Inside Jordan Stolz’s quest for history, Vladyslav Heraskevych disqualified over helmet

What this episode is about

US speed skater Jordan Stolz achieves Olympic glory with a record-breaking performance in his debut, while Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych faces disqualification for sporting a helmet that honors fallen Ukrainian athletes, raising concerns over political statements in sports amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally, discussions emerge about the US's pursuit of its first Olympic medal in a specific event and other Olympic controversies, including cheating admissions and the discontinuation of certain events.

Key takeaways

• Jordan Stoles sprinted into Olympic history, setting a record while channeling superhero vibes on ice.
• The US speed skating team is chasing a gold medal sweep—Stoles could mirror Eric Heiden’s epic 1980 feat.
• Political statements in sports? Ukrainian athlete banned while Russian competitors gather like snowflakes in summer.
• Lemley and Kauf's historic one-two upset in freestyle skiing proves US talent runs deep beneath the surface.
• Cheating in sports is bad, but cheating on your girlfriend? That's a whole different Olympic event.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Martinez (Host) · 6 min speaking
• Ping Wong (Guest) · 5 min speaking
• Becky Sullivan (Guest) · 5 min speaking
• Rachel Trezman (Guest) · 3 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 5:00: Jordan Stoles, NPR, Vladislav Heriscavich, Eric Hayen
2. 5:00 – 10:00: Britney Bow, Aaron Jackson, Brian Bates, Madison Chalk
3. 10:00 – 15:00: Campbell Wright, Dedra Irwin

Notable quotes from "Inside Jordan Stolz’s quest for history, Vladyslav Heraskevych disqualified over helmet"

• Featuring Ukrainian coaches and athletes killed in Russia's war with Ukraine in Thursday's competition. NPR's Brian Mann filed this report on the move shortly after the decision was made.

  about NPR · at 1:11

• Maddie Mastro rounded out the top three in the qualifying round. US speed skating phenom Jordan Stoles took to the ice for the first time at these Winter Olympics and he did…

  about Jordan Stoles · at 2:33

• Speed skating team. Both of them did not end up meddling at the women's 1000 meters on Monday. So Britney Bow is the current world record holder in that event and she came in…

  about Britney Bow · at 5:32

• Yeah, absolutely. So, Madison Chalk and Evan Bates won the silver medal last night and a I have to say this was kind of a bittersweet victory because they were favored to win the gold. They gave.

  about Brian Bates · at 7:05

• Bathlon. but things are a little different this year. especially because just the best tri by athlete essentially who has ever competed for the US is on the team. He's his name…

  about Campbell Wright · at 10:09

• Chance? Yeah, DJ Irwin is the other sort of most prominent I think US bathlete and that is because she came in seventh place in the women's individual event in 2022 at the 2022…

