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Episode: GOLD MEDALS & POST-OLYMPIC BLUES

Release Date: February 24, 2026
Hosts: Julie Foudy, Abby Wambach, Billie Jean King
Special Guest: Dr. Colleen Hacker (briefly in discussion)

Episode Overview

This lively and heartfelt episode dives deep into the triumphs and emotional aftermath of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics—especially celebrating women’s achievements, the state of women’s sports, and the powerful community around these athletes. Abby, Julie, and Billie Jean reflect on iconic moments, discuss challenges like post-Olympic blues, share personal stories and party-game camaraderie, and touch on the power of support networks in and after competition.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Milan Memories & Winning Gold

[02:37 - 05:06]

• Travel Stories: Abby shares the ups and downs of traveling to Milan for the Olympics—not as an athlete for the first time, but as media. She talks about jet lag, a brutal 34-hour trip home, and her wife’s “trauma” from traveling.
• Billie Jean’s Experience: Billie Jean King loves everything about Italy (“I love the atmosphere, I love the people. And most importantly, I love the food.” [02:51 - Billie Jean]), had a much smoother trip, but was snowed in back at home.
• Technical Teamwork: King thanks her team (shout out to her makeup artist Josh “ski-goggling” through a snowstorm).

2. Women’s Hockey Takes Center Stage

[05:55 - 09:17]

• PWHL Impact: Billie Jean highlights that 39 players from the Pro Women’s Hockey League were in the US/Canada gold medal game, praising the increased skill, speed, and parity since just three years ago.
• Memorable Game Mechanics: Both women’s and men’s gold medal games finished in 3-on-3 overtime.
• Hillary Knight’s Unforgettable Week:
  • Gold medal, scored in the championship, and served as flag bearer at closing ceremonies.
  • Proposed to her partner right before (“Could you imagine getting engaged and winning a gold medal the next day?” – Abby, [07:12]).
  • “She was just beaming and saying, yeah, I can't get any better than this.” – Billie Jean, [07:33]
• Fan Experience: Julie, fraught with “PTSD” from past heartbreak versus Canada, was relieved at the win.
• Cultural Note: “It’s a religion, baby, this ice hockey [in Canada], they take no prisoners.” – Billie Jean, [08:41]

3. The Ripple Effect: Inspiring the Next Generation

[09:00 - 09:44]

• Billie Jean and Abby discuss how this Olympics inspired a surge of youth hockey sign-ups—“100,000 more U8 kids” (Abby, [09:22])—with more girls than ever “dreaming the dream.”

4. Norway’s Dominance

[10:22 - 12:02]

• “Can we just talk Norway?” – Julie [10:22]
  • 18 golds, 41 total medals, records smashed again.
  • Johannes Klæbo, the cross-country skier, wins six gold medals, sparking awe.
• Teaser: Deep dive into Norway’s “secret sauce” coming in Thursday’s episode.

5. American Women Rule the Podium

[12:06 - 13:59]

• “Of the 33 medals [for the US], do you know how many were won by women? 22.” – Abby [12:13]
  • Two-thirds of medals for Team USA came from women.
  • 8 medals won by athletes directly supported by the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Travel and Training Fund (founded by Billie Jean King).
  • List of recipients includes stars such as Alana Meyers Taylor, Kaylee Humphries, Alyssa Liu, and others.
  • The fund has now helped fuel more than 150 Olympic/Paralympic medals since 1984 and awarded nearly $3 million.

“They're gonna have to quit over the smallest thing, like ice skates... It's amazing. And we don't know until much later that this has happened because we don't give it to them just because they're gonna win gold medals…we do this because when they write us, it's like, heartbreaking.”
— Billie Jean King, [13:59]

6. Goosebump & Emotional Moments

[14:58 - 23:06]

Favorite Olympic Stories

• Julie’s Tears: Even as a “non-crier,” the Games had her emotional (“I want to feel good about this country again and these athletes make me feel good…” [14:58])
• Billie Jean’s Experiences: In speed skating—marvels at the technicality, the precision, and the athletes’ sheer effort. Laments the subjectivity of figure skating judging.
  • “I just don't like it when someone dogs it a little. Then I go nuts. Everybody...just not enough effort at the Olympics.” [16:25]
• Alyssa Liu & Figure Skating: Abby and Billie Jean geek out about figure skating’s difficulty and joy. Abby shares how growing up in frozen Rochester gave her mad respect for skaters.
• Abby’s Top Moment: The Wynn brothers showing up for little sister Hayley in support.
  • “Showing up with only love energy, only support energy...all of us athletes know we need that.” [18:32]
• Chloe Kim’s Grace: Julie recounts Chloe Kim’s silver-medal run, where Kim immediately supported and celebrated mentee and gold medalist Gaon Choi.
  • “That sportsmanship blew my mind and how genuinely happy she was for her.” – Julie [21:22]
  • “It's about the human being. We're all in this together.” – Billie Jean [21:37]

7. Off-Podium: The Lighter & Wackier Side

[23:16 - 26:48]

• Penis Gate: Julie’s zinger about the Norwegian men’s ski jumpers allegedly getting “genital enlarging injections” to expand suit size (and thus, increase jump distance) — a hilarious, tabloid-worthy moment.
  • “This was penis gate. And I cannot believe that more people were not talking about this.” – Julie [23:37]
  • “That’s huge, man. That’s far.” – Billie Jean [25:48]
• Medical Staffing & Support: Shout-outs to the medical teams (“the people who taped us up, rebuilt us, rehabbed us”) and the apparel company FIGS making their uniforms.

