The Sports Moment

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Good luck, L.A. Aug 11, 2024

After two-plus weeks of the Games, the Closing Ceremonies arrive today. Between the Parisian backdrop, the incredible athletic performances and celebrity buzz, these Olympics will stand apart – especially from the pandemic-era ones that preceded it.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with reporter Rick Maese and columnist Jerry Brewer about their favorite moments covering the Games.

This is our last episode from Paris. There will be more to come from The Post, so stay tuned to this feed, and to Ava’s Sports Moment newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

Thank you to everyone who’s followed along these last couple of weeks. If you want to show your support for shows like this, please subscribe to The Washington Post.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The per-capita winners of Paris Aug 10, 2024

The Paris Olympics have been an incredible success story for the southern Caribbean islands of Dominica, Saint Lucia and Grenada. Most of those wins came on a single night in track.

The meaning of the Olympics from Grenadian bronze-medalist Lindon Victor. Plus: Host Ava Wallace gives a rundown of the latest news from Paris.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

A covid surprise on the track Aug 09, 2024

It was a blockbuster day at the track on Thursday, and it was supposed to begin with Noah Lyles being anointed with his second gold medal – this time in his signature event, the men’s 200 meters. But as the sprinters turned the corner on the track, it was clear something was wrong.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporter Adam Kilgore and Post columnist Barry Svrluga about the atmosphere at yesterday’s meet and its significance as the Games near their end.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

Crying at the race walk Aug 08, 2024

Snoop Dogg, Flavor Flav, pins: The Paris Games are a bounty of cultural weirdness. And for people attending the Games in person, you can add to the list “hospitality houses” – party houses where people can pay a fee to watch sporting events with their countrymen.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace talks with Post features writer Dan Zak about his experience of covering the Olympics as a cultural event.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

Lauren Scruggs pushes fencing forward Aug 07, 2024

Lauren Scuggs remembers being the only fencer in her Queens neighborhood: “It was a very weird thing for me to do.” In a sport that has been historically dominated in the United States by White people, Scruggs became the first Black American woman to win an individual fencing medal at the Olympics.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace sat down with Scruggs to talk about her journey to the Olympics and what it took to make Olympics history.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The U.S. women’s basketball team didn’t need Caitlin Clark Aug 06, 2024

The U.S. women’s basketball team is a dynasty – and it didn’t need Caitlin Clark. Host Ava Wallace talks with columnists Candace Buckner and Jerry Brewer about that and drama on the track. Plus: How NBC brings the sounds of the Games to your living room.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The redemption of Noah Lyles Aug 05, 2024

Yesterday, Noah Lyles defended his title as fastest man in the world by winning the men’s 100-meter dash. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic bested Carlos Alcaraz, to whom he lost in Wimbledon just a month earlier. No matter where you turn, the Paris Olympics are packed with redemption stories.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporters Rick Maese about some of the best games from over the weekend and how they’ll go down in Olympic history.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

Can the U.S. men's track team win gold in Paris? Aug 03, 2024

Correction: A previous version of this episode misidentified Josh Kerr, the British middle-distance runner, as Sam Kerr, the Australian soccer player. The audio has been updated to remove the error.

At the last Summer Olympics, not a single American man won gold in track. This year, track superstars, including Noah Lyles, are trying to set the record straight on Paris’s purple track. The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with reporter Adam Kilgore about the start of track and field and which men and women to watch.

Check out this Post story about how the Swedish-American pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis keeps setting new world records in his sport.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

Simone Biles and the Olympians defying age Aug 02, 2024

Many of the superstar athletes at the Paris Olympics are older than their peers have been in the past. Superstars like LeBron James, Katie Ledecky and Simomne Biles are forcing people to rethink how old is “too old” to be competing at the Olympics.

