August 16, 2024 • 40 mins
It’s a jam-packed episode, y’all. Olympic 100m hurdles gold medalist Masai Russell tells Sarah about why she’s working out just days after winning in Paris, the DMV’s secret sauce and how her failures helped her reach the top of the sports world. Plus, former pro cyclist and forever activist Kathryn Bertine discusses the history of the Tour de France Femmes and why equality in cycling is still a long way away.
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Read Kathryn Bertine’s memoir, Stand, watch her film, Half the Road & check out Homestretch Foundation
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Watch the 2024 Tour de France Femmes! Here’s a schedule / TV info
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Read more about where Jordan Chiles’ case stands here
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Live in the D.C. area? Celebrate the USWNT’s win and the Triple Espresso with a drink paid for by the NWSL’s Washington Spirit. Details here
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Friday night’s WNBA schedule:
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Seattle Storm @ Atlanta Dream - 7:30pm ET
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Phoenix Mercury @ Indiana Fever - 7:30 ET
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Connecticut Sun @ Dallas Wings - 9:30 ET
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Full WNBA schedule is here
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A few highlights from this weekend’s college soccer schedule:
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#2 Stanford plays UC Irvine @ 4pm ET Sunday – ACC ESPN Network
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#5 Clemson faces High Point @ 5pm ET Sunday – ACC ESPN Network
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#1 FSU takes on North Florida @ 6pm ET Sunday – ACC ESPN Network
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You know we always love to hear from you! Send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com or leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're watching
Gabby Thomas on the Daily Show and starting to question.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Our own manifestation game.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm still waiting on that Pulitzer and that Nobel Peace
Prize and that call from Lorne Michaels. On today's show,
we'll be talking with one hundred meter hurdles gold medalist
Massi Russell about her journey to Olympic victory, refocusing after
a heartbreak in twenty twenty three and representing for the
DMV area. Plus former pro cyclist and forever activist Katherin
(00:29):
Bertein will get you hyped for more toutor France fem
action this weekend, and she'll tell you the story of
the fight to get back a women's race. It's all
coming up right after this.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Welcome back, my little orange slices.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Here's what you need to know today. The Tour de
France Fem is heating up. Stage six is a hilly
one hundred and fifty nine kilometer route from remire Mont,
France to Morteaux, and it takes place today. Hungarian cyclist
Blanco Vas born in two thousand and one, by the way,
one stage five, while Polish writer Cassio Novia Dooma now
(01:09):
leads the standings, with American Kristen Faulkner sitting second overall.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We'll have more on the tour later in the show.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We've got an update on Olympic Gymnastics and Jordan Childs
medal saga SO. As a reminder, Chiles was stripped of
her bronze medal on floor exercise last week following an
appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, also known
as CIS.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
SO.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
The full CIS decision was released on Wednesday, and the
twenty nine page document is a doozy.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Here are a couple of the takeaways.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
First, during the hearing, US officials did not object to
the key claim that led to Child's metal being stripped,
which is that Child's petition was submitted four seconds after
the one minute deadline. While USA Gymnastics has since said
that the organization has video footage showing Child's coach submitting
her appeal before the deadline, it was too little, too
late in the eyes of CIS. If there is one
(01:59):
spot of hope for child Les, it's this CIS initially
sent communication regarding the hearing to the wrong email addresses
at the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics,
leaving the organizations less than twenty four hours to prepare
for the hearing. This is likely Child's best grounds for
appealing the decision to the only higher court that exists,
the Swiss Federal Tribunal. If you're interested in learning more
(02:21):
about where Chile's case stands, will link to a story
in the show Notes. On Thursday, Chiles issued a statement
on social saying, in part quote, I have no words.
This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow,
not just to me, but to everyone who has championed
my journey. To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially
driven attacks on social media.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Are wrong and extremely hurtful.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I've poured my heart and soul into this sport, and
I'm proud to represent my culture and my country.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
She continued.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I will approach this challenge as I have others, and
will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.
I believe that at the end of this journey, the
people in control will.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Do the right thing.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And while we're talking Olympics, a quick update on that
breaker from Australia Ygun. The Australian Olympic Committee the AOC
has condemned an anonymous online petition attacking Raygun real name
Rachel Gunn, calling it quote vexatious, misleading and bullying end quote.
In a statement, the AOC CEO says the petition quote
contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete
(03:22):
who was selected in the Australian Olympic team through a
transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
End quote. They provide a.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Lengthy list of facts debunking rumors about how Raygun qualified
the judging panel, her husband's role or lack thereof in
her qualifying, and more. We do hope to have a
longer conversation about the response to breaking in the Olympics
on a future show, but wanted to put that out
there because the Raygun memes are funny, but spreading misinformation
is not. In tennis, the Cincinnati Open continues over the weekend.
(03:52):
The third round wraps up today, The quarterfinals begin tomorrow,
and the semi finals take place on Sunday. Last year,
Coco Goff became the youngest player ever to win the
tournament at just nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Now, lit's know this.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
She took home four hundred and fifty four thousand, five
hundred dollars in prize money, while men's single It's champion
Novak Djokovic banked one million, nineteen thousand, three hundred and
thirty five. That's more than double the women's purse, and
it's the same this year. The women's champ gets a
little more five hundred twenty three thousand and four eighty five,
but it's still compared to one million, forty nine thousand
(04:24):
and four to.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Sixty for the men.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Now, I know what you're thinking, isn't tennis the one
sport with equal pay?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well not quite.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Lots of people know the story of how tennis is
four Grand Slams got to equal prize money, legends like
Billy jen King and Venus Williams leading that fight, but
away from the Grand Slams, most tennis tournaments still don't
award equal prize money. Get on at BJK, we know
you could do anything you put your mind to, so
we got to send Billy Jean to Sincy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
In hoops, the.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
WNBA is back and the league's first post Olympics Friday
Night should be a good one.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
There are three games tonight.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
All available regionally on Ion or League Pass. We're personally
most excited to see the Phoenix Mercury take on the
Indiana Fever. Details on tonight's schedule in the show notes,
scrab your TV tray, and a nice spot on the couch.
There are also some pretty good matchups to look forward
to this weekend, including a twenty twenty three finals rematch
between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces
(05:17):
at four pm Eastern on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You can catch that one on CBS.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
We'll have to get adjusted to seeing Brianna Stewart versus
Asia Wilson again instead of our beloved Stoujia. Also some
exciting news, the league officially announced that the Indiana Fever
will host WNBA All Star twenty twenty five. This will
be the first time Indy hosts All Star festivities, and
it seems like a no brainer, right, Caitlin Aliah, Well,
(05:41):
apparently it wasn't. Initially, the w was considering another city,
but after some late scheduling conflicts came up, the league
reached out to Indy and we're here for it. I
went to the Indiana Super Bowl and they were great hosts.
Everything is super close to each other. I think we'll
have a good time. It's going to take place Saturday,
July nineteenth at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, so mark your calendars now.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
On the links.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
The LPGA Scottish Open is in full swing and after
Thursday's round, American golfers Megan Kang, Lauren Coughlin, and Lucy
Lee are all in a tightly packed leaderboard top ten
along with newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Lydia Coe should
make for a competitive weekend. And the college soccer season,
believe it or not, is underway. There are a whole
(06:22):
bunch of games this weekend, and three of the top
five teams in the nation hit the pitch on Sunday.
Those games and times are in the show notes. Speaking
of soccer, quick fun news out of DC, where the
Washington Spirit of the NWSL have teamed up with local
minority owned coffee shops Acrosstown to offer limited edition triple
espressos in honor of the US women's national team's trio
(06:44):
of forwards Trinity Rodman. Of course, one of the triples
plays for the Spirit, linked to. More info is in
the episode notes. If you get there quick.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You could be one of the ones that gets a
free coffee. Good on you, Washington Spirit. We love that. Okay,
we're going to take a quick break when we come
back to a pretty normal girl if you know. Normal
girls were Olympic champions joining us now.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
She made her Olympic debut in Paris, winning Golden one
hundred meter hurdles, an event for which she's also the
NCAA record holder. Her personal best of twelve point two
five seconds is tied for number four all time ever
in the world. She's a Kentucky alum, a DMV native,
and her sendoff gift to herself was a car not bad.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It's MESSI Russell, what's up? MESSI?
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Hello? Hello, Hello? How are you?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Is that the car right now that you're sitting in
that I'm looking at?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, it actually is.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
And it's so funny because anytime I'm in it, I guess,
like you could just tell it looks like nice and
Marvorine and brand news people are like.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Is that the new car?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Is that the new car?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I'm like, yeah, this is a new car.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Love it, love it? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So I watched your adorable video with Tara Davis Woodhall
celebrating your gold medals, and I just want to give
you this safe space right here to both curse and
say it with your chest that you're a Olympic champion.
So if you want to say it with a little
more of your chest, feel free right here.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Right right. I'm a don't ever play.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
So good god, that's funny. I know Tarrow is just
like she didn't care. I'll be like, ah, I don't
know if I just did. I'm glad I did it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Go good, good, good good.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You won your gold by point zero one seconds. The
difference between gold and silver twelve point three three and
twelve point three four. How often do you practice that
lean knowing that that might be the difference.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
My colleage always talks about practicing it, but I think
that once you're in the race, and once you're just competing,
it's just subconscious to just try to get to the
line first. So we practice it, but I don't think
for me it's anything that I have to practice. Is
just about being competitive and just being in the moment
and just dive into the line to try to get
as close to the finish line as number one as possible.
