What Is Your Favorite Olympic Sport?

Summary

"What Is Your Favorite Olympic Sport?"

All Of It – WNYC, August 8, 2024
Guest Host: Kusha Navadar (in for Alison Stewart)
Guest: Olivia Craighead (News Writer, The Cut)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the infectious enthusiasm audiences have for lesser-known Olympic sports as the Paris Games wind down. Guest host Kusha Navadar, joined by pop culture writer Olivia Craighead and a roster of engaged callers and texters, explores why even the most obscure events capture hearts, how coverage and social media shape our exposure, and celebrates the Olympic spirit through a uniquely diverse set of favorite disciplines.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Special Appeal of Obscure Olympic Sports

• Olympic Fever:
  Both host and guest agree that Paris 2024 marks a "return to form" for Olympic energy, especially after the subdued, fanless Tokyo Games during the pandemic.
  • "This year has been a real return to form and a very celebratory Olympics."
    — Olivia Craighead [03:31]
• Why We Love the Oddball Events:
  Olivia points out the novelty and thrill of watching elite athletes excel in sports we rarely see:
  • "Being able to turn on the TV and watch these elite athletes at the absolute top of their game, be really good at something you didn't know someone could be really good at—like dressage or canoe slalom—it's just thrilling."
    — Olivia Craighead [04:48]
• Ephemeral Obsession:
  Part of the joy is "becoming really into" a certain sport for just a few weeks every four years.
  • "I would love to say yes, but...part of the joy is every four years popping in and becoming really into surfing, for example."
    — Olivia Craighead [05:26]

How Social Media & Tech Enhance the Olympics

• The "On Demand Olympics":
  Social platforms and streaming allow viewers to discover and share highlights instantly, with NBC Peacock’s multi-screen events as a game-changer.
  • "Now we're glued to our phones all the time. So as soon as something wild happens in pole vaulting or steeple chase, I can know immediately."
    — Olivia Craighead [08:15]
  • "I think the screen on Peacock, where you can see four different events all at once, is mesmerizing. They've made it so you can really watch anything at any moment..."
    — Olivia Craighead [09:06]
• Ubiquity of Olympic Content:
  "The Olympics is all over every single feed."
  — Olivia Craighead [09:54]
• Accessibility Tips:
  Besides Peacock, NBC’s YouTube uploads highlights quickly (with commentary and medal ceremonies), and some listeners recommend using a digital antenna for free over-the-air broadcasts.
  — [10:54, 20:36]

Listener Favorites and Deep Dives Into Specific Sports

Callers and Texters on Their Olympic Obsessions

• Women's Rugby (Kat in Brooklyn):
  A story of accidental fandom—her girlfriend, previously uninterested in sports, got swept up in the US women’s rugby games.

  • "I'd never seen her get involved...with any kind of sports being a spectator. That was a new side of her." — Kat [12:29]

• Artistic Swimming (formerly Synchronized Swimming) (Laurie in Wantagh):
  Both Laurie and Olivia extol the impossible combination of dance and stamina required:

  • "When the women on the US Team were moonwalking, they're treading water upside down and perfectly moving through...I am just completely spellbound by the whole thing."
    — Olivia Craighead [14:15]
  • "They're judged basically from the moment that they step out onto the deck."
    — Olivia Craighead [14:58]

• Discus (Chris in Castleton, NY):
  Evoking ancient Greek roots and powerful athleticism:

  • "It's like ballet by a large man hurling a weight, a giant Frisbee that weighs goodness knows what."
    — Chris [17:33]
  • Shoutout to US gold medalist Valerie Allman [18:26]

• Breaking (Breakdancing as a New Olympic Event):

  • "If you picture in your mind whatever you're picturing as a dance battle, that's what breaking looks like...lots of spinning on their heads and freezing in seemingly impossible positions."
    — Olivia Craighead [18:59]

• Speed Climbing:
  Highlighting Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw and American Sam Watson, who scaled a 50ft wall in under 5 seconds.