  about Dedra Irwin · at 11:03

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Jordan Stoles — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA speed skating) · 3 mentions · first at 0:02
  Central sports storyline: his Olympic debut gold in the 1,000m with an Olympic record, plus discussion of his pursuit of multiple individual golds.
• Vladislav Heriscavich — Person · Referenced athlete (Ukrainian skeleton) · 2 mentions · first at 1:00
  Key news item: banned from competition by the IOC over an alleged political statement planned on his helmet related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
  Handed down a decision banning a Ukrainian skeleton athlete from competition. Vladislav Heriscavich is accused of violating the IOC's policy on making political statements in…
• Britney Bow — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA women's speed skating) · 1 mention · first at 5:36
  Discussed as the world record holder in the women’s 1,000m who narrowly missed a medal (4th) and is skating again in the 500m and 1,500m; framed as her last Games.
• Campbell Wright — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA biathlon) · 1 mention · first at 10:18
  Identified as the top U.S. medal hope in biathlon: a dual national born in New Zealand who switched to Team USA for resources and is ranked ~10th in World Cup standings.
• Eric Hayen — Person · Referenced historical comparator (U.S. speed skating) · 1 mention · first at 4:55
  Used as the benchmark for Jordan Stoles’ attempt to win four individual gold medals; cited as having won five in 1980 Lake Placid.
  Trying to win four individual gold medals at the Winter Olympics for an American. Eric actually won five of them in 1980 in Lake Placid. so that is something that has not been…
• Aaron Jackson — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA women's speed skating) · 1 mention · first at 5:47
  Covered as a U.S. medal hopeful who finished 6th in the women’s 1,000m and is expected to compete again in her specialty 500m (noted as 2022 Olympic gold).
  Podium just a fraction of a second behind the bronze medal skater who was from Japan and Aaron Jackson finished sixth in that event. So both of them still have a couple more…
• Brian Bates — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA ice dance) · 1 mention · first at 7:05
  Paired with Madison Chalk in the silver-medal ice dance result; their performance and narrow loss are highlighted.
• Madison Chalk — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA ice dance) · 1 mention · first at 7:05
  Part of the U.S. ice dance pair that won silver; discussed in the context of being favored for gold and narrowly edged out by France.
  Yeah, absolutely. So, Madison Chalk and Evan Bates won the silver medal last night and a I have to say this was kind of a bittersweet victory because they were favored to win the gold. They gave.
• Dedra Irwin — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA biathlon) · 1 mention · first at 11:01
  Presented as a leading U.S. biathlete with the best-ever American Olympic biathlon finish (7th in 2022) and an outside chance at a medal.
• Khloe Kim — Person · Referenced athlete (Team USA snowboarding) · 1 mention · first at 2:19
  Mentioned as the two-time defending Olympic champion who delivered a top qualifying run in women’s halfpipe despite a pre-Games shoulder injury.
  The first time the US finished in the top two slots in that event. Meanwhile, two-time defending Olympic champion Khloe Kim laid down a monster run in the women's halfpipe…

Companies & orgs

• NPR — Company · Media organization · 2 mentions · first at 1:16
  NPR is the media organization producing the podcast and providing coverage of the Winter Olympics.

Media & podcasts

• Westworld — Media · Referenced media · 1 mention · first at 7:20
  Westworld is referenced as the source of music used in an ice dancing routine at the Olympics.
  Were favored to win the gold. They gave a great performance. They were in first place after they performed their free dance routine to Paint It Black from the HBO sci-fi series Westworld.

Sponsors

• Alon's Travel Insurance — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at 7:40
  Alon's Travel Insurance is a sponsor of the podcast, providing financial support for the production.
  Thanks, A. Support for Upfirst Winter Games comes from NPR sponsor, Alon's Travel Insurance. Get ready to give ordinary the cold shoulder with protection for adventures that give you.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 The Olympic debut for US speed skater Jordan Stoles turns golden as a 21-year-old wins in dramatic fashion.

0:07 He was lagging a little bit when he was finishing up his first lap in this 2 and 1 half lap race. And he pumped really hard, went straight through the finish line, and when he looked up, he had a new Olympic record.

0:17 Plus, the one winner event that the US has yet to win a medal. Could this year be their best opportunity yet? And what about the moment when one Olympian openly admitted to cheating? Get this, not on the course, but on his now former girlfriend.

0:33 I don't want to think I didn't try everything. And this is a fun one. The events you won't be seeing this Olympics. I'm Martinez and this is Up First Winter Games. It's Thursday, February 12th, and here's what you need to know. There's developing news out of the International Olympic Committee today where it's handed down a decision banning a Ukrainian skeleton athlete from competition. Vladislav Heriscavich is accused of violating the IOC's policy on making political statements in the field of play. He planned to wear a helmet featuring Ukrainian coaches and athletes killed in Russia's war with Ukraine in Thursday's competition. NPR's Brian Mann filed this report on the move shortly after the decision was made.