8. Celebrating Alana Meyers Taylor

[26:19 - 28:49]

• Abby and Julie describe the joy of broadcaster Asia news-breaking on air that Alana Meyers Taylor had won her long-elusive gold in monobob.
  • “She’s just so full of joy. Look at this person!” – Abby [26:39]
  • “She travels with two kids, Nico and Noah, both with disabilities…could not have been more thrilled for her.” – Julie [27:09]
• Billie Jean: “She’s a leader as well.” [28:20]

9. Post-Olympic Blues: The Emotional Aftermath

[34:52 - 45:28]

• The Letdown: Julie, Abby, and Dr. Colleen Hacker compare finishing the Olympics to any big project—intense focus, followed by a void:
  • “That shit is real...It doesn’t need to be just the Olympics—any big event/wedding/project.” – Julie [37:16]
  • “It takes a couple of weeks to decompress. It's tough.” – Abby [39:21]
  • “After 2000 Olympics, I went into this deep depression…It took me, I want to argue, years.” – Julie [39:21]
• Coping Strategies:
  • “After we won [2004], I went on a solo road trip…It was too much loneliness. But I really felt it was important to be by myself for a little while, to understand the gravity of what I just did.” – Abby [40:11]
  • Julie encouraged her kids to understand “the pain after means what you did was great—it mattered.” [42:02]
• Billie Jean's Take:
  • “It's about relationships...I miss the routine, the ups and downs. Gosh, it's deep. It’s very human...It's a gift.” [44:28]

10. Minute to Win It: Treadmill Showdown

[29:31 - 52:18, interspersed]

• Regular on-show athletic challenge between Julie and Abby on treadmills, with playful trash talk and Billie Jean as judge and commentator.
• Results? “I really don't like tying, I think tying is actually worse than losing.” – Abby [52:18]
• “I think it's amazing you got in them [the 2004 Olympic shorts]. You won right there.” – Billie Jean [52:03]
• “My little blue tights...started riding up into my hoo ha. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.” – Julie [51:46]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Two thirds of Team USA's medals came from women.” – Abby, [12:13]
• “At least for the girls and women, now they can dream the dream. No, they can dream the dream.” – Billie Jean, [09:13]
• “You know, we're going to kill each other...as far as the competition, but once it's done, it's done...if I lose, you got to leave me alone for a while.” – Billie Jean, on Olympic sportsmanship [21:37]
• “That sportsmanship blew my mind and how genuinely happy she was for her.” – Julie on Chloe Kim and Gaon Choi, [21:22]
• “This was penis gate. And I cannot believe that more people were not talking about this.” – Julie Foudy [23:37]
• “After 2000 Olympics, I went into this deep depression...It took me, I want to argue, years.” – Julie [39:21]
• “It's about relationships...I miss everyone, the routine, the ups and downs...it's very human.” – Billie Jean [44:28]

Timestamps for Major Segments

• 00:58–02:30: Setting the scene, Milan stories begin
• 02:37–05:06: Olympic travel, homecomings, snowstorms
• 05:55–09:44: Hockey finals, women’s gold, flag bearing, athlete development
• 10:22–12:02: Norway’s record-setting games, Klæbo’s six golds
• 12:06–13:59: US medal count, Women’s Sports Foundation impact
• 14:58–23:16: Goosebump moments, speed skating, figure skating, Chloe Kim sportsmanship
• 23:37–26:48: Funniest off-podium stories: “Penis gate”
• 26:19–28:49: Alana Meyers Taylor’s gold medal, motherhood, triumph
• 34:52–45:28: The emotional aftermath, post-Olympic blues, coping strategies
• 29:31–52:18: “Minute to Win It” running challenge, playful commentary
• 52:49–55:13: Wrap-up, next episode teaser

Recurring Themes

• Celebrating Women in Sports: Dominance at these Games, progress, support systems (especially through the Women’s Sports Foundation).
• Community & Support: Both from within sports and beyond—the value of support teams, family, and connection.
• Emotional Highs & Lows: The Olympics as both a pinnacle and source of challenge—joy, pride, and inevitable emotional letdown.
• Vulnerability & Humor: Willingness to share not only triumphs but struggles—with signature wisecracks and laughter.

Looking Ahead

• Next episode: Deep dive on Norway’s extraordinary Winter Olympic model and a discussion of athlete mental health with Dr. Colleen Hacker.

Summary prepared by an expert podcast summarizer.