  • "You're climbing up a 50-foot wall that's tilted at a five-degree angle toward you and you're racing another person. I think it's the fastest event in the Olympics."
    — Olivia Craighead [19:47]

• Women's Water Polo:

  • US team’s unusual sponsorship by rapper Flavor Flav, arising after Maggie Steffens’ viral Instagram post about funding challenges.
  • The US team “has meddled ever since women's water polo has been an Olympic sport.”
    — Olivia Craighead [23:12]

• Hammer Throw (Amy in Milford, PA):

  • "She picks it up like a superhero...It was so cathartic and brought me peace while I was sitting in the dentist's office."
    — Amy [24:14]

• Middle Distance Races & Steeplechase (Randy in Hastings-on-Hudson):

  • "These are not the glamour races, but these are the smartest guys running...it's not just the athleticism, but the tactics."
    — Randy [24:34]

• Triathlon (Julia in Queens):
  Julia describes the agony and drama of the finish line, inspired by seeing Kristian Blummenfelt’s sprint to gold in Tokyo.

  • "At the finish line, just complete carnage. These people, they were falling over like dominoes."
    — Julia [25:54]

• Canoe Slalom:
  Olivia’s closing salute:

  • "I salute you. I could never do that. I’m impressed with the bravery."
    — Olivia Craighead [26:53]

The Role of Celebrity & Pop Culture

• Snoop Dogg at the Olympics
  Snoop acts as a playful, omnipresent NBC commentator and interview subject, adding viral moments and fun to the coverage.
  • "They're paying him to be at seemingly every single event...He’s just everywhere. He’s a fun presence to have at these events."
    — Olivia Craighead [21:26]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Olympics' Universal Joy:

  • "There’s nothing like tuning into the broadcast, watching a sport you’ve never seen before, and suddenly it's a few hours later and you're yelling at the screen from your sofa at home."
    — Kusha Navadar [01:46]

• On Artistic Swimming:

  • "To moonwalk, let alone upside-down while in the water…that’s very impressive."
    — Kusha Navadar [15:40]

• On Social Media and Coverage:

  • "It feels more like I’m surrounded by Olympics all the time."
    — Olivia Craighead [08:15]
  • "This feels like the first on Demand Olympics. It’s been interesting how that's changed my watching habits."
    — Listener text [08:51]

• On Fandom's Unexpectedness:

  • "Accidentally, I'm sitting with clammy hands in the dentist and I look up at this glorious woman in a sport I didn't know existed called the hammer throw...it brought me some peace."
    — Amy [23:25]

• On Breaking:

  • "If you picture in your mind whatever you're picturing as a dance battle, that's what breaking looks like."
    — Olivia Craighead [18:59]

• On Discus:

  • "It's like ballet by a large man hurling a weight, a giant Frisbee..."
    — Chris [17:33]

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Highlights by Timestamp

• [01:46] – Instant Olympic fandom and host introduction of the show’s interactive nature
• [03:31] – Olivia on the celebratory Paris Olympics compared to pandemic Tokyo Games
• [04:48] – Why quirky Olympic events thrill us
• [06:29] – Surfing as meditative TV, featuring massive Tahiti waves
• [08:15] – Social media’s impact: Olympics now ever-present in daily life
• [09:06] – Praise for Peacock’s multi-event coverage, and Olympic clips on YouTube
• [11:30] – Callers begin: Women’s rugby makes a new fan out of a first-timer
• [13:10] – Artistic swimming, and its new judging standards explained
• [17:33] – Discus described as “ballet by a large man with a Frisbee”
• [18:59] – Introduction to “breaking”/breakdancing as a new Olympic event
• [19:47] – Speed climbing records and superhuman feats discussed
• [21:26] – Snoop Dogg’s viral presence at the Games pointed out
• [24:14] – Hammer throw as catharsis, discovered while anxious at the dentist
• [24:34] – The strategic, tactical demands of middle-distance racing
• [25:54] – Triathlon drama at the finish line: “complete carnage”
• [26:53] – Salute to canoe slalom and its daredevil participants

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Tone and Community Spirit

The episode maintains an exuberant and inclusive spirit, blending pop culture, personal stories, and informed discussion. The open phone and text lines showcase WNYC’s local, participatory community in action—with an especially New York-y sense of curiosity, humor, and appreciation for the unsung.

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Final Shoutouts

• Host and guest agree: The magic of the Olympics is discovering the extraordinary in the unexpected—even if only every four years.
• "Shout out to everyone who does canoe slalom. I salute you. I could never do that."
  — Olivia Craighead [26:53]

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For the full Olympic schedule, event highlights, and the best memes/fan moments, listeners are encouraged to check NBC’s streaming and social channels, as well as a trusty over-the-air antenna for classic coverage.

