Transcript

U.S. women’s hockey dominates Canada as cross-country skiers make history

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· 28 min · 5,809 words · 73 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "U.S. women’s hockey dominates Canada as cross-country skiers make history", an episode of NPR published February 11, 2026 (28 min, about 5,809 words). It mentions 13 people, works and ideas, including Becky Sullivan, Jesse Diggins, Brian Man, Michaela Shiffrin, Hillary Knight.

What this episode is about

The U.S. women's hockey team achieved a historic 5-0 shutout against Canada, marking the first time Canada has been scoreless in Olympic competition, while American cross-country skier Ben Ogden ended a 50-year silver medal drought for men, raising hopes for Jesse Diggins to replicate that success in her upcoming event. Additionally, the U.S. mixed doubles curling team secured the nation's first Olympic medal in the event, and Ashley Farson made a breakthrough in women’s luge,

Key takeaways

  • Team USA's 5-0 victory over Canada marks a turning point, showcasing the rise of young hockey talent.
  • The U.S. women’s hockey team is not just winning; they're rewriting the narrative of dominance in Olympic history.
  • 50 years without a men's cross-country medal ended, but will Jesse Diggins break the cold spell for women?
  • Team USA may be striking gold today, but the real question is if Canada can adapt to their aging roster.
  • Hillary Knight's final Olympic run could solidify her legacy while mentoring a new generation of American hockey stars.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 5:00: Becky Sullivan, Brian Man, Jesse Diggins, Hillary Knight
  2. – 10:00: Hillary Knight, Michaela Shiffrin, PWHL
  3. – 15:00: Becky Sullivan, Brian Man, Jesse Diggins, Michaela Shiffrin
  4. – 20:00: Jesse Diggins, Ben Ogden, Brian Man, Rolando Aretta
  5. – 25:00: Rolando Aretta

Notable quotes from "U.S. women’s hockey dominates Canada as cross-country skiers make history"

  • Side before her Olympic journey comes to an end? NPR's Brian Man has been following that story for months. She said she really looks at that as her biggest shot at meddling.…
    about Jesse Diggins · at
  • NPR's Becky Sullivan has been following the team. Joins us now. Becky, I mean I want to find a different word to des to describe Team USA. Good, strong. I don't know what word to use because this.
    about Becky Sullivan · at
  • Marie Phillip Puland, that's the captain you're talking about. She is an amazing player without a doubt. she took a big hit in Canada's last game and so she had to sit this one out.
    about Marie-Philip Poulin · at
  • And it might help that these young players, these young stars are with Hillary Knight, who's a veteran and who is playing in her last Olympics.
    about Hillary Knight · at
  • Fact that she did. I just think it shows that strength. And then even now, she has a podcast that she started putting out this year. She sat down and did this whole sort of…
    about Michaela Shiffrin · at
  • Yeah, this is really kind of a history-making moment here in these games. Ben Ogden from Vermont is the first American male skier. Jesse Diggins has meddled in recent games…
    about Ben Ogden · at
  • I did. Yeah. So, I tried to make an Olympic team for the Olympic Games of 1998. Trained out in Milwaukee, which is a training center there. I was an a former inline speed skater transitioning.
    about Rolando Aretta · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Becky Sullivan — Person · NPR correspondent / main speaker (hockey + skiing segment) · 2 mentions · first at
    Provides on-the-ground reporting and analysis from Italy on U.S. women’s hockey dominance and Shiffrin’s Olympic performance/pressure.
  • Jesse Diggins — Person · Referenced athlete / interview subject (via reporter) · 6 mentions · first at
    Central to the cross-country segment: her struggles early in the Games, upcoming best event, retirement context, and mental-health advocacy.
  • Brian Man — Person · NPR correspondent / main speaker (cross-country segment) · 3 mentions · first at
    Explains Jesse Diggins’ early struggles, upcoming medal chances, and broader context about cross-country skiing demands; reports on Ben Ogden’s silver.
    Athletes, do the same on the women's side before her Olympic journey comes to an end? NPR's Brian Man has been following that story for months. She said she really looks at…
  • Michaela Shiffrin — Person · Referenced athlete · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed as an alpine skiing superstar facing Olympic pressure after a disappointing team combined slalom leg.
  • Hillary Knight — Person · Referenced athlete · 3 mentions · first at
    Presented as the veteran leader and record-setting star anchoring a young, dominant U.S. women’s hockey team; also tied to founding the PWHL.
  • Rolando Aretta — Person · NPR guest analyst (speed skating) / interviewee · 2 mentions · first at
    Discusses speed skating medal contenders and explains inline-to-ice transition and equipment; shares personal Olympic aspirations.
  • Ben Ogden — Person · Referenced athlete · 3 mentions · first at
    Highlighted for a historic silver medal that ends a long U.S. men's cross-country medal drought.
  • Marie-Philip Poulin — Person · Referenced athlete · 1 mention · first at
    Identified as Canada’s captain whose injury absence is discussed as a possible factor in the 5–0 loss to the U.S.
  • Corey TC — Person · Referenced athlete · 1 mention · first at
    Named as part of the U.S. mixed doubles curling team that won a historic silver medal.
    Here's what you need to know. It was a big moment for US curling on the world stage. The mixed doubles team of Corey TC and Cory Dropkins slid their way to a historic silver.…
  • Cory Dropkins — Person · Referenced athlete · 1 mention · first at
    Named as part of the U.S. mixed doubles curling team that won a historic silver medal.
    Stage. The mixed doubles team of Corey TC and Cory Dropkins slid their way to a historic silver. It's the first Olympic medal ever for the United States in that event. The…
  • Ashley Farson — Person · Referenced athlete · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned for a breakthrough result in women’s singles luge, framed as rare for the U.S. program.
    Farson delivered a breakthrough performance in the women's singles event. It's the first of her career and only the second ever for the US program.

