Below is the transcript for Episode 1 of The Podium podcast. This episode covers stories about the Olympic torch and the lighting of the cauldron. You can also listen to the audio version of the podcast.
For more episodes, make sure to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. New episodes will be released weekly ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, followed by daily episodes throughout the duration of the Games.
Lighting the Way to Tokyo: The Power of the Torch
Lauren Shehadi:
Put one foot in front of the other, and hold a couple pounds above your shoulder. Two feats that sound pretty basic, especially if you're asking Olympians to do it. I mean, they run marathons and lift a hundred times that weight, no problem, but ask them to do it with one specific object. And those two movements become the athletic achievement of a lifetime. Today, we start our journey in Olympia, Greece, to understand the power of the Olympic torch.
Lauren Shehadi:
The sun cast virtually no shadow and it's midday radiance over Western Greece, [inaudible 00:00:46] every angle of [inaudible 00:00:49] limestone. Lone columns hint that a roof once provided relief from the Mediterranean dry heat, and yet a small crowd evenly split into business suits and antique ceremonial dresses, has anxiously gathered of all things to light a fire. Hera's Temple falls silent as a curved mirror focuses the sun's distant rays towards a thin mesh, which instantly consumes, birthing a flame and applause [inaudible 00:01:18].
Lauren Shehadi:
It then lights the Olympic flame from the bowl which then is transferred to the Olympic torch. She holds it aloft-
Lauren Shehadi:
17 minutes later, the lighting ceremony ends when a priestess nears her antique silver torch to a sleek aluminum model.
Lauren Shehadi:
He will now hand over the torch to the first torchbearer.
Lauren Shehadi:
Which Olympic gold medalist, Anna Korakaki, now holds above her shoulder. This flame will travel the world linking people and eras, opening the Games and bearing witness as it always has to the human endeavor of athletic greatness.
Catriona Le May Doan:
The members of the IOC were thinking, "What the heck is going on?"
Janet Evans:
All of a sudden, I was running with the torch.
Yves Dagenais:
It's a serious business. It's very serious.
Catriona Le May Doan:
You can't tell anybody. I couldn't even tell my mom.
Janet Evans:
He kept saying to me, "Turn off your flame. Turn off your flame."
Lauren Shehadi:
From NBC Sports, this is The Podium. A podcast about the Tokyo Olympic Games. As we near Tokyo, we'll bring you the story shaping the greatest athletic competition in all the world. Held in extraordinary times. I'm your host, Lauren Shehadi. And over the 12 episodes leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we'll dive weekly into a facet of these Games to discover the people and the places that will define them.
Lauren Shehadi:
The Olympic flame is a vestige of the ancient Olympiads. Fire was believed in Greek mythology to have been stolen from the gods. So powerful and yet impossible to grasp. It does seem a bit other worldly. And while the Olympic flame is ancient, the Olympic torch and relay are decidedly forged in the 20th century where the global nature of the Games means this one static symbol is now involved in a world tour that would make really any boy band blush. The torch has been to countless places and seen many changes. It's been to space, underwater, and it's even been transformed into radio signal. But what hasn't changed is its effect on those who have been within arms reach of it or even closer.
Tim Layden:
There's really not a symbol in any sport in the world that is as closely connected to the event as the Olympic flame. My name is Tim Layden and I am a writer at large for NBC Sports.
Lauren Shehadi:
So, Tim, just how long have you been covering sports in general and the Olympics specifically?
Tim Layden:
I have covered the last 14 Olympics and I have been covering sports for 43 years, which is a staggering number to say out loud.
Lauren Shehadi:
So, having covered and been involved in so many Olympic Games, is there a personal torch moment that stands out to you? Can you pick just one?
Tim Layden:
Well, in London, in particular, people might remember the Olympic torch was really for one of the first times it was sort of down inside the well of the stadium, and it was to the right of the press-viewing area for the track and field events. And almost every evening, I would make my way around the spectator area out of the press tribune and into the spectator area over near where the torch was, and just look at it. And people would be stopping there to get their picture taken. And the thing I won't forget about that is that once you got close enough to that torch, you could actually feel it giving off heat. And I think that in sports nowadays, we view things as sort of one level removed from our personal experience. There are things that are seen and not heard, things that are seen and not touched. And when you are in the Olympic stadium and you walk over to the torch and you can actually feel warmth and heat coming off from that flame itself, it is just a much more powerful sensation that you're a part of this moment and that this is a very real thing. This isn't just a picture. This isn't just a trophy or a symbol.
