Step back in time to Cortina 1956! We're back with another Olympics history episode, looking at the torch relay and Opening Ceremony for the Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 Winter Olympics.

These two events were vastly different than what we saw at Milano Cortina 2026, and we compare 1956's short torch relay (partly on wheels and never in Greece) and short Opening Ceremony that for the first time was broadcast to the world on TV--and featured a major gaffe.

Listen to find out what went down and the surprises we learned from the 1956 Winter Olympics.

For a transcript and complete list of sources used in this episode, visit: https://flamealivepod.com.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!

Photo: Jill Jaracz

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Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

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Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

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VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

The Milano Cortina 2026 cauldron might be out, but our community still has a lot to say about these Games! Hear what the listeners thought about a spread out Paralympics and the amazing sports that we watched. And there might be a feed beef or two.

Plus, Alison gives an update on her friend Eric Heiden, and Jill reports on the late 1980s downhill skiing scene in Northern Indiana.

Thank you for being part of this podcast and community and for making the Olympics and Paralympics more fun than we could have ever imagined!

Until next time, keep the flame alive!

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For a transcript of this episode, please visit http://flamealivepod.com.

***

Keep the Flame Alive: Obsessed with the Olympics and Paralympics? Just curious about how Olympic and Paralympic sports work? You've found your people! Join your hosts, Olympic aunties Alison Brown and Jill Jaracz for smart, fun, and down-to-earth interviews with athletes coaches, and the unsung heroes behind the Games. Get the stories you don't find anywhere else. Tun in weekly all year-round, and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. We're your cure for your Olympic Fever! Call us: (208) FLAME-IT.

***

Support the show: http://flamealivepod.com/support

Bookshop.org store: https://bookshop.org/shop/flamealivepod

Become a patron and get bonus content: http://www.patreon.com/flamealivepod

Buy merch here: https://flamealivepod.dashery.com

Hang out with us online:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/flamealivepod

Insta: http://www.instagram.com/flamealivepod

Facebook Group: hhttps://www.facebook.com/groups/flamealivepod

Newsletter: Sign up at https://flamealivepod.substack.com/subscribe

VM/Text: (208) FLAME-IT / (208) 352-6348

The Paralympic flame has been extinguished, and sadly, the Games of Milano Cortina 2026 are over. However, there was still plenty of action on the final day of competition!

Thanks to your support of our Grande Finale 150 campaign, we went to Milano to watch the para ice hockey medal games, both of which were the icing on the cake (especially in terms of record attendance) of a great Paralympics.

Sports on today's program:

• Para Alpine skiing
• Para cross-country
• Para ice hockey

Finally, the Closing Ceremony in Cortina at the curling stadium may have been in a small venue, but it included beautiful and poignant performances around the theme of memories.

The cauldron may be out, but we're still keeping the flame alive! We have multitudes of memories from Milano Cortina 2026, and we hope you do too! Share them with us this week as we have two call-in shows. Alison will record on Tuesday, March 17 from 8-9pm ET. Jill will record at the same time on Wednesday, March 18. Here's the link to our studio. It works best with Chrome or Edge. It doesn't like Firefox.

Thanks so much for listening, and until next time, keep the flame alive!