Concepts & topics

  • PWHL — Concept · Key argument · 1 mention · first at
    Discussed as the professional women's hockey league instrumental in providing career opportunities for young players.
    She's instrumental in the founding of the PWHL, which is of course the professional women's hockey league that now has all these record crowds. It's like the most financially successful.

Sponsors

  • Alon's Travel Insurance — Product · Sponsor · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as a sponsor of the podcast segment, providing travel insurance for adventurous activities.
    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.

Full transcript with timestamps

The US women's hockey team sending a message in Milan after a dominant shutout performance against Canada.

I don't think that five to zero is usually the type of game where you say the scoreboard doesn't show the whole picture, but I think that was true last night. I think the US just like watching it every single one of those 60 minutes, the US looks better than Canada.

We look at the superstars behind this history making team. Meanwhile, in cross country, US skier Ben Ogden ends a 50-year medal drought for the men after winning silver. But can Jesse Diggins, one of the sport's most decorated athletes, do the same on the women's side before her Olympic journey comes to an end? NPR's Brian Man has been following that story for months. She said she really looks at that as her biggest shot at meddling. She talked about how much pressure is going to be on her in that race.

I'm Martinez and this is Up First Winter Games. It's Wednesday, February 11th, and here's what you need to know. It was a big moment for US curling on the world stage. The mixed doubles team of Corey TC and Cory Dropkins slid their way to a historic silver. It's the first Olympic medal ever for the United States in that event. The Americans fell short to Sweden in a tight match decided on the last stone. In luge, American Ashley Farson delivered a breakthrough performance in the women's singles event. It's the first of her career and only the second ever for the US program.

The US women's hockey team stunned Canada on Tuesday, delivering a historic performance against one of their toughest rivals. 5 nothing was the final. Now, beating Canada was not the stunning part. They've done it before, and these two are two of the best teams in the world. What made it noteworthy was that it's the first time ever the Canadians have been held scoreless in Olympic competition. But Canada is not alone because Team USA has now outscored their opponents in the early round of the games by a whopping 25 goals to one.

