Category: Olympics

fitness · Olympics

Salute to Older Women Winter Paralympians

Diane HarperLeave a comment

The Winter Paralympics is a smaller event than the Olympics, but like its counterpart, it had some impressive older women participating. I’m sure I missed a few so please let me know who I should be adding.

Clockwise from top left: Ina Forrest (paralympic.ca), Collinda Joseph (Reuters/Louisa Gouliamaki), Andrea Eskau (Paralympic.org), Cécile Hernandez (France Paralympique),

Wheelchair Curler Ina Forrest, 63, is making her fifth consecutive appearance at the Paralympics. She’s the oldest member of the Canadian Paralympic team. Forrest has won a medal at every Games she’s competed in (starting in 2010) including three golds and two bronze. If you didn’t watch any of this year’s curling, go find some highlight reels. It was very exciting.

Collinda Joseph 60, is a two-time Paralympian and Team Canada’s gold-medal-winning wheelchair curling lead. Joseph played wheelchair basketball for many years but first tried curling in 2006 and fell in love with the sport .

Cécile Hernandez is a 51-year-old French para-snowboarder and four-time Paralympic medallist, with gold medals from Beijing 2022 and Milano Cortina 2026, a silver medal from Sochi 2014, and both a silver and a bronze from PyeongChang 2018.

Andrea Eskau, who will turn 55 tomorrow, has competed at every Summer and Winter Games since making her debut at Beijing 2008, except for the 2022 Winter Games. In the winter, she competes in Para biathlon and Para cross-country skiing, and in the summer, she races in Para cycling. She has won four golds and a bronze at three different summer games, four silvers and a bronze in cross-country skiing, and three golds and a bronze in biathlon. She competed in five events at Milano-Cortina and her best result was 4th in cross-country skiing.

Olympic rings, by Allison Sang for Unsplash. Alternative party ideas for the US women’s Olympic hockey team (since they’re not going to the White House)
fitness · Olympics · sexism

Alternative party ideas for the US women’s Olympic hockey team (since they’re not going to the White House)

catherine wLeave a comment

Even if you didn’t read my blog post yesterday about the disrespect of the 7-time medal-winning (since 2000) US women’s Olympic hockey team, you no doubt heard about it somewhere on the internet. To recap:

  • After the US men’s Olympic hockey team won gold, US president T***p spoke to them on the phone, inviting them to the White House, adding he thought he would also have to invite the women, lest he be impeached (for a third time).
  • The hockey players laughed along with T***p, joining in the mocking of their Olympic hockey teammates.
  • The US women’s hockey team politely declined an invitation to the White House, issued after the invitation to the men’s team.
  • Flavor Flav— who, among other things, is the “dedicated hype man” for US Women’s Water Polo, and now apparently, US Women’s Hockey– invited the women’s team to come to Las Vegas for a big party. He has since expanded the invitation to include all female Olympic and Paralympic medalists. You can see for yourself below:

Mr. Flav hasn’t filled out the details of the upcoming festivities, but I can imagine it will be quite the party.

However, I can’t help but think that it would be nice to come up with other ways to express our appreciation for them (and their friends and fellow athletes who also haven’t been sufficiently noticed and feted). Herewith, a few party ideas:

  1. Special axe-throwing events for them to attend, either in person or via Zoom, where the bullseyes have been replaced by, say, images of the faces of politicians who need to learn lessons of respect.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flavor_Flav
Whose face would look perfect in the middle there? You be the judge.

2. A complimentary tour of the Hoover Dam, since they’re going to be in Las Vegas already and it’s really close. Also, my sister, niece, nephews and I really enjoyed it when we went.

The Hoover Dam is very grand and also an educational experience.
The Hoover Dam is very grand and also a cool educational experience.

3. My friend James, who lives in Las Vegas and knows the local music scene very well, could show them his favorite bars and hot spots. He also has a nice dog named Baxter and I bet he would let them pet him.

This is Baxter, who is an oldie and a goodie.
This is Baxter, who is an oldie and a goodie.

4. There could be a virtual book swap where we Zoom in to present five of our favorite books from the past year for the women’s hockey team members to choose from, then mail the books to them. No doubt these players have all been busy training and haven’t had much time to catch up on their reading. Doesn’t that sound like fun? I think so.

