Do Go On - 344 - Abebe Bikila and the 1960 Rome Olympics

Episode Date: May 25, 2022

This week we look at the historic 1960 Rome Olympics, as well as the incredible life of Ethiopian runner Abebe Bikila - who seemingly came from no where to win the Olympic marathon barefoot.Support the show and get rewards like bonus episodes: dogoonpod.com or patreon.com/DoGoOnPod Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/suggest-a-topic/ Check out our new merch! : https://do-go-on-podcast.creator-spring.com/ Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: [e-mail] Check out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/ Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader Thomas REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:https://olympics.com/en/athletes/abebe-bikila https://www.olympics.com.au/games/rome-1960/https://www.bangkokpost.com/sports/1047557/trailblazer-bikila-opened-the-way-for-african-marathon-runners https://www.thoughtco.com/1960-olympics-in-rome-1779605 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Summer_Olympics#Highlights https://www.britannica.com/biography/Abebe-Bikila http://www.ethiopians.com/abebe.htm Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just jumping in really quickly at the start of today's episode to tell you about some upcoming opportunities to see us live in the flesh. And you can see us live at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2024. We are doing three live podcasts on Sundays at 3.30 at Basement Comedy Club, April 7, 14 and 21. You can get tickets at dogo1pod.com. Matt, you're also doing some shows around the country. That's right. I'm doing shows with Saren Jayamana, who's been on the show before. We're going to be in Perth in January, Adelaide in February, Melbourne through the festival in April, and then Brisbane after that. I'm also doing Who Knew It's in Perth and Adelaide. Details for all that stuff at mattstuartcomedy.com.

We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. Hello and welcome to another episode of Do Go On.

My name is David Wannake and as always I'm here with Matt Stewart and Jess Perkins. Hello David, hello Matt. Hello Jess and hello Dave. Hello Jess and Jess's cat. I don't have a cat. Fuck. My cat is dead, how dare you. I always bring it up.

I love to bring up people's dead pets. Yeah, you always, you're like, hey Jess, how's Archie, your bird that died when you were 17? Dave the Pet Cemetery Warnicke. I finally got the nickname. It makes sense now. I just love to break the ice. Okay, well do you want to break the ice on this show by explaining to new listeners how it all works? Well, thank you

new listener for tuning in to the show where we take it in turns to report on a topic often suggested to us by one of the show's listeners we go away sometimes it's by many of them yes because we have heaps if you're wondering if you're worried about us you're not the only one yeah we have there's heaps of people listening right now yeah pretty cool huh four five six easily i don't even know it could even be double figures. It could be a million. One of them's called Terry. Definitely.

G'day, Terry. Hey, Terry. We go away, we do a bit of research, bring it back to the group and Terry. And we always start with a question to get us onto topic. It's my turn to do a report. Jess and Matt, my question for you is, Abebe Bakila won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics for what event? High jump.

A Bebe Bakila. What a fantastic name. Great one. Rhythmic gymnastics. Right off the bat. Okay, you were closer in the first instance. So it's track and field. It's athletics, yes. Marathon.

It is the marathon, correct. You fucking piece of shit. I'm like, what would be noteworthy? Oh, this guy jumped. Who cares? This guy ran for ages. Now I'm listening for ages. And he also did a bit of a jump.

What? Into my heart. Okay. This topic was suggested by just one person, Shake Terry. Obviously, Terry. Every topic is always suggested by Terry, but he actually asked us to stop shouting him out. Sorry Terry. He's like, please, leave me alone. I'm trying to go about my life.

I'm trying to drive my bus and you keep saying my name and I go, oh, is someone talking to me? Oh no. It's just the podcast I love. So a big shout out to Shake Shrikantia from Denver, Colorado. And when you tell us why we should do the topic, we can tell us why we should do the topic,

we can tell us why we do the topic. And there's a link on our website if you want to suggest a topic, anyone can do that. And under the bit where you say, why should we do this topic? Sheik has written, because Dave really wants to do it and his reports are great when he's passionate about the topic. And he's right.

I've put this up for the vote about four times. Oh, really? But it's a personal choice at the moment. The Patreon supporters are voting for Jess and Matt's topics at the moment. Oh, so this is one that no one wanted. But I did. And Shake said,

alright, Dave. Yeah. Also, Jessica's obviously wants to do it. I'll indulge you. Let's not forget Terry. It's also clever from Shake. If you want a shout out, suggest a topic that you think Dave wants to do anyway. Yeah. No, that's great. But I like it when those, because I've done a few

topics that have ended up being killer reports. I mean, let's call them what they are. But, you know, it was a personal, it was just one I chose. Because you're like, this is a cool story and I want to tell it. That's right. That's what this totally is. He's come second a few times,

Bebe Pequila. But probably not at the Olympics. Or did he? No. I have no idea. He did not. Oh, he could have come first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth. He might have been disqualified. DNF.

Did not finish. Also an option. Yeah. And DNR. What does that mean? Do not resuscitate. Okay. He really didn't finish.

Yeah. So, who knows? These are all possibilities. These are all possibilities. Exciting, isn't it? Let me tell you about Abebe Bikila and the 1960 Olympics. Because I should say, for a while there, I was absolutely nerding out on the Olympics

because one of our quiz show topics a few weeks ago at the Melbourne Comedy Festival was the Olympics. And I was... There's so many amazing stories of athletes. And this is little tidbits of stuff that happened over 100. We've done quite a few Olympic ones as well. I love the Olympics. Cathy Freeman.

I love it too. The 2000 Olympics opening ceremony. Do you know what's so funny is that – because I'm playing like mixed basketball at the moment and one of our players has been away for a couple of weeks and we saw her last night. We're like, oh, where have you been? She's like, I'm just in Sydney. And then we all just went, we all just started talking about the Sydney Olympics

and how good those Olympics were. And I was like, how good was the opening ceremony? She's like, oh, best in the world, best ever. And I was like, I've found my people. It was amazing that they were waiting for someone to bring up Sydney. Yeah. I actually have a story about Sydney. They once hosted the Olympics.

Yeah, we know. And they've done nothing since. We're all, I actually have a story about Sydney. They once hosted the Olympics. Yeah, we know, yeah. And they've done nothing since. We're all a similar age and we all remember it. Put that tiny city on the map. Yeah, finally. And yeah, I've been wanting to talk about Abebe for ages, so let's do it. Abebe Bekila was born on August 7th, 1932

in the town of Jatto, about 130 kilometres away from the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. August 7, 1932 also happened to be the day of the Los Angeles Olympic Marathon. So he was born on the day of an Olympic marathon. That's nice. Wow. Possibly a sign of his future greatness.

Was that written down in the resources you found or were you just like, let's see what else happened on the day he was born? I believe on olympics.org. They love that fact. They noted that, yeah. Dave, just for fun, can you say their name and where they're from just all together?

Abebe Bekela from Jatto near the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Addis Ababa. And what was his name again? Abebe Bekela. Abebe Bekela, who was from near... Say that again? Addis Ababa. None of it's going in, but I love it.

Every time you say it, and then it just vanishes straight away. He's going to say it a bit, I reckon, throughout this. And there are many names on this episode that I will have an attempt at. Oh, yes. I will say, because the marathon has people from all over the world competing in it. I'm going to say a lot of athletes' names on this.

Googled a few, having a stab at the others. We're always doing our best. I think that's the thing to remember. And we're trying to do it as respectfully as we possibly can. And sometimes we butcher it. Yes.

What a beautiful name, though. Just one more time. Abebe Bakila. I love it. Me too. Abebe Bakila I love it Me too Abebe Bakila Oof that's good So good

I'm going to have a go at his parents now His mother was They're dogs Yeah What were they thinking They should have encouraged him He was clearly talented No his mother was

Wudinesh Benaberu And his father was Demesi Who was a shepherd Great Working with sheep and cattle Yeah we know what shepherds do Yeah they don't work with cattle Bene Beru. Okay. And his father was Demesi, who was a shepherd. Great. Working with sheep and cattle. Yeah, we know what shepherds do. Yeah, they don't work with cattle.

Shep-erd. Just, you know. It would be a cow-erd if they worked with cows. Which is what you do, Dave, I assume, based on your cowardice. You're having a go at me, Dave. Can I get something for cowards? It was fantastic. That was very good. Was that a pun, Dave? Yeah, I get something for coward? That was fantastic. That was very good.

Was that a pun, Dave? Yeah, it's a pun. That's a pun. I did a pun. Yes, you did a pun. Respect. I've never been able to do puns. Not on purpose.

Coward. Coward. Like shepherd. Yeah, shepherd, shep, coward. Yeah, it's a bit of fun. Having fun with words. That's something Dave didn't mention at the top. That's a big part of this show. We have fun with words Having fun with words. That's something Dave did mention at the top. That's a big part

of this show. We have fun with words. Fun with words. Just getting us to repeat the name of the topic many

times. Sorry, who is this about again? Abebe Bekela. Well done. Oh my god, I love that

name. So just for some context which gives even more significance to this already significant story,

we'll quickly talk about the history of Bekela's home nation of Ethiopia, which according to Britannica is one of the world's oldest countries having existed for millennia and

sort of the boundaries have changed over time but they've sort of had the idea of a country there for a long long time during the so-called scramble for africa beginning in 1881 seven western european powers invaded annexed and colonized most of Africa. What a real shitty time. Oh my God, so awful. And I mean nearly all of it. Ethiopia and Liberia were the only African countries to secure sovereignty from European colonial powers, with Ethiopia defeating Italy in the Battle of Adwa in 1896.

Wow. So they fought for their freedom and won. They kicked Italy out. Get out of here, Italy. Fuck off, Italy. Yeah, get out of here, Italy. Get out of here, Italy. Fuck off, Italy. Yeah, get out of here, Italy. Get out of here, Italy. Leave the pizza, though.

That's delicious. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. All right, now goodbye. Now goodbye. Hooroo.

Ciao. Ciao. Arrivederci, fuckers. Arrivederci, fuckers. Is this translating? Yeah. a river dirge fuckers this translating yeah this all changed though when in 1935 ethiopia was invaded and occupied by fascist italy so they came back who merged it with similarly possessed eritrea and somaliland to become italian east africa yep during the second atalo-Ethiopian war, so they had a bit of fighting around this in 1935,

which lasted until 1937, when he was just three years old, Abebe Bekila's family was forced to move to the remote town of Goro. The family eventually moved back to Jato where they had a farm. In 1941, so he's only three years old at this time, but the family has to move.

Italy has come and occupied their country. It's a pretty bad time. But in 1941, Ethiopia was liberated from Italy by the British army and local resistance fighters. Cool. This is a bit of a hot take. I reckon war is no good. But is it good for anything?

And if so, what? Dave, absolutely nothing. But I think it's great that countries back then and now, to some degree, are like, I want a bit of that over there, so I'm just going to take it. I'm going to take it. I'm going to walk in. I'm going to kick a door down. I'm going to say, gimme.

Mine now. Gimme. Nah, but it's ours. Nah. Beautiful time. Beautiful now. Gimme. Nah, but it's ours. Nah. Beautiful time. Beautiful time. Hey. Beautiful way that we, you know, go about our lives.

Gimme this. No. Go on. All right. Anyway, just a hot take there from me. Just a hot take. Not a fan of war myself. And this whole Italian side of things may come back in the story later okay

so he's brought that up for a reason that's interesting yeah he got into vespa riding world champion vespa rider he's one of the best that's how we won the marathon i'm afraid it doesn't say anything in the rules about not using a vespa he's got us he's got us he's smart this guy yeah that's a change in the rules about not using a Vespa. Fuck. He's got us. He's got us. He's smart, this guy. Yeah, that's a change to the rules after that. Close that loophole. Wheels don't count as feet. When he was a boy, Abebe played Gina,

which is a traditional field hockey game popular in the Ethiopian highlands where the goalposts are sometimes miles apart. Oh, wow. I reckon I could score a goal, Ben. I could hit that target. I reckon you could still miss. Oh, I hit the post.