NPR's Becky Sullivan has been following the team. Joins us now. Becky, I mean I I want to find a different word to des to describe Team USA. Good, strong. I I don't know what word to use because this is dream teamike.

Oh yeah. All of those words great. I mean, I think last night showed that the US is the overwhelming favorite for the gold medal should be and not just for this year a but maybe in the years to come because it was just like an utterly dominant performance. I don't think that 5 to zero is usually the type of game where you say the scoreboard doesn't show the whole picture. Uh but I think that was true last night. I think the US just like watching it every single one of those 60 minutes the US looks better than Canada. I kind of couldn't believe it. I thought, you know, maybe that there might be a little more juice. It's the Olympics. Um, this is almost certainly a preview of the gold medal match uh that'll be later uh next week, but the US just utterly destroyed Canada in this game. Um, and if that's a sign of things to come, I think the US is going to be taking home gold.

So, let me throw in a wrinkle here because team Canada did not have their captain on the ice. Could that have made a difference for Canada yesterday?

You know, Marie Phillip Puland, that's the captain you're talking about. She is an amazing player without a doubt. Um, she took a big hit in Canada's last game and so she she had to sit this one out for injury. They're hoping she's going to come back these Olympics. But you know what? A I think 5 to zero, you know, maybe if Palon had played it would have been four to zero or 5 to one or something like that. I mean, obviously she can't play the whole game. That's not how hockey works. And so I just think that the US was just way too much.

I mean, the difference between these two teams is so obvious because um the average age for the Canadian squad is about 29 years old, whereas the average age for the Team USA squad is more like 23, 24 years old. Um, and last night it was those young stars who really made the difference in the game. You had Caroline Harvey, who's 23. You had Leila Edwards score her first goal of her Olympic career. She's 22. You had Abby Murphy, who's also 23 years old, is maybe the best passer in hockey. I mean, she had just like another unbelievable pass last night. She's sort of like falling down in the corner. No look pass behind her back. Um, somehow magically finds it directly to her teammate who puts it in the net for the goal. Um, I mean, those kinds of players are that that disparity in the sort of quality of the young players is only just going to keep growing if Canada isn't able to figure out how to integrate these young

players into their team, which they aren't here at this Olympic Games. Um, and so I think that it's a huge problem, not just for this Olympics, but for the years to come.

And it might help that these young players, these young stars are with Hillary Knight, who's a veteran and who is playing in her last Olympics.

Definitely. I mean, Hillary Knight is the goat of women's hockey. She's amazing. This is her fifth Olympic Games. That's a record for a hockey player. She is tied for the Olympic record for most goals scored in Olympic. She's tied for the Olympic record for most points scored in the Olympics. And obviously, there's a few more games to come. So, she could be uh the sole record holder when when Milana Cortina is all said and done. She's like the glue that that holds this whole team together. Her experience, her mentality, she her leadership. Obviously, she's helping all of these young players grow.

They've all talked a lot about how meaningful it is to play alongside her. She's instrumental in the founding of the PWHL, which is of course the professional women's hockey league that now has all these record crowds. It's like the most financially successful uh potentially long-lasting professional women's hockey league that we've seen in North America. All of these young players are going to either playing it playing in it now as young players or, you know, as they wrap up their college careers now get to have a professional career um in large part thanks to Hillary Knight. So yeah, obviously she's a huge part of this this squad. You mentioned how this game, the USA versus Canada, is likely going to be a gold medal preview. Um, but I'm wondering, I mean, if if I'm Canada and I know that I just got shut out 5 nothing, I'm wondering, do I have a chance in this gold medal game if we get there against

Team USA? Look, if you're a Canadian fan, I got to say this year might not be the year. And that's okay because Canada has won five all-time gold medals in women's hockey. The US has two gold medals back in 98 and in 2018. Those are the only countries who've ever won a gold medal in this uh in this event. And so, you know, Canada, you've got five. Maybe the US can uh come up to three this year. And then you can look to the forward for a little more look to the future for a little more rivalry going ahead.