(08:58):
So I was just like I told everyone, and I
was happy to see my name came up number one.
I didn't care that it was a close race.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
I'm like, my name popped up first and that's all
that matters.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So you literally just won Olympic gold and we're trying
to schedule this interview to talk to you, and you're
tough to tack down because you're working out every day.
In fact, right now, you just came off a lift,
but you just won Olympic gold.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Like, do you get a break? Please? Explain? Is this
why you're a champion because there's no days off?
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Yeah, I think that it just sounds so cliche when
people say like no day's off, like the grind doesn't stop.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But it's truly like that, that's truly what it means.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
I mean, everyone's like looking at me crazy when I
just walked into the weight room. They're like, you just
want an Olympic go meta, why are you here? And
I'm like, yeah, my season isn't done. My season could
be done if I wanted it to be done. But
I'm just having fun. I just won my first Olympic gold,
so I'm just ready to see what other parts of
Europe are about and I'm just living in what God
(09:58):
has caught me to do, honestly, And you know, like
I said, I'm having a good time. I'm having fun.
So you know why I stop here? I still have
goals to accomplish. There's still a world record out there
that I have not.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Touched and that does not have my name on it.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
So yes, one of the biggest goals, the biggest dreams
that I've ever could imagine, have come true.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
But the goal is not finished. And yeah, I mean.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's just just hard work. And I'm just like I said,
I'm having a good time. So it's just like, why
stop now?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I also feel like, if you know, if you like
fly off to vacation somewhere and you're all anonymous sitting
on your beach chair, it's not as fun as taking
a victory lap around all your friends and family and
then other runners who all are like, oh, okay, bow down,
we got a gold medal chip in here, Like it's
kind of fun to take that victory lap. You're a
DMB native. You were born in Washington, d C. We're
raised in Upper Marl Bro, Maryland. You went to the
(10:52):
Bullet School in Maryland, we got you, Katie Leadecki, Noah Lyles,
Kevin Durant and Moore just going down at the Olympics
for the DMV. So what's the secret. What do you
think the secret is behind the DMVs success.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
I don't know it's in the water. I just think
it's just a competitive area. It's just sports are so
big in the DMV area. And I think it's just
the people, the community that just Maryland, the state, the DMV,
they just are so invested in sports. Like we have
great facilities, we have amazing schools, like Bullets was a
(11:27):
college preparatory school, but I feel like that was honestly
the great foundation that I needed to be who I
am today. So I think it's just a mixture of
a whole bunch of different things that now everyone is
seeing the outcome of what the DMV has quote unquote
in the water. But it's just amazing because I mean,
we're really putting on for the DMV. It's such a
(11:49):
tiny area, but I feel like the performances and all
the talent that has come out of the DMV is
just you would think it's a really big state with
a whole bunch of people, but it's a very small
compact area with just amazing athletes.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
So it's actually amazing.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
And I'm actually glad to be a part of, you know,
something so big like this, and just to be a
part because I've always seen you know, KD football players,
best of players, like all these great people putting on.
But I'm glad that I can finally hold the torch,
to hold the weight of the track side for the
DNV on a global level in the biggest way possible.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So it's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
You know, last year you posted a DNF at the
World Championships in Budapesta, did not finish.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
In an interview I watched afterwards, you got.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Really emotional, but you said good things might still be ahead,
that you didn't know what might be in front of
you that was gonna bring you joy. We're gonna take
a listen here. This is from real talk with Tea,
so you can put this in.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
I don't care, but yeah, I mean, you know, it
is what it is.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Yeah, things happen. I work hard.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Yeah i know I'm not done, So it is what
it is, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
I mean we all have like, oh.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
My back, I got Taddy like, we can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps. So sucks right now.
But I don't know what's down the road for me
that I know I'll be very happy about.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So m some come in.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
It is so I'm not even chipping, but it is
what it is. Of course it hurts right now, but
let's just learn first time out here.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, so I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
No one expected for me to be here, so to
make it this far it definitely means a lie.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So what do you think if you go back and
listen to that and go watch yourself. First of all,
it was very moved by the fact that you started
to tear up and she was almost going to stop
the interview and you were like, no, you can record this,
like people can see me feeling this way. I thought
that was important. But when you go back and watch
that person a year ago who just came off that DNF,
what do you think.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
It makes me emotional because.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
You know, that was the best season of my life
at that point, I had the best season of my life.
I was the NCAA record holder. I haven't broke to
plead your records within that season. And then I'm coming
off of the height of heights and then I go
to World Championships thinking that, you know, it's gonna go
the way that I intended it to go, and it
was just a complete slap in the face. But it's
(14:16):
really just what I had to go through to get
to where I'm at now, and I've just grown so
much as an athlete.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I've grown so much as a person. I just like
to show that bad.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Things can happen, but on the other side of those
failures and those moments where you thought it was gonna
go away that you intended and it doesn't, it's gonna
be something brighter on the other side. The result is
not like how you feel at that time. It's just
about how you move from that. So it is really
(14:46):
like motivating to see how far I've come, to see
how far I've grown just from a year ago.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I felt like looking at that video, I just felt
like I was like a.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Baby and just seeing how I compete and how I
compete it on the Olympic stage this time, it was
like I just looked so poised and I look so
just confident, and I look like I belong and it
was just I had to go through that failure. I
had to go through that uncomfortable time. I had to
(15:15):
go through that to get to where I'm at now.
So I appreciate the failures. I think I'm thankful for
those moments that it didn't go right, because I probably
wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with you talking
about me being an Olympic goal medalist. And in the moment,
in the time, it sucks, it's terrible. You're questioning yourself.
You're like, why is this happening to me?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Why me? Why?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
You're just you know, flooding your brain with all these
different things as into why it didn't go the way
that it did.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
But you know, when you take some time.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
Take a step back, regroup, understand what the goal is,
and you just keep speaking positive affirmations and just believing.
I mean, like I keep telling people it's possible, like
it's limitless. No one expected for me to be the
Olympic goal medalist. But I know I had something in me.
I know what I've been through. I know I'll work hard,
And I said that interview, I know I work hard.
(16:05):
It's just a part of it, and there'll be another
something down the road. Where it's not going to make sense,
but it eventually will. So I'm just glad that she
was able to able to actually capture that moment because
it was a very profound moment. That moment changed everything
for me at that point in my life, and now,
like looking a year later, it's just everything has subsided
(16:29):
and it's just I'm living a completely different life, to
say the least.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I love asking people about their failures because I think,
first of all, people listening seeing people who have achieved
the success you have sometimes might think it was just
a straight line up. And to see those dips and
those lows and those failures and how you fight back
to get to the place that you are now and
all that tough work behind the scenes, it's really important
for people to see. And we learned so much from
our failures that we can't learn just from success.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
So I love that you came out on the other
side with a gold medal. It's so cool.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Do you have any other highlights from being in Paris
other than the obvious of the hurdle win?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I was there for about two weeks, So when I
go across the water, if I go anywhere, I'm like
I'm not just gonna look at these four walls until
the day I compete. So I like to get out,
do some shopping, eat some good food, get out of
the village, get out of the hotel wherever I'm at,
and just experience the city for what it has.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So I did do a lot of shopping.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
They did some shopping, and then I seen the Eiffel
Tower and I actually got emotional seeing it because I
was just like wow, like the fact that this is
my life, the fact that this is the life that
I was dreaming about when I was younger, trial in
the world, competing and being a professional athlete. It made
me emotional. So cea an Eiffel Tower was super cool.
And then honestly, just eating the good food that parents had.
(17:48):
The food was amazing, cause the village food it.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Was a no go for me.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
But the actual food outside of the village and being
able to experience the city, walk around, shop and just
see the city for what it had to offer, it
was amazing. Like I had a great time. I would
tell my friends like this is the places.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
You need to go, this is what you need to
do when you get here, like go to this spot.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Because I had such a good time, and I was
just really vibing out, like by myself, just enjoying it,
just taking it all in.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
You know what about the Olympics related stuff, whether it
was like in the village, meeting other athletes, closing ceremony,
Was there any other moment that was particularly like it
stands out to you.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, the opening ceremony was super cool, Like just seeing
everyone and there's two jackets looking all professional and just
taking pictures with all the basketball players, like Lebron James.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
I was like, what the heck, Like this is Lebron James.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
So the fact that I was ever taking the picture
of Lebron James, Stephen Curry, me and Katie, like we're
both in the same area. He follows me back on Instagram,
So like nice, I don't know if.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
He knows me or if he I don't know, Like
it's like I think he does, but he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, you know, just honestly taking a picture with all
the amazing athletes and just like being there, like being
there being a part seeing this experience, having this opportunity
of a lifetime.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It was.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
It was literally the coolest thing ever because I've like
watched the Olympics from.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Like probably eight or twelve years old, like whenever.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
The whenever I could watch it, that's what I whatever,
whatever year it was, that's what age I am. Because
I was born in two thousand, so it's very easy
to know how old I was.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah that time, right.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
No, it was just so amazing, Like I was just
feeling like I like my dreams came true, Like I
just couldn't believe it. Every time I kept thinking about it,
I was like, Wow, I'm going to the Olympics. Damn,
I'm going to the Olympics. Damn I'm here, like dam
I one, damn my one, Like damn, I'm an Olympic
go medalist. Like That's how I was really thinking. And
(19:49):
it was it literally was just a dream come true.