Fuck. I always think hitting the post should be worth double points. Yeah. It's harder to do. It'd be really hard to do it on purpose, you know? So, when it happens by accident, you're like, just give him some points. Or they should go to the player and say, did you do it on purpose you know so when it happens by accident you're like just give him some points or they should go to the player and say did you do that on purpose because if you did that'll be 10 points but if you didn't that's one be honest yeah yeah and they'd say all right that was an accident hey for your honesty here's a bonus nine if you yeah do you remember the um

that famous scene in the champions or the Mighty Ducks, as it was also known? Yeah. When Gordon Bombay, the coach, played for Emilio Estevez, was still bitter about his game where he hit the post. Am I remembering this right? I don't know. And he said, just a couple of inches to the right

and it would have been a goal. My whole life would be different. But then Charlie, played by the guy from Dawson's Creek. Yes. Joshua Jackson. Joshua Jackson said, what happens if it went a couple of inches to the left? Then it would have missed altogether. And Gordon Bombay said, never thought about it like that.

Isn't that beautiful? Fucking hell. Gordon Bombay, big shot guy, rocks up in a limo. Limo with a suit. And he learned something from a 12-year-old boy. This neighborhood boy. Wow. I like the cut of your jib, Pacey.

You're all right, kid. You're all right. I guess I never thought about that. But also it's pretty funny to be like, I was a reasonably good hockey player as a child and I missed a goal one time. And if I hadn't, my life would be completely different. Everything would have been different.

You've turned up in a limo. Yeah, what? I think you're all right. I don't remember that movie barely at all, but why is he complaining? Did you, as an 11-year-old, put a lot of money on that game? And now you're some bad people, a hunter? No, you're fine.

I mean, I'm going off a very vague memory. That's possibly not how it happened, but something like that I reckon. He was quite bitter about it. Yeah. Whatever. I can't believe I remembered his name, Gordon Bombay. Yeah, oh, you don't forget a name like Gordon Bombay. Are you kidding me?

Almost as good as the name of the guy we're talking about, which is, Matt? Don't. Abebe? Abebe? Bacchila. Bacchila. Anyway, sorry, you're talking about Italy and the hockey game you played. Yeah, in the highlands at very high altitude, he's running long distances about Italy and the hockey game.

In the Highlands, at very high altitude, he's running long distances. Yeah. Just for fun. Because the sets of goalposts are far away from each other, not just far away from... No, no, they are miles apart. And his Vespa broke down. He is the goalkeeper, so he's running from one side to the other. I've got to keep this ball out.

That sounds like a sick game. Yeah. Like a fully extreme Highlands game, right? Is that what you're saying? It's up in the mountains? Yeah. Wow, amazing. But honestly, there's not much info on his early life,

but in 1952 at the age of 20, he moved to the capital of Addis Ababa and joined the 5th Infantry Regiment of the Imperial Guard, also called the Kiba Zabagna. These were the bodyguards who protected Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I, who was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. That's a long reign.

So over four decades and a very integral person in the history of Ethiopia in the 20th century. Cool. So he reigned from when? 1930 to 1974. Right. So he was there when Italy came in.

So he was in exile for a little bit of that? Yeah, came in. They took over for a bit and then he's back on when they're out. Yep. His full title in office was, By the conquering lion of the tribe of Judah, his imperial majesty, Halle Selassie I, tribe of Judah, his imperial majesty, Halle-Selassie I, king of kings, lord of lords, elect of God.

Beautiful name for a boy or a girl. Incredible. Pop that in a business card. Yeah. That's nice. What do you break it down? What does that read if you're doing an initialism? Yeah.

Read if you're doing an initialism or whatever. Pickle, ot, od, j, hem, hevs, kickok, lol, eog. I like the lol bit. Yeah, that's pretty good. Lord of lords. Lol. What is that? That's not an initialism.

What's that? You taught me this in one of our early episodes. Acronym. That's it. He's also a key figure in Rastafari, a religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s, with many followers regarding the emperor as the second coming of Jesus and Jah incarnate. Wow. And he didn't even follow the movement.

Really? We don't follow when you are the reincarnate. Yeah, you think Jesus considers himself a Christian? Yeah. He was a Jew. Actually, it's the same thing here. He's important to the religion because Jamaican political activist and orator Marcus Garvey had made a prophecy.

He said, look to Africa where a black king shall be crowned, he shall be the redeemer. And this was swiftly followed by the ascension of Haile Selassie as emperor of Ethiopia. So many people in Jamaica thought he was the second coming. That makes sense. That's cool. Yeah.

And this is a quote from a great Rastafari website I found. I think it's pronounced wikipedia.org. Okay, cool. Which must be a Jamaican word, but I don't know it. But he's seen as a god by many in Jamaica. And when he visited the country of Jamaica in 1966, this is what happened. Quick fact. 66.

That's the year that the Chicago Bulls entered the NBA. Wow. Yeah. And the Saints won their one and only premiership in the VFL. Got it in. And Halle Selassie visited Jamaica. Yes. Approximately 100,000 Rastafari from all over Jamaica

descended on the airport in Kingston to greet him. Spliffs and chalices were openly smoked, causing a, quote, haze of ganja smoke to drift through the air. Okay. What's a chalice? I'm not sure. Is it the thing that a priest rocks around in? Oh.

On the chain? Oh, wow. I don't know. I wish I didn't ask that. It seems weird to put that in the same sentence as spliffs. Yeah, I thought, yeah, because a chalice is like a cup as well. Yeah. But they're smoking them.

You don't smoke a cup. Unless it's like one of those cocktails that you light on fire. Oh, yeah. Like a chalice of Zambuca. Nothing better. Better. Hot Zambuca. I firmly disagree.

There's a lot of things better. Almost anything. As with many leaders who are in power for decades and develop a cult of personality around them, he has been criticized by human rights groups for suppressing his people. Okay. So, loved by some, not loved by others yeah right but anyway our man abebe bakila was in the imperial guard protecting the emperor and he would run 20 kilometers or 12 miles from the hills of saluta to addis ababa and back every day just to go to work so 40k a day he's running yep fuck me yeah so he'd be like marathon

marathon where where are we running to work or where's the where's the challenge we're gonna do eight eight and a half hours in between or so i'll get you know i'll do the marathon and then yeah what do you want me to do then i'll be ready to do a solid eight to nine hours yeah and then what another marathon no no that's no, that's it. Just one marathon. Just one marathon? Feels a bit pointless. That feels so boring. How do you get home from the marathon?

So he's doing a half marathon to work, half marathon back, essentially, give or take a couple of kilometers. So it would be like if he's run to work, forgotten something, popped home to grab it. Come back in. Come back in. That's crazy crazy That's nothing It's not crazy

I know people can run long distances I'm just not one of them I'm not built for it It's impressive It's amazing I'm impressed Good And I'm not easily impressed

Yeah, if Matt's impressed Boy howdy Yeah You've said something pretty cool Got your attention? So he's running to work every day and his endurance was noticed by oni niskanen a swedish coach employed by the ethiopian government to train the imperial guard wow what an interesting job yeah cool and niskanen started training

bakila for the marathon he identified him and said i reckon that you'd be great for this event when abebe was 24 so he only started training as a runner at the age of 24. That's old. Yeah. For Olympians. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, you're ancient. A lot of people are retiring by that age.

Yeah, exactly. Especially like gymnasts at that age, it's like, oh my God, congrats on your last, your 10th Olympics or something. It's also fun to think like he's just taking it up. Yeah. Even though he's been running a marathon every day. Yeah, to think like he's just taking it up. Yeah. Even though he's been running a marathon every day. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll give it a go.

Yeah. I'll try this thing that I already do. But now you're going to start a stopwatch. It's like if somebody was like, I'm going to train you up to talk into a microphone. We'd be like, I guess. I'm sure, I guess. If you think I could.

Yeah, I'll try. I mean, my technique is awful. That same year in 1956, he entered his first marathon event, the Ethiopian Armed Forces Championship, where he finished second to Wami Baratu. First ever marathon. Came second. That's pretty great.

Pretty good. 1956. It's the year my dad was born. It was the year of the Melbourne Olympics. Yes. That's true. And also the year my dad was born. It was the year of the Melbourne Olympics. Yes. That's true. And also the year that TV came to Australia. That's true too, because of the Olympics.

Ah, that makes sense. Not a coincidence. Pretty sure that was why, yeah. And after this, he did a couple more marathons, but not all the time. He didn't go pro, he didn't go full time. Okay. He's still got his day job. That's right, which he obviously runs to,

so he's kind of training. But in July 1960, this is a few years later, four years later, Abebe won his first marathon in the capital of Addis Ababa. A month later, he won again in the capital with a time of two hours, 21 minutes, 23 seconds, which was faster than the existing Olympic record held by Emil Zatopek, another incredible runner. I did a mini report on for our Olympic special

way back in episode 41. Episode 41 and I remember that. I mean, you don't forget a name like Emil Zatopek, I suppose, but like... You don't remember anything. I know. I was like, oh yeah, Emil Zatopek. So he's the guy that trained like in boots out in the snow

and all sorts of things. Yes. We did that episode leading up to one of the Olympics. I guess the guy that trained like in boots out in the snow and all sorts of things. Yes. We did that episode leading up to one of the Olympics. I guess the one that was. Yeah, with the Rio Games. I guess so. And he's also the one that he won the 5,000 meters and then the 10,000 meters and then on a whim decided to enter the marathon.

That's right. His first ever marathon and won and set this Olympic record. But now Abebe is faster than, it's not world record time, but he's faster than the Olympic record. Abebe is faster than the Olympic record. Abebe. And it's a pretty small event on the world scale. You know, it's just in the Ethiopian capital with local people running

and now he's faster than the Olympic record. Yeah, wow. His coach, Niskanen, entered Abebe Bikila and Abebe Wakikira, which is another Ethiopian man, in the marathon at the 1960 Rome Olympics that would be run on September 10th. Wow. It's a great way to travel, isn't it? Running.

Running. It's free. You can go anywhere. You don't have to tap on your mic here. Incidental exercise? Yeah. Fantastic. Plenty great.

You mean being an Olympian? Yeah. You just see the world every four years? Every four years you'd go somewhere. It might not be your first choice of places to visit. And sure, you don't get to do anything touristy. And for most people, as we've already discussed, their career is over pretty quickly. Yeah, but you rack up some frequent flyer miles in that time

don't you that's why you're smart to do one of those sports you could do as an old person like the horse riding you know that australian guy has just done it since before we were born or like shooting yeah you know as long as your eyes don't go we We get some decent specs. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So what should we get into? Horse shooting. And we could be in the masses. They're massive. Yeah.

Easy. I can hit that target. Do you reckon? Bit of practice, you'll be all right. Don't let it move. Can you hold that horse still? Hold your horses. That's where that saying comes from.

Hold your horses. Bang. For shooting. Okay. So let's talk about the Rome Olympics held from August 25th to September 11th, 1960. Beautiful time to be in Rome. September 11th, Jess? Oh my God.

1960. Oh, okay. It was just a date then. Yeah, the final date of the... And end of August, early September, beautiful time to be in Europe. Good weather. Beautiful time to be in Rome. Yeah, autumn.

Sunny, gorgeous. Love the autumn. Sunny, gorgeous. Love the autumn. Oh, heaven. This is the first time the Italian capital hosted the Games. They'd actually been awarded the 1908 Summer Olympics, but following the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1906, they had no choice to decline and to pass the honour on to London. Wow.

I think I had Mount Vesuvius as like way... The big eruption is hundreds of years earlier. This is another eruption. Yep. But it did damage and they actually had to spend a lot of the money's treasury, the country's treasury on fixing up the country. And they went, we can't afford to build all these stadiums. We've got to help our people.

So London had to take over. We of have to build um some houses and buildings and other stuff that um got ruined probably more important at the end of the day you know but it is the olympics you'll get rome you'll you'll get the olympics again and they did they did but they obviously sorted that out and then we're like all right, now we've sorted out our country, let's go take over Africa. What a beautiful mindset. Beautiful mindset. More than 5,000 athletes from 83 nations competed in Rome

with 44 nations winning medals. For the second successive games, the Soviet Union topped the medal table with 43 golds. Its fierce rival, the United States was second on the table, with Australia finishing fifth with 8 golds won. Its fierce rival, the United States, was second on the table, with Australia finishing fifth with eight gold medals. Not bad.

Hey? Pretty good. Yeah, I don't know why Australia... I mean, I do know why it is, because we're sport obsessed and put too much money into it. But Australia is often done for a small population. Yeah, that's true. It does well.