Transcript

[Olivia Craighead]

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[Kusha Navadar]

Support for this podcast comes from Progressive America's number one boat insurer. We've all made mistakes on the water, but there's one mistake you shouldn't make being uninsured. With Progressive Boat Insurance, you can choose coverage for most mistakes you or other boaters could make, helping you float carefree all season long. Quote Today Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates number one rating based on boat market share data from RateFilings.com this is all of it. I'm Kusha Navadar, in for Alison Stewart. Thanks for spending part of your day with us. I'm really grateful that you're here. On today's show, we'll talk about the best and worst film scores with Nick Marcus, the host of the Film Score podcast. We'll also preview the third season of the HBO series industry with two of its stars. And as part of our weekly Food for Thought series, today we're talking about corn. That's the plan. So let's get this started with the Olympic sport that has captured your attention in Paris. Maybe two weeks ago, you never watched a speed climbing event, never thought about what skills make someone great at the pommel horse. Or you thought that the stick steeplechase was a sport that actually involved horses. But now, as the Summer Olympics begin to wind down in Paris, many of us have become experts in sports we really just started watching a few weeks ago. Sure, everyone loves to tune in for swimming, track, soccer and women's gymnastics. But what makes the Olympics so special is the unlikely stars that emerge from some of the less popular events. There's nothing like tuning into the broadcast, watching a sport you've never seen before, and suddenly it's a few hours later and you're yelling at the screen from your sofa at home. You're suddenly an instant expert in fencing or artistic swimming or race walking. I have tried race walking. It is hard. So listeners, we want to hear from you. What sport has captured your heart this Olympics? What's something that you've never watched before that you're suddenly super passionate about? Or maybe you've always been a fan of a sport and want to encourage more people to watch it? What Olympic sport has become your unlikely Give us a call. Send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. And joining me now is someone who has been following all of the events, from skeet shooting to skateboarding, Olivia Craighead, a news writer for the Cut, covering pop culture and celebrity. Olivia, thanks for joining us.

[Olivia Craighead]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Kusha Navadar]

Great to have you here. Have you always been a fan of the Olympics, and were you excited about these Games?

[Olivia Craighead]

I mean, yeah, I've been a fan of the Olympics for, like, as long as I've been conscious of them. And I was definitely super pumped about this year's because, you know, in Tokyo, it was the COVID Olympics. Everything still felt kind of weird. There were no fans in the crowd. It just felt kind of off. And I feel like this year has been a real return to form and a very celebratory Olympics. And I feel. I don't know if you feel like this, but it feels like people are really, really excited about the Olympics this time around.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yes, it does feel for me at. There is a certain thirst that's been quenched that people maybe didn't get last time, but there does seem to be this energy behind it. Did you get that sense right from the opening ceremonies?

[Olivia Craighead]

Yeah, I feel the opening ceremony was so cool. I kind of loved that they did it on the Seine, and I loved all of the wild Frenchness that they had as part of it. The Marie Antoinette heads, the sort of throuply thing that was going on in the opening ceremony. I just saw a lot of conversation around it in a way that did kind of surprise me.

[Kusha Navadar]

And there's also a lot of conversation around so many different sports, which we're gonna get into one by one later on. But why do you think so many people love watching the more offbeat sports during the Olympics? Is it just the novelty of it or is there something more?

[Olivia Craighead]

I think that's definitely part of it. I mean, you know, I think maybe if fencing or whatever was on NBC all the time, it wouldn't. We wouldn't get as excited about it. But I think that there's something about being able to turn on the TV and watch these elite athletes at the absolute top of their game, be really good at something you didn't know someone could be really good at, like dressage or canoe slalom, and it's just thrilling to watch.

[Kusha Navadar]

Do you think you'll follow any of these sports after the Olympic sense? Is there a sport where you've identified. Oh, I'd like to continue following this.

[Olivia Craighead]

I mean, I would love to say yes, but I also think that part of the joy is like every four years popping in and becoming really into surfing, for example. So I don't know that I will be following canoe slalom for the next four years, but I will be tuning in when they are in la.

