CBC Sports' Olympic podcast now available

CBC Sports' Olympic podcast now available

If you want the real inside story of competing at an Olympics, just say "PYC."

That's the name of CBC Sports' latest podcast, debuting Tuesday, Jan. 23 and available wherever you download your podcasts.

PYC Podcast — short for Pyeongchang — features Canadian Olympic athletes, both past and present, providing their unique and up-close perspective on the world's biggest sporting event.

Kelly VanderBeek, host of Olympic Overnight and a former Olympic skier, says the format works well in bringing out the stories.

"Perhaps it has to do with a comfort level in talking to a retired athlete, perhaps it's something else, but all my guests seemed authentically unguarded," VanderBeek said. "These are intimate and thoroughly Canadian conversations.

"I was surprised to hear one athlete describe standing naked atop St. Moritz, and chagrined to learn how doping scandals made another athlete question their Olympic pursuits altogether."

Episodes include:

- Former downhiller Steve Podborski on the good old days of the Crazy Canucks.

- Cross-country gold medallist and WADA member Beckie Scott on the twin challenges of fighting cheating and the cynicism that goes with it.

- Figure skating great Kurt Browning takes us on a funny and insightful behind-the-scenes tour of the skaters to watch.

PYC Podcast will release a new episode almost daily during the Olympics, which run Feb. 9-25.