We are a very small population compared to so many other countries that are much smaller than us in land size. We're very spread out. Anyway, but yeah, you're right. We're sports mad. Yeah. We love it. Italy really got around the games

and they built a brand new Olympic stadium that could hold 100,000 people but also converted magnificent ancient buildings for other competitions. I was going to say, why build a new stadium when you've got the Colosseum? Yeah. Just chuck some, you know, retractable roof on the top.

Yeah, put some seats in. Fantastic. Clean up a bit of that rubble. A drop-in pitch. A bit dusty in there. A couple of beer taps. Come on! There you go.

A few corporate boxes. Okay, you think the people who originally built the Coliseum were like, oh, I hope one day this isn't getting used. Yeah. Come on. Use it or lose it. Use it. What a waste of a resource.

Yeah, come on. You've got a beautiful resource. Gymnastics and wrestling were held in the Basilica of Maxentius, which had staged the same events 2,000 years earlier. That's what I'm talking about. That's cool. Come on. You're Rome.

You got basilicas coming out of your fucking wazoo. What's a basilica? I've heard that word before. I mean, the Pope, are they going to use the Vatican? Surely we could turn that into some sort of pool. Yeah. Come on. Yeah.

There's a bunch of ruins around. Knock them down, put in a pool. Imagine a 50-meter Olympic-sized pool full of holy water. Oh, my God. Baptism's en masse. Everybody jump in. Baptized. Thorpey, I didn't know you were christian i'm not christian you are now gotcha gotcha thorpey and that's how we get more christians that's how we get them that's how we get them catholics we need more of them more and more i say that as a as a well you know a a baptized Catholic. Agnostic. Anyway.

Agnostic. Like that. Yeah. That means you. That means I don't really care. But it means you're open. I guess so, yeah. But it also means I don't care.

You know, I'm kind of like, you believe whatever you want to believe. Something's out there, but you don't know what it is. Yeah, I guess so. I'm not an atheist where I'm like, you're an idiot for thinking. I don't think atheists are all like, you're an idiot for believing anything but um i'm not like there is no god you fool i'm just like whatever who knows i'll find out when i'm dead why not or i won't find out because there's nothing it's exciting yeah and the system will be you die and they go yeah you've got nothing it's all over anyway you're dead for real now so they do

which is nice yeah just so that I die knowing yeah because it'd be cruel to die without knowing that there's nothing after death yeah and that's what God thinks

God's like I gotta let them know that there's nothing I gotta let them know I don't exist I don't exist just letting you know I don't exist hey it's me God I don't exist. I don't exist. Just letting you know. I don't exist.

Hey, it's me, God. I don't exist. And goodnight forever. Alright. Or God's like, alright, I do exist, but there's no afterlife. I blew the budget on this planet.

I blew the budget on the life. What did you expect after this? You want an afterlife? Yeah. And you want it to be better than this? This took ages. Did you guys see those sexy magpies

in Dublin? Oh my gosh. You think that doesn't cost a bit of cash? That took me two centuries. But yeah, okay. You want an afterlife. You saw that bird.

Come on. You should have seen the early versions. They're like four bit. Very blurry. Very blurry. The blue just didn't have the right kind of

je ne sais quoi about it. Feathers. Got Pixar involved. And yeah, they look lifelike. Yeah. It took ages to get those realistic feathers. Got Pixar involved. And yeah, they look lifelike. Yeah, incredible. Anyway, weird tangent. Sorry about that. The 1960 Olympics were the first to be fully covered by television and this transformed the games into a truly worldwide phenomenon.

Phenomenon. Taped footage of the games was flown to New York City So they didn't have satellites at the time So taped footage of the games was flown to New York City At the end of each day And broadcast on CBS television in the United States Eurovision provided live television broadcasts throughout Europe So it was seen by millions

And it was a massive, massive Olympics These are some of the highlights In boxing, the light heavyweight division's gold medal went to an 18 year old then unknown cassius clay oh for many this was of course a glimpse into the greatness of a man that would later be called the greatest muhammad ali cool the light heavyweight i like the rules in in boxing yeah easy to follow, but not that heavy. Yeah. For a heavyweight, you're pretty light. He's also, he's gone from a great, I think Cassius Clay is a great name. And he's just upgraded somehow.

Yeah. You're changing your name from Cassius Clay? What could possibly top it? Muhammad Ali. Okay. Fucking hell, mate. Fucking hell. Fucking hell.

Fucking hell! Fucking hell! Save some for the rest of us. I like the idea of Muhammad Ali coming to you to run this by someone. Doing a bit of spitballing. These are on the short list. What do you reckon? Be honest. Cassius, you're changing your name.

You're crazy. Phil Smith next. Tracy Pecker. A little bit better. Pecker's good. Pecker's good. Muhammad Ali. Oh, my.

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Fucking hell. Tracy Pecker. Fuck off. So he won the gold medal, which is very, very cool. American swimmer Jeff Farrell won two gold medals in swimming. He underwent an emergency appendectomy six days before the Olympic trials.

And then won two gold medals. What's an appendectomy? Taking out your appendix. Ah, yeah. It's a penis enlargement. It's a penis enlargement surgery. So actually, he had more drag in the water and he still won. Help with steering.

The head of the team went, are you sure you couldn't get this dick surgery after? He's like, he's only got availability six days before the game. You know what surgeons are like. You've got to book in months in advance. Sorry about this. American swimmer Chris Von Salza. Incredible. Yes.

Won four medals in women's swimming Three of them gold Very good Well done Chris Von Seltzer Don't even bother mentioning the other one And you didn't Who cares But it wasn't gold Who cares

Might as well be a piece of shit Yeah Oh you got some gold And some piece of shit It was a medal made out of shit Yeah Silver First loser

Get out of my face Sticking with the Americans, the US basketball team took its fifth consecutive gold medal. The squad, which starred future Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, Walt Bellamy and Jerry West, whose silhouette is still the NBA logo. Jerry West. It's so funny that I was talking to you just before we started about a guy who's in winning time

has been characterized as this angry man. He's like, that's not me at all. That was Jerry West. Oh. No. Yeah. Really? Yeah.

So he's sometimes known as Mr. Silhouette, I believe, because he's the silhouette on the NBA logo. His other nicknames include Mr. Clutch. Okay. Which I love. And also Zeke from Cabin Creek for the creek near his birthplace in Shillian, West Virginia. Zeke could not be further from Jerry West, though, could it? I just thought that was the best nickname.

Zeke from Cabin Creek. It's long for a nickname. It's kind of like the Larry Bird one that came later. What was his? The Hick from St. Lick or something like that? Yeah. So good. His portrayal in this show is also pretty funny.

Like, just real... Helping himself to other people's eskies. Like that? We talked about that in the Michael Jordan episode. Yeah, no, it just seems he's very grumpy and glum. That's not the Larry Bird I know. But now that I know that Jerry West is like, that's not who I am at all, I'm like, can I believe any of this?

It also had a brief episode about, this is a HBO show for people who don't know, about the Lakers in the 70s and 80s. But they did an episode, like the start of one of the episodes was a flashback to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar changing his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, talking of great name changes. I can't even remember what his original name was,

but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Was it Tracy Pecker? Yes, he changed his name from Tracy Pecker. A good choice, I think. Sorry, you're looking at me like that. No, we thought you were mid-sentence. Sorry, I thought you were mid-story. I mean, his name's Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

What else do you need? I think that's maybe my favourite all-time name. It's an amazing name. I know people will be yelling at their iPods if I don't say that he was born Ferdinand Louis Alcindor Jr. Which is also pretty

good. Ferdinand, a very strong first name. Yeah. But he's like, it would have been the same story. Hey Ferdinand, what's up? Just upgrading my name. What are you talking about? You can't upgrade from Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr Well let me lay Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on you Fucking hell

Fucking hell Fucking hell mate Fucking hell Kareem fucking Holy fuck I'm sweating I had a brain orgasm. Oh, in my pants. I jizzed everywhere.

Fucking hell. Fucking hell. Fuck. So the US basketball team won with Oscar Robertson and Zeke from Cabin Creek. At the time, this was considered by many to be the best basketball team ever assembled. Oh, wow. That was before

the Monstars were put together. Hard to beat. Possible. What a reference. According to Britannica, the decathlon

featured a tightly contested battle between Rafa Johnson of the United States and Yang Chuang-Kuang of Taiwan. Close friends who had both attended the University of California at Los Angeles and trained under the same coach. Rafa Johnson later became an actor. He won. Oh, wow.

Which is cool. He was in the James Bond movie License to Kill. Wow. There has not been a dud name in this whole thing. No, incredible. Even Jerry West is fantastic. I think we've just gotten shit at names. Yeah.

Names suck now. Have we run out? We must have. Jeez, I've got the most boring name. Yeah, you do. But I'm feeling inspired. Yeah. I can just change my name.

What are you going to make it? Muhammad Kareem Jabbar. Fucking hell. it. Muhammad Kareem Jabbar? Fuck it. Just combine two great names. That's good. Somehow I've combined two great names and made it worse. You're really

more of a vanilla name. Like Matt. Yeah, I guess you've got to pull it off as well. Boring beige name. Well, we're going to bring things back home now. There's an Australian name. Australia's own Herb Elliott. Love Herb.

It's a good name. Good name. Won the men's 1500 metre sprint in one of the most dominating performances in Olympic history. He won by 2.6 seconds, which meant he was over 20 metres ahead as he crossed the line. Oh, Herb. And broke the world record. 20 meters. 2.6 seconds. That is so long.

That's crazy. So long. Also for Australia, Dawn Fraser won a second gold medal for the 100 meter freestyle. How Dawn? And Murray Rose, a name that you sometimes mention, Matt, when you're trying to think of someone else, went back to back in the 400 meter freestyle.

Ah, awesome. Yeah, I get him and Lionel Rose confused. Another great Aussie sports person. Britain's Don Thompson had prepared for the 50 kilometres walk by exercising in his bathroom in Kent, filled with heaters and boiling kettles. That's amazing. Electricity bill through the roof. Well, it paid off when he won the gold medal. But it's a 50k walk.

I'm assuming he's also doing some walking training. He's probably just on the spot because obviously Rome is a lot hotter than Kent. Yeah. He wants to have the endurance for when he's getting hot and sweaty. So he's just walking on the spot with kettles and boilers. That's so good. What was his name again?

Don Thompson. That feels like it shouldn't be good, but that's a great name as well. That's a good name. Don Thompson. You don't get that many Dons anymore. No. But I'm not naming a little boy Don.

Don. Come on, Don. Pop your shoes on. Come on, Donny. Donny. Yeah, Donny's not as good. Nah, that sucks. I like Don, but I don't like Donnie.

Donnie. I don't really like Donald. Oh, yeah. I was trying to think of what Don is short for. Donald. Nah, I don't like it. Don. Don.

But it probably depends on the surname, Don Thompson. Yeah, that's good. It's like Don Johnson was someone, was he? An actor or something? That's another good name. You just like the on-on. Yeah, I think that's what it is. What about the name On On?

Pretty good On On Do I keep Stuart? On On Stuart Nah that doesn't work On On Thompson There it is What about Don On On Thompson?

Don On On Don On On Thompson I love it I think I like it And is it all one word Or is your middle name On On? I think my Well I was thinking my it all one word or is your middle name On-On? Well, I was thinking my middle name was On-On.

Don On-On Thompson. But then there's no guarantee people would say it. So maybe I've got to just bring it up to the front. Don On-On. First name Don On-On. Why don't you bring it right up to the front and say On-On Don Thompson. On-On Don Thompson. What about Don-On-On Don Thompson? Don-On-On Don Thompson.

On-On Don On-On Thompson. Oh, On-on-don-on-on Thompson. Oh, yeah. On-on-don-on-on Thompson. Yeah. Jeez, there's options here. I remember that T8 is in the wrong. Don-on-on-ompson. Oh, Don-on-on-don-ompson.

Oh, yeah. Don-ompson. What about Don-ompson? Don-on-on. So, your first name is Don-on-on. Middle name, Don. Yes. Surname, Don-ompson. Yeah. Don-on first name is Don On On. Middle name Don. Yes. Surname Don Omson.