Olde books, newe books-- all books are good books...
Olde books, newe books– all books are good books…

5. Maybe we can ask those nice guys from Heated Rivalry to come to a special dinner just for them– oh, wait a minute– that one is just for me. Never mind…

Dearest readers, feel free to share your party ideas in the comments below.

fitness · Olympics

A Salute to Older Olympic Athletes

Diane Harper1 Comment

Now that the Olympics have ended, I’m looking back and reflecting on the women in their 40s and 50s who competed. There may be more. Every one of them did amazing things over their careers, not just at the Olympics.

Clockwise from top left: Claudia Riegler (Olympics.com), Deanna Stelatto-Dudek (Skate Canada); Lindsey Vonn (Getty Images); Elana Meyers Taylor (Aijaz Rahi – AP); Kailee Humphries (https://www.self.com/story/kaillie-humphries); Sarah Schleper (The Aspen Times)

Claudia Riegler, 52, Austrian snowboarder in her 5th Olympics. She has never won an Olympic medal, but has captured three medals at world championships. She is the oldest woman to compete at any Winter Olympics.

Deanna Stellato-Dudek 42, Canadian pairs figure skater in her 1st Olympics. She originally competed as an individual skater but retired in 2001. She returned to competition in 2016 as a pairs skater for the USA. In 2019, she began skating with her Canadian partner and began the process of seeking Canadian citizenship so that she could compete at Milano-Cortina. Just days before the Olympics began, she was injured in training and was only cleared to compete a few days before their event. Despite that, the pair placed 11th overall.

Lindsey Vonn, 41, American alpine skier in her 5th Olympics. The three-time Olympic medalist crashed and broke her leg in Milano-Cortina.

Elana Meyers Taylor 41, American bobsledder in her 5th Olympics. She has previously won 5 Olympic medals and just won her first gold. She has now taken over the title as the oldest individual gold medalist in Winter Olympic history. She also extended her streak as the most-decorated Black athlete in the winter games.

Kaillie Humphries 40, Canadian-American bobsledder in her 6th Olympics. Humphries competed for Canada 2010-2014 before switching to the US team. She has won 6 Olympic medals, including two Bronze in Milano-Cortina.

Sarah Schleper 46, Mexican-American alpine skier in her 7th Olympics and part of the first mother-son Olympic duo with her 18 year old son. Schleper competed for the USA team 1998-2010, and for Mexico since 2018.

Just for fun, I’m adding Midori Ito, 56, Japanese singles figure skater. Ito won silver at the 1992 Olympics, landing the first triple Axel in competition, and was the first woman to land seven triples (at the Calgary Olympics in 1988). Although her Wikipedia page says she retired in 1992, she is still skating and won at the Master’s Elite level in 2024 – and clearly is still enjoying herself.

fitness · Olympics · sexism

US Men’s Hockey needs a(nother) remedial course on respect for their female colleagues

catherine w4 Comments

This year at the Milan Olympics, the US women’s and US men’s teams both won gold medals against Canada. Yes, the men’s result was controversial, but I’m not here to talk about that. Although feel free to advocate for your team in the comments.

In this post, I come to bury the 2026 US Olympic men’s hockey team, not to praise them. Well, bury them via outing them for misogynist yucking it up with the US misogynist-in-chief, Donald Trump, who called them to:

  • congratulate them on their victory;
  • discuss travel arrangements, supposedly courtesy of the American military;
  • dangle the prospect of White house swag for them;
  • mock the US Olympic women’s hockey team, which also won their gold medal match against Canada (uncontroversially), prompting what sounded like near-universal approving laughter from the players.

Here’s what CNN reported about the locker room phone call:

[After inviting the men’s team to the White House for Tuesday night] Trump added: “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.” If they weren’t invited, the president said, “I do believe I probably would be impeached, OK?”

Members of the team laughed.

Uh, hold on a minute here.

Nadine from Unsplash wants us to just stop now, for a minute. Let's do that. image of a woman's hand indicating stop.
Nadine from Unsplash wants us to just stop now, for a minute. Let’s do that.