[Kusha Navadar]

That's a good point. There is certainly, I mean, back to a previous question, that novelty of it, the joy of it being something that pops up in this case of the Summer Olympics once every four years, I think definitely applies. We're getting some texts here. I want to read a couple of them out. It says sail gp, which is the, the, the sailing competition has been so interesting to watch and learn about. Love the Olympics. That's from Brittany in New Jersey. Thanks, Brittany. Marathon bickering takes. It is another one that we're, we're getting another one here says, I'm an Olympic nerd, a walking Olympic encyclopedia. Of course. I watch gymnastics, diving and track. The new sport I have enjoyed watching is surfing. So we're already getting some texts coming in here. Yeah, you're into surfing as well, Olivia, go ahead.

[Olivia Craighead]

I just think one. This year they're on this incredibly huge wave in Tahiti. And so you're watching these people compete at a very. On a very incredible wave. And I also find the actual event very meditative because they are just hanging out in the ocean for 30 minutes and every now and then they catch a huge wave. So it's kind of a. A good sport to have on in the background.

[Kusha Navadar]

That idea of meditative vibes, I think is important too, because there's certain qualities of different sports that really can't apply to a lot of other sports. And I think with surfing and meditation, it's not the only one. But I think that is a really important element to bring out. I'm sure it adds texture to people watching, maybe sports where there's a lot of frenetic energy. Listeners, you're hearing some texts coming in. We would love to get your calls as well. Here with Olivia Craighead, who's a news writer for the Cut. We're talking about some of the less popular but still very much awesome Olympic events from the last few weeks. And we'd love to know, what is that sport for you? What's a sport that maybe isn't as popular, but you've really grown to love watching these Olympic Games? Or maybe you've always been a fan of the sport and you want to encourage more people to watch it, give us a call, send us a text. The number is 212-433-9692. That's 21243, WNYC. Olivia, I think social media is a big topic here that we need to touch on as well, because it seems like social has made some sports really pop. Do you agree with that? How do you think social has really shaped how we've interacted with this Olympics specifically?

[Olivia Craighead]

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, in years when we weren't as attached to our phones, it was a thing where you would turn on NBC at the end of the day and just watch what was fed to you. And now we're glued to our phones all the time. So as soon as something wild happens in pole vaulting or steeplechase, I can know immediately. So it feels more like I'm surrounded by Olympics all the time, and it feels. Makes it feel like it's more pervasive in my conversations, in my daily media diet, all of that.

[Kusha Navadar]

We just got a text here that speaks to that a little bit. It says, this feels like the first on Demand Olympics. It's been interesting how that's changed my watching habits. What do you think about how NBC Peacock has covered this Olympics?

[Olivia Craighead]

I mean, I will not cape for a big organization like NBCUniversal, but I will say that they've done a very good job with the Olympics. I'm kind of obsessed with the Peacock coverage. I think the screen on Peacock, where you can see four different events all at once, is mesmerizing. And I think they've made it so that you can really watch anything at any moment in a way that I don't think we've ever really had before.

[Kusha Navadar]

What is it about the way they've been doing it? I mean, one thing that comes to mind for me is their social game. I really like following the Olympic social handle, the NBC Olympics specifically. It seems like they're able to, either through their app or whatever, they're able to kind of meet folks where they are watching. Is that fair?

[Olivia Craighead]

Totally. I mean, there's. There's stuff all over TikTok. There's stuff all over Instagram. And I think it helps that, you know, they're aided by the fact that everyone in the audience has a phone and is also recording and the athletes are also recording and sharing everything. So it just feels like the Olympics is all over every single feed.

[Kusha Navadar]

There's a text that's come in. Maybe we can. We can help this person out. It says, I desperately want to watch it but don't have tv. I'm lingering in lobbies televisions like a weirdo so I can catch some events. Whoever's texting this weirdo, I'm sure you're not the only one who's doing this. They continue to write, I have Internet connection. Is there somewhere online to watch it? So, Olivia, before we dive into some of the sports, just because I think this is a question a lot of people have. If you have a smart TV and you have an NBC Peacock subscription, you can definitely watch through there. Are there any other ways that you know of that folks can watch?

[Olivia Craighead]

I would definitely recommend getting a Peacock account maybe just for the next couple of days so that you can kind of watch everything. But The NBC Olympics YouTube channel is also really good about getting all of the highlights from kind of every single major event up there very quickly. And they come with the commentary with the medal ceremony. So that's a great destination to catch all of the big highlights.

[Kusha Navadar]

Let's get into some of the sports. We got some callers ready. Let's go to Kat in Brooklyn. Hey, Kat, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Thank you very much. Love the show. Thank you for having me.