Yeah. Don On On. Don. Don Omson. I love it. I love it. Oh my God. All right.

I'm going to make a few calls. Fucking hell. That's all I can say. Deedpole? Yeah. For sure. Straight in. It's the man who used to identify as Matt Stewart.

Now, Don On On. Don On On. Domson. Don Om-on-domson. Don-ompson. Don-ompson. Huh? Did I start off? We think you might have.

We're not sure. Did you? Are you okay if I just read that back to you, Mr. Don-ompson? I'd love you to. That's like creating a new password and there's not that thing where you have to type it out again to make sure you've got the right thing. First time I got it right. Don't make me repeat it.

Now let me log in. What the fuck? Not every highlight of the 1960 games was a victory. Oh. Finish. How can you have a highlight of a failure? Well, let me games was a victory. Oh. Finish. How can you have a highlight of a failure? Well, let me tell you about it. Okay.

Finland's Vilo Jolonen, a field shooter who shot a bullseye on the wrong target. Oh, wow. And in doing so, he dropped from second to fourth. Oh, that's not fair. Missed out on the middle. Aiming for a target in front, accidentally shot the bullseye of the one next door. Were they aiming for the wrong one? No.

Or was it just a weird fluke? Just a bad shot. Wow. A bad good shot. Yeah. It was a fluke, wasn't it? It was a fluke. Yeah, that it was a bullseye.

So people applauded and then went, oh, actually. So he dropped from second to fourth. Fourth missed a medal. And he Gordon Bombayed it later. If I was only one target bullseye across, my whole life would have been different. But if you're one target to the left,

it would have been even more impressive. You're two targets off. Never thought about that. And the Games wasn't without its controversies. According to ThoughtCo, unfortunately, there was a ruling problem on the 100-meter freestyle swim for the men's event john devitt who was from australia and lance larson oh my god right very good from the united

states had been neck and neck during the last segment of the race though they both finished at about the same time most of the audience the sports reporters and the swimmers themselves believed larson from the united states had won, the three judges ruled that Devitt from Australia had won. Even though official times show a faster time for Larson than for Devitt, the ruling held. What? That's so weird. I know.

So, including the guy who technically won, he's like, I didn't win. He touched before me. And they're like, sorry, you win, but I'm second. Well, the Olympics is all about great sportsmanship, which you're showing, so let's upgrade him to gold. Wow, that's very odd. The gold medal for honesty. That would really take away some of the excitement of winning gold,

wouldn't it? Where you're like, I didn't win this, and I'm trying to say I didn't win it. And there's minutes of deliberation. Yeah, and you're like, Larson, congratulations, man. How do they get to it unanimously when everyone else disagreed? then i don't know he gets up and he's like moonlight you won best picture and the official time yeah you'd go off that you'd go off the time you would think the ruling held it's like you have judges for ones that are you know up for debate it's

like oh who did the fanciest dive? That's why I have judges. Not for who touched the wall first. Yeah, fanciest dive. Who touched the wall best? Yeah, that's right. Not first, best. Graceful. Who touched the wall with a bit of flair?

Yeah, a bit of panache. Who made the wall feel something? Yeah. Who made us feel something in the way that they touched the wall? Definitely Larson. Yeah. Well, I have to stop down and mention Wilma Rudolph, an American runner with an incredible story.

Born in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee in 1940, she was the 20th of 22 children. Nope. From her father, Ed Rudolph's two marriages. That's so many children. I mean, does a question come to mind? Do they know what's causing it? But also, Ed, fucking hell.

Fucking hell. Fucking hell. 20 of 22. How much sex do you actually need? Do you know what I mean? 22 is too many times. 22 times. Save some for the rest of us.

You've had sex 22 times. Must be knackered. Oh, my God. How do you get anything done? Rudolph, so done? Rudolph, so Wilma Rudolph, the 20th child, suffered from several early childhood illnesses including pneumonia and scarlet fever and she contracted infantile

paralysis caused by the polio virus at the age of 5. She recovered from polio but lost strength in her left leg and foot. Physically disabled for much of her early life and told by a doctor that she would never walk again rudolph wore a leg brace until she was 12 years old she also could not walk without an orthopedic shoe until she was 11 but she was

determined to compete and began playing basketball she later became a high school all-star being nominated as an all-american in basketball during high school wow so she's wants to compete one day apparently her mom came out into the backyard and found her playing basketball it was like how are you doing this wow and then she was just super determined she then turned to track and field events and began running and at the age of 16 remember this is only four years after taking off the leg brace still in high high school, she competed in the 1956 Olympic Games and won a bronze medal in the 4x100 relay. Wow.

It's a real Forrest Gump kind of thing, isn't it? It's amazing. Taking off the leg brace. It was holding her back. You're right. Wow, who knows? I mean, like, this is also in a time where their medical knowledge wasn't as it is now.

So it's very interesting to be like she had these disabilities but then was able to run. Faster than most people in the country. That's amazing. And she improved on that even. The next Olympics, which is, of course, Rome 1960, she had her eyes set on gold and she did not go home disappointed. She won three gold medals and broke three world records

in the 100 metres, 200 metres and 4x100 metres where she ran the all-important anchor leg of the race. Is the anchor leg the last leg? Yeah, when you bring it home. Yeah. You hand it to Usain Bolt and say, please, please catch up for the rest of it. It's such an interesting thing that it's like,

if you're all running as fast as you can, it shouldn't matter which order it is, but it does matter. It does. It's psychological and there's other things at play as well. But yeah, it's really interesting. So I should just average out your four best times. I would always run second or fourth.

Always on the straights. Anchor. Yeah. Actually, that's true. Where you're starting on the track probably. Oh, yeah. Some would be better at running on a bend than others or something. Or you have your fastest on the straight or something.

There'd be a logic to this. Yeah, there definitely is. Because Usain Bolt can achieve a higher speed than anyone else. So if there is, like if the other teams have gotten a bit ahead, you've got your strongest runner at the end to as the one who's most probable to shorten that distance or take over. Usain Bolt is so good. He has to know how good he has to be.

He's not going to go flat out first because he might not need to do that. So if he's fourth, he assesses the situation and goes, alright, 20 metres behind no worries. I'll go at 90%. Yeah, I'll just go for a light jog. Few steps, done. Rudolph became the first American woman no worries I'll go at 90% yeah I'll just go for a light jog yeah that's right few steps

done incredible Rudolph became the first American woman to win three Olympic gold medals in track and field at the same Olympics her performance also

earned her the title of the fastest woman in the world that's amazing she became a superstar in the USA and her Olympic success quote gave a tremendous

boost to women's track in the United States she was one of the first role models for black and female athletes and is regarded and her Olympic success, quote, gave a tremendous boost to women's track in the United States. She was one of the first role models for black and female athletes and is regarded as a civil rights and women's rights pioneer. She retired from competition in 1961 and became an educator and coach and established the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Indianapolis that trained youth athletes.

Wow. So, yeah, I came across that. I just had to share that share that told you would never walk again and then within four years amazing you're one of the fastest people and then the fastest woman in the world incredible yeah a lot of people me included i'd say would be like all right i'll take the doctor's word for it well yeah i think that's what i was sort of getting at before i wasn't being like i didn't mean to be sort of pandering or patronising to somebody who was told they had disabilities. What I'm thinking was like, was her injuries or her illnesses mismanaged

or the fact that she could take off the leg brace and a few years later was competing in the Olympics is wild. Yeah. Pretty amazing. Super amazing. As a medical person, I'll field this one. Yeah, you also, you wonder, did the leg brace work so well? Yeah, I guess that's absolutely an option too, isn't it?

It's, yeah, really fascinating. And so cool that she was just so determined. So cool. I just don't, I admire that in other people because I just don't have that killer that killer instinct in me i just don't care enough to try all that hard you know and approve everyone wrong yeah nah i'm like yeah yeah you're probably right yeah i was like yeah it's really hard not to just be like yeah you're right i should stop doing this all right i guess i will never walk again. Thank you, Doctor. Yeah. Amazing. What a cool story.

What a cool person. So amazing. And we'll be back with more Olympics after these messages. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge Indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from Indigenous voices. We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work

together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. So a lot happened to the 1960 Olympics. For for many though there is no more enduring story than that of abebe bakila he's the guy we're talking about yeah so a bit of a detour there but it just blew every olympics is basically like that there's all these amazing things but this one was especially famous because it produced lots of superstars because it was on tv for the first time yeah people around the world were able to connect with so many different athletes. So, Bikila turned up at the event. And despite his recent great time, remember, he'd broken the Olympic record.

Yeah. He was certainly not a favourite. 69 participants from 35 nations competed. And Bikila really flew under the radar. How many participants? Sorry? Yeah, how many were there? 69.

Nice. In fact, some doubted that this unknown from Ethiopia could have possibly recorded a faster time than the great Emil Zatebek. They'd never heard of him. Some thought that he was bluffing. He'd made up the time. I love the idea of I've never heard of you.

You mustn't be real. How do you first hear of people? Yeah. Normally it's after having never heard of them. You mustn't be real. How do you first hear of people? Yeah. Normally it's after having never heard of them. Yeah, yeah, usually. At some point in your life, you'd never heard of Brad Pitt. Yeah. Now you can't remember a time where you didn't know who Brad Pitt was.

And how many gold medals has he won? Probably a couple. I don't know that much about him. Oh, my God. Unfortunately, because he is so good looking, he doesn't often win awards like gold medals because people don't see his talent. They think he's just beautiful.

But they don't realize he's also a great runner. An amazing runner. He's so quick but also graceful. That's the thing. It's not just about the speed. A lot of people just focus on speed of running. They're like, who crosses the finish line first whatever who makes me feel something in the way that they run who make who who tells me a story in the way that they run brad pitt

that's right there really should be a medal for hottest runner yeah yeah i'd give it a brad pitt every time every time yeah unless you're unbeatable I'd give it a Brad Pitt. Every time. Every time. Yeah. Unless Shervo was in it. Shervo? Yeah. Oh, yeah, Shervo's taken it down over Brad Pitt. He runs with a certain grace. And he also had one of those adamdectomies to his dick. A week of competing.

Adamdectomies. This is a stress. Matt Shervington, if you haven't seen him run, do yourself a favour. Adam-dictomy, I think is that what they call it? Add some dick to me. That's the dick augmentation. Add some dick to me. Wait, does augmentation make it bigger or smaller?

Just augments it. Okay. Yeah, I think it's right there in the name really, isn't it? Yeah. Bit of a silly question on your part there. That's the thing. It's all right if you feel like a fool. And I do.

So, McEwen's flying under the radar, or running under the radar. Returning runners from the 1956 Marathons, the previous Olympic event included gold medalist Alain Moumon from France, silver medalist Franjo Mihalic from Yugoslavia, and the fourth place finisher Lee Chang Hoon of South Korea. Every single name has been great. So Alain Marmont, he's the returning champion. Yeah.

You think that people think he might do it again. Yeah, you're like, well, he's won it before. He's proven to us he's capable of this. And I have to mention his first child was a daughter named Olympe, born one day before her father won the 1956 Olympic Marathon in Melbourne. Isn't that cool? Olymp. Olymp.

It's one of those things I imagine in France. It sounds beautiful. It's a bit, though, like getting a tattoo saying you're an Olympic champion or something before you've won. Like naming your daughter Olymp before you've won something. Brian Lara, the West Indian cricketer, had named his kid Sydney after making a big double hundred at the SCG. I think that's beautiful.

How do you feel about naming your children after career milestones you had? That's like, I don't know if it's putting pressure on them or making their name a bit about you. But I guess what is that you know everyone's named after family and shit that's make but apparently i think brian lara tells this story as a as a you know with a bit of a joke it likes i don't know i don't know if brian lara's doing sportsman's nights but you know whatever but apparently he goes i'm just glad i didn't make those runs in lahore oh brian

oh my god and sydney's watching that going fucking hell dad dad come on shut up of course he would have been bound to use any name of the place where he made Double Century. That's exactly it, yeah. That was the agreement he and his wife had. Sorry, honey. I know you wanted to name her after your grandmother, but... But I did a couple of runs. A couple of runs.

So I think that matters. Olympe. Olympe's a nice name, I guess. It does sound like a limp as well. A limp. Yes, but in France it would have been. It would sound beautiful in French. Olympe's a nice name, I guess. It does sound like a limp as well. A limp. Yes, but in France it would have been. It would sound beautiful in French. Olympe.