Lauren Shehadi:
And no one knows this reality like the few who've held it up themselves, often leading to defining moments and endless highlights. What is it actually like to be handed the blazing center of the world's attention?
Janet Evans:
Evander Holyfield came running towards me with the torch and passed me the flame, and I started running just to kind of get the job done, right. I thought, "Okay. I'm not going to fall. I'm going to get the job done. Put one foot in front of the other."
Broadcaster:
Do you recognize her? Janet Evans. Considered the greatest female distance swimmer of all times.
Janet Evans:
I'm Janet Evans. I was a swimmer in the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Olympics.
Lauren Shehadi:
Janet Evans, what a moment in time. Holding that Olympic torch in 1996, realizing you're among the best of the best. How did it all start?
Janet Evans:
Well, I went to my third Olympics in Atlanta, ready to compete, ready to win more medals and swimmers traditionally do not go to the Opening Ceremonies because we swim the next day, and Opening Ceremonies take hours of your time. You're on your feet. It's usually fairly hot, and I had never been to the Opening Ceremonies as an athlete. So, my real kind of goal going into the Atlanta Games was just swim fast. I wasn't really worried about Opening Ceremonies. And to be honest, I didn't really care about Opening Ceremonies at that time because I was just at the Olympics to swim.
Lauren Shehadi:
So amazing. This is a great example of the difference, right? Between athletes at this level and us normal folk. I would have dreamt of that moment, and you got talked into it.
Janet Evans:
Yeah. Billy Payne asked me to run the torch and I originally told him no, for the exact same reasons I just gave you, which is, we had to swim the next day.
Lauren Shehadi:
But you obviously accepted at some point.
Janet Evans:
Yeah. So, fast forward a couple of days we rehearsed the torch run in the cover of darkness at midnight. The night before Opening Ceremonies, but it was all a little unclear as to exactly how it was going to all work but I was told at that time it was going to be Muhammad Ali waiting for me.
Lauren Shehadi:
Oh, wow. Did you have to keep that quiet?
Janet Evans:
Well, the day [inaudible 00:07:38], I was escorted out of the village. Everything was done in secret, but it was very quick. I didn't sit around very long. I was just taken onto the track and I put on an Opening Ceremony torch-running uniform and was-
Lauren Shehadi:
I'm picturing a very '90s uniform, right?
Janet Evans:
Yeah. My '90s outfit was not great. It was a little big. And then I was basically escorted out onto the track and Evander Holyfield came running towards me with the torch and passed me the flame. And I started running.
Lauren Shehadi:
This might be a silly question. I'm so curious though. What is the torch... What does it look like lit from your very special vantage point? We see it on TV, but from your point of view.
Janet Evans:
The torch was beautiful. It was the hundredth anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. It was [inaudible 00:08:26] Games of the XXV Olympiad. So, it was 26th, I guess. It had the name of every city, a host city, on the torch. The torch was made out of peach-tree wood and gold-plated, but long and tall and skinny and heavy. And so, I remember thinking it was heavy. I had carried the torch before though. I was the third runner in Los Angeles when the torch kicked off its run from Los Angeles to Atlanta in the spring. So, I was familiar with what the torch kind of looked and felt like. And so, it was heavy. It was big, and I'm not like that big of a person. So, it was heavy.
Lauren Shehadi:
It looks heavy. And with the weight of the world watching, you ran the 179 strides to the south side of the Georgia Dome.
Janet Evans:
Yeah. I ran very slowly. I was very concerned about falling. Gave a few waves to my teammates.
Broadcaster:
And now up the ramp, the actual cauldron.
Janet Evans:
Then I ran up these three long ramps.
Broadcaster:
But look who gets it next. The greatest.
Janet Evans:
And standing there was Muhammad Ali.
Broadcaster:
Oh Oh. My.
Lauren Shehadi:
Wow. Ali who had been battling Parkinson's for 12 years.
Janet Evans:
Yeah. I remember he was standing in front of the world and the name of the Olympic Games and the Olympic movement shaking the crowd.
Broadcaster:
Once the the most dynamic figure in sports. The gregarious man now trapped inside that mask created by Parkinson's syndrome-
Janet Evans:
I was concerned about him getting the cauldron lit. Us getting the job done.