So I was just taking it all in. I got
my youtubelg dropping soon I'm trying to like edit that
video so I could get that out because even looking
back at those moments and those experiences that I had,
like I kind of forget and then when I look
back at the blog, I'm like, oh my gosh, like
I'm so glad that I recorded this moment. So every experience,
(20:09):
every moment, even like eating the village food. It was
an experience, you know, So I was just glad to
take it all in and just experience everything for what
it had to offer.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, you have a couple of tattoos that I've noticed.
You've got a rose, You've got a lightning bolt. Do
you have anything else? And what do they mean to you?
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
I have eighteen tattoos, but people wouldn't know that, so small, tiny,
but I have. Yes, I had the lightning bolt, and
like I got that back in college because I was like,
I don't want anything I don't like for me personally.
I don't like the like track shoe or like the
wing like symbols.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
But I was like the lightning bolt. It just symbolizes
like being fast, like and you know, being quick.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
So I feel like that's just a cute, little subtle
tattoo to put so that when I run, you know,
you can see. It's not like, of course, in too
much of an inappropriate spot, but it's just cute and subtle.
And then the roads. I was just young, I could
have did without. My favorite tattoo though, is on my spine.
It's what I said in the video We're Real Talk
(21:10):
with Tea and it was we can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
And that is just a quote in a Bible Versu.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I just live by because we have like what we
believe should happen, but.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
God's just like, no, that's not how it's gonna go.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
We're gonna go this way, and I'm gonna make you believe,
and I'm gonna make you see if you really want it,
and then I'm gonna give it to you the way
that you didn't think it was gonna happen, in the
way that it should have happened, or the way you
thought it would happen. So that's just a quote that
I like to stand by. And then I just have
a couple other small ones, like it's one of my race.
He just says blessed, Like you know, it's just to
(21:45):
keep me reminded that I am very blessed regardless of
whatever situation that I'm in. And then I just have
a whole bunch of other little like nice little sayings
and words and things like that. Nothing nothing else is
as powered as my spine.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Tat I have to say, Yeah, I love the lightning.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I have a lightning bule earring She's currently wearing a
lightning bolt t shirt, so I'm big on the bolts too.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Love that. I love that, just like as a symbol.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Okay, speaking of speed, which I don't have anymore, but
at one time I was a little bit quick. I
was a heptathlete and a hurdler myself, and so I'm
on a lifelong mission to get the frickin' collegen professional
hurdles raised. Because the women's race keeps the same hurdle
height from high school on up, and the men's heights
get higher. I think the women's race is too close
(22:27):
to just a straight up sprint, and the men's race
is much more about how are you a sprinter and
a hurdler? But I'm very tall, so I would have
thrived the higher the hurdles got, and you're only five
foot four, so I'm wondering what your take on the
hurdle height is. My guess is that you're fine the
way it is, especially since you just won.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
A gold for me.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
I'm not gonna lie. I definitely see where you're coming from.
I have to humbly say, I'm just like, it is
honestly not fair that the women get to keep the
same hurdle height from high school. It just honestly doesn't
make sense, like they honestly did the men dirty. They
did the men dirty. Like of course, I don't want
(23:06):
them to change the rule at this point. I think
I would still do very good if the hurdles were
at thirty six, just because, like my problem for a
long time was being too high over the hurdles. But
I mean, I have to humbly say it's definitely not
fair that, like every you know, major step of the
male's career, they have to change their hurdle height and
(23:28):
it's just unfortunate. But it worked out for I can't
say right it worked out for me, and I think
it's just like for the men. I guess they just
believe that men are just stronger and they're more capable.
But it's pretty sick because it's some pretty short men
out there that are getting the job done over those
(23:50):
forty two inches.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Yeah, then they get that extra ten meters for a
little bit of help, but they do, they do.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Have the ten extra meter running. But honestly, for the women.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I mean, I don't know how fair it is for
the much taller women to be hurdling over thirty three
inches as well.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
But the only reason why I kind.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Of like don't think it makes the biggest difference in
the world is because the last two world record holders
were like five three and five.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
That's what I'm saying, though, is that if you made
him higher, you'd have to be someone who could sprint
fast and take on the hurdles instead of just a sprint.
I get the feeling you're not going to sign my petition,
and that's okay. I understand that from your perspective, things
are pretty.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Good the way they are.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Do you go after you're retired, MASSI.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
We know you're busy, and we know you could be
just sitting around celebrating instead of talking to us. So
thank you so much for giving us some time and
congratulations again.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
We're so so happy for you.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
Thank you so much, and I appreciate you taking the
time to talk to me. I'm just a normal girl
doing what she does best, doing what she loves best.
Said that I was able to connect with you guys,
and you guys take the time out of saw day too,
because y'all are important just just as much as I am.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
I appreciate yaw.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
We don't buy that you're normal at all, but we
appreciate you saying it.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Thanks, Thanks, time to pay some more bills.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
When we come back, we're taking our training wheels off
and riding full speed into a weekend full of the
Tour de France Fem with Catherine Bertein stick around.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Welcome back, you wonderful little slices.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
We love that you're listening, but we always want you
to get in the game every day too, So here's
our good game play of the day. Watch the Tour
de France Fem, and to help you get into the
cycling spirit, we've got a special guest to teach you
how to watch and what to watch for, plus why
it's such a big deal that there's a women's race
at all and why you should want to support it.
Joining us now Cyclist, author, activist, filmmaker, former professional figure
(25:50):
skater and former professional triathlete. She turned professional in road
cycling in twenty twelve and raced on World Tour teams
until twenty seventeen. Her biggest legacy, though, will be as
an activist, helping spearhead petitions to organizers to launch a
women's Tour de France. A former espnW colleague of fellow
Ted Lasso lover and a newly engaged woman. It's Katherine Bertie.
(26:11):
What's up, Catherine?
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Hey, Sarah. Oh, it's so great to talk to you
as always. Thank you for having me on your kick
ass show. It's an honor to be here.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
You are welcome, and you're celebrating your engagement by following
the Tour de France fem which is like, so perfect
and typical of you because you have made this so
much of your life. But it wasn't always and I
love this part of the story. So it's not like
you grew up being like cycling, let's do it. You
were actually a figure skater and you turned pro in that,
but after your thirtieth birthday you were like, let me
find some other sports to give a go. And there's
(26:42):
kind of a fascinating journey to get to pro cycling,
so tell us about it.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Yeah, the short story journey to turning pro cycling actually
stemmed from our ESPN days and I was given an
assignment of say, if you can get to the Olympic
Games in two years, like you're the guinea pig, try
a sports, see how badly you fail. It was kind
of this setup to fail mission right. And the reality
(27:06):
that happened condensing that story is that I found cycling.
I found road cycling. I'd been a triathlete, and my
strongest of those three sports swim by grun was cycling.
So I'm like, let me give this thing a try
spoiler alert. While I didn't make the Olympic Games in
about eighteen months, I came remarkably close to it. But
(27:26):
the big thing was that I fell in love with cycling,
and as soon as the assignment ended, I was hooked.
I'm like, I'm in. I want to do this. I
want to see if I can get to the professional
level and race against the best of the best. But
along the way, I also saw behind the scenes how
many inequities there still were and are in pro cycling.
For example, the women don't race the same events as
(27:47):
the men, they don't race the same distances. We're like
half the distance. And then of course the prize money conundrum.
We are pennies on the dollar. So all these things
didn't add up to the why why, why why is
it like this? And that's when I realized, like, we
need to change the sport, you know a little bit,
and that came from a place of love and being,
(28:09):
as they say, being in the arena, I was like,
what can I do?
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I love that though, because I think it's a lesson
for people. It's like, there are so many people who
see other people step up and do something and think
that they must be different in some way, and you're not.
You're not a lifelong cyclist. You weren't at the top
of cycling in the Olympics. You were a participant and
you were very good, but you were also just someone
who was keenly aware of how things weren't right and
you wanted to do something about it, and.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Boy did you.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
So before we get to what you did, can you
give us a brief summary for those who don't know
about the history of the women's Tour de France.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
This is an.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Impossible task, but like sixty seconds ish on the clock,
what was it before?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And go first thing?
Speaker 5 (28:50):
There are four renditions of the Tour de France FIM
that we know today. The first one started in nineteen
fifty five, and that was actually a setup to fail
back then and the race director of the Tour de
France said, I don't think women can do any stages,
and he gave the women a five day course and
in nineteen fifty five the women there were forty one
women from different countries, and they not only did it,
(29:11):
they crushed it. They did amazing and apparently that must
have scared the race director because it went away. It
didn't come back right, so not until nineteen eighty four.
So from eighty five, from fifty five to eighty four, nothing,
Then finally a more progressive race director with the Tour
de France, said let's give the women another shot, and
this time let's not make it five stages, let's make
(29:34):
it eighteen stages, which is almost the same amount as
the men. The men had twenty one. So the women
raced on the same course the same day, slightly before
the men, from eighty four to eighty nine, and it
was called Tour de France Feminine. And in eighty nine
it went away, and people ask why, And the short
story is it's about that time, around nineteen eighty nine,
(29:55):
that media coverage TV coverage, which is what we had
back then, was the only option for cover in the media.