Beautiful. So there's a hot field of returning runners, but Sergei Pop, another great name, from the Soviet Union was seen as the favourite as he was the world record holder, having run the marathon in two hours, 15 minutes and 17 seconds. And that's fast. That's very fast.

That's like the fastest that anyone's ever done it which is fast pretty fast pretty quick quite quick i assume i could do quicker but this was a while ago i've definitely done things that have taken me less than two hours 15 minutes that's for sure yeah i've done things faster than that i could run to work quicker than that do you reckon depending on where i was working i suppose suppose. Down the road? Yeah. From home? I've brushed my teeth quicker than that. Yeah?

Yeah. That's quick. I've watched a movie that went for two hours. Not many modern movies tell you that. Jeez, they go for a while these days. Bring back the 90-minute flick. So the race took place on Saturday, September 10th and fearing that the burning sun

might lead to severe dehydration problems for the athletes, organisers scheduled the marathon to be run mostly at night. Oh no. To guide the runners the city had to be lit up by torches. Pretty cool. Just put in some fucking floodlights. What are you doing? Like dolphin torches or like flaming torches. Flaming torches. you doing? Like dolphin torches Or like flaming torches

Flaming torches Flashlights Flaming torches Flaming torches I don't want to run to torchlight Romantic Well actually yeah But it's no time to feel amorous

That's not a time to get a stiffy Especially if you've just had the op Yeah Sherbo Very distracting Uniquely for an Olympic marathon The race neither started nor finished in the main stadium Especially if you've just had the op. Yeah. Sherbo. Very distracting. Uniquely for an Olympic marathon, the race neither started nor finished in the main stadium.

Ending instead at the Arch of Constantine outside the Coliseum. And then what? They were going to get a bus back or something? Yeah. Come on. Pretty cool. Finish at the stadium. At the Coliseum. That's pretty cool.

I guess. Yeah. Finish at the place where they should have been having events. Yeah. Bloody hell. Yeah, that's right. They should have run through the Coliseum. That would be sick.

That would be sick. In Rome, Abebe had purchased new running shoes, but they did not fit well and gave him blisters, so he decided to run the entire 26-mile race barefoot. Okay. What? A lot of the course was on old Roman cobblestones. Oh my

God. Your ankles. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, he did it. Wow. The course twice passed Piazza di Porta Capina where the Obelisk of Axum was then located. This

obelisk dates back to the 4th century in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. Oh, wow. It had been looted by Italy in 1937 and taken back to Rome. Classic. So you can see how this monument has cultural and political significance for an Ethiopian runner running past it. And you said that was where it was then. It was eventually returned to Ethiopia in 2005.

Oh, that's so long ago. After decades of back and forth. Yeah, that took ages. But you can see how he's running in a country that in his lifetime had taken over his country and had looted one of their famous monuments and he's running past it. Rome's like, we don't have enough famous monuments of our own. Yeah.

We're going to steal some. When the runners passed the obelisk the first time, Abebe was rear of the lead pack. So still in the race, but not winning. Yep. Abebe and his coach, Oni Iskanen, decided that he should make his final move a little more than one kilometre from the finish line.

Yeah. So stay with the pack right up to the end and then smoke them. You don't need to be in front position for two and a bit hours yeah you're running in their slipstream kind of right yeah

you're sort of that's where in racing is that where you want to be sort of boxed in not boxed in you don't want to be boxed in you want to be tucked in

so you're not doing the hard work at the front of the pack it's like in like bike racing where they always like rotate it don't they

yeah because they do have a bit of aerodynamics going on there yeah or horse racing the same it's like in bike racing where they always rotate it, don't they? Yeah, because they do have a bit of aerodynamics going on there. Or horse racing is the same. It's like rarely does the lead horse win a long race. Unless it's buddy Martin Power. And obviously exceptions can be made. So the plan is 1k from the finish line Step it up

It was at this point that the course passed the obelisk of Axum for a second time When Bekyla reached the obelisk He was running even with Radhi Ben Abdesalam of Morocco With the final part of the track lit by Italian soldiers holding torches Bit more symbolism there Oh god Bekyla successfully pulled away and won the event by 200 metres. Wow.

Whoa. Immediately after crossing the finish line, Abebe began to touch his toes and run on the spot and later said he could have easily run another 10 to 15 kilometres. Wow. So a lot in the tank. Could have probably done it a lot quicker then. Because he was holding back to the last K.

Just going for it. One by 200 metres. 200 metres. That is, that's crazy. Martin Power sort of levels. Especially when you're neck and neck. Just imagine this. At one kilometre, they're neck and neck.

Yeah. And over that last K, he pulls 200 metres away. That's wild. That'd be demoralising. Oh, yeah yeah because the whole time you're like all right i got him yeah you'd be thinking all right i'm gonna step it up into my turbo and your turbo hey come back come back how am i going backwards after the race bakila told reporters who asked him why he'd run without shoes he said i wanted the world to know that my country ethiopia has always won with determination and heroism badass so barefoot he had become olympic champion and set a new world record

in the process shaving just under a second off sergey popov's time wow a baby clocked in at two hours 15 minutes 16.2 seconds and he'd'd beaten Abdeslam from Morocco by 25 seconds. Whoa, that's so... And this is barefoot on cobblestones. Yeah. And then he's like at the end just sort of stretching and jumping around. Running on the spot. Fuck, that would be...

That's how you get into my head. Yeah. Is do that and then look comfortable. Apparently, people who were watching on were amazed at how fresh he looked. Wow. They couldn't believe that everyone else is pulling up looking like they're about to die. Yeah. And he's just like, oh, yeah.

Looking like they'd just run a marathon. Yeah. And he looks like he just strolled to the shops. Wow. He's going, is there any other events on? Yeah. He's warmed up. Yeah.

In third place was New Zealander Barry McGee. Great name. Oh, my God. Barry McGee. Fantastic. And his Wikipedia page, obviously the Rastafarian website, has something I haven't seen before, which is a quotes section attributed to Barry McGee.

These are some of the quotes from Barry McGee, the 1960 bronze medalist for the marathon. His quotes are, anyone can run 20 miles, it's the next six that count. Another quote is, train don't strain. Okay. That's about catching the train. Another one is, the back straight is where boys become men.

Okay. All right, Barry. And then it says... Takes that long. Started when I was only 17. This is the full quote, including the lead up. This is what it says. Here's one of Barry's favourites,

and it's one of his 12 commandments. Go straight to bed after training when you're sick. So still train when you're quite unwell. But then the secret is As soon as you're done training Off to bed Don't shower Get in bed sweaty

Get in bed Get in bed Sweat it out And the only reason you get out of bed More training Yeah I like how he's He's taken the classic

Ten commandments He's gone Twelve I'm going to chuck a couple more in there I mean when you're full of that much wisdom Yeah Barry McGee Tra trained, unstrained. Ten's not enough.

I've got a lot of wisdom to share. Loved it. I was just impressed that he had a quotes page. Yeah, you don't see that. And I was expecting them to be really inspiring. Yeah. To make the cut. McGee-isms.

He was the bloody Irish guy of New Zealand. He was the Irish guy of New Zealand. He was the Irish guy of New Zealand. He was that quotable Irish guy. Oscar Wilde. I was like, Jason Byrne? He's the Oscar Wilde of New Zealand. So Abebe returned home to Ethiopia a national hero. He was Ethiopia's first ever Olympic medalist.

Cool. And he'd won gold on the soil of the country that in his lifetime had invaded and occupied his country. Yeah, that sweetens it a little bit, doesn't it? Love it. In fact, he was the first ever black African gold medalist at all. So it was a big deal. And he was greeted by a large crowd, many dignitaries and the commander of the Imperial Guard before being paraded. His former boss.

It is. Yeah. Before being paraded through the streets in front of thousands before being presented to the emperor himself, Halle Selesi, who awarded him the Star of Ethiopia and also gave him a little raise, promoted him to a rank equivalent of corporal. Oh.

Nice. Wow. I mean, that seems fitting. Over the next few years, he won marathons in Greece, Slovakia and Japan. He came fifth at the Boston Marathon in 1963, which was the only time in his competitive career that he completed an international marathon

without being the winner. Wow. Apparently, I think the issue was it was really, really cold. And he was not used to that. Yeah, that's fair enough. But just that fact alone is crazy. That's the only time in his entire career that he's run at an international race and not won.

Yeah, that's amazing. That's very cool. Yeah. Maybe he stopped off at O'Flaherty's or something. Yeah. Had a few too many pints of Guinness. I mean, that's what I would have done. Yeah.

I'd have concentrated on the race. We know. The route goes straight past O'Flaherty's. Well, I'll admit it. Well, when you're in the neighbourhood. That'd be rude not to. I like the picture that when he finished the Rome Olympic Marathon and all those Italian troops were standing at the end,

he crossed the finish line in a fly kick. Just taking a move. Which... And did some stretches. What else we got? His eyes were then set on the 1964 Olympic marathon in Tokyo. Abebe was the favourite to do what, until that point, no one had ever done before,

win back-to-back medals, gold medals in the marathon. No one had done that. A lot of people had heard of him now. So now they're like, now we'll believe him again. Yeah, of course we expect this. In fact, no one had ever won more than one medal of any kind in the marathon. Wow.

No one had ever had a bronze or the next year done a silver or anything like that. That's interesting. Yeah, it's like the peak was only short. Yeah, a short peak in every four years. It's such a long event. Yeah. And that's a long time, four years.

It's a long time to be running and doing such intense activity on your body. And how old is he at this point? So he won the first gold medal at 28. Wow. Now he's trying to back it up at 32. And that's old. Yeah, well, you can get in the over 28s, Tom. Imagine being 32.

I can't. Oh, my God. And imagine being 32. It was so long ago. And running, you know, 40Ks. Unbelievable. No. I mean, maybe when I was You know 28

Yeah Of course 32 So he's the favourite to win However about 6 weeks Before the Olympics Abebe began to feel pain While training

Oh Abebe It became apparent That he had himself Acute appendicitis Oh my god Why is it so common For them to They're going to have to

Enlarge his penis Just 5 weeks before the Olympics, he had surgery to remove his appendix, throwing serious doubt on his gold medal defence. Unrelated to the appendicitis, of course. Yeah. Oh, no. So five weeks before.

Oh, that's sad. That's the sad end of the report. But he was back... Thanks so much for telling us that. He was back on his feet in a few days and left the hospital within a week. He ran home from the hospital, discharged himself, ran home. Did the surgery himself.

And you better believe he lined up for the marathon on October 21. Wow. He was still the favourite, mostly because people were just like, you know, he's a fan favourite and everything now. Yeah. But he was racing against three men that had since broken his world record in the four years. So he's no longer the fastest ever recorded time.

There was Toro Terasawa of Japan. Oh, my God. Incredible. Leonard Adelon of the United States. And Basil Heatley. Of where? Let us guess. Upper Shropshire.

Basil. Basil Heatley from Shropshire. He was representing Great Britain. You don't say. Basil Heatley from Shropshire He was representing Great Britain You don't say Basil Heatley That's going to be one of the most English names Hello I'm Basil Heatley Basil Heatley from Kenilworth

I trained by running around my estate I did? Kenilworth. Love it. Basil. Basil Heatley. Basil Heatley. I say. I say. Basil Heatley.

How do you do? It's near Birmingham, kind of. I practice running with a book on my head and a cup of tea. Never drop a drop. Basil Heatley. We've really changed Basil a lot, haven't we? But I think it's because we don't know.

So we're like... One of the two kinds of English... We cover all bases. That Basil Heatley's imposter. I'm the real Basil. No, I say I'm the real Basil. I'm Basil Heatley's imposter. I'm the real Basil. No, I say I'm the real Basil. I'm Basil Heatley. I do declare.

Hello, Basil Heatley. No, he's from the south. I do declare. I've got the vipers. So what we need to know is that those three men in order have broken the world record and they're all racing. Yeah, right. Against Abebe.