For the record, the US Women’s Olympic hockey teams have the following medal count since 2000:

  • 2026 Milano-Cortina: Gold Medal (def. Canada 2-1, OT)
  • 2022 Beijing: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2)
  • 2018 Pyeongchang: Gold Medal (def. Canada 3-2, SO)
  • 2014 Sochi: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2, OT)
  • 2010 Vancouver: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 2-0)
  • 2006 Torino: Bronze Medal (def. Finland 4-0)
  • 2002 Salt Lake City: Silver Medal (lost to Canada 3-2)

That’s a total of 7 medals: 2 gold, 4 silver, one bronze since 2000 for the US women’s teams.

What about the US Men’s Olympic hockey teams? Here is their post-2000 medal count:

  • 2026 (Milan-Cortina): Gold (6-0-0).
  • 2010 (Vancouver): Silver (5-1-0)
  • 2002 (Salt Lake City) Silver Medal

Adding it up, the men’s teams have won a total of 3 medals: one gold, two silver since 2000.

The 7-medals-vs-3-medals fact is one reason among many for the US men’s hockey team, instead of laughing along with and joining in on the sexist bashing of their fellow athletes, should instead:

Sit down and shut up.
Listen for a change.
Then do the right thing.

This bears repeating.

  • Sit down and shut up.
  • Listen for a change.
  • Then do the right thing.

Words to live by for all of us. But especially for these US male hockey players right now.

Hope you enjoyed the first half of the 2026 Olympic Games. The 2026 Paralympic Winter Games run March 6–15. I’m looking forward to them.

5 things that would make Olympic ski mountaineering (Skimo) even more challenging
fitness · Olympics · skiing

5 things that would make Olympic ski mountaineering (Skimo) even more challenging

catherine w4 Comments

Have y’all been watching the winter Olympics? Maybe it’s just me, but it’s seemed even more thrilling and entertaining and awe-inspiring than usual. The women’s speed-skating, women’s and men’s figure skating, the hockey, all those flipping and twirling skiers and snowboarders, the fast-fast-fast downhillers– just wow. And of course the suspenseful curling.

But the ski mountaineering just blew my mind. Skimo is absolutely my worst nightmare of an athletic event. It requires the participants (who must have been willing at some point, though I don’t understand why) to ski uphill, taking off their skis to walk/trot up an inexplicable staircase, put said skis back on, trudge/trot to the top, take the skis skins off (making sure to put them safely in a pouch), and then ski downhill on light-and-skinny skis in an act that one commentator said was like “skiing a steep downhill on two pieces of dried pasta”.

That sounds terrible.

But then, I thought, maybe that’s what makes this sport so appealing– it’s the most tiring, challenging sport they could think of.

But, could we help them out and offer suggestions to make it even harder? I think we can. Here are some ideas I came up with.

1) Like the cross country ski race entrant Nazgul, the Czechoslovakian wolf dog (not to be confused with Heated Rivalry’s stupid Canadian wolf bird), they should allow dogs on the trail. Petting will be permitted, but competitors may not commandeer dog treats for themselves during the race.

2) For the relay races, participants should have to stand in line to buy another lift ticket. They need to make sure they have their credit cards ready, as the Olympic vendors won’t take cash.

3) Like the Tour de France, they could have photographers and team coaches on Sno-Cats, rumbling up and down the hills in between the competitors. Having them shout “go faster!” would be optional.

4)Allow spectators all along the course, screaming, partying, encouraging them with cowbells, and offering them beer hand ups during the stairs part of the race. Non-alcoholic of course, as this IS he Olympics. Honestly, I’m not sure if this will make their job easier or harder. The only way to know for sure is to try it.

5) Require that each competitor take at least 4 selfie photos and post them on social media during the race. So much of what happens doesn’t “officially count” unless it’s been posted, so why not include race results in that category? 🙂 Extra points for selfies with a spectator, and double extra points for a selfie with a dog on the course.

So, readers– any other ideas to make this sport even more chaotic and difficult? I welcome your suggestions.

a grayscale of a lady justice figurine Nordic Combined: Why Women are Excluded from This Winter Sport
competition · fitness · Olympics · skiing · snow

Nordic Combined: Why Women are Excluded from This Winter Sport

Sam BLeave a comment

What I read: Women aren’t allowed to compete in one sport in the Winter Olympics as athlete details heartbreaking truth

What is Nordic Combined?