It was basically gearing everything toward the men, and the
race directors were given this opportunity to say okay, well
let's include the women in this. But they didn't. And
instead of saying, hey, we've got a men and women's field,
(30:16):
men's and women's field, they just let go of the
women's race to focus solely on the men. And that
was so sad and a lot of the racers were saying,
you know what, screw it, we will make our own
Tour de France, and the owners of the Tour de
France said, nope, you do not have access to the name.
You can do what you want, but you can't call
(30:36):
it the Tour de France. And of course the whole
world knew that the Tour Defrance was a name brand.
It was a bike you know, a bike race in France.
So sadly when the name went away, there was another addition.
It was called the Grand bous Clay, but it didn't
have the same name. It lost the sponsors that made
it a worldwide event, it didn't have the media coverage.
So that was an eighty nine. And fast forward, what
(30:58):
you know when I came onto the scenes thinking hey,
what can we do here? And again, like you pointed out,
I'm not a gold medalist. I did make it to
World Championships, but I didn't make it to the Olympic Games.
I don't have a national title with the US, but
what I did have was organizational powers. And I can
be very annoying in a good way, maybe also a
(31:19):
bad way, but most of the time it comes from
a place of love. And I kept saying, what can
we do? So I banned it together with three other
gold star, gold medal winning Olympians and national champions, and said, Okay,
if the three of us, the four of us bond together,
maybe we can really make change here. And that's when
we organized to launch a petition to finally include women
(31:41):
in the Tour de France, and we went viral for
that time, which was just about one hundred thousand signatures.
But it wasn't just a petition, it was a website,
it was a manifesto, it was everything. What we wanted
to do is sit down with a parent company of
the Tour de France called ASO, to sit down with
them and guide them in how we can do this productively,
lucrative for them and for the athletes, you know. And
(32:04):
this is the part of the book that took a
good one hundred pages to write. So I'll condense it
to saying like, hey, we won, we got it our
foot in the door, and even though we lobbied for
equal inclusion for every day, and they started by saying,
you know what, we don't know if anyone will watch,
We'll give you one day in twenty four two.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Well, so really quick.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
The book is called Stand and if you are not
even remotely interested in cycling, it does not matter because
I only read it because Catherine is a friend and
she sent it to me, and I was like, I
want to learn about this activism and how she got
this done, even if I've never watched the Tour de
France a day of my life, and it's a fascinating
look at any kind of activism and how to rally
(32:40):
people around something that you care about. And also just
a reminder Catherine again, you are not a normal person.
You are extraordinary. But also you are much more normal
than we imagine we need to be to make the
kind of change that you have. And I think it's
really inspiring to other people to fight for things like
this if they see someone like you, like rally the
right people at the right time, figure out the right
(33:01):
tricks to pull so that you're getting public support or
public shaming, which is often a huge part of getting
shit done, which you very well did. So it takes
us to twenty fourteen. So we get this first edition,
this lack course, but by la Tour de France, so
on the Champs of Lyse in Paris ahead of the
final stage of the twenty fourteen Tour de France.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
It's very cool, it's very pretty, it's very fancy. You
actually got to be on the starting line on your
bike racing in it. Very cool, But that wasn't what
you were asking for.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So finally twenty twenty one we get Tour de France
fem eight days over twenty twenty two, they announced it's
going to happen the next year, and everyone's excited, including you.
But still shorter, still less prize money, still less TV coverage.
So what are we still fighting for as we celebrate
that we do have this race now, but not exactly
what we want yet.
Speaker 5 (33:47):
You know, that's such a great question, Sarah, because it
brings up the concept of progress being a wonderful thing,
But it also has to serve as a reminder that
we cannot settle for breadcrumbs, you know, in the bake
shop of progress. We need to keep vying for the
whole pie, the whole loaf, whatever you want to call it.
But right now, the beauty is that we have this
(34:07):
eight day race. It's actually moving to nine days next year,
of course, which I poke fun at. I'm like, oh great,
in about thirty years, will be equal if you know,
keep adding one day. But the reality is that what
we need to keep pushing for is the fact that
women have eight days. Men have twenty one days, So
we need more days, yes, But we also need to
(34:29):
remember too that the distance of each of the women's
race it's shorter each day than the men's and it's
because of this antiquated system of like, oh, well, the
women couldn't possibly do a longer race, and we all
know that's crap. We all know that the you know,
sports physiologists have proven that women excel in endurance events,
so it's just hogwash to say, oh, we'll give the
(34:51):
women half or two thirds. They couldn't possibly you know,
the whole their ovaries will fall out. I yeah, right,
So longer distance, longer days. But also the big disappointment
is the fact that the prize money per day for
women compared to the men's eight days to eight days,
women only make twenty nine percent of what the men
(35:13):
are earning, and that needs to change too. So we
still have some battles to fight, and we want to
remind people that we can celebrate the progress but also
use the word and to ask for more well.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
And it helps when we ask for more if we're
supporting the thing, we're demanding that they make longer, bigger
and better.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
So what do we watch for?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
If we are getting first timers who are listening to
the show, who are saying, Okay, I'm in, I want
to watch Latorda France fem, what do they watch for?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
How do they appreciate it?
Speaker 3 (35:42):
I love it?
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Great question. A lot of people think that bike racing
is a whole group of people and the fastest person wins.
But here's what's really exciting about cycling. It's like a
moving chess game. And within the piloton and that's the
group of cyclists, we've got sprinters, we've got climbers, we've
got best Young Rider category, and within stage racing there
(36:03):
are multiple areas in each race where a climber might
win a certain amount of points, a sprinter might win
the best Young rider might win, and then there's a
team classification, so there are multiple races happening within a race,
and once a viewer tunes in and understands those dynamics,
you have a variety of people to root for, and
(36:25):
that makes the sport so exciting, as does the fact
that these athletes on the women's side of pro cycling
have such extraordinary stories and backgrounds. You know, many of
them have had to work two to three part time
jobs just to make it, whereas the men have more
of a pipeline track into the big leagues. So amazing
backstories we've got like doctors, lawyers, professors who are also
(36:49):
pro cyclists, really fascinating stuff. And of course the global
outreach now cycling is huge. You know, if you had
gone back maybe twenty or thirty years, you might see
that like it's all Dutch or all Belgian or all
European athletes, and now it's just a rainbow of accomplishment
of different countries. Like the top ten are all from
different countries and that goes down top twenty. So it's
(37:12):
really really amazing that we can actually get behind us
globally global athletes.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Yeah, awesome, Well we're all excited. And if you want
to watch Catherine's documentary Half the Road from twenty fourteen,
or if you want to read her book stand which
I highly recommend, there's a lot in there besides just cycling,
stuff from her life and her dramatic brain injury and all.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Sorts of other hiccups along the way.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Also her Homestretch Foundation, which assists female pro athletes who
struggle with the gender pay gap. I've actually been to
the house, which is gorgeous where the athletes live and
train and get a leg up as they try to
live out their dreams. We're going to put links to
all those things in our show notes. Catherine, enjoy the Netherlands,
enjoy the race, and thanks so much for making time
for us.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Sarah, thank you for all you do for women's sports
and all of sports. We so appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Okay, counter as a slice, y'all. She's in.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
So grateful to Catherine for joining us, and we encourage
you to tune into the Tour de France fem this weekend. No, seriously,
you can even ride your peloton while you watch, if
you've got one.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
That'll be good motivation, right, It'll be like you're in
the race.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and
review It's easy Watch Coffee rating four and a half
out of five stars.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Review.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
I spent years denying it, then dabbling in it, and
then COVID got me housebound, and leaving my house to
get a hot cup of joy via an open window
was my only reason for living now I can't live
without it comes and basically any flavor you want you
could get it almost anywhere. My personal choice is amocha,
which is basically just hot chocolate. And don't you say
one fing word about that. You black coffee, no cream,
(38:58):
no sugar stickos not five stars. You ask good question,
why four and a half stars. Obviously, it's the shit
you gotta take approximately one hour after you have it,
no matter where you are and what bathroom you're closest to.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
On the other hand, sometimes I count on that shit.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
But if it is the wrong place, wrong time, I'm
really not looking forward to. I'm still gonna go four
and a half four and a half stars. Otherwise, we
love coffee. It gives you superpowers. See it's that easy.
Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices.
Have a great weekend. See you next week. Good game, MASSI,
Good game, Katherine, you all the people that stood in
(39:34):
the way of the Tour de France fem. Good Game
with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in
partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers
are Alex Azzi and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are
(39:54):
Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
And Emily Rudder.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Our editors are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Wrotter, Bretney Martinez and
Grace Lynch.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah
Spain
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're watching
Gabby Thomas on the Daily Show and starting to question.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Our own manifestation game.