So he's got a lot of challenges. Abebe began the race right behind the pack till about the 10 kilometre or six mile mark when he slowly increased his pace. He began to pull away and left the others in the dust. He did lead the rest of the race. Wow. Abebe entered the Olympic Stadium alone

to the cheers of 75,000 spectators The crowd had been listening on the radio and anticipated his triumphant entrance They all knew Here he comes Oh my god He finished with a time of 2 hours 12 minutes 11 seconds which was 4 minutes and 8 seconds

ahead of silver medalist Basil Heatley 4 minutes 4 minutes By the time Heatley entered the stadium Abebe had regained his breath and was doing calisthenics and stretches. Oh, my God. He's such a... He's amazing.

What's calisthenics again? What is it like? It's a bit like gymnastics. Gymnastics. He just jumped in on another... Yeah, he's just doing something else. Another event. Yeah.

He's like, you got a spare spot? He picked up the pole vault and had a crack. Again, he didn't look tired at all. Four minutes and eight seconds ahead of Basil. And he'd also reclaimed the world record, cutting a minute 44 seconds off the world record. A minute 44. Smashed it.

Holy shit. The fact that he's entered the stadium alone is pretty crazy. And then the fact that he's crossed the line, everybody cheers. Everybody has time to calm down yeah and now we're bored because we're waiting for the others like he what he's grabbed the flag from from you know from someone in the crowd he's done a full lap at the stadium then basil comes in people have gone home who cares basil now good effort basil well done well done yeah good job yeah yeah yeah, you're an Olympian

Oh yeah, I guess Third came in two weeks later I hope they gave Daylight the silver medal Because Basil Heatley certainly didn't deserve it Did I mention that Abebe was running in shoes this time? Okay, so that makes a difference That's an advantage That is interesting

So he only ever did two races without shoes. He won his first gold medal and then the follow-up race he ran without shoes again. Okay. But then he started wearing... After that he's like, I'll put my shoes back on. Yes. He was wearing Pumas or possibly Adidas. Okay.

Adidas. Adidas. Just so the Americans don't lose their fucking minds. People flipped out last time I said Adidas. Yeah, it's because we're in a different country and we say it differently. There's a scene in Winning Time where Magic Johnson's being courted

by all these shoe manufacturers to make shoes for him. Oh, yeah. And this guy just working for himself who couldn't even get an appointment is trying to go, hey, I'm starting up this company called Nike. Why don't you come on board with us? We want you to, you're the guy.

You'll get shares and that sort of stuff. And he ended up going with Adidas or one of the other companies. Yeah, right. And they flash on the screen what it would have been worth billions. Wow. Oh, wow. But at the time, it would feel like a billions wow oh wow but how like at the time yeah it would feel like a completely reckless decision it's crazy isn't it it's like people who you know

said they sold their shares at apple or something and and what they could have made now it's like well you made the decision that was right at the time converse is who he went with ah okay well i mean and they were really cool basketball shoe back then. Yeah, yeah. Adidas sponsored the Games in Rome. I just looked it up. Providing shoes for all participants in the running event. So that's why he was wearing Adidas when he won. Again, he was Ethiopia's only gold medalist,

meaning he'd now won both medals his country had ever won. Wow. And he returned home to another hero's welcome. The emperor promoted him to the commissioned officer rank equivalent of a lieutenant. He was also presented with a car, a white Volkswagen Beetle. Nice. What was his gift? They give you a car.

Yeah, I'd take that. Yeah. Thanks very much. I've always wanted a V-Dub. Here's my guy. A little Beetle. It's not like getting to work a lot easier. Not quicker, about the same amount of time.

Yeah. I'm pretty zippy. But, you know, days when it's raining. Yeah. Or I just want to sleep in. It's nice to have the option. He continued to run between Olympics, winning more marathons across the world. But in 1967, he injured his hamstring at a marathon in Spain,

which was the first of many leg injuries. Oh. So what is he now? 35 years old? In July 1968, he travelled to Germany for treatment for circulatory ailments

in his legs. The German government refused to accept payment for the medical services. Oh, that's nice. He's such a hero around the world. Oh, that's nice.

Your money's not good here, mate. Hey, hey, it's on us. Abebe, we love you. Yeah. Your money's not good here, mate. Hey, hey, it's on us. Abebe, we love you. Yeah. Your money's not good here, Abebe. Really went for it. You did. That was great.

The machine says it's declined. It says nine. You made such intense eye contact with me as you did it. I loved it. The German language is an intense language. You've got to go all in. They said, look, if you can't come up with the money, we will have to break your legs and undo the good work we've done.

He rejoined the Ethiopian team for training ahead of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics and it was discovered that he had a broken left fibula. The doctor advised him to stay off it until race day. He entered the marathon, but sadly had to pull out after 10 miles because of the broken fibula. And the event was won by...

10 miles on a broken leg? I know. Is that what a fibula is? Yeah, it's down in your... Holy shit. It's in your calf, your fibula and your... I'm not getting out of bed. No way.

I guess I won't eat today. I'm starving getting out of bed. No way. I guess I won't eat today. I'm starving to death. If I've got a broken leg, I'm done for. He's running 10 miles. If I've got a broken leg, shoot me like a horse. I am done. I'll never recover. I'll never recover from this.

Pull up the sheet. Take me off life support, doctor. Okay, put me on life support and turn it off. Pull the plug. I'm done. Yeah, you're reaching, trying to pull out all the plugs. Jess, you're very much alive. Your leg's just in a cast.

It's just a normal doctor's surgery. How do you kill me then? Tell me how to kill me. So he had to pull out at the 10-mile mark, and the event was won by Abebe's countryman, fellow Ethiopian, Mamo Wald. Oh, that's good. Great name.

Wald was very gracious, and after the event said, Bakila would have won the race if not for his injury, which when you look at the times, it's like maybe his time was eight minutes slower than Abebe at the previous Olympics. Wow. So you go, oh, if... That's just sportsmanship, and that's, you know,

and especially being on the same team and stuff, you'd be disappointed for your friend, but obviously a bit stoked for yourself. Yeah. You know? There's a little asterisk next to your window. Yeah. Yeah.

Just knowing that you probably wouldn't have won that. Yeah. But I mean, it's, yeah, isn't that funny? Because that's always going to be true, right? There's always someone who hasn't taken up running who would have been quicker. Oh, there's so many factors in every win and loss and whatever. Yeah, it's sort of silly to think that way. Despite the disappointment of not completing the race,

when Abebe returned home to Ethiopia, he was still greeted with a hero's welcome and promoted to the rank of captain. Oh, he just keeps getting promotions. Yeah. Every time he goes to an Olympics, he gets a rank of captain. Oh, he just keeps getting promotions. Yeah. Every time he goes to an Olympics, he gets a promotion. This is great. Come back. Sadly, this was to be the last marathon he ever ran

because on March 22nd, 1969, tragedy struck. No, Abebe. Abebe lost control of his Volkswagen Beetle and it overturned, trapping him inside. At first, the accident left him a quadriplegic, paralysed from the neck down and he never walked again. Oh, no. Which for someone who's made their life from running must be...

Extra... Very hard to take, yes. Totally. It would be for anybody. But, yeah, you're right. When your entire life has been running and professional sports. That's what you're known for. Just that little bit, that salt in the already big wound.

A week after the accident, Nabebe was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in England, where he spent eight months receiving treatment. He was visited by Queen Elizabeth II. Wow. And received get well cards from all over the world. She could have just sent a card. She could have, but he's very famous at this point. Where is she the queen of?

Where? Yeah. It's easy to name a country that she's not the queen of. Okay. Go on. America. I thought you would name a country and I'd tell you. Oh, okay.

Mozambique. I think it's pronounced Mozambique way. Damn it. The good news, he was able to regain movement in his arms and began training in Paralympic sports like archery and table tennis. What? Wow. This is a quote from him.

Men of success meet with tragedy. It was with the will of God that I won the Olympics and it's with the will of God that I met with my accident. I accepted those victories as I accept this tragedy. It was with the will of God that I won the Olympics and it's with the will of God that I met with my accident. I accepted those victories as I accept this tragedy. I have to accept both circumstances of facts of life and live happily. That is sick. Wow. Amazing.

That's a great outlook. Yeah. And absolutely true. He participated in a Games for Disabled People in Norway and although he was invited as a guest, he beat a field of 16 in cross-country sled dog racing. What? This is a man...

He'd never seen a dog in his life. He's from Ethiopia. He's racing against people in Norway in sled dog racing. And he won and he proved his strength and determination as an athlete. Wow. That's ridiculous. Abebe was invited to the next Olympics in 1972 in Munich as a special guest and received a standing ovation during the opening ceremony.

Oh, man. That's nice. Good stuff. They love him in Germany. Is there a reason for that in particular? They love him everywhere. I think he's just very... There's just been a few.

I'm like, the car's German. Yeah. His surgery was free in Germany. I think he's just,... There's just been a few. I'm like, the car's German. Yeah. His surgery was free in Germany. I think he's just, yeah, very well loved. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. I really mean that I'm super bummed for this guy because he seemed like an absolute legend. A year after the 1972 Olympics,

Abebe suffered cerebral hemorrhage, a complication related to his accident four years earlier. When he died, he was just 41. Yeah, wow. He was buried with full military honours. His state funeral was attended by an estimated 65,000 people, including the Emperor Haile Selassie, who proclaimed a day of mourning for the country's national hero.

In Ethiopia, he's still a national hero and a stadium in the capital Addis Ababa is named in his honour. Oh, that's nice. And his legacy really lives on. He was the first but certainly not the last East African long-distance running champion. Abebe inspired the next generation, bringing to the forefront the now accepted relationship

between endurance and high-altitude training in all kinds of sports. Because he'd been running his whole life naturally. He was only 24 when he started training. Before that, he'd been basically preparing himself. Six of the next 14 male marathon champions after him would be also from East Africa, either fellow Ethiopians or from neighboring countries like Kenya and Uganda. Yeah, wow. So he sort of was a trailblazer in that way?

Totally trailblazer and inspired the generations after him, yeah. That's cool. Yeah, so it's not a coincidence. He made it seem like it was an achievable thing or whatever. That's right, yep. Wow. He was survived by his wife, Uabdar, three sons and a daughter. Wow.

So, I mean, packed a lot into a short life. For sure. Do you know, I mean, packed a lot into a short life. For sure. Do you know what I mean? And it's, yeah, really sad that he died so young. But, I mean, even to have that sort of outlook that he had was lovely. You know, the victories and the tragedies are all part of life and you have to accept them equally. That's amazing.

Wow, what a story. So, you can see why I've wanted to do it for ages. It's just an amazing life. I'm embarrassed that I didn't know his story at all. He's such a legend. Such a legend. Wow, you didn't know either? No.

And you were around then, so I guess I don't feel too bad. Yeah, I'm sure you're watching TV. I watched him run. You're holding a torch in Italy? Yes. As a one-quarter Swiss-Italian. Let you have the honour. Yeah.

Yeah, no, I don't, I mean, I don't know much about marathon running in general. I don't think I could. Is Steve Monaghetti, was he a marathon guy? Like, I know a couple of the Australian ones from when I was a kid. Ballarat. John DeCostella. So they're the two that...

They're probably the only two marathon runners I could name. Okay. He was the mustache one. Right. I think he was just before Steve Monaghetti

is he won a... I don't know, some sort of a medal. Some sort of a medal. But, you know, I can't remember. He probably won a gold in the Commonwealth. I don't know, some sort of a medal. Some sort of a medal. But, you know, I can't remember. He probably won a gold in the Commonwealth. I don't know how he won in the Olympics.

Yeah. Because the East African runners have been so dominant since, obviously, 1960. Are you saying that a factor of that is the high altitude? I believe high altitude and body type does. Isn't that fascinating? Because he was quite short and very slim. I think he only weighed 55 kilos, a bebe. Wow.

And long distance runners do tend to be that sort of, they're bean poles. They're very lean. Whereas like sprinters will be a bit more muscly in the legs in particular. That sort of power. Yeah, they need the power. Whereas long distance runners, they tend to be very, very lean. Very lean. He definitely...

Isn't that fascinating that just your body type can make you like better at a certain type of sport than another? Yeah, that's right. It's amazing. I guess it's obvious with basketball. You're taller, it's an advantage, but yeah, for running. But I guess also you get skinnier by running marathons. Yeah, that's true.