All right, let's uh jump off the ice for a second and hit the slopes. Michaela Shiffren uh a bit of a disappointing performance on Tuesday.

Definitely. Yeah. So, this was in the team combined event, which is actually a new event for the Olympics this year. Um, basically the way that it works is you have one skier who skis the downhill and then you have a different skier ski the slalom. Michaela Shiffron was paired up with Breezy Johnson who just won the gold medal in the downhill on Sunday. And yeah, I mean, they were just heavy favorites to win gold. There's just no other way to say it. Michaela Shiffron is the best slum skier in the world. Uh, out of all the World Cup races this year, she's only uh not won one of them and she was second in that one. Um, and so the expectations were really high and especially because Breezy Johnson skied the downhill leg uh in the fastest time.

Michaela Shiffron was skiing last. Um, and frankly she was just slow. You know, she didn't crash. Uh, she didn't, you know, miss a gate or anything like that. She finished a second behind the leader in the slom times and that was enough to drop her team of her and Breezy uh, down to fourth place. And honestly, it was kind of surprising. I think everybody, you know, was hoping that she wouldn't crash, wouldn't have a huge mishap and she didn't. So, that was good. Um, but it just adds to this legacy that she's unfortunately building of underperforming in the Olympic Games that follows really a devastating showing in 2022 in Beijing where she really performed really poorly the whole time. Went home empty-handed despite entering in six events. Um, she still has two more to come in this Olympics.

So, hopefully she's able to turn that around, but definitely a worrying start for Michaela.

I was going to ask you about that because uh you're in Italy. I'm watching the games here in the United States, home of the most impatient sports fans in the world who always say, "What have you done for me lately?" And something that Michaela Shiffron has not done lately, at least not in these Olympics, is is win a gold medal. So, I mean, it's I I mean, I I want to be calm and relaxed and just not jump on maybe the impatience that everyone shows with her because she's one of the all-time greats. Uh, so people expect results.

She I mean, she's literally the all-time great. Nobody has won even close to as many World Cup races as she has in skiing, man or woman, all time. Um, she is the greatest and especially in the slalom. And so when she came up to ski this slalom yesterday, I mean, this is where she should shine. Um, she does have two more chances and there are reasons to think that this could improve, you know. So in this team combined event, you only ski one run in the slalom and in the uh individual event, you get to ski two. Often um over the course of those two runs, she improves. you know, it's not crazy to see somebody improve by a second or even two from the first run to the second uh in the individual slom event. And so, you know, maybe if there had been a second run, it would have looked different. She also said yesterday, she told us reporters afterward, um that the conditions on the hill were not like any

uh conditions she had seen yet this season. I mean, obviously the other skiers were in the same boat as her, skied better, so it's a little hard to to explain that away. Um but there but there is another chance for her coming up. She's probably not going to meddal in the Giant Solemn if I had to guess. Or at least it would be a surprise. She hasn't reached the or she's only reached one podium in the Giant Solemn um over the past year and change since her big crash in 2024 in Killington, Vermont in that uh in that event. So, I think a podium might be a little too much to expect in the Giant Soom, but the Slalom, that's the last Alpine event of this Olympics. It is her specialty. She is the runaway favorite for it. I'm I'm really crossing her fingers that she can get these yips figured out by then because otherwise she's going to be leaving here with a lot of big questions.

One more thing, uh, Becky, because Michaela Shiffren is is very open about her feelings about a lot of things, but especially about her performance and her mental state. Yeah. And and so I'm wondering, do you think she might be feeling it right now? Feeling the pressure at all?