Speaker 1 (00:08):
I'm still waiting on that Pulitzer and that Nobel Peace
Prize and that call from Lorne Michaels. On today's show,
we'll be talking with one hundred meter hurdles gold medalist
Massi Russell about her journey to Olympic victory, refocusing after
a heartbreak in twenty twenty three and representing for the
DMV area. Plus former pro cyclist and forever activist Katherin
(00:29):
Bertein will get you hyped for more toutor France fem
action this weekend, and she'll tell you the story of
the fight to get back a women's race. It's all
coming up right after this.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Welcome back, my little orange slices.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
Here's what you need to know today. The Tour de
France Fem is heating up. Stage six is a hilly
one hundred and fifty nine kilometer route from remire Mont,
France to Morteaux, and it takes place today. Hungarian cyclist
Blanco Vas born in two thousand and one, by the way,
one stage five, while Polish writer Cassio Novia Dooma now
(01:09):
leads the standings, with American Kristen Faulkner sitting second overall.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
We'll have more on the tour later in the show.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
We've got an update on Olympic Gymnastics and Jordan Childs
medal saga SO. As a reminder, Chiles was stripped of
her bronze medal on floor exercise last week following an
appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, also known
as CIS.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
SO.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
The full CIS decision was released on Wednesday, and the
twenty nine page document is a doozy.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Here are a couple of the takeaways.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
First, during the hearing, US officials did not object to
the key claim that led to Child's metal being stripped,
which is that Child's petition was submitted four seconds after
the one minute deadline. While USA Gymnastics has since said
that the organization has video footage showing Child's coach submitting
her appeal before the deadline, it was too little, too
late in the eyes of CIS. If there is one
(01:59):
spot of hope for child Les, it's this CIS initially
sent communication regarding the hearing to the wrong email addresses
at the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee and USA Gymnastics,
leaving the organizations less than twenty four hours to prepare
for the hearing. This is likely Child's best grounds for
appealing the decision to the only higher court that exists,
the Swiss Federal Tribunal. If you're interested in learning more
(02:21):
about where Chile's case stands, will link to a story
in the show Notes. On Thursday, Chiles issued a statement
on social saying, in part quote, I have no words.
This decision feels unjust and comes as a significant blow,
not just to me, but to everyone who has championed
my journey. To add to the heartbreak, the unprompted racially
driven attacks on social media.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Are wrong and extremely hurtful.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I've poured my heart and soul into this sport, and
I'm proud to represent my culture and my country.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
She continued.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
I will approach this challenge as I have others, and
will make every effort to ensure that justice is done.
I believe that at the end of this journey, the
people in control will.
Speaker 2 (02:56):
Do the right thing.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
And while we're talking Olympics, a quick update on that
breaker from Australia Ygun. The Australian Olympic Committee the AOC
has condemned an anonymous online petition attacking Raygun real name
Rachel Gunn, calling it quote vexatious, misleading and bullying end quote.
In a statement, the AOC CEO says the petition quote
contains numerous falsehoods designed to engender hatred against an athlete
(03:22):
who was selected in the Australian Olympic team through a
transparent and independent qualification event and nomination process.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
End quote. They provide a.
Speaker 1 (03:30):
Lengthy list of facts debunking rumors about how Raygun qualified
the judging panel, her husband's role or lack thereof in
her qualifying, and more. We do hope to have a
longer conversation about the response to breaking in the Olympics
on a future show, but wanted to put that out
there because the Raygun memes are funny, but spreading misinformation
is not. In tennis, the Cincinnati Open continues over the weekend.
(03:52):
The third round wraps up today, The quarterfinals begin tomorrow,
and the semi finals take place on Sunday. Last year,
Coco Goff became the youngest player ever to win the
tournament at just nineteen years old.
Speaker 2 (04:02):
Now, lit's know this.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
She took home four hundred and fifty four thousand, five
hundred dollars in prize money, while men's single It's champion
Novak Djokovic banked one million, nineteen thousand, three hundred and
thirty five. That's more than double the women's purse, and
it's the same this year. The women's champ gets a
little more five hundred twenty three thousand and four eighty five,
but it's still compared to one million, forty nine thousand
(04:24):
and four to.
Speaker 2 (04:24):
Sixty for the men.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Now, I know what you're thinking, isn't tennis the one
sport with equal pay?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
Well not quite.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
Lots of people know the story of how tennis is
four Grand Slams got to equal prize money, legends like
Billy jen King and Venus Williams leading that fight, but
away from the Grand Slams, most tennis tournaments still don't
award equal prize money. Get on at BJK, we know
you could do anything you put your mind to, so
we got to send Billy Jean to Sincy.
Speaker 2 (04:50):
In hoops, the.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
WNBA is back and the league's first post Olympics Friday
Night should be a good one.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
There are three games tonight.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
All available regionally on Ion or League Pass. We're personally
most excited to see the Phoenix Mercury take on the
Indiana Fever. Details on tonight's schedule in the show notes,
scrab your TV tray, and a nice spot on the couch.
There are also some pretty good matchups to look forward
to this weekend, including a twenty twenty three finals rematch
between the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces
(05:17):
at four pm Eastern on Saturday.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You can catch that one on CBS.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
We'll have to get adjusted to seeing Brianna Stewart versus
Asia Wilson again instead of our beloved Stoujia. Also some
exciting news, the league officially announced that the Indiana Fever
will host WNBA All Star twenty twenty five. This will
be the first time Indy hosts All Star festivities, and
it seems like a no brainer, right, Caitlin Aliah, Well,
(05:41):
apparently it wasn't. Initially, the w was considering another city,
but after some late scheduling conflicts came up, the league
reached out to Indy and we're here for it. I
went to the Indiana Super Bowl and they were great hosts.
Everything is super close to each other. I think we'll
have a good time. It's going to take place Saturday,
July nineteenth at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, so mark your calendars now.
Speaker 2 (06:01):
On the links.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
The LPGA Scottish Open is in full swing and after
Thursday's round, American golfers Megan Kang, Lauren Coughlin, and Lucy
Lee are all in a tightly packed leaderboard top ten
along with newly crowned Olympic gold medalist Lydia Coe should
make for a competitive weekend. And the college soccer season,
believe it or not, is underway. There are a whole
(06:22):
bunch of games this weekend, and three of the top
five teams in the nation hit the pitch on Sunday.
Those games and times are in the show notes. Speaking
of soccer, quick fun news out of DC, where the
Washington Spirit of the NWSL have teamed up with local
minority owned coffee shops Acrosstown to offer limited edition triple
espressos in honor of the US women's national team's trio
(06:44):
of forwards Trinity Rodman. Of course, one of the triples
plays for the Spirit, linked to. More info is in
the episode notes. If you get there quick.
Speaker 2 (06:50):
You could be one of the ones that gets a
free coffee. Good on you, Washington Spirit. We love that. Okay,
we're going to take a quick break when we come
back to a pretty normal girl if you know. Normal
girls were Olympic champions joining us now.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
She made her Olympic debut in Paris, winning Golden one
hundred meter hurdles, an event for which she's also the
NCAA record holder. Her personal best of twelve point two
five seconds is tied for number four all time ever
in the world. She's a Kentucky alum, a DMV native,
and her sendoff gift to herself was a car not bad.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
It's MESSI Russell, what's up? MESSI?
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Hello? Hello, Hello? How are you?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Is that the car right now that you're sitting in
that I'm looking at?
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Yeah, it actually is.
Speaker 4 (07:41):
And it's so funny because anytime I'm in it, I guess,
like you could just tell it looks like nice and
Marvorine and brand news people are like.
Speaker 3 (07:48):
Is that the new car?
Speaker 2 (07:49):
Is that the new car?
Speaker 3 (07:50):
I'm like, yeah, this is a new car.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Love it, love it? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
So I watched your adorable video with Tara Davis Woodhall
celebrating your gold medals, and I just want to give
you this safe space right here to both curse and
say it with your chest that you're a Olympic champion.
So if you want to say it with a little
more of your chest, feel free right here.
Speaker 3 (08:09):
Right right. I'm a don't ever play.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (08:13):
So good god, that's funny. I know Tarrow is just
like she didn't care. I'll be like, ah, I don't
know if I just did. I'm glad I did it.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Go good, good, good good.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
You won your gold by point zero one seconds. The
difference between gold and silver twelve point three three and
twelve point three four. How often do you practice that
lean knowing that that might be the difference.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
My colleage always talks about practicing it, but I think
that once you're in the race, and once you're just competing,
it's just subconscious to just try to get to the
line first. So we practice it, but I don't think
for me it's anything that I have to practice. Is
just about being competitive and just being in the moment
and just dive into the line to try to get
as close to the finish line as number one as possible.
(08:58):
So I was just like I told everyone, and I
was happy to see my name came up number one.
I didn't care that it was a close race.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
I'm like, my name popped up first and that's all
that matters.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
So you literally just won Olympic gold and we're trying
to schedule this interview to talk to you, and you're
tough to tack down because you're working out every day.
In fact, right now, you just came off a lift,
but you just won Olympic gold.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Like, do you get a break? Please? Explain? Is this
why you're a champion because there's no days off?
Speaker 4 (09:28):
Yeah, I think that it just sounds so cliche when
people say like no day's off, like the grind doesn't stop.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
But it's truly like that, that's truly what it means.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
I mean, everyone's like looking at me crazy when I
just walked into the weight room. They're like, you just
want an Olympic go meta, why are you here? And
I'm like, yeah, my season isn't done. My season could
be done if I wanted it to be done. But
I'm just having fun. I just won my first Olympic gold,
so I'm just ready to see what other parts of
Europe are about and I'm just living in what God
(09:58):
has caught me to do, honestly, And you know, like
I said, I'm having a good time. I'm having fun.
So you know why I stop here? I still have
goals to accomplish. There's still a world record out there
that I have not.
Speaker 3 (10:12):
Touched and that does not have my name on it.
Speaker 4 (10:14):
So yes, one of the biggest goals, the biggest dreams
that I've ever could imagine, have come true.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
But the goal is not finished. And yeah, I mean.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
It's just just hard work. And I'm just like I said,
I'm having a good time. So it's just like, why
stop now?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
That's awesome.