1:23 Harriskevich refused to back down. He's posted repeatedly on social media that he would fight this uh to the end. He said this was a price he's willing to pay. Um and so this Ukrainian sletter is out of the race. This comes at a time when most Russian athletes are not here uh because the IOC has implemented strict rules on their participation. Normally Russia of course a winter sports powerhouse. They have only about 13 athletes here this year. Uh but uh the Russia Ukraine war continues to have a huge impact uh on winter sport.

1:56 Harris was expected to be a strong metal contender these games. It was a one-two finish for the US after a huge upset in freestyle skiing. Americans Liz Lemley with the gold and Jaylen Kauf with the silver. They both beat out front runner Jakara Anthony from Australia and it was the first time the US finished in the top two slots in that event. Meanwhile, two-time defending Olympic champion Khloe Kim laid down a monster run in the women's halfpipe, putting to rest any doubt about her ability to perform after that shoulder injury that she suffered heading into the games. Her teammate Maddie Mastro rounded out the top three in the qualifying round. US speed skating phenom Jordan Stoles took to the ice for the first time at these Winter Olympics and he did not disappoint. The 21-year-old from Wisconsin won gold in the 1,000 meter, setting a new Olympic record. NPR's Ping Wong joins us now to

2:51 catch us up on all things speed skating. So, first things first, I got to get something out of the way first. Okay, I'm a big fan of speedsters of uh superhero speeders. So, like think of the Flash and Quicksilver. So, by that reasoning, I love watching the speed skaters. They're my favorite thing in the entire Winter Olympics. Now, one of the things that I noticed with Team USA Ping is that their uniforms look very, very similar to something that Captain America would wear. It's all blue with little red and white stripes, a big star on the upper part. I mean, am I seeing things? Please tell me I'm not because otherwise I I'm I'm going to go crazy here.

3:28 Yeah. I mean, a honestly like I have been very coveting these onesies that everyone is wearing here at the Olympics. Um, Belgium is a personal favorite of mine. They have a really cool kit with like all these stripes on them. But, uh, for me, you know, it was giving more Frozen from the Incredibles, but I also have to agree with you that like all the stars, stripes, red, white, and blue on the USA kit is giving also Captain America.

3:52 Yeah, I can see Chris Evans out there on the ice at some point. Well, if he has the ability. Now, now here's the thing. Jordan Stoles. I mean, he definitely has the ability. You were in the arena. Tell us all about what you saw.

4:01 Oh my god, it was incredible. A, so the crowd was electric, first of all. And just for some context, usually um, you know, when I go to these events, it's like a sea of orange because speed skating is a huge sport for the Dutch and so they are turning out in full force. You usually don't hear huge cheers for athletes that are not necessarily from the Netherlands or from Italy. But the exception last night was Jordan Stalls. got enormous cheers from the crowd when he stepped on the ice and he did not disappoint. You know, he was lagging a little bit uh when he was finishing up his first lap in this 2 and 1/2 lap race, but you know, he dug in, threw down both arms, and he, you know, pumped really hard, went straight through the finish line, and when he looked up, he had a new Olympic record.

4:42 He now holds both the Olympic record and the world record in the thousand meter.

4:46 Yeah. And he's not just chasing medals in this Olympics. I mean, he's chasing alltime history.

4:50 Absolutely. Yeah. So he is trying to do uh something that has not been done since Eric Hayen in the 1980s. He is trying to win four individual gold medals at the Winter Olympics for an American. Eric actually won five of them in 1980 in Lake Placid. Um so that is something that has not been repeated since then. Right now Stoultz is a quarter of the way there. So he is also heavily favored to win um in his next three events, the 500 meter, the 1500 meter, and also in the mass event. That's going to be the only thing holding him down is all those gold medals if he wins them, right? That's the only thing that could possibly slow this guy down.

5:25 He's amazing. Yeah. Women's team though, they got off to a bit of a tough start.

