An Olympic athlete’s career defining performance may last just seconds, but before and after it lie hours of logistics, warmups, and waiting in “ready rooms.” While they might sound tedious, those moments are often full of team-building, mind games and obstacles that come to define the athlete experience and actually contribute, in no small part, to the golden outcomes. 

Feel the energy of the aquatics ready-room with 2-time gold medalist Lilly King and hear about other defining moments unseen, from Kerri Walsh Jennings’ porta potty mishaps to Chase Kalisz’s video game rivalries and Brooke Raboutou’s explanation of isolation rooms for climbing events. Ahmed Fareed tells the story of how Josy Barthel’s unexpected win threw a wrench into a very customary post-win moment. 

Join host Lauren Shehadi for Season 2 of NBC Sports’ The Podium. 


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

An Olympic athlete’s career defining performance may last just seconds, but before and after it lie hours of logistics, warmups, and waiting in “ready rooms.” While they might sound tedious, those moments are often full of team-building, mind games and obstacles that come to define the athlete experience and actually contribute, in no small part, to the golden outcomes. Feel the energy of the aquatics ready-room with 2-time gold medalist Lilly King and hear about other defining moments unseen, from Kerri Walsh Jennings’ porta potty mishaps to Chase Kalisz’s video game rivalries and Brooke Raboutou’s explanation of isolation rooms for climbing events. Ahmed Fareed tells the story of how Josy Barthel’s unexpected win threw a wrench into a very customary post-win moment. Join host Lauren Shehadi for Season 2 of NBC Sports’ The Podium. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Podium: An NBC Olympic and Paralympic podcast. Join us for insider coverage during the intense competition at the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

In the run-up to the Opening Ceremony, we’ll bring you deep into the stories and events that have you know and those you'll be hard-pressed to forget.

The Podium

An Olympic athlete’s career defining performance may last just seconds, but before and after it lie hours of logistics, warmups, and waiting in “ready rooms.” While they might sound tedious, those moments are often full of team-building, mind games and obstacles that come to define the athlete experience and actually contribute, in no small part, to the golden outcomes. 

Feel the energy of the aquatics ready-room with 2-time gold medalist Lilly King and hear about other defining moments unseen, from Kerri Walsh Jennings’ porta potty mishaps to Chase Kalisz’s video game rivalries and Brooke Raboutou’s explanation of isolation rooms for climbing events. Ahmed Fareed tells the story of how Josy Barthel’s unexpected win threw a wrench into a very customary post-win moment. 

Join host Lauren Shehadi for Season 2 of NBC Sports’ The Podium.