave pool that, he claims, produces the best artificial waves in the world. It's located roughly 160 kilometres inland and we took a visit. Olympic Channel podcast reporter Ashlee Tulloch also caught up with six-time world champion Stephanie Gilmore who looks, simply, remarkable on Kelly’s wave. Surfing is making its first Olympic appearance at Tokyo 2020 so grab your board (or headphones) and let’s head to the beach (or a state-of-the-art artificial wave pool). Big thanks to WSL for all their help with this week's episode. SUBSCRIBE: Olympic Channel Podcast comes out every Wednesday. LINKS: Kelly Slater Ranch: http://www.kswaveco.com/ Open by Andre Agassi https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6480781-open The Nine Club Podcast http://www.thenineclub.com/the-nine-club-show-podcast/

16 Mai 201826min

Nine-time Olympic champion Carl Lewis has some big ideas about how to shake up the athletics world and make the sport even more entertaining to watch in the post-Bolt era. Plus, we hear from the grassroots with ex-sprinter turned Olympic Channel social media don Mathilde Delorme. LINKS: Olympic Channel Podcast: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/features/podcast/ Far From Home: https://www.olympicchannel.com/en/playback/far-from-home/core-branded-far-from-home/ Podcast recommendation: https://soundcloud.com/designmatters Book recommendation: http://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/

9 Mai 201822min

Sparkles, music and dancing… the Olympians are already crushing the latest season of ‘Dancing with the Stars’. We went backstage and managed to grab a quick word with some of the contestants like Adam Rippon, Tonya Harding and Chris Mazdzer. Plus, we got the lowdown on what it takes to be a good judge from dancing legend Peter Maxwell from the World DanceSport Federation.

2 Mai 201817min