“Nordic combined is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing and ski jumping. The competition begins with a jump from a hill – rather them than me – before doing a 10km cross-country race later that same day. Whoever wins the first jump competition starts the race with a time of 00:00:00, whereas all other athletes start with a time disadvantage based on their scores in the first jump.Then, like how most races work, the first to cross the line wins.”

Why no women? Some say not enough audience, others say not enough countries could take part, or not enough women are ready for the event… there are many different reasons given,  but it seems to me the principle of equal access in sports ought to trump those reasons. If both men and women can’t compete, then we ought not to include the sport in the Olympics.

Read, I Should Be Competing at the Olympics—But My Sport Excludes Women: Only men are allowed to participate in Nordic combined skiing, but I’m not done fighting for my place by Annika Malacinski (Self)

“In 2022, I was somewhere over the Atlantic, flying home from a training camp in Slovenia and watching a live broadcast as the president of the International Olympic Committee announced decisions for the 2026 Games. I kept refreshing the livestream as it buffered and froze (the overpriced Wi-Fi was pretty wonky), waiting for him to reveal the plans for Nordic combined. I was barely blinking, barely breathing. Minutes felt like hours. I kept checking, thinking maybe I’d missed something. But the truth is it would not have mattered if I had missed his announcement. Of course, I didn’t miss it. Even worse, l knew what the IOC president would say even before he completed the sentence: Women wouldn’t be included in Nordic combined racing in the 2026 Winter Games.”

Maybe it’s about to change?

Read: One Olympic sport still excludes women. This week’s viewing numbers could change that (NPR)

“Sports federations, advocacy groups and athletes all say Nordic combined, while niche, has grown in recent years — especially at the youth level — and are lobbying for the IOC to include it in 2030.

The IOC says it will conduct a full evaluation after the 2026 Olympics in order to make a “decision on the inclusion of Nordic Combined for men and women” in 2030 — meaning it’s possible Nordic combined could be removed from the roster altogether. It is expected to make a decision at its annual meeting in June.”

Nat’s riveted by women’s Olympic hockey
Olympics · Sat with Nat

Nat’s riveted by women’s Olympic hockey

natalieh (she/her)Leave a comment

I do love the Olympics but I’m especially enamored with the Winter Olympic Games. I joke it’s about hurtling down mountains and doing complicated things on ice. It’s INTENSE.

Olympic rings against a blue sky

I remember the first time women’s hockey was in the Olympics, 1998. I was just out of college, newly married and completely obsessed with the hockey tournament.

The women on that first national hockey team were absolute legends and Canada has built a reputation for excellence ever since.

The competition is small as few nations can put forward a women’s team. This will likely change as the Professional Women’s Hockey League will continue to generate excitement and opportunities in women’s hockey.

Canada is playing Germany in the quarterfinals today. I can’t wait. I will spend most of this long weekend crafting and cooking while hockey is on.

A hockey net sits on the ice in an arena.

I do love in this era of streaming I can seek out and watch all of the women’s events. The CBC Gem app is a godsend. Women’s events are no longer relegated to the prime time highlight reel, they are front and center. Go sports!

athletes · Olympics · sexism · stereotypes

Funding for Women’s Sports Around the World

Diane HarperLeave a comment

A friend posted this article about the Indian Women’s Cricket team winning the Women’s World Cup.

This AP photo of the women celebrating their World Cup win is from the India Today article linked above.

“Three years before this moment, back in October 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made a bold and unprecedented move during its 15th Apex Council meeting. They unanimously passed a resolution to introduce pay parity between India’s men’s and women’s cricketers. For the first time, the women who wore the blue jersey would receive the same match fees as their male counterparts.”

“This triumph was not accidental. It was the result of a carefully constructed ecosystem designed to elevate women’s cricket from the fringes to the forefront. The BCCI’s [Board of Control for Cricket in India] equal pay decision was only one piece of a larger puzzle: improved facilities, better coaching structures, and the advent of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), which gave Indian players consistent exposure to world-class competition. The WPL, in particular, provided an arena for rising stars to play alongside and against international icons, sharpening their skills and instilling the poise needed for high-pressure moments like a World Cup final.”