Lauren Shehadi:
And he did it. What an amazing moment. Were you relieved?
Janet Evans:
Muhammad Ali did an amazing job lining that cauldron. I didn't have to help, which was amazing. And the message that I believe resonated with everyone in that stadium was that you can kind of do whatever you put your mind to. My journey at the Olympics forever changed in that moment. How I feel about the Olympic movement forever changed in that moment. And it all kind of made sense to me then.
Lauren Shehadi:
Janet, what was going on behind the scenes in that moment with Ali that the rest of the world maybe didn't know about?
Janet Evans:
There were kind of different things we needed to think about in case there was trouble lighting the cauldron, et cetera. They had practiced a couple of times with him and he had dropped it a couple of times. And so, there was a real concern that that flame might actually go out and so, I was actually told not to unignite my torch. So, there was a button at the bottom of the torch that turns the gas off. And so, once you press that button or kind of press and turn this button, the gas stops flowing into the torch. And so, the flame automatically goes out. But because that flame is never allowed to be unignited and the backup flame which is kept in a lantern wasn't on the top of the stairs with us, I was told to really make sure that my torch was still ignited in case Muhammad Ali had some trouble with his torch.
Janet Evans:
There was a bowl that he ignited and then that went up a pulley that went to the cauldron to light it. While he was igniting it, I was standing as far away as I could and trying to be as inconspicuous as I could. So, I was standing to the side of the kind of the main area where Ali was kind of trying to be inconspicuous, but keeping my torch lit. And it was funny. There was an NBC cameraman kind of below me, kind of in the rafters, if you will, and he kept saying to me, "Turn off your flame. Turn off your flame." Because they were trying to get the shot of Ali, right. And I couldn't. I wasn't allowed to because if Ali dropped the flame and it went out and I had let my torch out, we would be standing up there without the flame.
Lauren Shehadi:
Just standing up there next to the cauldron with up to a billion people watching. Yes, billion with a B, can put those who are chosen to carry the torch on thin ice.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I often say that being an Olympic athlete, it's a choice we make and you get to see and experience things that not a lot of other people do.
Broadcaster:
And Catriona Le May Doan has won the gold in the women's 500m.
Broadcaster:
Back to back gold medals for Catriona Le May Doan.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I'm Catriona Le May Doan, two time Olympic champion in long track speed skating. I represented Canada at four Olympics for the national team.
Lauren Shehadi:
Catriona, as a speed skater, you've spent a lot of time on the ice in a cold environment. And we're talking about fire. Did you ever consider switching to a warmer sport?
Catriona Le May Doan:
I often laugh at it. I mean, it was just about a quarter of a century that I went around and around and I only turned left, but growing up in Saskatchewan, a cold Prairie city, you become very tough.
Lauren Shehadi:
Yeah, you do. The closest I've been is North Dakota and it was -40 degrees, and you chose a career that puts you on the ice regardless of the season. At what point did it become a serious pursuit for you?
Catriona Le May Doan:
Just after the Olympics had been hosted in Calgary in 1988, I qualified for the national team. And over the next 17 years, I went to four Olympic Games, world championships, World Cups, traveled the world. And I would say had a pretty fun time.
Lauren Shehadi:
Now, when you got the Olympic Games for the first time, were you in awe? I mean, did you pinch yourself? We view the torch as this symbol of strength and immunity. I'm so curious as an Olympic athlete, how do you view the Olympic flame?
Catriona Le May Doan:
As an athlete, I don't recall the torch relay because at that time when the torch relay was happening within our country, we were competing and we were focused. I was fortunate with the schedule at all four Games that I went to, I was at all four Opening Ceremonies. And, for me, an Opening Ceremony is very powerful. I've always loved them more than the closing because to me the opening reminds the world why we are there. It's about the world coming together for sport and about pure competition. And it's about the history side of the flame. Having been lit in Olympia, Greece, by the sun, I mean, that's my dream to one day see that, but the whole sort of procedure and procession and [inaudible 00:14:56], and all of that, I love that. And I find it very inspiring and very powerful. So, I've been fortunate to experience that many times and each time it's just as powerful.
Lauren Shehadi:
I'm sure Opening Ceremonies always seem so special. How did you get from watching to carrying the torch yourself?