And you work on bulking up to be a sprinter yeah they do more weights and stuff i suppose yeah i've just looked up robert decastel he he won commonwealth uh gold in 82 and 86 and the 83 world championship marathon yeah right helsinki cool yeah fascinating what a story it's, the marathon is such a, because it's got a long history, right? It's like, what's it, it's named after somewhere in Greece or something, is it that one? Yes, a guy delivering a message of a victory, I think, to marathon. Yeah, so it's got quite a long history and that's why it's that specific distance and stuff. But yeah, I just, I mean, I've got friends who've started doing a few occasionally and i'm

like i the 10 to 15k is like my peak i just feel like i could be even doing a half one yeah it's a lot but it's like uh and that's again i guess where it sort of comes into your body type and and your different capabilities and stuff you won't run for a while. And then to start getting back into running, you'll start with a 5k. Whereas I need, I need to work up to a five. It takes me ages to get to a 5k. Yeah.

I guess I'm more of a naturally like a, just a slim, slim legs and whatever, lanky. Whereas sprinting is power. Yeah. Yeah. Which Iing is... Power. Yeah. Yeah, which I don't really have. Yeah, it's really interesting.

I find it really fascinating. Yeah, the origin of marathon comes from the legend of Philippides, who was a Greek messenger. After the scene of a victory over the Persians in 490 BC, the modern race is based on the tradition that a messenger, Philippides, ran from marathon to Athens, and the distance was 22 miles. Ah, okay, there you go.

Right. From Marathon. From Marathon to Athens to say, hey, we won. But the original account from Herodotus says that he may have run 150 miles. So, who knows? Okay, that's quite a difference. That's a lot more.

Were you in school and stuff? Were you more of a short distance runner? Yeah, sprinter. 100 metres. And you famously do a tonne on leg press. Yeah. I haven't done it for a long time, but I could leg press a tonne. Yes.

You know, they say like... You ever trapped under rubble? Yeah. You'd just be able to leg press your way out of it. People tell stories about mothers lifting cars off their children. Not me. No. Leg press.

Leg press. Help, help, my baby's stuck. Let me just get in position. Have you got a leg press? You guys got something I can lean on for a second, please? Yeah, it's exactly like, yeah. My very few regrets in my life, but one would be if I could go back and tell my 20-year-old self

to start lifting weights. It's going to be a lot. Yeah. Stop trying to be a long-distance runner. You're not. So don't. Stop doing it. It hurts and it's bad for you.

Do something else. You can lift stuff. You're strong. Oh, okay. Start saving babies. Imagine the babies you could have saved. Oh, I know. So many babies are dead because of me.

So many. Yeah. Anyway. It's good that you own it. When you die and God says, look, there's no afterlife Luckily for you Because you killed a lot of babies So many babies Well you didn't kill them

But you did not kill them You didn't save them either You didn't save them Well you could have Anyway that's it Night night Night night Ooroo

Ooroo I'm not real Okay God bye Wait God what Yeah That's how he gets you He does a bit of a prank on you Because you die sort of going

Hang on a second. Dead. Damn it. Yeah, he's good. Dave, does that bring us to everyone's favourite section of the show? I believe it does. Now we're through all the formalities. What a fantastic report.

I really did enjoy it. I loved all those little stories in the story as well. Yeah, a lot of fun. We went on a journey. What a story. A bebe. A bebe. So good.

All right. Well, this brings us to everyone's favorite section of the show where we thank a lot of our great supporters without whom this show would not exist. If you want to get involved, you can go to dugonpod.com or patreon.com slash dugonpod. These links are in the show notes and you can sign up on all sorts of different levels.

There's different rewards for different levels. Dave, do you have any examples there? Hey, we put out three bonus episodes for our Patreon supporters ears only. And those three episodes over the years have really added up now. There's close to 150 for you to listen to right now if you support us at that level.

So lots of stuff there. And also you can be part of the Facebook Patreon group, a lovely corner of the internet, possibly the only lovely corner of the internet. We'll tell you about shows before anyone else. You get discounts, tickets, and also you get to vote for topics. So you really steer the show. And also you get to power your life and the satisfaction

that you get from helping us out. Yeah. Power your life. Power your life with that. That's like, talk about like renewable energy. Yeah, you'll never pay an electricity bill again. And the first thing we like to do is a section we call the fact, quote or question section,

which has a little jingle that goes something like this, I think. Fact, quote or question. Always remembers the ding. And on this one, if you sign up on the Sydney Sheinberg level You get to give us a fact, a quote or a question Or a suggestion or a brag Or whatever you like really You also get to give yourself a title

I don't read these out until I read them out I'll tell you that for nothing And that's just in case I mispronounce anything I'm so defensive about it I've never read it before for nothing. And that's just in case I mispronounce anything. I'm so defensive about it. I've never read it before. Let me alone. I've never read it, okay? I haven't practiced this a lot in my bedroom earlier.

I can't read. Doing my best. All right. So the first one this week comes from Sam Cash. You also get to give yourself a title. And Sam's title is Brigadier General of the Sausage Submarine of the Sky. Brigadier. Brigadier.

Brigadier General of the Sausage Submarine of the Sky. Love that. I love Brigadier General Cash. That's a name. Do you think a sausage submarine would be a euphemism for a dick? Maybe. Yeah. Submarine of the Sky.

There's a lot going on there Yeah It's got beautiful stuff Sky dick It's my sky dick I don't know Is this like Have we called the

Like a blimp or something A sausage submarine of the sky In the past We should have If we didn't That was a missed opportunity As always These titles

I never know If they're referring to Something we've said But often You know There's a clue In the fact quota question that is offered and sam is offering us a fact this week right and it reads i wouldn't dream of calling this a fun fact i'll leave that to jess but thank you sam it's my decision to make during world war one yes we go, German zeppelins were used for precise bombing runs. The gas field crafts were up to 240 metres long.

The amount of resources required to produce them had a huge impact on the country. To produce the helium gas bladders, the Germans found the best material with the least amount of gas leakage was cow guts. The very same cow guts used for sausage casing. Ah, so it's all making sense. During the heart of the Zeppelin construction, the production of sausages was outlawed in Germany and occupied parts of Austria, Poland and France. Each Zeppelin used approximately 250,000 cows or 30 million potential sausages.

Yum. Use approximately 250,000 cows or 30 million potential sausages. Yum. Love the pod. Keep up the amazing work and catch you guys when you make it to the States. Cheers. Cheers to you, Sam Cash. 250,000 cows.

There's got to be a better way. What would all those cowards be doing now for work? They've got cows to tend. Thank you very much for that great fact, Sam. Just wanted to call back to that good joke I had made earlier. Very clever observation. Just wanted to bring that back so people will remember, God, she's clever.

The only problem is, Jess, a lot of people skip the first half of the show and come straight to everyone's favourite section so they won't get the call back. That's true. Well, go back and if you've got time, listen to the actual episode. Yeah, listen to the preamble. I think you'll like it. I think you'll find it interesting and informative and fun.

Yeah. It's not everyone's favourite, but it's still pretty good. It's pretty good. Thank you, Sam, Brigadier General. The next one comes from Siraj Peiris. And I caught up with Siraj a couple of times during the festival. Always a pleasure. He's one of our great supporters.

What a guy. Great supporters of Melbourne comedy. And he... Have I talked about it on the pod before? One of my favourite drinks as a kid or if I'm ever out at a country bakery, I always get the Portello. Oh, yes.

Portello on an Enish tart. Yeah. Sort of like my nostalgia meal at a country bakery. And he found a beer that is a Portello beer. So he came and dropped off a four pack of them at my show. That's good. I haven't tried them yet, but I'm really excited to. Anyway, Siraj, aka bingo enthusiast and ungrateful child.

Okay. Siraj is offering a brag. Let's see if this sheds any light on that title i think it's all pretty self-explanatory that's true loves bingo is a piece of shit siraj siraj's brag is following michelle brazier's challenge slash advice on the Fast and the Furious episode, I saw Honk Honk, Hubba Hubba, Ring-a-Ding-Ding, Reform, the live pods and the quiz shows. Oh, remember? Yeah, Michelle said go see them all.

That's right. That is such great effort. Nobody would have thought of that if Michelle hadn't said it. Thank you so much, Michelle, for putting that in Saraja's head. So, Saraja says, I'm calling bingo. I don't have a sick brother, but my mum just got back from hospital. When can I expect Michelle to tell my mum to fuck off? P.S. My mum's fine.

P.P.S. I didn't make up the big things bingo myself. That was posted by Matt. Huh. So, yeah. Suraj in the Facebook group, he did a big thing bingo card where he took photos in front of all these big things around australia does he mean that i posted it i have no recollection of that

you don't remember anything though you're an old man that's true i've got an old brain old brain we love siraj siraj is a um just an absolute delight it was a pleasure seeing you in the front row At the Comedy Festival, my friend Cheers, Siraj Alright, the next one comes from Paul Mellor Paul is giving himself the title Just a bloke walking his dog

While listening to Do Go On I love Paul's He posts photos on Twitter of his walks I've said this before He lives in some lovely spot in England And there are always just these lovely lovely shots of the forest or something. Oh, that's nice. Very nice.

Paul has a question writing, So I'm on holiday at the moment taking two weeks off work. Hope you're enjoying yourself, Paul. This week my family and I have travelled to the Cotswolds and are living in a country cottage and enjoying some well-earned downtime. That sounds so amazing uh it got me thinking i could really get used to this other than some organized day trips i'm just really enjoying going for a walk with the dog and no pressures treating ourselves to

some nice food and a few cheeky beers of an evening wake up whenever we feel like it the next day and repeat almost sounds like a brag now, but I guess my question is, what do you like to do most on holidays? Keep up the great work. Just listen to the Island of Dr. Moreau live episode. Very, very funny report, Jess. That's a good question, but I feel like you've...

I don't know what my answer would have been, but I feel like my answer now is whatever you just said. Yeah. That sounds so good. Oh, man. You've also asked that question at a time when I am quite burnt out. Yeah. Just hearing about Paul's holiday,

I felt my body physically relax. That made me feel good too. Yeah. Dave, sorry, you were going to answer. You had something locked and loaded. Oh, I love just to walk around. Yeah, have a little explore. Yeah, long walk and I also love to go to the local supermarket,

see what they've got that we don't have. Yeah, that's true. Love that. Yeah, I love a walk as well. I like, I don't know, I think I used to sort of like being a classic tourist more, you know, and like seeing things and you've come all this way, you're going to be out and about, you're going to be doing stuff.

But now I am very busy in my life. So, when I have a break, I like to just do it as little as possible. I love to be on a beach, walk on a beach, sit by a fire. Like I like to be able to put my feet up a little bit and not have to like check my emails. Have the fresh air. Yeah, not have a deadline for a little bit is nice. Totally with you.

I used to think that I'd be so bored on those beach holidays. You do nothing. I want to go out and do things. And then part of when I won that trip to Mexico with Taco Bill, part of it was in Mexico City, seeing stuff, big city, one of the biggest ones in the world. And then the other part was going to Tulum on the beach at a resort and I loved doing nothing.

I loved it. I think a bit of a mix is ideal. Yeah, it was fantastic. Just at a resort, like, you know, you go to the beach, you sit by the pool. See things, do stuff and you're still feeling good because you don't have the sort of pressures of work stuff to do or whatever. You don't have to be of pressures of work stuff to do or whatever.

You don't have to be rushing home, you know, by a certain time. That's nice. But you've got to have an element of just being a bit of a piece of shit. Get some sleep. Wake up whenever you want. It's nice. Visit the breakfast buffet. Yes.

That's what I love doing on holidays, breakfast buffets. Yeah, he loves a breakfast buffet. Pandemic has really killed them a little bit. Remember that tiny banana in Thailand? It was so small. It was a tiny little banana. I don't remember that at all. There's a photo on our Instagram.

You want to see it? I think I rarely get to have holidays where there is a breakfast buffet available. Well, you're not in Dave's tax bracket. That's true. When you travel like Dave travels, there's a bloody breakfast buffet. They call it the buffet bracket. No, it's tax bracket. That's true. When you travel like Dave travels, there's a bloody breakfast buffet. They call it the buffet bracket.