Oh, I definitely think she's feeling pressure. I mean, that was actually one of the most remarkable things about her time in Beijing. I mean, six events she uh and especially the slalom was really the most painful for her in Beijing. It's her specialty again. But like she she couldn't finish. She she just, you know, made mistakes in these runs over and over again in Beijing. And yet after every single one, she would come out and talk to reporters, face those questions. Um you know, look us in the eye and say, "You're right. You know, I didn't I couldn't do it, and I I don't know, and I'm going to be working hard to figure out why, and I'm going to do my best the next time." And it was really impressive. I mean, these athletes don't have to talk to reporters and and the fact that she did. I mean, I just think it shows that strength. And then even now, you know, she has a podcast that she started putting out this year. She

sat down and did this whole sort of solo hourlong episode in which she talked about all kinds of different stuff, including what happened in Beijing, and she said she's still working to unpack it to this day. She said she she definitely is dealing with a fear of disappointment. She's feeling that pressure. Um, and so, yeah, she's open about it. she's feeling that way. It was a lot of pressure yesterday, too, on top of just her own performance because um as she put it to us afterwards in the team event, you're holding somebody else's Olympic chances in your own hands, especially when you're skiing second, the slalom. And so her teammate Breezy Johnson had skied amazingly. Um and Michaela's performance cost her a medal. And so I think, you know, Shiffron was feeling bad about that.

It's a ton of pressure. A um and so that's going to be something she's gonna have to figure out how to deal with when she gets up to the start house in these following two races.

That's NPR's Becky Sullivan in Cortina. Becky, thanks a lot. You're welcome. American cross-country skier Jesse Diggins is back on the slopes still looking for redemption. Diggins the most decorated crosscountry skier in US history and winner of three Olympic medals. But on Saturday in the women's skilon, Diggins got tangled up in a crowd of skiers and crashed. She finished eighth. And Tuesday, she failed to advance in the classic sprint race. Diggin's strongest race comes later in the week. So NPR's Brian Man is here to give us a preview. Brian, what has happened with Diggins? Yeah, it's been a struggle for her so far. Uh she's been skiing events so far, uh a that include the classic skiing technique. It's a little complicated for non-skers, but there are really two basic ways that skiers propel themselves. One is by sort of skating. It looks like an ice skating motion almost. The other is striding

straight forward in classic. And that's what she's been competing in so far. That's not really her strength. Uh and as you say, in in one of those races, she got tangled up. She hit a a bit of slush on the track, crashed, and went down. Uh and so so far, uh this has not been her Olympics, but there's a lot more to come.

Right. Because her strength is coming up. That's right. She's going to do a a classic skate race later this week. Uh, and we're going to be watching that very closely. When I talked to her before the Olympics, she said she really looks at that as her biggest shot at meddling in this what's going to be her last Olympic games. She's announced she's retiring uh after uh these Olympics. And so, we're going to be watching very closely. She talked about how much pressure is going to be on her in that race.

Yeah. So, there's a sense of urgency, right? You mentioned it's her last Olympics. I mean, this is it. She's got to do it now or never ever again. Uh tell us about the people and the competition that wants to keep her off the medal stand.

You know, it's really all about Sweden. Uh the women uh from the Swedish team have looked dominant in this Olympics so far. There have been just these two races, right? And and these women uh from Sweden have captured five medals already. They're really carrying their national team. Uh some of these uh women have just looked incredibly uh powerful. Lin Swan was out there in this classic sprint race today. She took gold. Yona Sununding uh right behind her taking silver. And then earlier uh we saw Freda Carlson and Eba Anderson winning gold and silver in Saturday's skilon. And they've all really talked about how crosscountry skiing is at the center of their national culture. It's sort of the football uh the US football of Sweden.

Um, and so, uh, it's really something that they bring home with enormous pride. They just have a very different, uh, deep bench culture, and it's really showing so far in these games.

Crosscountry skiers make it look so easy, Brian, but it's really one of the most physically demanding sports there possibly is.