Speaker 1 (10:31):
I also feel like, if you know, if you like
fly off to vacation somewhere and you're all anonymous sitting
on your beach chair, it's not as fun as taking
a victory lap around all your friends and family and
then other runners who all are like, oh, okay, bow down,
we got a gold medal chip in here, Like it's
kind of fun to take that victory lap. You're a
DMB native. You were born in Washington, d C. We're
raised in Upper Marl Bro, Maryland. You went to the
(10:52):
Bullet School in Maryland, we got you, Katie Leadecki, Noah Lyles,
Kevin Durant and Moore just going down at the Olympics
for the DMV. So what's the secret. What do you
think the secret is behind the DMVs success.
Speaker 3 (11:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
I don't know it's in the water. I just think
it's just a competitive area. It's just sports are so
big in the DMV area. And I think it's just
the people, the community that just Maryland, the state, the DMV,
they just are so invested in sports. Like we have
great facilities, we have amazing schools, like Bullets was a
(11:27):
college preparatory school, but I feel like that was honestly
the great foundation that I needed to be who I
am today. So I think it's just a mixture of
a whole bunch of different things that now everyone is
seeing the outcome of what the DMV has quote unquote
in the water. But it's just amazing because I mean,
we're really putting on for the DMV. It's such a
(11:49):
tiny area, but I feel like the performances and all
the talent that has come out of the DMV is
just you would think it's a really big state with
a whole bunch of people, but it's a very small
compact area with just amazing athletes.
Speaker 3 (12:02):
So it's actually amazing.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
And I'm actually glad to be a part of, you know,
something so big like this, and just to be a
part because I've always seen you know, KD football players,
best of players, like all these great people putting on.
But I'm glad that I can finally hold the torch,
to hold the weight of the track side for the
DNV on a global level in the biggest way possible.
Speaker 3 (12:24):
So it's pretty awesome.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
So cool.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
You know, last year you posted a DNF at the
World Championships in Budapesta, did not finish.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
In an interview I watched afterwards, you got.
Speaker 1 (12:34):
Really emotional, but you said good things might still be ahead,
that you didn't know what might be in front of
you that was gonna bring you joy. We're gonna take
a listen here. This is from real talk with Tea,
so you can put this in.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
I don't care, but yeah, I mean, you know, it
is what it is.
Speaker 3 (12:50):
Yeah, things happen. I work hard.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
Yeah i know I'm not done, So it is what
it is, you know.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
I mean we all have like, oh.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
My back, I got Taddy like, we can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps. So sucks right now.
But I don't know what's down the road for me
that I know I'll be very happy about.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
So m some come in.
Speaker 4 (13:15):
It is so I'm not even chipping, but it is
what it is. Of course it hurts right now, but
let's just learn first time out here.
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Yeah, so I'm happy to be here.
Speaker 4 (13:26):
No one expected for me to be here, so to
make it this far it definitely means a lie.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
So what do you think if you go back and
listen to that and go watch yourself. First of all,
it was very moved by the fact that you started
to tear up and she was almost going to stop
the interview and you were like, no, you can record this,
like people can see me feeling this way. I thought
that was important. But when you go back and watch
that person a year ago who just came off that DNF,
what do you think.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
It makes me emotional because.
Speaker 4 (13:53):
You know, that was the best season of my life
at that point, I had the best season of my life.
I was the NCAA record holder. I haven't broke to
plead your records within that season. And then I'm coming
off of the height of heights and then I go
to World Championships thinking that, you know, it's gonna go
the way that I intended it to go, and it
was just a complete slap in the face. But it's
(14:16):
really just what I had to go through to get
to where I'm at now, and I've just grown so
much as an athlete.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I've grown so much as a person. I just like
to show that bad.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Things can happen, but on the other side of those
failures and those moments where you thought it was gonna
go away that you intended and it doesn't, it's gonna
be something brighter on the other side. The result is
not like how you feel at that time. It's just
about how you move from that. So it is really
(14:46):
like motivating to see how far I've come, to see
how far I've grown just from a year ago.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
I felt like looking at that video, I just felt
like I was like a.
Speaker 4 (14:54):
Baby and just seeing how I compete and how I
compete it on the Olympic stage this time, it was
like I just looked so poised and I look so
just confident, and I look like I belong and it
was just I had to go through that failure. I
had to go through that uncomfortable time. I had to
(15:15):
go through that to get to where I'm at now.
So I appreciate the failures. I think I'm thankful for
those moments that it didn't go right, because I probably
wouldn't be sitting here having this conversation with you talking
about me being an Olympic goal medalist. And in the moment,
in the time, it sucks, it's terrible. You're questioning yourself.
You're like, why is this happening to me?
Speaker 3 (15:34):
Why me? Why?
Speaker 4 (15:35):
You're just you know, flooding your brain with all these
different things as into why it didn't go the way
that it did.
Speaker 3 (15:41):
But you know, when you take some time.
Speaker 4 (15:44):
Take a step back, regroup, understand what the goal is,
and you just keep speaking positive affirmations and just believing.
I mean, like I keep telling people it's possible, like
it's limitless. No one expected for me to be the
Olympic goal medalist. But I know I had something in me.
I know what I've been through. I know I'll work hard,
And I said that interview, I know I work hard.
(16:05):
It's just a part of it, and there'll be another
something down the road. Where it's not going to make sense,
but it eventually will. So I'm just glad that she
was able to able to actually capture that moment because
it was a very profound moment. That moment changed everything
for me at that point in my life, and now,
like looking a year later, it's just everything has subsided
(16:29):
and it's just I'm living a completely different life, to
say the least.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I love asking people about their failures because I think,
first of all, people listening seeing people who have achieved
the success you have sometimes might think it was just
a straight line up. And to see those dips and
those lows and those failures and how you fight back
to get to the place that you are now and
all that tough work behind the scenes, it's really important
for people to see. And we learned so much from
our failures that we can't learn just from success.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
So I love that you came out on the other
side with a gold medal. It's so cool.
Speaker 1 (17:00):
Do you have any other highlights from being in Paris
other than the obvious of the hurdle win?
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
I was there for about two weeks, So when I
go across the water, if I go anywhere, I'm like
I'm not just gonna look at these four walls until
the day I compete. So I like to get out,
do some shopping, eat some good food, get out of
the village, get out of the hotel wherever I'm at,
and just experience the city for what it has.
Speaker 3 (17:23):
So I did do a lot of shopping.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
They did some shopping, and then I seen the Eiffel
Tower and I actually got emotional seeing it because I
was just like wow, like the fact that this is
my life, the fact that this is the life that
I was dreaming about when I was younger, trial in
the world, competing and being a professional athlete. It made
me emotional. So cea an Eiffel Tower was super cool.
And then honestly, just eating the good food that parents had.
(17:48):
The food was amazing, cause the village food it.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Was a no go for me.
Speaker 4 (17:54):
But the actual food outside of the village and being
able to experience the city, walk around, shop and just
see the city for what it had to offer, it
was amazing. Like I had a great time. I would
tell my friends like this is the places.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
You need to go, this is what you need to
do when you get here, like go to this spot.
Speaker 4 (18:10):
Because I had such a good time, and I was
just really vibing out, like by myself, just enjoying it,
just taking it all in.
Speaker 1 (18:16):
You know what about the Olympics related stuff, whether it
was like in the village, meeting other athletes, closing ceremony,
Was there any other moment that was particularly like it
stands out to you.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
Yeah, the opening ceremony was super cool, Like just seeing
everyone and there's two jackets looking all professional and just
taking pictures with all the basketball players, like Lebron James.
Speaker 3 (18:38):
I was like, what the heck, Like this is Lebron James.
Speaker 4 (18:40):
So the fact that I was ever taking the picture
of Lebron James, Stephen Curry, me and Katie, like we're
both in the same area. He follows me back on Instagram,
So like nice, I don't know if.
Speaker 3 (18:48):
He knows me or if he I don't know, Like
it's like I think he does, but he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (18:52):
Yeah, you know, just honestly taking a picture with all
the amazing athletes and just like being there, like being
there being a part seeing this experience, having this opportunity
of a lifetime.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
It was.
Speaker 4 (19:05):
It was literally the coolest thing ever because I've like
watched the Olympics from.
Speaker 3 (19:11):
Like probably eight or twelve years old, like whenever.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
The whenever I could watch it, that's what I whatever,
whatever year it was, that's what age I am. Because
I was born in two thousand, so it's very easy
to know how old I was.
Speaker 3 (19:26):
Yeah that time, right.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
No, it was just so amazing, Like I was just
feeling like I like my dreams came true, Like I
just couldn't believe it. Every time I kept thinking about it,
I was like, Wow, I'm going to the Olympics. Damn,
I'm going to the Olympics. Damn I'm here, like dam
I one, damn my one, Like damn, I'm an Olympic
go medalist. Like That's how I was really thinking. And
(19:49):
it was it literally was just a dream come true.
So I was just taking it all in. I got
my youtubelg dropping soon I'm trying to like edit that
video so I could get that out because even looking
back at those moments and those experiences that I had,
like I kind of forget and then when I look
back at the blog, I'm like, oh my gosh, like
I'm so glad that I recorded this moment. So every experience,
(20:09):
every moment, even like eating the village food. It was
an experience, you know, So I was just glad to
take it all in and just experience everything for what
it had to offer.
Speaker 1 (20:19):
Yeah, you have a couple of tattoos that I've noticed.
You've got a rose, You've got a lightning bolt. Do
you have anything else? And what do they mean to you?