[Kusha Navadar]

Of course. What's. What sport are you really into?

[Callers]

Well, it's not me, unfortunately. I'm visually disabled, so watching the Olympics is a little bit difficult. But my girlfriend came over for a visit last week when the women's rugby team was getting slaughtered by New Zealand and she just couldn't. She was very upset that they were totally getting slaughtered in this semifinal match and she wouldn't leave the house until she found out later that they won the bronze against Australia later in the coverage. So it was just quite amusing. She had never heard of rugby, no less women's rugby before she got involved.

[Kusha Navadar]

Was this a side of your girlfriend? Was this a side of your girlfriend that you had not seen before? Was this a new personality trait of her being so into sports?

[Callers]

Well, she does get involved with things, but I'd never seen her get involved with any kind of sports being a spectator. So, yeah, that was like a new side of her that I hadn't seen. Especially that she was just lamenting how the women's rugby team was like 26 to 0 or something like that against New Zealand. It was very interesting.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah, that does sound very interesting. Glad you two could share that experience together. Thanks so much for calling. Shout out to the women's rugby team and women's rugby in general. Let's go to Laurie in Wanta. Hey, Lori, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hi. Thanks so much for taking my call. Since I've been a kid, I have loved synchronized swimming, which they've just recently changed to artistic swimming. And I've loved watching the finals of the team competition yesterday, and USA won silver, so first time in many years. So it was super exciting.

[Kusha Navadar]

Laurie, thanks so much for bringing us to synchronized swimming. Artistic swimming. Olivia, I know that you're also interested in artistic swimming, which, as Lori said, used to be called synchronized swimming. And I saw a video the other day of the US Team doing the moonwalk upside down in the water. It was so smooth, it was almost criminal. The team gold event happened yesterday with with China winning gold and the US Team winning silver. And on Saturday, there will be the gold medal event for the duet free routine. Talk to us a little bit about synchronized swimming. Artistic swimming. What is most impressive to you? It doesn't have to be one. What stands out to you?

[Olivia Craighead]

Well, what's so impressive to me, it's the kind of the same thing with water polo, which is that you take something that is already incredibly difficult playing polo, you know, doing an incredibly synchronized dance, and then you add the element of treading water the entire time you're doing. Seems totally impossible to me. And like you said, when the women on the US Team were moonwalking, they're treading water upside down and perfectly moving through the. I am just completely spellbound by the whole thing.

[Kusha Navadar]

And it's interesting because the artistic swimming starts before they get in the pool. Right? The drama on the deck is pretty great.

[Olivia Craighead]

Yes. They're judged basically from the moment that they step out onto the deck.

[Kusha Navadar]

What else are they judged on?

[Olivia Craighead]

So it's kind of a complicated judging system. There are three different judging bodies. There's a panel of five judges for scoring elements, which are just the moves that they're doing, and those are all weighted by degree of difficulty. And then there are five other judges for, quote, unquote, artistic impression. So, like, choreography, music, transitions, and then there are technical controllers who are in charge of watching for anything that can be deducted. So you add up the elements and your artistic impression, and then you take out your deductions and you come up with your score.

[Kusha Navadar]

That is pretty complicated, and I'm sure it's probably entertaining to listen to commentators break that down while you watch and then feel like you are an expert because it is beautiful and so difficult to moonwalk, let alone upside down, while you're in the water. That's very impressive, listeners. We're speaking with Olivia Craighead, who's a news writer for THE cut. We want to hear what Olympic sports you feel could get more love or you love loving that maybe aren't as popular, aren't the usual suspects. Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. That's 212-433-WNYC. We're going to take a quick break, and when we come back, more sports and more calls. Stay with us. This is all of it on wnyc. I'm Koosha Navadar, and we're talking with Olivia Craighead, a news writer for the cut. And we're talking about some of the less but still very awesome Olympic events over the past few weeks. Listeners, we want to know what's an Olympic sport that you've fallen in love with or that you've really enjoyed watching every Olympics that maybe doesn't get as much love as the usual suspects. Give us a call, send us a text. We're at 212-433-9692. Couple texts that I saw come through here. One says, where is it? I am. Where can we catch all the Snoop content? Move over, Brian lehrer, We've got a new national treas. Really liked that one. The other one that I wanted to read was the Olympics has been televised on regular broadcasting, NBC in New York, Channel 4. So if you have a television, you're looking where to watch the sport. You can definitely do it there. We have got a caller, Chris, in Castleton, New York. Hey, Chris, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hey, thank you. One of the sports that I think doesn't really get enough coverage that it deserves is discus. These large men are sprinting diagonally across a small circle while spinning around and hurling the disc. It goes back to the beautiful Greek sculpture. And I fell in love with discus as a kid because Al Order, a Long island native, won the discus four Olympics in a row. And it's just, it's like ballet by a large man hurling a weight, a giant Frisbee that weighs good, knows goodness knows what. And they throw it out there the length of a field. You couldn't, you couldn't imagine throwing a Frisbee that far. It's a great sport.