It is a sport that even for amateur skiers like myself who get out there, it's draining and tough. And when they compete in these various lengths with these various techniques, we talked about that they have to master all these different styles of skiing. Uh and it also brings together this incredible crush of endurance racing often that then combines with sprinting where they have to pull these reserves of power and strength in the final strides. And it's one of the most technical these these athletes are literally tested for how well their blood can convert oxygen into their muscles. And if you're not truly a powerful machine, you can't even qualify. And then on top of that, there are years of deep training uh to get to where all of these different responses can kick in. And the final piece is mental. You know, this is one of the most grueling mental uh competitions out there. And uh for these women to go out

there and put in race after race like this, uh they they have to be sharp. Most of them now work with therapists. They work with mental trainers as well as physical trainers. Uh, so it's something that they have to dial in just right.

And one more thing, Brian, on their training, the cold, is that something that they're used to by now and just an accepted part of what they do?

Yeah, it it can be brutally cold and in some conditions that can be a real factor in the race uh right now. What we're seeing in the mountains of Italy is that it's it's not particularly cold. In fact, these are beautiful skiing conditions. But one thing that you bring up there that's really complicated that can change the texture of a race is what temperature does to the snow. Right. These skiers are out there on skis that have been waxed. And again, this is complicated for people who aren't deep into the sport, but they're essentially putting in these layers of very carefully applied wax that that can vary depending on the temperature of the day, the atmospheric pressure of the day.

It's really dialed in. And so sometimes what you'll see is an athlete who's in prime condition, but then they'll struggle on race day because their teams didn't get the wax just right. So temperature conditioning psychology all of that comes together in this sport, and they just have to time it exactly right.

All right. Now, you did a a lengthy interview with Jesse Diggins. Tell us about that.

You know, this was one of the most powerful interviews. NPR's team traveled around the country talking to athletes ahead of these games and sitting down with Jesse Diggins in Vermont where she trains uh hearing about her talk about this kind of final chapter of her career and one of the things that she's really become much more outspoken about a uh as she's built this bigger platform uh for herself is mental health and she has talked openly about struggling with an eating disorder uh after she won her uh gold medal um it really resurfaced. It's something she's had throughout her career that she's worked on, but it came back after she won that gold. She said there was new pressure uh on her. And and here's what she told me.

It's sometimes hard for people to find compassion for an injury that isn't visible from the outside. But often times, it's also not understood that eating disorders are often not about food. It's not really about your body or what it looks like. For me, it was about control and a struggle with perfectionism. And I thought I had to be perfect.

One of the things that she's been talking about in these Olympics is having fun again and getting away from that aspiration towards being perfect in every race. One of the things that Jesse Diggins does is she puts glitter on her face before going out there to compete. She says it just kind of chills her out. It makes her remember that this is supposed to be fun. It it's supposed to be something that she's enjoyed since she was a little kid. Uh, and so, uh, she's finding ways to not just win, uh, which hopefully we'll see going forward, uh, but also ways to do it with joy.

You know, Brian, we watch these athletes on TV and we think they're superhuman, and in so many ways they are, right? Because they do something that hardly anyone in the world can do, but then to hear Jesse Diggins talk about some things that are deeply personal, it kind of brings her back to kind of our level a little bit. Uh, so we know that they are human in so many ways, and that's always very reassuring uh, to hear. Now, one more thing before we let you go because there was a a United States rare medal in crosscountry sprint. Tell us about that.

Yeah, this is really kind of a history-making moment here uh in these games. Ben Ogden from Vermont is the first American male skier. Jesse Diggins has meddled in in recent games, but he's the first American male skier to grab a silver medal since 1976, since the Insrook Games. He looked incredibly dominant on Tuesday. He ran in these quarterfinal races really leading. He looked strong again and again. And then in the final race, uh he he couldn't take gold. He was behind the the Norwegian skier by just a heartbeat. Uh but it was a powerful moment for him and for the US ski team. You know, I talked about the depths of the depth of the Swedish bench. Well, on the on the men's side, they've been trying to build that bench there. And so seeing Ben Ogden step forward, it's a real sign of progress for him to be back on the metal, breaking a a really long drought.