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, actually the first thing I was able to do was with Simon Whitfield, who was an Olympic champion and triathlon from Canada. Him and I were actually the first torch bearers for the torch relay in 2010. So, we actually lit the first torch on October 30th, 2009 in downtown Victoria, British Columbia. And we were the first bearers of that torch and we started the relay off. So, that was probably one of my most powerful Olympic moments that I've ever had. And sort of 2010 came full circle with what I was able to be a part of at those Games.
Lauren Shehadi:
Okay. Okay. So, you also held the torch months before the Opening Ceremony. What happens in-between?
Catriona Le May Doan:
Coca-Cola who was an Olympic sponsor actually emailed me and said, "Hey, we have a spot." And it was a few days before the Opening Ceremony. "Would you like to, just as a regular Canadian, just run a portion of the torch relay?" And I said, "Yes, that'd be great." And then it was about a month later. So, it was about a month before the Opening Ceremony of 2010. I got a call from John Furlong and he said...
Interpretation of John Furlong:
I have something to ask you, and this is totally confidential.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I said, "Sure." And I got really nervous. And he said...
Interpretation of John Furlong:
Would you be one of the four final athletes to light the cauldron?
Catriona Le May Doan:
And I mean, I was super emotional and said, "Of course, I would love to." And he said...
Interpretation of John Furlong:
I can't tell you who the other three are. And you can't tell anybody. If there's rumors at all of who it's going to be, and anybody thinks that somebody has breached confidence, you'll be removed.
Catriona Le May Doan:
Then I said, "Yeah, no problem." So, I mean, I couldn't even tell my mom who'd been at every Olympics. And I said to her, "Mom, what if I get you a ticket to the Opening Ceremony?" She said, "No. I've been to enough Olympics. They were stressful. I want to sit in my living room and watch them with my glass of wine." And I said, "But mom. Part of it might be really interesting." So, I was trying to convince her without saying anything. I couldn't tell her. And my sisters and friends didn't know. I sent a text to various people about an hour before the call during lighting, and I said, "Please watch. There's something special about to happen." So, that is the only way I could tell people. It was confidential.
Lauren Shehadi:
But you had a lot going on to help distract from that secret, right?
Catriona Le May Doan:
I was in Vancouver on a few different roles. So, I was working in television and I was co-hosting the Opening Ceremony. So, we were trying to figure out within co-hosting, how would I then leave the broadcast, go down, get changed into my white suit and become one of the cauldron lighters. I talked to the main producer who ended up having to know because of what we were trying to arrange. So, he said...
Producer:
This is going to be perfect.
Lauren Shehadi:
And you're thinking, "I hope it's perfect." Did your colleagues notice anything fishy at the time?
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, what had happened was we'd had a rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony. I was going to head back to my hotel and one of the other hosts said...
Colleague:
Oh, hey. Let me grab a car with you.
Catriona Le May Doan:
And I said, "No, that's okay. I'll just walk." Because what I was trying to do was actually turn around and go back in the building. It was a lot of sort of trying to not lie, but trying to sort of manipulate my way back. And it was a lot of work.
Lauren Shehadi:
Yeah. I would imagine a whole cover-up scheme. So, you're broadcasting and you're going to be part of the Opening Ceremony, which you've always thought was important. At what point did you find out who the other torchbearers were?
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, that's the thing. We did have three middle-of-the-night rehearsals, and it was the first middle-of-the-night rehearsal where I found out who the other three were. So, we had Nancy Greene, who's an Alpine skier, Steve Nash, basketball player, Wayne Gretzky, a hockey player. It was pretty exciting to be amongst that group of athletes.
Lauren Shehadi:
And not just any hockey player. The great one. Okay. So, the pressure only ramps up from there, I would imagine.
Catriona Le May Doan:
For sure, I was nervous. I was excited because of the honor, but I think I was just so focused. I had to get ready for getting interesting information and then leave the broadcast, go down, get changed into my white suit. And that's what they had for torchbearers, these white rain pants and a white jacket with sort of the green sleeves and this white toque. And I loved it.
Lauren Shehadi:
Yes, I remember those. So, what was the big reveal? What was the plan for the cauldron lighting?
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, during our middle-of-the-night rehearsals, what would happen is we were in position. We had an earpiece in our ears. The producer was talking to us. The trap door opens, all four of them. The arms of the cauldron rise up, and then we light it and the cauldron lights. So, of course, everything went perfectly during the rehearsal. We're thinking, "This is going to be something so incredible."
