Sarah Cookler on Ski Mountaineering

The one new sport on the program for the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics is ski mountaineering (aka skimo). What is this sport all about, and why should you watch it? 

Sarah Cookler, Head of Sport for USA Skimo (USA Ski Mountaineering Association), joins us to talk about the sport, how it works, and how much fun its debut at Milan-Cortina will be.

Follow USA Skimo on Insta and X! They're @usaskimo.

Also on today's show:

• Massive problems with the bronze medals from Paris 2024 - this New York Times story is worth a read too
• Ticket news from Milan-Cortina 2026
• We've officially dubbed the sliding track situation our "Slidingnovela"
• The neutral athlete situation for the 2026 Olympics
• Doping news

TKFLASTAN has had a big week--we've got results, honors, a tough situation, and some listener views on Sydney 2000 and The Fire Inside.

Links mentioned on the show:

• New York Times - Paris 2024 medals: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/business/medals-paris-olympics-lvmh.html?unlocked_article_code=1.q04.1cnv.YIzYe5LEOIeL&smid=url-share
• Milan-Cortina ticket price chart: https://milanocortina2026.olympics.com/s3fs-public/documents/2024-10/20241009_Test_Table_A4_B_NO_VISA.pdf?VersionId=lyYTMUMYb_8kSLnKWQaNuSfmhp6_vUrk 

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

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

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Keep the Flame Alive: The Olympics and Paralympics Fan Podcast with hosts Jill Jaracz & Alison Brown. New episodes released every week and daily during the Olympics and Paralympics. Also look for our monthly Games History Moment episodes in your feed.

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