Dying To Ask

The Olympic Streak Ends For Fitz And Domi

The streak had to end sometime, but it took a global pandemic to do it.

Mike "Domi" Domalaog and I have had the privilege of covering the last 10 Olympics together. That's 20 years of planes, trains and automobiles and lots of adventures and passport stamps.

This year, like a lot of Olympic journalists, we've had to re-imagine how we cover Olympic athletes on their journey to Tokyo.

And, when our company had to cancel our Olympic trip, we challenged ourselves to keep our own Olympic spirit going even though we're not technically going anywhere.

On this Dying to Ask:

• Hear some of our favorite memories from the road and what we have in store for viewers during the Olympics.

What Happed To The Father/Son Wrestlers For Cabo Verde?

When we last checked in with Team Wesley for the Dying to Ask podcast, August and Anthony were waiting on a wildcard berth to wrestle at the Tokyo Olympics. (episode here)

The Wesleys are a father-son wrestling duo who hoped to represent the small island nation of Cabo Verde.

August Wesley is an American wrestler and coach. He's coached high school and college athletes. He's the most decorated Greco-Roman wrestler to have come out of Sacramento. And, his cousin, Anthony Amado, represented Team USA in wrestling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

His son, Anthony Wesley, made national teams as a high school athlete and went on to compete at Iowa State University.

The father and son have dual citizenship with the tiny island nation of Cabo Verde, also known as Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.

The Wesleys have spent the last year pursuing a dream of representing Cabo Verde at the Olympics. Their Olympic berth hung on a wildcard.

And in this Dying to Ask, we find out whether the IOC said yes or no and where Team Wesley will be in July.

How To Live Like An Olympian With Dr. Naresh Rao

Want to live like an Olympian? There's a book for that.

Dr. Naresh Rao is an osteopathic physician, the team doctor and COVID-19 liaison officer for the U.S. Olympic Men's Water Polo Team.

He's also the author of "Step Up Your Game: The Revolutionary Program Elite Athletes Use to Increase Performance and Achieve Total Health."

The book is the culmination of what Dr. Rao learned in more than 10 years of guiding the physical and mental health of Olympic athletes as a team doctor.

Dr. Rao spent the last year doing everything possible to reduce the possibility of his athletes contracting the coronavirus during international competition. His entire team stayed healthy and is now vaccinated and ready to head to Tokyo.

In this episode, Dr. Rao will outline habits that create champions. They are habits athletes spend lifetimes developing, nurturing and putting to the ultimate test in Olympic competition.

The best part? Many of these habits are relatively simple and can make a major impact in your life too.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Dr. Rao got the gig as an Olympic team doc
• Hacks to make your mental game as strong as your physical game
• And the COVID-19 restrictions athletes will have to deal with while they're in Tokyo even though virtually all of them will be vaccinated

Why Being Selfish Is An Olympic Necessity With Rowers Anders Weis and Andrew Reed

The boys on the boat are heading to Tokyo.

The U.S. men's rowing team will kick off competition on the same day as the Opening Ceremony, July 23.

The guys have called Oakland, California, home for the last few years. They're based out of the Cal Berkeley boathouse on the Oakland Estuary where athletes credit straight, flat water for getting them in shape for the games.

But, the pandemic posed big challenges for this team.

Rowing isn't social-distance friendly. The guys went months without training in their boats and had to get creative with their quarantine workouts.

They also had to face personal decisions about whether they could delay careers for another year after the 2020 Olympics got pushed back.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How athletes made the decision to delay careers one more year to compete in Tokyo
• Why they describe being an Olympian as a selfish act
• And how much fun it is to get up before the sun to hang out with your friends on the water

A Father And Son's Quest To Become Olympians For A Little-Known Nation

Hey, Disney: I have your next Olympic-themed movie.

It's "Cool Runnings" meets "Miracle on Ice."

A 49-year-old American father and his 23-year-old son represent an island nation few have heard of at an Olympics delayed by a worldwide pandemic. #yourewelcome

I love this podcast episode.

August Wesley is an American wrestler and coach. He's coached high school and college athletes. He's the most decorated Greco-Roman wrestler to have come out of Sacramento, California. And, his cousin, Anthony Amado, represented Team USA in wrestling at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

His son, Anthony Wesley, made national teams as a high school athlete and went on to compete at Iowa State University.

The father and son have dual citizenship with the tiny island nation of Cape Verde, or Cabo Verde.

Cabo Verde is off the west coast of Africa. It's one of the most developed democratic countries in Africa. But, it's never had much luck developing an Olympic team.

Until now.

On this Dying to Ask:

• What August Wesley is going through physically and mentally to become an Olympic wrestler at 49
• What has to happen to get Cape Verde's wrestling team to Tokyo
• And how August Wesley kept his personal Olympic dream alive for decades

Why Cat Osterman Came Out Of Retirement For The 2020 Tokyo Olympics

There's no crying in baseball. But, the truth is a lot of tears were shed when the Olympics dropped baseball and softball from its sports lineup after the 2008 Beijing Summer Games.