Broadcaster:
Two time Olympic gold medalist, and five time world champion, the only Canadian to win back to back gold, Catriona Le May Doan.
Catriona Le May Doan:
Literally, I saw the trap door in front of me start to open and then jam. And you could kind of hear it go [inaudible 00:20:27]. So, it would go, [inaudible 00:20:30]. Okay. And so, they said...
Producer in Earpiece:
Trap doors closed.
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, they close them again. They said...
Producer in Earpiece:
Try it again.
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, the trap doors go to open and mine, again, sticks halfway. But in our ear, the producer is talking to us...
Producer in Earpiece:
Okay, Catriona. It's not going to happen. Repeat. It's not going to happen.
Catriona Le May Doan:
Something always goes wrong with something and this went wrong.
Lauren Shehadi:
Catriona's Olympic moment, one she had been working towards an anticipating was very suddenly and unexpectedly put on hold. She was left standing there not knowing what would happen next. 10 years later, not knowing what would happen next is a feeling we would all be a little too familiar with.
Speaker 16:
Chinese health authorities are still working to identify the virus behind a pneumonia outbreak in the central city of Wuhan.
News Anchor:
At least 59 people are believed to have been sickened by the new virus.
News Anchor:
Tonight, U.S. airports on high alert. Screening passengers for symptoms of a deadly new virus.
News Anchor:
The coronavirus presents a public health emergency in the United States.
News Anchor:
It's been confirmed that there are two cases now in England.
News Anchor:
... the Italian health report here says there have been more than 50 new cases overnight.
Lauren Shehadi:
The world's ramp up to the Olympics and almost everything else, for that matter, ground to a halt in early 2020. On March 24th, the week the torch relay was set to arrive at Japan, the International Olympic Committee and prime minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo, confirmed the Games weren't going to happen that summer.
News Anchor:
Japan and the International Olympic Committee have, in fact, now announced that the Olympics in 2020 will be postponed until 2021.
News Anchor:
And it said that the Olympics will be pushed back no later than September-
Lauren Shehadi:
Now, the Games have been rescheduled in war time before. In fact, the 1940 Tokyo Games were shifted to Helsinki and subsequently canceled, but this would mark the first ever postponement, which threw a wrench into the training, livelihoods, and aspirations of 11,000 athletes from the 206 Olympic nations.
News Soundbite:
What's happening right now is nothing that we could have ever planned on.
News Soundbite:
They've closed all the wrestling rooms.
News Soundbite:
Tracks have been closed.
News Soundbite:
Having to sneak into pools sometimes. Trying to get as much pool-time as possible, which is virtually nothing for many of the athletes.
News Soundbite:
Not having a routine really affects how well you are able to perform.
News Soundbite:
There was a piece of me that was really heartbroken.
News Soundbite:
The hard thing is everyone's afraid of each other now.
News Soundbite:
It definitely is a bummer.
News Soundbite:
It's pretty devastating to see that a lot of kids are going to miss this opportunity this summer.
News Soundbite:
That's what's kind of the bummer is knowing that you've put in so much hard work to get to this point and that the Olympics are now pushed back.
Lauren Shehadi:
And now, an improbable, but not impossible Olympic moment with Ahmed Fareed from NBC Sports.
Ahmed Fareed:
The 1984 Paralympics. Brazilian, Márcia Malsar, is leading the women's cross-country C6 1000-meter when she loses her balance and falls. Dazed and in a considerable amount of pain, Márcia hears a familiar voice reaching out to her through the noise and confusion of the crowd, "Stand up, Márcia. Stand up." Márcia recognizes the voice immediately. It's her coach, Nivaldo Vieira. With a sudden surge of clarity and determination, Márcia stands up, puts one foot in front of the other and manages to finish the race in second place, winning one of four Paralympic medals in her career.
Ahmed Fareed:
Now, let’s flash forward 32 years to the 2016 Games in Rio where Márcia has been chosen as one of four Paralympic athletes to carry the torch during the Opening Ceremony. As the rain begins to pour through the open air stadium, the first torchbearer, Antônio Delfino, appears in the stadium entrance to a swell of applause. A slow jog and one minute later, he slowly and carefully passes the torch to Márcia, who having cerebral palsy, begins her leg of the relay with the aid of a walking cane. 10 steps, 50 steps, 100 steps, everything is going smoothly-
Broadcaster:
Oh, the perfect ceremony tonight inside Maracanã-
Ahmed Fareed:
... until step number 175 when-
Broadcaster:
Oh. Uh-oh.
