Olympics.com Podcast

Ilia Malinin exclusive: "Medals don't really define who you are"

In the days since his Olympic debut came to a close, Ilia Malinin has been in a reflective mood. On Tuesday, he sat down exclusively with Olympics.com podcast host Nick McCarvel in one of his few post-competition interviews, the famous Milan Duomo in the backdrop. "Medals don't really define who you are," he said in a wide-ranging chat.Malinin discusses the pressure that he felt at these Winter Olympics, his thinking around the quadruple Axel, his plans moving forward and the amount of support he's gotten - from Simone Biles to Tom Brady and beyond - after his performance.The podcast also features a one-on-one with another high-flying athlete, freestyle skiing mogul legend Mikael Kingsbury, who led a trio of fathers on the dual moguls podium in the discipline's Olympic debut. Olympics.com reporter Andrew Binner chats with Kingsbury. Meanwhile, Nischal Schwager-Patel discusses the gold rush of cross-country skier Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo, the Norwegian who now has 10 Olympic gold medals - the most for any Winter Olympic athlete - ever.Plus, a tour of Casa Airbnb at Milano Cortina 2026, the debut of ski mountaineering, Mikaela Shiffrin's emotional gold and great French success in the biathlon.

Federica Brignone and Italy’s glittering home Games

A month ago, Federica Brignone wasn’t sure she could even compete at Milano Cortina 2026. Now, the 35-year-old skier is a double Olympic champion.“I had no pressure because it was already amazing to be here,” Brignone told reporters after her second gold, captured in the giant slalom. “I just tried to enjoy every single moment out of it. I didn't feel the pressure, [which is] crazy because I'm at a home Olympics.”Brignone has helped spearhead a thrilling hardware haul for the Italians: a record 23 medals with still five days to go. It's more than their previous best of 20 - at Lillehammer 1994.Brignone features on the podcast along with another skiing champion, Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who claimed not only his country’s first Winter Olympic gold - but first winter medal of any colour for all of South America.Olympics.com producer Alessandro Poggi joins host Nick McCarvel to talk all things alpine skiing, before Nick gets the lowdown from another colleague, Grace Goulding, on all things speed skating - both short and long track.Plus, Grace sits down exclusively with short track great Apolo Ohno, who discusses Dutch dominance in the two sports - and one of the breakout stars of these Games, 21-year-old American Jordan Stolz.

Sequins and shock: A dramatic first week in figure skating

Figure skating always has a flair for the dramatic - and this Winter Olympics has been no different. Mikhail Shaidorov's shocking gold medal in the men's event came as favourite Ilia Malinin fell to eighth place. In ice dance, the competition was one of the closest in history - with Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron edging Madison Chock and Evan Bates by just 1.43 points.Olympics.com contributor Gracie Gold joins host Nick McCarvel to help reflect on both Shaidorov and Malinin, and she also sits down with fellow American Amber Glenn, with the women's event set to anchor week two of the Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.The episode also features exclusive sit-downs with Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron, Chock/Bates and bronze medallists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, as well as 42-year-old Canadian Deanna Stellato-Dudek, who is set to make her Olympic debut in the pairs event."This is obviously my second chance at this sport," Deanna tells Nick, having been retired of 16 years. "So many stars had to align; so many serendipitous occasions had to occur in order for me to even be sitting in this seat. I just feel like I owe it to my younger self and to my current self to do absolutely everything I can, put all my chips on the table, like full throttle to [chase] this dream."

How curling sweeps up Olympic fans every four years

There is something about curling and the Olympics that captures fans’ imagination every Winter Games. Olympics.com curling reporter Chloe Merrell joins host Nick McCarvel from Cortina to help explain the phenomenon - and set the scene from the historic Cortina Curling Olympic Stadium. Chloe breaks down each of the three curling events, including the mixed doubles, where Swedish siblings Isabella and Rasmus Wranaa surprised for gold. The men and women are underway, and we hear exclusively from three top stars: Reigning men’s Olympic champion Niklas Edin of Sweden; veteran Alina Paetz, a multi-time world champion from Switzerland who is looking for her first Olympic medal; and 2018 Olympic champion Anna Hasselborg, another Swede.Plus, Nick gives a medal count update, and discusses emotional podium finishes for Federica Brignone, the Italian Alpine skier, and American snowboarder Chloe Kim.

Why ice hockey is having its biggest Olympics in a generation

It's a big Winter Olympics for ice hockey. Why? The stars of the NHL are back on Olympic ice. And women's hockey is riding a wave of success from its record-breaking new league, the PWHL.Olympics.com producer ZK Goh joins host Nick McCarvel to break down the men's tournament, and we also hear from hockey great TJ Oshie, who believes NHL teammates will have no issue facing off against one another in the best-on-best format: "I think hockey players have a pretty easy time with that switch," he says. "When the game is on, it's whatever it takes. And when it's over, you shake hands and hug and hang out."On the women's side, the USA-Canada rivalry is one of the fiercest in all of sports, with the two teams facing off in the last four consecutive gold-medal games. Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin sits down one-on-one with Olympics.com producer Grace Goulding to discuss how the Olympics has shaped her as a leader - and why women's hockey is having such a moment."It's been amazing to see," she explains of the explosive growth. "And I'm really excited to see what's ahead, too."