Episode 568 - Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympics Opening Ceremony & Days 1-7 Review

We’re pumped to welcome back the incredible Aussie triathlete Natalie Van Coevorden to the show! Natalie joins us to reflect on her Paris 2024 Olympic experience and to share the story behind her impressive career pivot since finally making her long-overdue Olympic debut. She opens up about what it meant to secure her Olympic spot after the heartbreak of 2020 — including the very different phone call she made to her mum this time around. We dive into the unique conditions in Paris, especially around the Seine, and hear whether the Games lived up to her expectations. Natalie also reveals why she’s moved into a new triathlon discipline and how she’s already found remarkable success since making the switch. It’s another fantastic chat with Natalie that you won’t want to miss!

Well it's come to that time where we have to say farewell to all things Milano Cortina 2026, as the Paralympics have come to a close and brought an end to our time in Italy for 2026. But that doesn't mean we don't have one last episode to go over everything that happened across the final few days of competition, the closing ceremony and the Games themselves as we bring our coverage to an epic close! We find out just why we're celebrating the final few days of the Paralympics, which added a couple more medals to the Team OTP tally. We also learn more about Canada's celebration over curling and why they're not talking about the USA becoming a hockey nation. On top of that we go over the unique closing ceremony and go over just how we would rank all of Milano Cortina compared to all the other Games we have covered. It's a hell of a way to close out a hell of a Games!

The Milano Cortina Paralympics are in full swing, and we’re breaking down our thoughts on the opening week, from the Opening Ceremony to all the results you need to know! We recap the ceremony, weigh in on Verona as a venue, and see if it worked better for the Paralympics than the Olympics. Plus, we cover Team OTP’s celebrations, why Canada dominates Paralympic biathlon, what to expect from Para Ice Hockey in the closing days, and celebrate the legend that is Michael Milton! It's one episode packed with insight and highlights you won’t want to miss!

We’ve managed to take a brief breath after the 2026 Olympics, but now it’s time to shift our focus to the Paralympics, and today the OG gang is back together for a full preview of what to expect over the next couple of weeks! We break down the key events to watch, what will make these Paralympics so unique, and highlight the big names and potential stars of the Games. It’s a packed episode you won’t want to miss, so hit play and avoid the FOMO!

It’s been a huge couple of weeks in Milano Cortina and we’re back with a massive episode packed with behind-the-scenes insights from Ben & Patrick’s time on the ground during the Games, including exclusive, never-before-heard moments from our Winter Olympics experience! You’ll hear our real-time thoughts as events unfolded, plus plenty of moments guaranteed to give you a kick! We’re also joined by special guests from around the world, sharing their own unique perspectives to give you a true sense of what the Olympics were like for fans. It’s an incredible look behind the curtain at the Winter Olympic experience, and one you won't want to miss!

THE GAMES ARE OVER. SAD! But it does mean we’re back to celebrate them properly, wrapping up all the highlights, favourite moments and everything else from Milano Cortina 2026 in our big recap episode! How do these Games stack up against past Olympics, and does being there in person change the perspective? Were we fans of how spread out they were, or would we prefer things closer together? How did Australia and Canada perform compared to expectations? And, most importantly, how did our medal predictions go and who came out on top? It’s an epic way to close it all out. Tune in! You won’t be disappointed!

It was a massive final day of Milano Cortina 2026, with the Closing Ceremony capping off an epic day of medals and we’re here to wrap it all up in style! We give our take on a very unique Closing Ceremony and debate whether hosting it in what was essentially a theatre was a good or bad move. We also try to work out if we actually learnt anything about the French Alps, as well as how we really feel about Kirsty Coventry and her speeches. We also dive into THAT hockey final and reveal whether Ben is sad, happy or somewhere in between after experiencing it in person. Plus, we run through the other medal events from the day and do our best not to talk about Eileen Gu. It's one massive way to close out the Games, don’t miss it!

It’s a record-breaking day at the Milano Cortina Olympics, featuring a history-making moment from Johannes Klaebo, alongside more medals for Canada, another Team OTP gold, and plenty of standout storylines you won’t want to miss! We break down Klaebo’s incredible achievement and assess just how far he can go in the conversation around the greatest Olympians of all time. We also unpack a triple-medal day for Canada and analyse what it will take for them to finally break into the top ten of the medal table tomorrow. Plus, we celebrate Team OTP success, debate why more events should be mass start, and preview the flag bearers ahead of tomorrow’s closing ceremony. It’s another action-packed episode, don’t miss it!

Another massive day of Milano Cortina is behind us and another massive episode is ahead as Colin returns to celebrate Canada’s hockey escape (and Ben is more than happy to join in) as we recap Day 14 of the Games! We break down a thrilling ice hockey clash that sees Canada reach the men’s gold medal game for the first time since 2014. We also celebrate more Canadian medals, including another Team OTP podium as Valerie Maltais once again delivers when it matters most. Elsewhere, we give Germany their flowers after an epic win in the women’s freestyle ski cross, show some love once again to our favourite French biathlete, and breathe a collective sigh of relief when it comes to short-track speed skating. It’s another episode you simply can’t miss!

Another massive day at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics is in the books, which means another huge episode for you to dive into, as we welcome special guest David Deguzman alongside Ben & Patrick to unpack all the big stories! Patrick braved the wintery conditions to bring us a firsthand report from the debut of SkiMo, as we learn what it’s all about and whether we’ll ever see it again. Ben also battled the elements at Nordic Combined to witness one of the greatest sports nobody talks about, and tells us all about it! Plus, we celebrate double US gold, break down the pointy end of curling and, of course, revel in all things Norway! It’s another episode you simply can’t miss!