5:28 They have. Yeah. So, there are a few defending medalists on the US women's speed skating team. Both of them did not end up meddling at the women's um 1000 meters on Monday. So Britney Bow is the current world record holder in that event and she came in fourth on the podium just a fraction of a second behind the um bronze medal skater uh who was from Japan and Aaron Jackson finished sixth in that event. So both of them still have a couple more opportunities to um medal at the games here. Both Jackson and Bo will be skating again on Sunday in the 500 meters. This is Jackson's specialty event. She won the gold medal at the 2022 Olympics in that. And then um Britney will also be skating both in the 500 and in the 1500 meters. These are Britney Bose's last games and so I'm sure she'll be giving her best in these games. She's going to be retiring at the end of the season.

6:14 And the other thing too is that overall it does seem like this is a very deep Olympic feel. I mean records are being broken all over the place.

6:21 It's true. Yeah. I mean a so far in these games there have been five Olympic records set. All of them have been in speed skating. Four of them have been in lawn track. One of them has been in short track. And it's just been really incredible to watch. I mean, I've been asking around trying to figure out like what it is about these games. Is it the ice? Is it the athletes? And so far, what I've learned is that it's a little bit of both, you know, like the ice is obviously um smooth and flat and, you know, grippy and slidy all in the right ways. And also, what I've been hearing is that these are just really incredible speed skaters that are showing up these games and they're in peak performance shape.

6:55 Okay, now I want to slow it down a bit uh to get to some different kinds of skaters. Not as fast as the speed skaters, but definitely as exciting. uh ice dancing because there's a US medal in ice dancing.

7:05 Yeah, absolutely. So, Madison Chalk and Evan Bates won the silver medal last night and a I have to say this was kind of a bittersweet victory because they were favored to win the gold. They gave uh a great performance. They were in first place after they performed their free dance routine to Paint It Black from the HBO sci-fi series Westworld. But next up was the French team of Lawrence Fornet Budre and Giam Cesaron. They also performed a lovely routine, even better according to the judges, and they edged out the Americans by one and a half points.

7:35 All right, that's NPR's Ping Huang. Thank you very much. Thanks, A. Support for Upfirst Winter Games comes from NPR sponsor, Alon's Travel Insurance. Get ready to give ordinary the cold shoulder with protection for adventures that give you the best kind of chills. Learn more at alonsravel insurance.com.

7:53 Okay, let's talk bialon. You know, that's the sport where you ski as fast as you can and then you try to shoot a target while your heart is pounding out of your chest. Yeah, no big deal, right? Well, it's an event that has long been dominated by the European powerhouses such as Norway, France, and Germany. In fact, it's one of the few Winter Olympic sports where the US is still chasing its first medal. Could this be the year when the US has a chance? NPR's Becky Sullivan has been watching the team closely and joins us now. So, Becky, bathlon events have begun, which is one of my favorite sports to watch because it looks so intense and the different things they do are just unbelievable that human beings could actually put the ability and coordination together all at once.

8:42 Yeah. I mean, yeah, exactly. I mean, this is the sport that combines crosscountry skiing and target shooting. the these athletes have to do a transition from uh a super hard super intense cardio activity doing this like insane crosscountry sprinting up hills and so on to figuring out a way to like lower their heart rate, slow everything down, get ready to then shoot these targets with a rifle. Um the targets are just two or four inches across. So obviously the precision is really important. It's like a super challenging thing and I think it's very fun to watch.

9:14 Yeah. And what what's its history? I mean, it comes out of military stuff, as you'd expect in Norway. Uh there was this tradition of military ski patrols. Um and that actually turned into a competition there eventually. Um an early Olympic sport in sort of the first half of the 20th century where you had these teams of four military uh you know, patrol members who not only had to do the skiing and the shooting, but they also had to carry loaded packs. Um that only lasted a little bit of time uh in that sort of early Olympic form. But then after World War II uh it was reestablished in its like modern form as the current bialon.

9:48 All right. So what are the United States chances of getting a medal this year in bialon?