Ahmed Fareed:
... in a sudden moment of déjà vu-
Broadcaster:
And Márcia Malsar has taken a tumble.
Ahmed Fareed:
... Márcia loses her balance, drops the torch, and falls to the ground in front of 60,000 spectators, with millions more watching on TV. Dazed, confused but determined, Márcia once again hears the voice of her coach calling out, "Stand up, Márcia. Stand up." But this time her coach isn't calling out from the side of the track. He's calling out from the past, from the vivid memory of that very first fall back in 1984. And just like that first fall, her coaches words inspire Márcia to finish what she started. With the stadium in a hushed silence, she stands up. A cameraman picks up the torch, hands it to cameraman, who with her coach's words still ringing in her ears, continues her leg of the relay one step at a time.
Broadcaster:
Oh, that crowd roar as Márcia Malsar-
Ahmed Fareed:
The stadium erupts in a standing ovation, cheers from the crowd, her fellow athletes, and the viewers watching from around the world steadily rise as she nears the end of her journey, passing the torch to Brazil's multi-Paralympic medalist, Ádria Santos.
Broadcaster:
... dos Santos.
Broadcaster:
... Olympic medalist.
Ahmed Fareed:
Adversity, courage and determination. Few times in the history of sport has a moment so perfectly captured the heart and the spirit of the Paralympic Games.
Lauren Shehadi:
Janet's torch concerns with Ali were entirely hidden from view, but Catriona's very visible malfunction was happening live in front of the world. Let's go back to that moment.
Catriona Le May Doan:
Trap doors go to open and mine again sticks halfway. And so, in my head, I'm thinking, "Oh, why does it have to be mine? Why not Wayne Gretzky's? Why not somebody else's? Why mine?" Of course, this had not happened in rehearsal.
Producer in Earpiece:
Sit tight, Catriona. We're coming up with something.
Catriona Le May Doan:
And then they spoke to me through the earpiece and just said...
Producer in Earpiece:
Okay, Catriona. You're going to turn and salute the IOC, okay?
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, the images are the three of them lighting the cauldron, three arms. And I, turning, and I have my torch in the air towards the IOC instead of the distinguished guests. I mean, I don't think there's a bigger... An Opening Ceremony that is. How many countries is it going to? It's not a personal situation, it's a gate. This is what we need to do. You are saluting it and that's it.
Lauren Shehadi:
So, you're adapting live in front of the world to a situation that isn't at all going to plan. I mean, being in a holding pattern like that, it must take a lot of strength.
Catriona Le May Doan:
The funny thing is, what people don't realize is that you were taught on how to carry the torch. So, the way your hand would be so that the rings were visible, so that the flame would burn the proper way, but understand that in that torch, there is a cylinder full of natural gas. It's heavy. You're not supposed to use two hands, but then I remember thinking, "I can't drop this." And yet my forearm is not the strongest part of my body. And I remember starting to shake.
Lauren Shehadi:
I am tired just thinking about it. I mean, you weren't supposed to carry the torch for even close to that long. How did it feel when it was all over?
Catriona Le May Doan:
At that moment, sometimes you don't realize how many millions of people are watching. It was right afterwards when... It was actually around the oval. A lot of coaches from other countries were like, "Oh, that's so too bad. What happened?" And you start to go, "Oh, man. There are a lot of people watching that." So, it wasn't that I screwed up, and so you don't feel a sense of failure, but I think I then afterwards felt a sense of, "Oh, everybody's feeling bad for me and I've missed out."
Lauren Shehadi:
Do you think being a speed skater helped you deal with that missing out?
Catriona Le May Doan:
Because long track speed skating, there are no heats or semis, it's just one final. You don't get a re-do. You don't get a second chance. But then I got a call about three days before the Closing Ceremony and it was a producer and he said...
Producer:
I have an idea. I've been told that you need to start the ceremony off with all four arms the cauldron up and lit, but I've got a different idea.
Catriona Le May Doan:
And I remember I was in the oval. I'm like, "Well, is that even possible?" He's like...
Producer:
I want it to happen.
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, he told me, he said...
Producer:
This is the idea I have. Bringing a mime in.
Lauren Shehadi:
A mime? Like a clown mime?