That's NPR's Brian Man looking dashing in that NPR scarf. Brian, thank you. 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 alonsstrains insurance.com.

Turning now to the sport of speed skating and my conversation with NPR's Rolando Aretta himself, a former competitive speed skater. Now, Rolando, I just introduced you as a former competitive speed skater, but I think that's selling you a little bit short. I mean, you really had legitimate Olympic dreams back in the day.

I did. Yeah. So, I tried uh to make an Olympic team for the Olympic Games of 1998. Trained out in Milwaukee, which is a training center there. I was an a former inline speed skater transitioning over to Iceland, one of many of us who did it at the time.

And you would have been representing Well, I would have been I was hoping to represent the United States. Uh my ultimate goal was if I could possibly represent Panama, which is awesome from a Panameanian American, and I would have

wanted to hope to try to make the Panameanian team, which would have been a team of one, me.

Nice. Well, it's still a team of one is still a team. That's right. It sure is.

Yeah. All right, so let's get into the uh events at the Olympics. Who do you have your eye on when it comes to speed skating medals?

Yeah, so all eyes are going to be on Jordan Stalt, right? He's been performing at a really high level over the last several years. He's the favorite to win in in four events in the Olympics, the thousand m, the 500 m, the 1500 meters, and then in the event called the mass start. So this is four events that we're going to see Jordan Stoz and very likely see him on the podium hopefully in all four of them. Now, Aaron Jackson is a very familiar name in speed skating. Also, from the opening ceremony, she was uh one of the flag bears. Uh tell us about her prospects.

Yeah. Uh so, Aaron Jackson made Olympic history, at least Winter Olympic history. She's the first black woman to be the flag bearer. Um you know, she was also the first black woman to winter Olympic gold in a single event in the Olympics. Yeah. She's from Florida. She was an inline speed skater who also transitioned to the ice. She's doing well. She's going to step on the ice again uh to do the 500 meters. Uh she's very likely to see the podium in that event as well.

Yeah. Okay. Now, speaking of Florida, there are two Flidians at least. Britney Bo, also another name that anyone that has watched women compete in speed skating events in the past Olympics definitely knows. Uh this one is going to be her last Olympics, though. I always think about like what they must be feeling going into what they know to be their last Olympic games.

Yeah, as you can imagine, uh I was somebody who was hoping to make one Olympics. We're talking about somebody who's made four. And it's so wonderful to see, you know, Britney B. She's 37 years old. She's such an accomplished speed skater also from Florida who also transitioned from inline speed skating to the ice. As early as uh the late '9s, this has started to become a trend when inline when one inline skater by the name of Casey Budier uh just tried out ice. Uh did so well he made the Olympic team.

So many of us were like, "Wait a minute. if he could do it. And so it started this whole transition back in the late '9s and it's been

uh a steady growth of inline speed skaters you that have transition to the ice quite successfully.

I I would assume that that is a gateway, an entryway for a lot of of speed skaters uh that otherwise might not have an opportunity to even begin to think about this as a sport for them.

Yeah, absolutely. And I want to take a moment to to recognize Jennifer Rodriguez, who was one of the first inline speed skaters to to transition to ice. She's also uh the first Hispanic American to compete in the Winter Olympics for the United States. And it's a process. It'll take some time to get used to, but it is definitely reachable.

You actually brought a couple of skates for us to take a look at. Yeah, that's right. The term inline speed skating is exactly this type of skate, right? is like many people sort of sometimes mistakenly call these roller blades, but this is a more high performance skate. As you can see, the wheels are extend a lot further away from the boot. And u I I guess they call them inline skates because the wheels are all line. Make a lot of sense. And when they transition, they've transitioned over to what we call the long track speed skate, which is this type of skate. Um, what's significantly different between this skate and the inline and inline speed skate is that the blade detaches from the back of the boot, right? And this is sort of what is referred to as the clap skate, I guess, because it has this clapping sound.