Each host city has the opportunity to add sports to their Olympic schedule.

Japan loves baseball. So, baseball and softball are back for the first time in 13 years.

That was great news for Team USA softball players who have struggled to make a living in the sport since 2008.

The return of softball is also the return of legendary player Cat Osterman.

She's one of two members of the U.S. Olympic Softball Team with any Olympic experience. Osterman came out of retirement for a shot at another Olympic gold.

"It was full circle. I went to the youngest to the oldest (on the team) now but, yeah, there was a 13-year gap between the last Olympics and this one. It's been a sport that I think has been missing the Olympics. I know, specifically I have missed being in the Olympics," said Osterman.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Cat Osterman made the decision to come out of retirement for Tokyo 2020
• What she plans to do when she re-retires after the Summer Olympics
• The work habits you need to stay at the top of your profession for an extended period of time
• How to stay engaged in your job when you've done the same thing for a long time

 

Olympic Gold Medalist Missy Franklin On Knowing When To Walk Away

"Absolutely not."

Five-time Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin can't make it any clearer that she has zero intention of coming out of retirement for another shot at Olympic glory.

Franklin was only 17 when she became an Olympic darling at the 2012 London Summer Olympics. She won four golds and a bronze in swimming.

But, back spasms became challenging just two years later at the Pana Pacific Championship.

She went on to make the 2016 Rio Olympic team and won gold in the 4 x 200-meter relay.

Franklin retired in 2018.

At 26, she's newly married and expecting her first child this summer. She's embraced her role as a mentor to Team USA's younger swimmers and is passionate about spreading awareness about water safety to prevent accidental drownings in backyard pools.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How athletes know that a sport's mental toll is as great as the physical toll
• The advice Missy is giving to Olympic hopefuls during the pandemic
• And what it's like to be in your Chapter 2 at the ripe age of 26

 

 

Hannah Roberts Spins Her Wheels Ahead Of The Tokyo Olympics

Hannah Roberts could become the youngest U.S. Olympic cycling medalist since 1912 this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.

At 19, she'd also be the first woman in her teens to win an Olympic cycling medal.

Roberts is used to doing big things at a young age.

She's a two-time world champion in BMX freestyle. The sport is making its Olympic debut this summer.

It's one of two BMX disciplines in the Olympic schedule. Freestyle riders compete similarly to park-like skateboarders and get scored on how well they execute tricks.

On this episode of 'Dying to Ask':

• How the pandemic brought on the lowest point in Hannah Roberts' life
• How she dug deep to rediscover her motivation and get the Olympic dream back on track
• How becoming a newlywed changed her athletic outlook
• How Roberts says she'd use the platform that comes with an Olympic gold medal to increase pay equity in her sport

How 'Got Milk' Got Olympic Perfection

You probably don't know Yin Rani by name. But, I'll bet she's made you reach for a glass of milk.

Rani is the creative genius behind this year's Got Milk Olympic ad campaign.

Got Milk? That's the question that launched one of the most iconic ad campaigns in the 1990s.

Rani gave Got Milk a modern makeover in time for the Tokyo Olympics. The year delay turned out to be a campaign game-changer.

The new ads feature the Olympics' newest sports like skateboarding, karate, BMX freestyle and softball.

On this Dying to Ask:

• What producers did to keep Olympians safe from COVID-19 on set
• The tone Olympic sponsors need to strike coming out of the pandemic
• What Rani learned about athlete mindset and resilience after working with Olympians for the first time

How Ryan Murphy Manages Pressure By Adding Pressure

The king of the backstroke has no intention of relinquishing his crown at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Ryan Murphy is one of the biggest names in swimming. He's been breaking pool records since he was 5 years old.

He made his Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Games. He swept the backstroke events and won a third gold medal in the 4 x 100m medley relay. His leg set a world record.

The former UC Berkeley swimmer went pro in 2017 and has had his eye on defending his Olympic wins ever since.

The pandemic delayed the games, but not the dream.

Fellow swimmer Nathan Adrian opened lanes in his newly purchased swim school to swimmers like Ryan when the lockdown started.

"To kind of take things day by day, that was something I struggled with at the beginning. But as I, as this kind of kept on going on and kept on going on, I really got used to being flexible day to day, and I think that's a really valuable skill," Murphy said.

Murphy continued his training in Berkeley in his college pool and has fine-tuned his mental game an unusual way. He creates pressure to deal with pressure.

On this Dying to Ask:

• How Ryan Murphy finds a competitive edge by living with constant pressure
• Why he feels a need for speed at all times
• And why it's better to embrace than fight flexibility