Producer:
We're going to make light of it, not a joke, but we're going to make light of it and start it off and do it right.
Catriona Le May Doan:
He wanted to give me that opportunity to light the cauldron. And so, he said...
Producer:
You can't tell anybody. Only a handful of people know, and they're all embargoed.
Catriona Le May Doan:
And I said, "But what happens if you get into trouble with the IOC?" He said...
Producer:
The Games will be over.
Catriona Le May Doan:
And I saw John there and he came up to me. And I will never in my life forget this. And he said...
Interpretation of John Furlong:
Well, the closing should be fun. We were so nervous. Very serious. It was not funny. Very serious about "Will it work?"
Lauren Shehadi:
Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear wigs, oversize shoes, and more makeup than the entire Kardashian family put together.
Yves Dagenais:
My name is Yves Dagenais. I'm from Montreal, province of Quebec, Canada. I'm a clown. What I did is I save the inauguration show.
Lauren Shehadi:
You saved the show. What does that mean exactly?
Yves Dagenais:
So, the producer wanted to make a little... How do you say that? [inaudible 00:30:48] a wink to the inauguration show and put a little bit of humor in that. And to say, "Let's do it with humor. Find me a clown." Well, it went to me slowly by the National Circus School where I was teaching clowning and they were asking, "Well, they need a clown there. Can you find one?" I say, "Okay. I will call the producer." So, I called him...
Producer:
Hello.
Yves Dagenais:
Say, "What kind of clown? What do you need?"
Yves Dagenais:
So, the description. I say, "Gee, it's me." So, usually, I gave the contract to other clowns. I'll call this one, call this one. I said, "Oh, wow. I got to keep it for me this one." And I sent him a photo of my clown and he said...
Producer:
That's exactly what I'm looking for.
Yves Dagenais:
So after that, well, I had to sign 75 pages of contract with confidentiality and everything. Nobody should know that you will come. Nobody. The Olympic committee didn't knew. Nobody knew except a few technicians, producers, and we started rehearse in the night at midnight after everybody was gone. So, we did the little one minute and a half funny stuff to laugh about the technical problem we had.
Broadcaster:
... here at BC Place and the countdown is underway to the start of this Closing Ceremony. If you notice, only three arms have been raised.
Yves Dagenais:
First, the big branches are only up and still missing one.
Catriona Le May Doan:
So, the ceremony started with three arms up and not lit, and I'm sure the members of the IOC who had dictated to the producer, "You start it this way," were thinking, "[inaudible 00:32:37]. What the heck is going on?"
Yves Dagenais:
And the floor opens slowly, and we see [inaudible 00:32:43] welding. We were repairing the fourth branch. And I went out and go and take it to electrical wire, put them together like this. And then another spark to put on the machine, the branch. And the machine start to lift up. And I push it. I was miming kind of different way of getting the branch out of the floor.
Lauren Shehadi:
And you saved the day.
Yves Dagenais:
Then Vancouver Olympics was saved.
Broadcaster:
That's Catriona Le May Doan who was the torchbearer who had to wait and wait, but it was her arm that failed to come up mechanically. And so, she was the one that was left standing, holding the bag, so to speak. So, they brought her back.
Broadcaster:
That's beautiful.
Broadcaster:
Just a perfect response.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I was there, we did it. And everybody said it was the best thing that had been done.
Lauren Shehadi:
I have goosebumps. That must have been such an incredible moment for you. Were you able to soak it in as it was happening or did it hit you later?
Catriona Le May Doan:
I also had a flight home in an hour and a half. So, as soon as that happened, and as soon as I lit it, they had a car take me to the airport, and I'll never forget. I was in the airport, I changed out of my white suit. I was in the airport and I'm watching and a whole bunch of people in the airport are watching the Closing Ceremony on the television. And somebody looked at the TV, looked at me, looked at the TV, looked at me, and then they said...
Airport Bystander:
You were just there.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I said, "Yeah, I was." And then it's like I went from there to here. So, I think for other people it was fun, and then it was like, "Hey, this is real life."
Lauren Shehadi:
And real life is complicated, especially in this Olympic cycle, but maybe, just maybe these stories remind us that adversity can be the fuel to make this Olympic torch [inaudible 00:34:42] lighting more meaningful.
