Dying To Ask: Road to Paris dyingtoask

The American dream and the Olympic dream collide in Johanna Garton's new book, "All in Stride."
All in Stride: A Journey in Running, Courage and the Search for the American Dream is about Olympian Shadrack Kipchirchir and his wife, Sgt. Elvin Kibet, two American professional runners.
Both competed in February's U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. Shadrack competed for Team USA in the 10,000m at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.
Johanna Garton is a longtime Colorado-based endurance sports writer who met the married couple in Denver.
All in Stride tells the story of how the runners independently made their way from Kenyan villages to American colleges, the military and professional running.
Their American dream turns into an Olympic dream as each pushes to represent their new country. Their adjustment to American culture isn't easy and includes brushes with bigotry and intolerance.
"I heard about this program that was part of the U.S. Army based in Colorado Springs. It was soldiers in the U.S. Army who also were training to become world class athletes. I went down and spent time at one of their workouts, and I happened to meet Shadrack, who's kind of the main character in this book," says Johanna.
Johanna Garton started her career as an immigration lawyer. But her love of distance running won out career-wise. She transitioned to sports writing and writes mainly about endurance sports. Johanna ran for Syracuse University as a walk-on. She's run more than 20 marathons including five Boston Marathons . And, she even made it to Everest Base Camp in 2022.
On this Dying to Ask:
What it's like when the American dream and the Olympic dream collide
The role the US Army plays in helping athletes get to the Olympics
The special role Team USA's immigrant athletes play in the Olympic experience
 

Kali Wilding and Shelley Oates-Wilding are on the ultimate Olympic mother-daughter road trip that hopefully ends in Paris.
Kali is one of Team USA's top sprint kayakers. Shelley is a two-time Olympian for Team Australia and the current U.S. National Coach in canoe-kayak.
Kali grew up in Hawaii surrounded by water and her mother's Olympic legacy. But Shelley says she was careful to not push her sport on her kids. Kali started out as a gymnast but couldn't resist the water.
She recently won the K-2 sprint kayak event at the U.S. Olympic Canoe Kayak Team Trials at the CSUS Aquatic Center at Lake Natoma, California. The next and final step in becoming an Olympian is competing in the Continental Olympic qualifier in Sarasota, Florida, in April.
An Olympian being coached by a parent who is also an Olympian is rare. And, Kali and Shelley hope to make that dream happen this summer at the Paris Games.
"We get to travel so much together. It's crazy fun having a mother as a coach, best friend, travel buddy. It's a dream come true," says Kali Wilding.
Shelley Oates-Wilding says, "Representing your country at the Olympics is one of those things. You're being the best you can be in your chosen profession. It's the journey going toward what your Olympics is."
On this Dying to Ask:
The growing sport of sprint kayaking
What it's like growing up with an Olympian for a parent
What Shelley did to not force her sport on her kids
What it takes to pursue an Olympic dream while going to a school like USC

Get to know Olympic hopeful gymnast Riley Loos as he tumbles with Fitz through a round of FIVE WITH FITZ.
Five rapid fire questions with a bonus question.

Stanford alum Riley Loos hopes to put some Cardinal red into the red, white and blue for Team USA at the Paris Olympics this summer.
Loos graduated from Stanford in 2023 and has stayed on in Palo Alto to train with his former college team and Stanford head men's gymnastics coach Thom Glielmi.
Nearly half the U.S. Men's National Gymnastics Team has a Stanford connection. The school is known as an unofficial feeder to the National Team.  The school has won the last four NCAA Championships. And Coach Glielmi served as the 2020/1 U.S. Men's Gymnastics coach at the delayed Tokyo Olympics.
Riley was ranked number three on the team after the recent Winter Cup competition. He grew up in El Dorado Hills, California, and has dreamed of being an Olympian since he was a kid. He credits Stanford for supporting his quest.
"Stanford is basically the feeder system to Team USA Men's Gymnastics . We've created this team atmosphere and culture. It's intense but super friendly and brotherly. So we basically have created a culture through the head coach where nothing goes undone and nobody gets away with not doing what has to be done and we lift each other up all the time," says Riley Loos.
On this Dying to Ask:
A deep dive into Stanford Gymnastics' culture of tiered accountability and how you can incorporate the concepts into your team
Learn how to make people feel comfortable and safe enough that you can call them out when they're not giving their best.
How male gymnasts feel about the attention and sponsorship opportunities female gymnasts enjoy
How a viral video made Riley a big deal on TikTok and how he's monetizing his celebrity to fund his Olympic dream

Jason Newton may be a newbie to Olympic coverage. But his hometown already knows how to support someone at the Olympics.
Jason is an evening news anchor at WBAL-TV in Baltimore, hometown of Olympic swimming legend Michael Phelps.
Jason is also a native of Baltimore. And while his wingspan isn't as broad as Phelps, his knowledge of all things Olympic will be by this summer's games.
This is the third in our MEET THE TEAM episodes as we get to know members of the Hearst Olympics Team ahead of this summer's coverage at the Paris Olympics.
On this Dying to Ask:
What Jason thought he wanted to be when he went to college (spoiler: it wasn't working as an Olympic reporter)
The new Olympic sport Jason is especially excited to cover
How Jason's hobby is likely to benefit Fitz' Instagram feed during the Olympics

Imagine having a stunt double at work. Fletcher Mackel basically does in his role as a sports anchor at WDSU-TV.
That's because the guy often sitting next to him on the anchoring desk doing the news is his identical twin brother Travers.
The Brothers Mackel have share a lot of experiences together. They grew up playing baseball in New Orleans. Both attended college and played baseball at Loyola University. And they both signed on at WDSU more than 20 years ago where Fletcher jokes "we're now a package deal and you're stuck with both of us." 
Soon, the guys will have something else in common as both will have worked on the Hearst Olympic Team. Fletcher is looking forward to adding Olympic experience to a resume that already includes Super Bowls and college championships. 
Fletcher's family has been in New Orleans for generations and civic pride fuels both his work ethic and passion. His energy is off the charts and if you like an inspirational quote, grab a pen because he drops them like crazy! 
On this Dying to Ask:
What it's like to work with an identical twin (should probably ask the staff of WDSU about that)
How his hometown fuels his work ethic and passion
And the sports guy makes a prediction on who's going to own Beach Volleyball in Paris