9:52 Well I would say there is just an outside chance for the US but um that is even that is a big deal because the US has never won a bathlon medal and in fact it's the only winter Olympic sport in which that's true. Um so yeah over time the US has won like 330 plus winter Olympic medals. A and yeah none in the bathlon. Um but things are a little different this year. uh especially because just the best tri by athlete essentially who has ever competed for the US is on the team. He's uh his name is Campbell Wright. He's a 23-year-old um dual national actually. He was born in New Zealand. He competed in the 2022 Olympics as a 19-year-old um for New Zealand, but New Zealand doesn't have a bathlon team. Uh he found it really hard to sort of train full year, like the full year around. Uh he wasn't getting the resources that he wanted to sort of seriously pursue um his ambition as a bathlete. And so because his parents are

10:42 both American, uh he was able to make the jump over to Team USA uh in the last few years and trained full-time with Team USA. And yeah, now he is an American athlete. He's here at the Olympics and I think he's the one uh who has a shot if anybody's going to do it. He's currently ranked number 10 in the World Cup standings. Um and so yeah, he's got a chance.

11:01 What about Dedra Irwin? Does she have a chance? Yeah, DJ Irwin is the other sort of most prominent I think US bathlete and that is because she came in seventh place in the women's individual event in 2022 at the 2022 games in Beijing. Um, which is the best individual finish any American bath athlete has ever had in the Olympics. So the best the US has done is seventh place. So that was Dedra. She is currently ranked in the 30s in the World Cup standings and so she you know to to reach that seventh place finish in 2022. that was a real stunner even for her. She has said that and so she wasn't able to repeat that in the women's event uh on Wednesday at the Olympics, but she still has a shot. She still has a chance. Um so we'll just have to see how it plays out for her.

11:40 If they win a medal, if anybody on Team USA wins a medal, do you think that might make Batlon a sport that people want to participate in more in America?

11:51 I mean, who knows? I hope so. Uh I mean, it's just like an incredibly difficult sport. I will say like as we were talking about earlier obviously um you have to uh compete on snow when you're competing in the winter um and in the summer these guys train on like roller skates and so I've seen some videos of them just like on these loops hillier roads in parks and in training centers and so on um with poles and the roller skates it looks so hard it looks so challenging they just look exhausted all the time. Um, it's kind of like the cross country ski races you see at the Olympics when people cross the finish line and they just collapse and they've got the sort of like frozen spit and sweat coming off their faces. That's kind of what Bathlon is like, too. Um, so I don't know. I think so, though. It would certainly raise the profile um and maybe make some kids more interested.

12:37 Hard to say. Spit and sweat on my face. That sounds like me running a quarter mile. So maybe I'm the next bathlete that the US has been waiting for. have to disagree that that that quickly, Becky. My goodness. Now, there's a story. There's a biatlon story that has gone viral all over the world, and it's uh from Norway's Ster Home Lrid. After he won the bronze in the 20 kometer individual race earlier this week, he was asked about how he was feeling about it by a Norwegian TV reporter. He started off by thanking all the people that support him, but then he got really emotional and he admitted right there on live Norwegian TV that he had cheated on his girlfriend and okay, so that was strange enough as it is. And then he was asked about it uh about an hour later at a press conference. Let's let's listen to that.

13:25 So today I made the choice to tell the world what I did. So maybe maybe there's a chance that she will show uh see what she really means to me. Um and maybe not. But uh I would don't want to think I didn't try everything uh to get her back. So um yeah, again you want I don't want to steal the show today. I hope uh hope this is just like a day or two long thing and then your Olympic gold medal is forever. So yeah, so there he is talking about not wanting to steal the show, hoping that it'll die down. It has not. Uh his former girlfriend has said that it'll be hard to forgive him. Uh she wants to stay anonymous. I I can't blame her because now the world is interested in her. Uh, but one of the things, Becky, that that made this really interesting for me in that I remember when I was, you know, dealing with athletes every day when I travel with the Dodgers and I also had a job with the Lakers, uh, doing their pre and

14:25 postgame shows. I know a lot of people who had really rough personal lives, but they were able to block it all out and perform on the field like this bathlete did. I mean, he obviously had this on his mind and on his heart, but he was still managed to have a performance good enough to win a bronze medal. So that that's just amazing to me that these athletes can have everything going maybe possibly wrong in their life yet they still are focused on the goal.