Why does it do that? Why does it detach like that? Yeah. So, this was a technology that um I believe was invented by the Dutch where that if you uh detach the the heel from the blade and you're extending your stroke when you're skating, the blade will remain on the ice a lot longer than if it were attached to the boot. And so to in order to keep the blade uh on the surface of the ice as long as possible, um they found that you detach it from the boot and uh it does propel you a lot faster than than it um than it would if if it were attached to the boot.

So the longer you keep the skate on the ice, the faster you are. Correct. How difficult is that transition from inline to actual ice skates?

It is a lot more difficult than it's than one would think. uh the techniques are are significantly different. The surface of the ice is slippery. There's a lot more training that you have to do to get yourself acclimated to ice speed skating. Uh but it has proven to be successful with so many speed skaters who have transitioned over and who have made it to the Olympics and who compete in the world at who compete around the world.

How much more faster do you go on ice skates than you do on inline skates? Yeah, that is a very good question. And so I will say that speed skaters average about 35 mph in a 400 meter oval.

With inline skating it's a little bit more varied because sometimes you're in the open. In most cases you're in the open road. You know there could be some wind resistance. There could be the road surfaces are different but you know on average it's about the same. I mean they are probably skating just as fast. Particularly if you're skating in a mass sky skaters very much like you see a cycling race like a tour to France or something like that. um you are skating, you know, probably close to 35 miles per hour or even faster.

So, if there are inline skaters that transition to speed skating, I mean, I would assume that there are a lot of inline skaters, then why isn't there an inline event at the summer Olympics,

right? One would think, right, how easy that would be and how great that would be. But it's complicated. I think that there are a lot of federations, uh, roller skating federations who have tried. The International Olympic Committee, um, has shot it down for the summer games in 2028, but they're going to keep trying cuz you're right, it does make a lot of sense for inline speech skating to be part of a summer Olympics.

The next one's going to be in Los Angeles, too. I mean, wouldn't it be incredible right?

Right. You already have from the beach to the I mean, it makes perfect sense, right? It's like I don't know. But yeah, it it did not make it to the games. Now, we mentioned earlier that in your dream scenario, you would have been representing Panama as a speed skater at the Winter Olympics. Um, are there countries in Latin America or or maybe in warm weather areas that have those same kind of dreams to line up one day at the Winter Olympics going from inline skates to speed skates?

Well, yeah. Um, yeah. Hey, as you can imagine, all of those countries that Bad Bunny mentioned in his halftime performance um are really strong inline speed skaters. And so as we continue to see this trend of inline speed skaters transitioning to the ice, yes, I see a world where on the starting line in a winter games, we will see a Colombian paired with a Norwegian, someone from Ecuador being paired against someone from the Netherlands, someone from Panama

being paired up against someone from the United States. That would be ultimate. I would love to see that.

Yeah, someday, right? Everyone can keep their fingers crossed. That's NPR's Rolando Areta. Thanks a lot. Thank you. A that's up first. Winter games for Wednesday, February 11th. 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 "U.S. women’s hockey dominates Canada as cross-country skiers make history"?

Martinez (Host), Becky Sullivan (Guest), Brian Man (Guest), Rolando Areta (Guest).

What is "U.S. women’s hockey dominates Canada as cross-country skiers make history" about?

The U.S. women's hockey team achieved a historic 5-0 shutout against Canada, marking the first time Canada has been scoreless in Olympic competition, while American cross-country skier Ben Ogden ended a 50-year silver medal drought for men, raising hopes for Jesse Diggins to replicate that success in her upcoming event. Additionally, the U.S. mixed doubles curling team secured the nation's first…

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The episode runs 28 min; the transcript is about 5,809 words in 73 timestamped sections.

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