Ava Wallace talks with Post sports reporter Emily Giambalvo and Post sports columnist Jerry Brewer about the significance of Biles’s gold-medal win last night at the gymnastics all-around, and whether it might signal a seachange for the Games moving forward.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

A U.S. coach's conflict in Paris Aug 01, 2024

There are 223 former NCAA swimmers who trained in the United States at the 2024 Olympics. But only 46 represent the United States. It’s caused some awkward situations in Paris. Host Ava Wallace talks with Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga about the drama swirling around France’s star swimmer, Léon Marchand.

Plus: What it’s like for the parents of athletes to be back at the Olympics to support their children, after being barred from attending the pandemic-era Tokyo games.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The TikTok Games Jul 31, 2024

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace recaps a big day for American gymnasts and women’s rugby, and what to watch out for yet today. Plus: How social-media stars like Ilona Maher, the US women's rugby player, are creating viral moments online.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The race for swimming supremacy Jul 30, 2024

For years, the United States and Australia have duked it out for dominance in the Olympic swimming pool. Now, with U.S. legend Michael Phelps retired and Katie Ledecky slipping in some races, it might be Australia’s turn at the top of the podium.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post reporters Dave Sheinin and Rick Maese about the newest stars in the pool this year and which races not to miss. Plus, a first-time U.S. Olympian on the men's 3x3 team, Kareem Maddox, tells his story about what it took to get to Paris.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

It's gold or bust for U.S. men's basketball Jul 29, 2024

The U.S. men’s basketball team has won 16 of the 20 Olympics tournaments in history. They are one of greatest team dynasties at the Summer Games. But the rest of the world might be catching up.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post NBA reporter Ben Golliver about the team’s quest for redemption after their embarrassing defeat at the FIBA World Cup last year.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Allison Michaels and Joe Tone. Thanks to Jerry Brewer.

Are world records becoming unbreakable? Jul 28, 2024

As the Paris Olympics get underway, everyone's watching to see what world records get broken this cycle. But what happens if some records are actually unbreakable?

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace talks with sports reporters Adam Kilgore and Emily Giambalvo about what their months-long analysis of world records says about the limits of human potential, and what that might mean for the future of sports.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

Let the Games begin Jul 27, 2024

Paris’s audacious plan for the Opening Ceremonies had the city and organizers on edge. But despite the rain, the show went on.

From Céline Dion on the Eiffel Tower to Flavor Flav at Team USA House, The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace gives you the rundown of the biggest moments from yesterday’s performances, and what events to follow today.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone.

The Paris Olympics' high-wire act Jul 26, 2024

Today is the culmination of years of planning and billions of dollars in investments for Olympics organizers and officials. It hasn’t come without controversy, though, and its impact on the lives of everyday Parisians is profound.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post foreign correspondents Claire Parker and Rick Noack, who are covering these Games, about the price and stakes of pulling off a successful Summer Olympics in Paris.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Allison Michaels and Joe Tone. Thanks to Marisa Bellack.

A new beginning for US women’s soccer Jul 25, 2024

U.S. women’s soccer is in a moment of transition at these Olympics. There’s a brand new coach, and star players like Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan are not on the roster in Paris.

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post soccer reporter Steven Goff about how a new generation of players have a chance to remake U.S. women’s soccer – and perhaps bring home another medal in the process.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Allison Michaels and Joe Tone.

Your passport to the Paris Olympics Jul 24, 2024

There are a lot of questions heading into the Summer Olympics: Is Paris prepared to host the Games? Who are the star athletes this year? What exactly is a “horsey passport”?

The Washington Post’s Ava Wallace speaks with Post sports columnist Jerry Brewer and sports feature writer Rick Maese about those questions and more in the first episode of The Sports Moment.

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Today’s show was produced and mixed by Ted Muldoon. It was edited by Joe Tone, Allison Michaels and Renita Jablonski.

Introducing “The Sports Moment” Jul 12, 2024

Ava Wallace, sports reporter at The Washington Post, is heading to France to report on the Summer Games — and eat a lot of croissants. Join her starting July 24, continuing through the entire run of the games, for several episodes a week as she captures the highs, the lows and the Paris of it all, along with other Post colleagues.

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