14:51 Uh without a doubt that's all definitely true. And then the emotional release at the finish line. That's something I've seen uh a lot just being here this past week. Obviously you get across that finish line. It's something that you've been working your entire life for. For most of these athletes, something that they, you know, they do spend every hour of every day just organized around trying to achieve their dream of winning a medal at the Olympics. Cross the finish line, it's all done. And the whole thing is this huge emotional release for them. Uh they often can't control their emotions in that um moment, whether that's like some happiness, whether that is devastation uh at just missing out. I've seen athletes cry this week. I've seen athletes, you know, jump for joy. Um, so yes, I'm surprised. This guy sounds a little chaotic, I must admit. A

15:36 Yeah. Yeah. NPR's Becky Sullivan. Uh, thanks a lot, Becky. You're welcome. There are 16 different sports at these Olympics. Lots of variations on the theme of skating, skiing, and snowboarding, but there's no dog sledding or horses. However, there used to be. Rachel Trezman is here to talk about Olympic events from days gone by. So, Rachel, let's start with something, and I'm going to need your help on pronouncing this. I'll give it a try first. Skijoring. Skioring. What uh what what's what's the closest pronunciation? Am I even anywhere in the ballpark?

16:09 I'll be honest. I only just learned about this word and this entire sport. So, I'm not totally sure, but the internet says skiering.

16:17 Skering. Okay. I heard the person I talked to about it said skioring, but I'm not sure that he was an expert either in the sport itself. So, let's say skiering/keoring.

16:26 All right. Maybe that's why it's not Olympic sport anymore. No one knew how to pronounce it or settle on a pronunciation, but tell us what it is.

16:32 Sure. So, um, I've heard it described as a combination of ski racing, rodeo. Picture this. A skier is holding on to the res. The res are attached to either a horse, a pony, or dogs. Um, and they're gliding across a frozen lake. This made its debut first and only appearance in the 1928 Olympics. It was across a frozen lake, and horses were involved. Uh it did not stick around in the Olympics obviously, but in my research I found that it's kind of having a resurgence in western parts of the US. So like Utah, Wyoming, Colorado.

17:03 So anyone there if you're hearing this, please correct my pronunciation and tell me more about it.

17:07 All right. Now, what about dog sledding? I mean, you would think that that would have been a part of the Olympics at some point.

17:12 Another great sport involving dogs that we don't have in the Olympics anymore. That appeared in Lake Placid in 1932. Kind of a nod to the sport's North American roots. Um there were about a dozen US and Canadian mushers um racing across 25 heats spread over two days. And a report I found from the time said that crowds gathered to watch them cross the finish line. And when they did, some of the dogs were so tired that they were riding on the sleds instead of pulling them.

17:38 Wow. I hope maybe a reason it didn't come back. Well, I hope the dogs at least got the medal, not the person that they're pulling. I mean, it would only be fair, right?

17:47 Well, I talked to Olympic historian Bill Min about this. I ran into him at the media center the other day and he actually has a passion for this very question. He's trying to dig up all the names of the dogs that participated. Um he called it his white whale as a historian. So he said he's found about 10 names of the dogs that participated out of probably he thinks close to 90. But I should say if you are bummed that you don't get to see dog sledding in the Olympics, just remember there are a lot of long-distance endurance competitions in the sport today. A bunch of them are in North America. think about the Idraod, the Yukon Quest. So, it's not totally a thing of the past.