Catriona Le May Doan:
I mean, that's what makes sports so great. The victories are so incredible because we're not always victorious. And I think I realized then that the Olympics aren't about winning, right. Ali showed us that. The Olympics aren't about winning, they're about being present. They're about being a part of something. They're about showing the world what you can do. That's what was meaningful about Ali passing the torch and that still sticks with me every day.
Yves Dagenais:
Clowns always looking for dramas. Dramatic things is always a funny side in it, and you have to find it and bring it on stage. And after that you see the relativity of things that we can take a little distance of the problem, and also a little bit to forget it for a few seconds.
Lauren Shehadi:
So, while the Olympic torch is a real thing with heat and weight and danger, it also is a symbol for the rest of us. Shining its light to help us see the world just a little differently for a few seconds or a few weeks this summer to be present for something together.
Tim Layden:
The Olympics have never been contested in an atmosphere quite like this one. And as long as that torch is lit, you are in that world and you are in a different place from everybody who's outside that world. And that torch represents where you are and what is happening.
Janet Evans:
The message that I believe resonated with everyone in that stadium was that you can kind of do whatever you put your mind to. And the real meaning is to be present, to be a part of something and to do the best you can with what you have at that time.
Lauren Shehadi:
To be present. Present enough to embrace the moment whether it goes to plan or not.
Catriona Le May Doan:
Everybody wants everything to always be perfect. And there are always mess-ups within a ceremony or a big performance. We didn't say, "Oh, we messed up. Oh, this." No, because it happened. Oh, well. And the show continued and the show must always continue. That's sport, that's a ceremony, that's life, that's everything. And so, from a bad, came a good.
Lauren Shehadi:
Catriona, in the lead up unlike any other, what do you think will be unique about the Tokyo Olympic flame? What will it mean for the athletes, and in a way, the world?
Catriona Le May Doan:
If there is an Opening Ceremony, just proud of people's resilience and people's integrity to keep moving forward and keep working hard because it's not easy to continue through all the adversity. And yet, it's not just a spectacle. It's not just this. There's real people involved. So, there are always those things that bring you back to the perspective. And I think that's what was important for me. We all wanted to prove that power of sport and bringing people together.
Lauren Shehadi:
Janet, you said that running the flame turned you from Olympic winner to Olympic champion.
Janet Evans:
I saw those athletes and I saw their look in their eyes and I saw the awe that they had for this Olympic flame and this ceremony. And what we were all experiencing at that moment. And I realized that the majority of athletes that compete at the Olympics and the Paralympics, 90% of them don't win medals, but they're there and they're representing their countries and their families and their friends and their parents that got them to practice every day. And I realized that's the true meaning of the Olympics. And this all happened in the moment I was running with that torch.
Catriona Le May Doan:
It's going to be a story of how sport can heal us all.
Lauren Shehadi:
On March 25th, 2021, that moment of holding the symbol of the Games was lived by Azusa Iwashimizu, member of Japan's 2011 Women's World Cup winning soccer team.
Japanese Commentator:
[foreign language 00:38:23].
Lauren Shehadi:
The course begins in Fukushima and will weave through each of Japan's 47 prefectures on its 121 day journey, prior to the lighting of the cauldron at Olympic stadium on July 23rd. The design of the torch is inspired by the cherry blossom or sakura, which blooms pink to announce the arrival of spring. And it's partly made from aluminum recycled from temporary housing after Fukushima inhabitants had to be evacuated back in 2011. After all, these Games were branded as the reconstruction Olympics years before COVID-19 was on anyone's radar. After earthquake and tsunami disasters rocked the host nation in 2011, 2020 looked to be an opportunity for healing by watching gold medal hopefuls chase their dreams at the Games. The 13 months since postponement now have us all looking for hope on an altogether different scale. Organizers will no doubt be harnessing the power of the Olympic flame to do this, starting with the torch relay in Japan.
Tim Layden:
You will start seeing news and images that the torch is making its way within that host country to the host city. And it is another layer of real visceral understanding that the Olympics are getting closer. There is really no symbol, no totem that the Olympics are about to happen in the torch.
Lauren Shehadi:
Put one foot in front of the other and hold a couple pounds above your shoulder, a difficult task as we've discovered, but one with the potential to unite and inspire the world with each and every step. That's it for this week's episode of The Podium. Subscribe now wherever you're currently listening to get automatic downloads. For more Olympic content ahead of Tokyo, check out nbcolympics.com and starting July 23rd, tune into the networks of NBC.