Podcast Summary: Noble Blood – Very Special Episodes: How to Make the Olympics (Without Supernatural Athletic Ability)

Podcast: Noble Blood
Episode Title: Very Special Episodes: How to Make the Olympics (Without Supernatural Athletic Ability)
Date: February 14, 2026
Host: Dana Schwartz
Guests/Contributors: Elizabeth Swaney, Jason English, Brendan Newby

Overview

This episode of "Very Special Episodes," a mini-series under the Noble Blood umbrella, tells the fascinating story of Elizabeth Swaney—an Oakland-born, multi-hyphenate athlete who achieved her childhood dream of competing in the Olympics without miraculous athletic talent. Host Dana Schwartz is joined by Swaney herself, along with input from friends and fellow Olympians, to explore how dedication, strategy, and a little bit of rulebook mastery can overcome long odds and ignite international debate.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

The Childhood Dream and the Improbability of Olympic Glory

• Opening Reflection: Dana Schwartz asks listeners to recall their own childhood dreams—astronaut, cowboy, ballerina—and points out that becoming an Olympic athlete is "almost mathematically impossible" given the physical, genetic, and financial requirements. (03:34)
• Elizabeth's Early Ambition: Elizabeth Swaney reveals her Olympic aspirations began at age seven, originally in figure skating, before trying nearly every sport available. (03:22, 03:44)

Athletic Buffet: Sampling Sports and Academic Achievements

• Athletic Exploration: Swaney shares her journey hopping between skating, rowing, baseball, ice hockey, skeleton, and ultimately, freestyle skiing. (03:44)
• Academic & Personal Drive: Not just an athlete, Swaney juggled multiple jobs, ran for governor of California at 19, went to Harvard, became a stand-up comic, and even a Hollywood stunt double. (08:17)
• Notable Quote: "When I first met her, she told me she had something like four or five jobs. And I'm like, how do you pull that off?" – Brendan Newby (08:43)

Choosing the Optimal Olympic Path: Rulebook Mastery

• Finding a Niche: Lacking extraordinary athleticism, Swaney took a unique approach—mastering Olympic qualification rules to exploit loopholes, such as representing a country with fewer athletes in her chosen sport. (10:44, 11:07)
• Rulebook Queen: "My own, like coaches that would coach athletes from several countries... would ask me, like, hey, do you think I'm going to qualify for the Olympics?" – Elizabeth Swaney (11:07)
• Path to Hungary: After failed attempts with Venezuela, she qualified through her Hungarian ancestry, calculating a global roster of competitions to accrue enough points. (11:36)

The Cost of an Olympic Dream

• Financial Burden: Estimates peg the cost at $30,000 per qualification session—Swaney dedicated about 75% of her income to training and travel, frequently crowdfunding to cover costs. (13:44, 14:30, 15:30)
• Grit and Sacrifice: "I almost had, I think, a few days off a year. And I was always trying to put everything I earned into paying for coaches or equipment." – Elizabeth Swaney (14:30)

Achieving the Dream: 2018 Winter Olympics and Its Aftermath

• Lightning-Rod Performance: At Pyeongchang 2018, Swaney's halfpipe performance—deliberately safe, minimal, and low to the ice—became an international spectacle and social media sensation, sparking debates about the meaning and value of Olympic competition. (21:19)
• Public Backlash: Much of the world "was kind of negative or undecided about my Olympics performance." – Elizabeth Swaney (21:19)
• Memorable Quote: "She is incredibly, incredibly below average... She doesn't have Olympic standard skills." – Unnamed commentator (22:59)

Was it Cheating or Winning the System?

• Rule-Follower, Not Hacker: Swaney’s fellow athletes, especially Brendan Newby, defend her: "She did nothing wrong. She followed the rules to the letter..." (23:22, 23:48)
• The Real Issue: If anyone is to blame, Newby suggests, it's the IOC and FIS for their qualification criteria. (23:48)
• Athlete Solidarity: Despite controversy, top competitors like Maddie Bowman voiced their support to Swaney. (24:50)

After the Olympics: What's Next?

• Post-Dream Life: With her mission accomplished, Swaney turned to stunt work, comedy, and even attempted to qualify for the Olympics again—this time in skeleton for Team Israel, though she did not return to the Games. (26:23, 28:13)
• Motivational Takeaway: "There are sometimes obstacles, but you can use the obstacles as ways to help make you stronger." – Elizabeth Swaney (27:31)
• Reflecting on Haters: "Haters are often just confused lovers. So why else would they spend so much energy and time thinking about you?" – Elizabeth Swaney (27:31)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On figuring out an Olympic niche:
  "I think I'm like the best person in the world to try to figure out what sport someone can possibly make at the Olympics and maybe ... what country and what sport that might be a possibility for." – Elizabeth Swaney (10:44)

• On mastering the rulebook:
  "I know the qualification standards for a lot of the sports, especially the winter ones ... my own coaches ... would ask me ... do you think my athlete's going to qualify?" – Elizabeth Swaney (11:07)

• Describing the financial burden:
  "Brendan estimates it costs up to $30,000 each session to compete for a spot in the winter." – Dana Schwartz (13:44)
  "It wasn't, like, easy for me to get involved in all these sports. I was always, like, working multiple jobs ... everything I earned into paying for coaches or equipment." – Elizabeth Swaney (14:30)

• On Swaney's viral Olympic run:
  "Elizabeth simply went up and down, back and forth along the walls of the halfpipe ... she maxed out at 18 inches above the Halfpipe. ... the gold medal winner ... hit nearly 14ft." – Dana Schwartz (21:27)

• Addressing the backlash:
  "She didn’t hack the system. She didn't do anything. She followed the rules to the letter. She knew the rules better than anyone." – Brendan Newby (23:22)

• Finding encouragement despite controversy:
  "Who are the experts in this sport? ... They were all supportive of me. Like Maddie Bowman, she told me personally, like we love you after the competition." – Elizabeth Swaney (24:50)

• Philosophy on dreams and haters:
  "There are sometimes obstacles, but you can use the obstacles as ways to help make you stronger. ... and someone told me that oh haters are often just confused lovers." – Elizabeth Swaney (27:31)

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Childhood dreams and Olympic impossibility: (03:34–04:09)
• Swaney’s athletic and academic journey: (05:58–08:17)
• Rulebook mastery and path to Olympics: (10:44–13:25)
• Financial realities of Olympic pursuit: (13:25–14:49)
• Sprint to make the Olympics after qualifying: (15:30–16:42)
• Pyeongchang Olympics, performance, and reaction: (20:29–23:33)
• Exploring backlash and support: (23:33–25:18)
• After the Games—new dreams and pursuits: (26:23–28:13)

Tone and Language

The episode’s tone is a mix of admiration, levity, perseverance, and a frank look at the peculiarities of both the Olympics and internet culture. Swaney’s self-awareness and humility come through, balanced by the hosts’ and contributors’ analytical but conversational delivery.

Conclusion

Through Elizabeth Swaney’s winding journey, this episode explores what it truly means to be an Olympian, asks who gets to define success, and celebrates the role of strategy, creative problem-solving, and relentless optimism when the odds seem insurmountable. Swaney’s story is less about athletic prowess and more about the power—and unpredictability—of sticking to your dream and rewriting the rulebook to suit your own strengths.