[Kusha Navadar]

Yeah. Thank you so much. I'm going to pause you there. It is a great sport. I understand that the US Won gold and I want to shout out women's discus as well. Valerie Allman, winner. Just want to say congrats there. Thank you so much, Chris, for that call. Really appreciate you calling out Discus, another sport, Olivia, that I am really interested in. This year the Olympics added for the first time breaking. And those competitions are coming up on August 9th and 10th. What can you tell us about the breaking competition? What will that look like?

[Olivia Craighead]

It'll look like two very long days of competition. It's basically a five hour day for the men and for the women. And if you kind of picture in your mind whatever you're picturing as a dance battle, that's what breaking looks like. Basically there's, you know, lots of spinning on their heads and freezing in seemingly impossible positions. It's incredibly difficult. And breaking definitely started in New York in the 80s, kind of around the the rise of hip hop. But we have a lot of competition from other countries like China and Japan have incredibly good breakers on their team.

[Kusha Navadar]

I also would love to talk about speed climbing. This is an event that you're very excited about, right?

[Olivia Craighead]

Yes. The women's final was, was yesterday. Alexandra Miroslav from Poland took gold with a six point. You're climbing up a 50 foot wall that's tilted at a five degree angle toward you and you're racing another person. I think it's the fastest event in the Olympics. And later today, the men's final is happening. Sam Watson, an American, an 18 year old American, earlier in the competition broke his own world record and climbed up the wall in 4.75 seconds.

[Kusha Navadar]

Wow. And can you give us a sense of how much ground that person covered? Vertical ground in just over four seconds. You said 4.5 seconds.

[Olivia Craighead]

It's around 50ft.

[Kusha Navadar]

Wow, that is quite an impressive event. I just got this text coming in. I think it's good to read here. One important note for your audience. You keep discussing smart TVs and setting up peacock accounts, but for those financially challenged or digital, only members of the WNYC audience know that you can buy a digital antenna and watch and for free. No accounts, no hassles. I've been watching the entire Paris Games this way. Thank you so much for pointing that out to our listener who sent that text in. Climbing is another text we're getting here. Climbing, not speed. Bouldering. And lead. What is this Snoop Dogg thing? There is a lot of questions that we're getting here about Snoop Dogg's participation and I believe it has something to do with the women's water polo team as well. Can you talk about that a little bit?

[Olivia Craighead]

That so?

[Kusha Navadar]

Oh no, that's Flavor Flav. Sorry, that's Flavor Flav.

[Olivia Craighead]

Talk about Snoop Dog rappers who are all over the Olympics right now. Snoop is an NBC employee. Basically, they're paying him to be at seemingly every single event. I was watching a track event last night, and he was hanging out with Noah Lyles mom wearing a Noah Lyles tracksuit with Noah's face on the tracksuit. He's just everywhere. He's a fun presence to have at these events. He's constantly. He's doing a little bit of commentary, and I think he has a way of going viral for doing literally anything that NBC kind of clocked, and they decided to send him to Paris to do exactly that.

[Kusha Navadar]

And I do want to talk about the women's water polo team. They are doing a lot of great work. Women's water polo. They do have an unlikely sponsor as well. Rapper of Flavor Flav. The women's water polo team is playing in the semifinal against Australia today at 135. Can you tell us a little bit about this sport? Water polo?

[Olivia Craighead]

Yeah. So the women's water polo team, like you said, is being sponsored by Flavor Flav. Maggie Stephan, who is one of the greatest water polo players in the world, made this Instagram post back in May talking about how so many Olympians have to take second and third jobs just to fund their Olympic dreams. And somehow that made it to Flavor Flav. And he commented, saying that he was going to sponsor the whole team because he's a girl dad. So he's been very supportive. America has an incredible. An incredible water polo team. So this is just kind of icing on their story. I'm sure they have. Ever since women's water polo has been an Olympic sport, the US has meddled.