The article got me thinking about other low and middle income countries with powerhouse sports teams. I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but discovered that Kenya has a national strategy and several funds (public and private sector) to support women athletes. Jamaica announced a fund to support women’s soccer earlier this year, just two years after the national team had to crowd-fund its way to the Women’s World Cup.

Most seem to rely on non-governmental funding, which is more about empowering women and girls rather than producing elite athletes. That is arguably a far more important goal. But as interest in women’s sport continues to rise around the world, I look forward to seeing other countries and corporate sponsors putting resources into equal funding for women’s sport.

I’m already a fan of the Olympics, where there are serious efforts to ensure gender parity in the competitions and on individual teams. Future games promise to be even more interesting, as the traditional dominance of countries that have (relatively) strong support for female athletes is tested.

Canadian Camryn Rogers doing hammer throw in Paris, where she won gold. A few favorite Olympic moments
fitness · Olympics

A few favorite Olympic moments

catherine w

It’s now the lull in between the closing ceremonies of the 2024 Olympics and the opening festivities of the 2024 Paralympic Games (which start Aug 28). Looking back, here are just a few of the many bright moments I enjoyed. Let me know what you most enjoyed in the comments.

In no particular order:

  • USA’s Kristen Faulkner pulling away from favorites Marianne Vos of the Netherlands and Lotte Kopecky of Belgium to win the Olympic women’s road cycling race
  • Weightlifter Li Wenwen of China showing us grace and strength, then jumping for joy on the podium after she wins gold. Her colleagues from South Korea and Great Britain beam happily, enjoying the moment.
  • So many Olympians— so many Muppets to congratulate them! If you want to see more Muppet coverage of the Olympics, check it out here.
Katie Ledecky with her gold medal and a cookie one.
Katie Ledecky with her gold medal and a cookie one.
Fencers Scruggs and Kiefer show Cookie Monster how it's done, baguette-style.
Fencers Scruggs and Kiefer show Cookie Monster how it’s done, baguette-style.
Abby poses with her new (and very fast) friend, bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson.
Abby poses with her new (and very fast) friend, bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson.

  • Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, winning back-to-back gold medals breaking her own world record, being the first track athlete to break four world records in the same event, and bearing down hard on the 50-second mark in the 400-meter hurdles.
  • Two words: Simone Biles.

I’m also looking forward to the Paralympic Games at the end of August. More athletes, more records, more great stories. Who could ask for anything more?

Well, okay– I still don’t really get Phryge, the Paris Olympic mascot. But maybe that’s just me…

Phryge-- what are they supposed to be, again?
Phryge– what are they supposed to be, again?

fitness · Olympics

1 in 100 million – The Olympic Refugee Team

Diane Harper1 Comment

I’m a sucker for the underdog stories and sports at the Olympics. There are some great ones coming out of Paris, but my favourite has to be the Olympic Refugee Team. I wrote about them before, when I saw the movie The Swimmers, which was based on the true story of Yusra and Sarah Mardini, Syrian swimmers who became refugees in Germany; Yusra eventually swam for the first Refugee Team at Rio in 2016.

Aside from giving athletes an opportunity to compete when they can’t compete for their home country, it’s also a way to highlight the situation of over 100 million people currently displaced outside their countries. This is reflected in the refugee team pin:

Olympic Refugee team pin, superimposed on a photos of the Paris skyline

Among the 37 athletes competing this year, two women are especially worthy of notice.

Cameroonian boxer Cindy Ngamba is guaranteed the team’s first-ever medal as she has advanced to the semi-finals. Two bronze medals are awarded in boxing, so even if she loses her next fight on August 8, she is guaranteed a medal. If she wins, she will fight for the gold. Ngamba has lived in the UK since she was 11; as a gay woman, she would be at risk of imprisonment if she returned to Cameroon.

Nigara Shaheen is a judoka originally from Afghanistan, now living in Toronto. Her family fled Afghanistan for Pakistan when she was an infant, and it was there that she first started learning judo. In 2014, she returned to Afghanistan to study at university, but left again in 2018 due to threats and bullying because she was an athlete. Eventually she made her way to Canada where she is now a permanent resident. Although she did not advance in the individual women’s or the mixed team events, I think it’s amazing that she managed to compete at all.

What about you? Do you have any favourite underdogs, whether they be individuals, national teams or sports?