18:21 All right, Rachel. So, there's a sport called Bandy, which I understand is in the hockey family. Tell us about Bandy.

18:28 Yeah, I saw it compared to, let me make sure that I get this right. Um, field hockey on skates with very ancient roots. Um, apparently a an Egyptian cave painting depicted some version of it like 4,000 years ago. But the sport that we're really talking about, the Olympic version, I think originated closer to the 1800s out of England. and it was really popular in Europe. It made its Olympic appearance in 1952 in Norway, I believe. Um, that was it. The sport is still around today, but it looks like it didn't really take off in the US. Um, but you know, Russia, Scandinavian countries, they have all been playing it. Um, and it's pretty popular there, I hear.

19:05 So, Bandy not so dandy in the US. I mean, I think we have a lot of hockey to pay attention to at least right now.

19:11 That's right. Okay. So, no offense to Bandy. No, not no offense at all. All right. What about ski ballet? because that sounds beautiful.

19:18 Ski ballet, also known as acro ski, which I also really like the sound of. I think what's funny about this one is the name really does describe what it is. Um, but let me take you through it. It's kind of like figure skating in that it's scored by judges. It was set to music and of course like the costumes and the moves are everything. Um, lots of flips, lots of um, I don't know, choreography. This sport um was sort of in the family of freestyle skiing, which I learned came out of the counterculture movement of the 60s and 70s. Um it popped up at the Olympics in the late 80s and early 90s, so it had two Olympic turns, but then it kind of fizzled out, not just from the Olympics, but from international competition and from sporting in general. The nice thing there is, of course, there's tons of freestyle skiing still in the Olympics today, but um I would love to see acro ski/k ballet with my own eyes. Now

20:06 Rachel, a lot of the sports we talked about just didn't last very long at the Olympics. What are some of the reasons for that?

20:11 A lot of these sports were never supposed to stick around. They were technically considered demonstration sports. So they weren't being officially added to the Olympic program forever. They were being sort of tacked on alongside the games in any given year as a way to promote the sport or, you know, pay tribute to the host country. Think again about sled dogs in Lake Placid. Um, but a lot of them popped up once, maybe twice, and then, you know, weren't officially submitted for inclusion. that involves a formalized process through the IOC, the International Olympic Committee to add and drop sports. Um, but a lot of these demonstration sports we see after World War II. I talked to again historian Bill Min. He said the practice started with the very first Olympic games in 24, sorry, the very first Winter Olympics in 1924. Um, they've been going on for much longer than that. Uh, but they really became

20:56 the norm after World War II. And they kind of happened every Olympics after that until 1992. That was the last year that we had demonstration sports. It was also the last year that we had a winter and a summer games in the same year.

21:08 All right, that's NPR's Rachel Treesman. Rachel thanks. Thanks. That's up first. Winter games for Thursday, February 12th. I'm Martinez. We'll see you right back here Thursday and most days during the Olympic Games. Have a gold medal day.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "Inside Jordan Stolz’s quest for history, Vladyslav Heraskevych disqualified over helmet"?

Martinez (Host), Ping Wong (Guest), Becky Sullivan (Guest), Rachel Trezman (Guest).

What is "Inside Jordan Stolz’s quest for history, Vladyslav Heraskevych disqualified over helmet" about?

US speed skater Jordan Stolz achieves Olympic glory with a record-breaking performance in his debut, while Ukrainian skeleton athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych faces disqualification for sporting a helmet that honors fallen Ukrainian athletes, raising concerns over political statements in sports amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Additionally, discussions emerge about the US's pursuit of…

What is mentioned in this NPR episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Jordan Stoles, NPR, Vladislav Heriscavich, Britney Bow, Campbell Wright, Eric Hayen. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "Inside Jordan Stolz’s quest for history, Vladyslav Heraskevych disqualified over helmet"?

The episode runs 21 min; the transcript is about 4,456 words in 52 timestamped sections.

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