[Kusha Navadar]

Let's go to some callers. Got Amy in Melford, Pennsylvania. Hi, Amy. Welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hey, thanks for taking my call.

[Kusha Navadar]

Sure. What sport are you loving, falling in love with or have already loved?

[Callers]

So I had the misfortune of sitting in a dentist office for emergency service this week, and accidentally, I'm sitting there with clammy hands and getting really anxious, and I look up at the screen and there is this glorious woman in a sport that I didn't know existed called the hammer throw. And it's essentially this. This tight jump rope, and it's got this big heavy thing in the end, and she picks it up like a superhero and is swinging it around her, the top of her head like a lasso. And she lets it go. And I don't think I've seen anything fly further in my whole life. And it was so impressive and it was so cathartic of just this release of Energy. And I don't know what it was. It brought me some peace while I was sitting in the dentist's office.

[Kusha Navadar]

Wow. I'm sure that catharsis is really welcome. Thank you so much, Amy. I hope that all of the, the things that brought you into that dentist chair worked out well. Thanks so much for giving us a call. Let's go to Randy in Hastings on Hudson. Hey, Randy, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hi, good afternoon. Thank you for taking my call.

[Kusha Navadar]

Sure.

[Callers]

I have been glued to the middle distance races and I've been watching from like the 1500 through the 5000. Last night was a 3000 meter steeple chase that was just absolutely thrilling. And what's great about them is that it's not just how fast you are, but it's how tactically acute you are. I mean, these are guys whose bodies are expending maximum effort, but they have to keep their minds about them the entire time. Know where they are, know when to go, when to hold back. And it's. It. These are like the, you know, they're not the glamour races, but these are the smartest guys running. And it's just fascinating to watch. Not just the athleticism, but the tactics.

[Kusha Navadar]

And the, and the strategy.

[Callers]

The strategy, yeah. Work itself out over the course of, of minutes and minutes of running. And, and it's, it's, it's. I've been glued to it. I've been unable to look away.

[Kusha Navadar]

Randy. Oh, Randy, gotta pause you there. Just appreciate the call. There's one more caller I wanted to get to, but really appreciate you giving that shout out. And it's a great point about the strategy that you can see inside these, some of these middle distance. Let's go to Julia in Queens. Hey, Julia, welcome to the show.

[Callers]

Hi, thanks for having me.

[Kusha Navadar]

Sure.

[Callers]

So the sport that I fell in love with was actually at the games in Tokyo because. So I was at a bar and the tail end of the triathlon was on. And I vaguely understood what a triathlon was, but I did not really understand until I watched Christian Blumenfeld, who looked like he was struggling so hard. He was maybe like third or fourth at the very, very end. He got this incredible burst of energy and he beat Alex Yee, who got silver that year. He got gold this year, Alex Yi. Good for him. But it was just incredible. And then at the finish line, just complete carnage. These people, they were falling over like dominoes. It was. I was astounded. I really grew a lot of respect for the sport after watching that.

[Kusha Navadar]

Julia, thank you so much. Giving a shout out to triathlon, swimming, biking, then racing. Takes a lot of athletic. I'm looking at the clock. We got to wrap up here. But Olivia, I'll bring it back to you. Any other sports that you want to call out that you're excited about?

[Olivia Craighead]

I do just want to give a shout out to everyone who does canoe slalom. I salute you. I could never do that. I'm impressed with the bravery.

[Kusha Navadar]

Wonderful shout out to canoe slaloming. I'm speaking with Olivia Craighead, a news writer for the Cut. We're talking about some of the less popular but still awesome Olympic sports. Thanks so much for hanging out with us and I hope you have a great rest of your Olympics watching experience.

[Olivia Craighead]

Lilly Olivia, thanks so much for having me. A BetterHelp ad Louis Capaldi partnered with BetterHelp to get word out about how important therapy can be.

[Kusha Navadar]

I struggle most weeks to like get up, get myself up and ready and go to therapy or, you know, whatever. Like even like to open the laptop to talk to my therapist. Sometimes can be really difficult, but I do it because I realize how important it is for me to continue to feel good, like I felt the best I felt, felt in a long time through therapy.

[Olivia Craighead]

Learn more about online [e-mail].