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (20:27):
I have eighteen tattoos, but people wouldn't know that, so small, tiny,
but I have. Yes, I had the lightning bolt, and
like I got that back in college because I was like,
I don't want anything I don't like for me personally.
I don't like the like track shoe or like the
wing like symbols.
Speaker 3 (20:45):
But I was like the lightning bolt. It just symbolizes
like being fast, like and you know, being quick.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
So I feel like that's just a cute, little subtle
tattoo to put so that when I run, you know,
you can see. It's not like, of course, in too
much of an inappropriate spot, but it's just cute and subtle.
And then the roads. I was just young, I could
have did without. My favorite tattoo though, is on my spine.
It's what I said in the video We're Real Talk
(21:10):
with Tea and it was we can make our plans,
but the Lord determines our steps.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
And that is just a quote in a Bible Versu.
Speaker 4 (21:17):
I just live by because we have like what we
believe should happen, but.
Speaker 3 (21:23):
God's just like, no, that's not how it's gonna go.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
We're gonna go this way, and I'm gonna make you believe,
and I'm gonna make you see if you really want it,
and then I'm gonna give it to you the way
that you didn't think it was gonna happen, in the
way that it should have happened, or the way you
thought it would happen. So that's just a quote that
I like to stand by. And then I just have
a couple other small ones, like it's one of my race.
He just says blessed, Like you know, it's just to
(21:45):
keep me reminded that I am very blessed regardless of
whatever situation that I'm in. And then I just have
a whole bunch of other little like nice little sayings
and words and things like that. Nothing nothing else is
as powered as my spine.
Speaker 2 (21:56):
Tat I have to say, Yeah, I love the lightning.
Speaker 1 (21:58):
I have a lightning bule earring She's currently wearing a
lightning bolt t shirt, so I'm big on the bolts too.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
Love that. I love that, just like as a symbol.
Speaker 1 (22:07):
Okay, speaking of speed, which I don't have anymore, but
at one time I was a little bit quick. I
was a heptathlete and a hurdler myself, and so I'm
on a lifelong mission to get the frickin' collegen professional
hurdles raised. Because the women's race keeps the same hurdle
height from high school on up, and the men's heights
get higher. I think the women's race is too close
(22:27):
to just a straight up sprint, and the men's race
is much more about how are you a sprinter and
a hurdler? But I'm very tall, so I would have
thrived the higher the hurdles got, and you're only five
foot four, so I'm wondering what your take on the
hurdle height is. My guess is that you're fine the
way it is, especially since you just won.
Speaker 2 (22:43):
A gold for me.
Speaker 4 (22:45):
I'm not gonna lie. I definitely see where you're coming from.
I have to humbly say, I'm just like, it is
honestly not fair that the women get to keep the
same hurdle height from high school. It just honestly doesn't
make sense, like they honestly did the men dirty. They
did the men dirty. Like of course, I don't want
(23:06):
them to change the rule at this point. I think
I would still do very good if the hurdles were
at thirty six, just because, like my problem for a
long time was being too high over the hurdles. But
I mean, I have to humbly say it's definitely not
fair that, like every you know, major step of the
male's career, they have to change their hurdle height and
(23:28):
it's just unfortunate. But it worked out for I can't
say right it worked out for me, and I think
it's just like for the men. I guess they just
believe that men are just stronger and they're more capable.
But it's pretty sick because it's some pretty short men
out there that are getting the job done over those
(23:50):
forty two inches.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Yeah, then they get that extra ten meters for a
little bit of help, but they do, they do.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Have the ten extra meter running. But honestly, for the women.
Speaker 4 (24:00):
I mean, I don't know how fair it is for
the much taller women to be hurdling over thirty three
inches as well.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
But the only reason why I kind.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
Of like don't think it makes the biggest difference in
the world is because the last two world record holders
were like five three and five.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
That's what I'm saying, though, is that if you made
him higher, you'd have to be someone who could sprint
fast and take on the hurdles instead of just a sprint.
I get the feeling you're not going to sign my petition,
and that's okay. I understand that from your perspective, things
are pretty.
Speaker 4 (24:31):
Good the way they are.
Speaker 2 (24:33):
Do you go after you're retired, MASSI.
Speaker 1 (24:37):
We know you're busy, and we know you could be
just sitting around celebrating instead of talking to us. So
thank you so much for giving us some time and
congratulations again.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
We're so so happy for you.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
Thank you so much, and I appreciate you taking the
time to talk to me. I'm just a normal girl
doing what she does best, doing what she loves best.
Said that I was able to connect with you guys,
and you guys take the time out of saw day too,
because y'all are important just just as much as I am.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:01):
I appreciate yaw.
Speaker 2 (25:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
We don't buy that you're normal at all, but we
appreciate you saying it.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Thanks, Thanks, time to pay some more bills.
Speaker 1 (25:11):
When we come back, we're taking our training wheels off
and riding full speed into a weekend full of the
Tour de France Fem with Catherine Bertein stick around.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Welcome back, you wonderful little slices.
Speaker 1 (25:26):
We love that you're listening, but we always want you
to get in the game every day too, So here's
our good game play of the day. Watch the Tour
de France Fem, and to help you get into the
cycling spirit, we've got a special guest to teach you
how to watch and what to watch for, plus why
it's such a big deal that there's a women's race
at all and why you should want to support it.
Joining us now Cyclist, author, activist, filmmaker, former professional figure
(25:50):
skater and former professional triathlete. She turned professional in road
cycling in twenty twelve and raced on World Tour teams
until twenty seventeen. Her biggest legacy, though, will be as
an activist, helping spearhead petitions to organizers to launch a
women's Tour de France. A former espnW colleague of fellow
Ted Lasso lover and a newly engaged woman. It's Katherine Bertie.
(26:11):
What's up, Catherine?
Speaker 5 (26:12):
Hey, Sarah. Oh, it's so great to talk to you
as always. Thank you for having me on your kick
ass show. It's an honor to be here.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
You are welcome, and you're celebrating your engagement by following
the Tour de France fem which is like, so perfect
and typical of you because you have made this so
much of your life. But it wasn't always and I
love this part of the story. So it's not like
you grew up being like cycling, let's do it. You
were actually a figure skater and you turned pro in that,
but after your thirtieth birthday you were like, let me
find some other sports to give a go. And there's
(26:42):
kind of a fascinating journey to get to pro cycling,
so tell us about it.
Speaker 5 (26:45):
Yeah, the short story journey to turning pro cycling actually
stemmed from our ESPN days and I was given an
assignment of say, if you can get to the Olympic
Games in two years, like you're the guinea pig, try
a sports, see how badly you fail. It was kind
of this setup to fail mission right. And the reality
(27:06):
that happened condensing that story is that I found cycling.
I found road cycling. I'd been a triathlete, and my
strongest of those three sports swim by grun was cycling.
So I'm like, let me give this thing a try
spoiler alert. While I didn't make the Olympic Games in
about eighteen months, I came remarkably close to it. But
(27:26):
the big thing was that I fell in love with cycling,
and as soon as the assignment ended, I was hooked.
I'm like, I'm in. I want to do this. I
want to see if I can get to the professional
level and race against the best of the best. But
along the way, I also saw behind the scenes how
many inequities there still were and are in pro cycling.
For example, the women don't race the same events as
(27:47):
the men, they don't race the same distances. We're like
half the distance. And then of course the prize money conundrum.
We are pennies on the dollar. So all these things
didn't add up to the why why, why why is
it like this? And that's when I realized, like, we
need to change the sport, you know a little bit,
and that came from a place of love and being,
(28:09):
as they say, being in the arena, I was like,
what can I do?
Speaker 1 (28:12):
I love that though, because I think it's a lesson
for people. It's like, there are so many people who
see other people step up and do something and think
that they must be different in some way, and you're not.
You're not a lifelong cyclist. You weren't at the top
of cycling in the Olympics. You were a participant and
you were very good, but you were also just someone
who was keenly aware of how things weren't right and
you wanted to do something about it, and.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
Boy did you.
Speaker 1 (28:35):
So before we get to what you did, can you
give us a brief summary for those who don't know
about the history of the women's Tour de France.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
This is an.
Speaker 1 (28:42):
Impossible task, but like sixty seconds ish on the clock,
what was it before?
Speaker 2 (28:48):
And go first thing?
Speaker 5 (28:50):
There are four renditions of the Tour de France FIM
that we know today. The first one started in nineteen
fifty five, and that was actually a setup to fail
back then and the race director of the Tour de
France said, I don't think women can do any stages,
and he gave the women a five day course and
in nineteen fifty five the women there were forty one
women from different countries, and they not only did it,
(29:11):
they crushed it. They did amazing and apparently that must
have scared the race director because it went away. It
didn't come back right, so not until nineteen eighty four.
So from eighty five, from fifty five to eighty four, nothing,
Then finally a more progressive race director with the Tour
de France, said let's give the women another shot, and
this time let's not make it five stages, let's make
(29:34):
it eighteen stages, which is almost the same amount as
the men. The men had twenty one. So the women
raced on the same course the same day, slightly before
the men, from eighty four to eighty nine, and it
was called Tour de France Feminine. And in eighty nine
it went away, and people ask why, And the short
story is it's about that time, around nineteen eighty nine,
(29:55):
that media coverage TV coverage, which is what we had
back then, was the only option for cover in the media.
It was basically gearing everything toward the men, and the
race directors were given this opportunity to say okay, well
let's include the women in this. But they didn't. And
instead of saying, hey, we've got a men and women's field,
(30:16):
men's and women's field, they just let go of the
women's race to focus solely on the men. And that
was so sad and a lot of the racers were saying,
you know what, screw it, we will make our own
Tour de France, and the owners of the Tour de
France said, nope, you do not have access to the name.
You can do what you want, but you can't call
(30:36):
it the Tour de France. And of course the whole
world knew that the Tour Defrance was a name brand.
It was a bike you know, a bike race in France.
So sadly when the name went away, there was another addition.
It was called the Grand bous Clay, but it didn't
have the same name. It lost the sponsors that made
it a worldwide event, it didn't have the media coverage.
So that was an eighty nine. And fast forward, what
(30:58):
you know when I came onto the scenes thinking hey,
what can we do here? And again, like you pointed out,
I'm not a gold medalist. I did make it to
World Championships, but I didn't make it to the Olympic Games.
I don't have a national title with the US, but
what I did have was organizational powers. And I can
be very annoying in a good way, maybe also a
(31:19):
bad way, but most of the time it comes from
a place of love. And I kept saying, what can
we do? So I banned it together with three other
gold star, gold medal winning Olympians and national champions, and said, Okay,
if the three of us, the four of us bond together,
maybe we can really make change here. And that's when
we organized to launch a petition to finally include women
(31:41):
in the Tour de France, and we went viral for
that time, which was just about one hundred thousand signatures.
But it wasn't just a petition, it was a website,
it was a manifesto, it was everything. What we wanted
to do is sit down with a parent company of
the Tour de France called ASO, to sit down with
them and guide them in how we can do this productively,
lucrative for them and for the athletes, you know. And
(32:04):
this is the part of the book that took a
good one hundred pages to write. So I'll condense it
to saying like, hey, we won, we got it our
foot in the door, and even though we lobbied for
equal inclusion for every day, and they started by saying,
you know what, we don't know if anyone will watch,
We'll give you one day in twenty four two.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
Well, so really quick.
Speaker 1 (32:20):
The book is called Stand and if you are not
even remotely interested in cycling, it does not matter because
I only read it because Catherine is a friend and
she sent it to me, and I was like, I
want to learn about this activism and how she got
this done, even if I've never watched the Tour de
France a day of my life, and it's a fascinating
look at any kind of activism and how to rally
(32:40):
people around something that you care about. And also just
a reminder Catherine again, you are not a normal person.
You are extraordinary. But also you are much more normal
than we imagine we need to be to make the
kind of change that you have. And I think it's
really inspiring to other people to fight for things like
this if they see someone like you, like rally the
right people at the right time, figure out the right
(33:01):
tricks to pull so that you're getting public support or
public shaming, which is often a huge part of getting
shit done, which you very well did. So it takes
us to twenty fourteen. So we get this first edition,
this lack course, but by la Tour de France, so
on the Champs of Lyse in Paris ahead of the
final stage of the twenty fourteen Tour de France.
Speaker 2 (33:17):
It's very cool, it's very pretty, it's very fancy. You
actually got to be on the starting line on your
bike racing in it. Very cool, But that wasn't what
you were asking for.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
So finally twenty twenty one we get Tour de France
fem eight days over twenty twenty two, they announced it's
going to happen the next year, and everyone's excited, including you.
But still shorter, still less prize money, still less TV coverage.
So what are we still fighting for as we celebrate
that we do have this race now, but not exactly
what we want yet.
Speaker 5 (33:47):
You know, that's such a great question, Sarah, because it
brings up the concept of progress being a wonderful thing,
But it also has to serve as a reminder that
we cannot settle for breadcrumbs, you know, in the bake
shop of progress. We need to keep vying for the
whole pie, the whole loaf, whatever you want to call it.
But right now, the beauty is that we have this
(34:07):
eight day race. It's actually moving to nine days next year,
of course, which I poke fun at. I'm like, oh great,
in about thirty years, will be equal if you know,
keep adding one day. But the reality is that what
we need to keep pushing for is the fact that
women have eight days. Men have twenty one days, So
we need more days, yes, But we also need to
(34:29):
remember too that the distance of each of the women's
race it's shorter each day than the men's and it's
because of this antiquated system of like, oh, well, the
women couldn't possibly do a longer race, and we all
know that's crap. We all know that the you know,
sports physiologists have proven that women excel in endurance events,
so it's just hogwash to say, oh, we'll give the
(34:51):
women half or two thirds. They couldn't possibly you know,
the whole their ovaries will fall out. I yeah, right,
So longer distance, longer days. But also the big disappointment
is the fact that the prize money per day for
women compared to the men's eight days to eight days,
women only make twenty nine percent of what the men
(35:13):
are earning, and that needs to change too. So we
still have some battles to fight, and we want to
remind people that we can celebrate the progress but also
use the word and to ask for more well.
Speaker 1 (35:26):
And it helps when we ask for more if we're
supporting the thing, we're demanding that they make longer, bigger
and better.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
So what do we watch for?
Speaker 1 (35:34):
If we are getting first timers who are listening to
the show, who are saying, Okay, I'm in, I want
to watch Latorda France fem, what do they watch for?
Speaker 2 (35:41):
How do they appreciate it?
Speaker 3 (35:42):
I love it?
Speaker 5 (35:43):
Great question. A lot of people think that bike racing
is a whole group of people and the fastest person wins.
But here's what's really exciting about cycling. It's like a
moving chess game. And within the piloton and that's the
group of cyclists, we've got sprinters, we've got climbers, we've
got best Young Rider category, and within stage racing there
(36:03):
are multiple areas in each race where a climber might
win a certain amount of points, a sprinter might win
the best Young rider might win, and then there's a
team classification, so there are multiple races happening within a race,
and once a viewer tunes in and understands those dynamics,
you have a variety of people to root for, and
(36:25):
that makes the sport so exciting, as does the fact
that these athletes on the women's side of pro cycling
have such extraordinary stories and backgrounds. You know, many of
them have had to work two to three part time
jobs just to make it, whereas the men have more
of a pipeline track into the big leagues. So amazing
backstories we've got like doctors, lawyers, professors who are also
(36:49):
pro cyclists, really fascinating stuff. And of course the global
outreach now cycling is huge. You know, if you had
gone back maybe twenty or thirty years, you might see
that like it's all Dutch or all Belgian or all
European athletes, and now it's just a rainbow of accomplishment
of different countries. Like the top ten are all from
different countries and that goes down top twenty. So it's
(37:12):
really really amazing that we can actually get behind us
globally global athletes.
Speaker 1 (37:17):
Yeah, awesome, Well we're all excited. And if you want
to watch Catherine's documentary Half the Road from twenty fourteen,
or if you want to read her book stand which
I highly recommend, there's a lot in there besides just cycling,
stuff from her life and her dramatic brain injury and all.
Speaker 2 (37:35):
Sorts of other hiccups along the way.
Speaker 1 (37:38):
Also her Homestretch Foundation, which assists female pro athletes who
struggle with the gender pay gap. I've actually been to
the house, which is gorgeous where the athletes live and
train and get a leg up as they try to
live out their dreams. We're going to put links to
all those things in our show notes. Catherine, enjoy the Netherlands,
enjoy the race, and thanks so much for making time
for us.
Speaker 5 (37:57):
Sarah, thank you for all you do for women's sports
and all of sports. We so appreciate you.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Okay, counter as a slice, y'all. She's in.
Speaker 1 (38:07):
So grateful to Catherine for joining us, and we encourage
you to tune into the Tour de France fem this weekend. No, seriously,
you can even ride your peloton while you watch, if
you've got one.
Speaker 2 (38:15):
That'll be good motivation, right, It'll be like you're in
the race.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
We always love to hear from you, so hit us
up on email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or
leave us a voicemail at eight seven two two oh
four fifty seventy and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and
review It's easy Watch Coffee rating four and a half
out of five stars.
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Review.
Speaker 1 (38:36):
I spent years denying it, then dabbling in it, and
then COVID got me housebound, and leaving my house to
get a hot cup of joy via an open window
was my only reason for living now I can't live
without it comes and basically any flavor you want you
could get it almost anywhere. My personal choice is amocha,
which is basically just hot chocolate. And don't you say
one fing word about that. You black coffee, no cream,
(38:58):
no sugar stickos not five stars. You ask good question,
why four and a half stars. Obviously, it's the shit
you gotta take approximately one hour after you have it,
no matter where you are and what bathroom you're closest to.
Speaker 2 (39:10):
On the other hand, sometimes I count on that shit.
Speaker 1 (39:13):
But if it is the wrong place, wrong time, I'm
really not looking forward to. I'm still gonna go four
and a half four and a half stars. Otherwise, we
love coffee. It gives you superpowers. See it's that easy.
Now it's your turn, rate and review. Thanks for listening, slices.
Have a great weekend. See you next week. Good game, MASSI,
Good game, Katherine, you all the people that stood in
(39:34):
the way of the Tour de France fem. Good Game
with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports production in
partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You can find
us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network, our producers
are Alex Azzi and Misha Jones. Our executive producers are
(39:54):
Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan.
Speaker 2 (39:56):
And Emily Rudder.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
Our editors are Jenny Kaplan, Emily Wrotter, Bretney Martinez and
Grace Lynch.
Speaker 2 (40:02):
Production assistants from Lucy Jones and I'm Your Host Sarah
Spain
Host
Sarah Spain
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