No, it's a Buffet. Warren Buffet bracket. Yeah, Warren Buffet. Thank you very much, Paul. Great question. Geez, that did make me dream a little bit. Yeah, I just felt much more relaxed. And finally, Nathan Swapp.

Okay. A connoisseur of victory pastries. Pastries. Pastries. I thought it was going to be pasties. Oh, anyway. A connoisseur of victory pastries. Okay.

It's probably good to remind them that you don't read them before you read them. I love pastries. Nathan's also got a question, which is, before you read them. I love pastries. Nathan's also got a question, which is, the Hubble,

the Hubble, the humble croissant is often considered French, but its origins lay in Vienna, Austria. Huh. A predominant myth is that croissants were baked after the failed Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683.

The Christian forces made the pastries in the shape of the Ottoman crescent moon. However, this remains a myth as no origins can be confirmed. So my question for everyone is what pastry or baked good would you want to celebrate a victory over your mortal enemy? And we always, as Paul did, love a... If you're asking a question in this section, we'd love an answer. And Nathan answers saying, Paul did, or love a, if you're asking a question in this section. Answer your question. Love an answer.

And Nathan answers saying, my answer is either a nice cake donut or a big loaf of banana bread. Ooh. She's had it really rubbed into your enemies. A big loaf of banana bread. I want something that you can have with like a cup of tea or a coffee or something. Fantastic. That's nice. Like I love a chocolate cake.

I make these ginger cookies that are i love them very much i do love croissants so does my dog and i always say it's because he's french but now i know they're not they might not be french oh maybe the dog's not french oh my god is he austrian austrian bulldog i'll'll still love him. I'm just confused. Yeah, I mean, I just mentioned Nenish tarts. Do they count as a baked? A baked tart? A pasty. I love a pasty.

Pasty sauce. Yes. And then a Nenish tart and a bottle of Portello. Oh, my God, yes. Yeah, that's victory. That's victory. If I'm at that country bakery with you. The Portello. If I'm at that country bakery with you, what's Portello? Like, that's victory. That's victory. If I'm at that country bakery with you... Pinky finger off the Portello.

If I'm at that country bakery with you, what's Portello? Like, what's... It's just like a soft drink that's, you know... What sort of flavouring is it? It's meant to be like grapes. Okay. I mean, I don't think it tastes like anything. It's just colours and chemicals.

Because I'd be going for like a Paschiona. Ooh. Or a Posito. Oh, Kirks. And I'd go a Parsi as well,iona or a Posito. Oh, a Kirk's. And I'd go a Parsi as well and then a lemon tart. Oh, yeah. Delish. Or a Big M.

Fantastic. I used to go a Big M, but that's too much. Or a Kiwa Valley strawberry, depending on where we are. Yeah, whatever. Or a Nippy's iced coffee if it's available. I love a Nippy's. My victory meal is meat pie, chocolate Nippy's, wash it all down

With a jelly slice I've never I don't I mean I like to think I don't hold grudges But ever since nippies Yeah

Didn't want to Give us free nippies Yeah The Well it wasn't free It was going to be A sponsorship thing Yeah

But they were going to Give us nippies We've never talked about that On air We probably explained That we nearly had a nippy sponsorship deal and then it all went sour. Someone at nippies wanted to do it and there was this conversation that was happening

and then the big boss at nippies said, no, you may not. We will not be associated with them. I don't think I've had a nippy since. Every time I give blood and I have the option of Nippies, I'm like, I want it, but it doesn't taste as good as it would have. No, not as sweet. And we would have given them the biggest wrap.

Would have been the best. Yeah, we're big Nippies fans. Biggest plug. All I had to do was send us a couple of Nippies. That's all we wanted. Well, we show them. We'll never talk about them on this podcast. They miss their shot. We'll never talk about them on this podcast. They miss their shot.

We'll never talk about how much we love their products. Not once. Nope. The beautiful big straws. Yes, good size straw. Anyway, what are we doing? I got lost thinking about nippies and victory pastries. The other thing we like to do on the show is thank a few of our other great supporters.

Jess, you normally have a bit of a game to do with the topic we just explored. Do we give them an event that they meddle in? They don't have to get gold. Stop meddling in my events. So they could get a poo medal. They could get a poo medal. Okay.

They're probably on the podium, I guess. All right. Well, if I get a poo medal. Okay. They're probably on the podium, I guess. All right. Well, if I may kick us off. Poo-dium. Yes. Now, is that a pun, Dave? It is, and it sucks. So, please continue.

Do go on. Please continue. New show title. If I could kick us off, I'd love to thank, ooh, looks like from address unknown, can only assume deep from within the fortress of the moles is where they reside. I'd love to thank richard cloughton or cloughton richard cloughton it could be clofton clofton oh that's good i mean if we knew where they were from we could have a better guess it could be clofton i guess i could be

completely wrong let's say cloughton um richard cloughton has a bit of a feel of like uh like a real gentleman sport you know like i'm thinking track and field i'm thinking shop what javelin javelin javelin what kind of metal silver silver silver metal and javelin love that yeah silver metal and javelin Love that Yeah Silver medal in javelin Well done Richard Cloughton Or Cloughton Or Cloughton Nailed it Let's just call him Dickie C Dickie C

I'd also love to thank From Watsonia North Here in Victoria Australia Jill Welch Jill Welch Welch what is that? That says swimmer to me Me too

Squelch Butterfly Butterfly A tough That. Squelch. Butterfly. Butterfly. That's a tough one. Madam Butterfly. Before Susie O'Neill. And after. Wow.

Susie O'Neill had a brief interlude. As Madam Butterfly. As Madam Butterfly. But Jill either side. Wow. That's a legacy, Jill. Yeah. The Jill Welch sandwich.

And with a legacy like that, we're going gold all the way through. Right? Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold. Gold, gold, gold, gold, gold. Then Platinum invented a new medal for Jill. Yeah, because they were like, Jill, it's embarrassing how much you're winning by. Yeah. We've got to give other people a go.

And so rather than adding one at the bottom, we're going to add one to the top. Love it. And finally for me, also from Address Unknown, also assuming from deep within the fortress of the moles It is a one-namer Stefan Or Stefan Stefan

Or Stefan It's hard to know without more information Stefan does not give a lot away But that's why they are so good at being undercover In the hide-and-seek Olympics. Yes. Yeah. And Stefan hid originally at the, was it the…

Atlanta Olympics? Yeah, I think so. In the toilet there? Never found. Yeah. Still haven't been found. The longest reigning champion. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Still haven't been found. It's the longest reigning champion. That's right.

Yeah. Yeah. We hope Stefan's okay. Yeah, I think Stefan disappeared. Had to give the gold medal to his widow. Who's still calling themselves the wife, but holding on to hope. But the media does keep saying widow, and she does not like it. And I mean, Stefan, by supporting our show,

sort of suggests still exists alive and well. And Stefan, well done. An honour to have you. Thank you so much. I love calling it the Atlanta Olympics. That's what Rory and HG's running joke at Sydney. They'd go, Atlanta, oh yeah, the toilet. What an awful Olympics.

May I thank some people as well? I'd love it if you could. Thank you so much. I would love to thank, from Greenway in the Australian Capital Territory, here in Australia, Kate Beath. Kate Beath. Kate Beath is a great name. Kate Beath.

Kate Beath. That sounds to me like a gymnast that specialises in the vault. Oh, okay. The vault. Kate Beath. That sounds Kate Beath. That sounds to me like a gymnast that specialises in the vault. Ooh, okay. The vault. Kate Beath. Yeah, Kate Beath on the vault. I feel like Kate Beath is a gold medalist in the Commonwealth Games and a silver medalist in the Olympics. Fucking hell, you'd take that, wouldn't you?

I'd take that. I'd take that. I'd take that. Any day of the week. I'd love to have been good at gymnastics or anything. Again, would love that. Kate Beath. Well done, Kate Beath. What a pleasure to have been good at gymnastics or anything again would love that well done kate beef what a pleasure to have you uh i would also have to thank from bickley in western australia karina smeets smeets smeets smeets in lane one i'm thinking 400 meters okay and the four by 400 that's what i reckon what what leg of the race uh anchor oh really bring it at home which is an important leg as we were discussing yeah i mean in the 400 uh there's no there's no you know because you're just doing 400 but the four by 400 yeah anchor

in in in the solervent you are yourvent, you are your own anchor. You are your own anchor. Isn't that beautiful? You only have you to rely on. Your own anchor. It's a nice lesson. Oh, it's beautiful. Thank you, Karina Smeets. And finally, for me, I'd love to thank from Werribee in Victoria,

a bunch of Aussies for me today, Benjamin Kleinberg. Benjamin Kleinberg. That's a really fun name. I'm getting like a Winter Olympic vibe. Yes. Like, you know, like a long distance speed skate, like 5,000 metres. Yeah, okay, yeah. Great.

Endurance. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And like a bit of a, I feel like Australia is getting more and more involved in the Winter Olympics. Yeah. And he's really sort of like a pioneer of his sport, which is very cool. Like the next generations will see Benjamin Kleinberg as a real legend of the game.

Thank you so much, Benjamin Kleinberg. Hey, I would like to thank now from San Juan Capistrano in California. It is Craig and Becca Cousins. Okay, so like a doubles event. Great. I feel like, is it only equestrian that both men and women compete? At the same event. Yeah, or I was thinking like figure skating.

Oh, okay. A little bit of a Torval and Dean style. Mixed tennis. Do they have that at the Olympics? Were you asking for real answers? Because you're thinking summer Olympics. I was thinking of summer, but yes, you're absolutely right for the...

I guess so. I can't think of other things. Yeah, because other like the water sports and stuff are male and female, I believe. So we could go equestrian. But then I kind of want them to both be on the horse at the same time. Oh, can we? Yeah, I mean, we don't have to be restricted by...

True, you made up the hide-and-seek Olympics. What? It's supposed to be a secret. So, yeah, you can make something up or we can go with equestrian or a winter sport What about snow equestrian? Okay, so are you on horses or are you on ski-doos? Or snow leopards

Yeah, what are you riding? All three You're on ski-doos pulled by a snow leopard And it's a race But also a judged event for how beautiful you look While you do it? Exactly Wow, but also a judged event for how beautiful you look. While you do it? Exactly.

Wow, that ski dude has beautiful braids. You get a time and then an average score out of 10 and then you add them together and whoever's got the highest score. There's a swimsuit section. No, a lot of short shit. No, that doesn't work. There's a swimsuit section? Yeah. That ski dude looks beautiful in a bikini.

A lot of high beams on, let me tell you. I just like saying ski-do. It's your time minus your score out of 10. Right. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's bonkers, if I can be honest. But thank you, Craig and Becca Cousins. And sorry for this.

I will tell you that they're the only people who do it in the world, so they are automatic gold medalists. Yeah. Wow. That. Wow. That's clever. And they challenge people to contest them. On their ski-dos. I would like to thank now from an unknown location.

Can I leave you a shame? We've got another mole fortress dweller. We've got a bit to work with the name, though. Oscar Terry Young. Oh, Terry. Terry. Great to have you on board, Terry. Always good Oscar Terry Young. Oh, Terry. Terry. Great to have you on board, Terry. Always good to have you on board, Terry.

Obviously, we were shouting out to you before and you don't like. Dave was saying you don't really like us shouting. Mainly because your first name is Oscar. We keep giving you the wrong name. O-T-Y. What's O-T-Y? The Olympian of?

The Olympian of freshest food fighter. Okay. Amazing. Yeah. Again, is it like judged on accuracy of throwing the food, but also how fresh the food is? Yeah, that's right. So none of this rotten tomato stuff.

You've got to cook your own food fresh, and then you have the food fight. So it's hot. Yeah, and the fresh, and then you have the food fart. So it's hot. Yeah, and the judges come in then and eat the food. So it's hot food that you're throwing, so you're burning people. What if I've made a soup? It's multifaceted. I really hope you haven't made a soup.

You know how my soups are always too hot. I know, that's why you'll never make it in this event. They're far too hot, my soups. But they... We will... No, so yeah, so it's multifaceted. There's the cooking, there's the accuracy, and there's the taste. The quality of the food.

Wow. Yeah, that's a lot. Yeah, no soups allowed. Sorry, Jess. Okay, well, I'm out. Yeah. That feels like a very much anti-Jess rule. It was.

You burned a lot of people. I don't know how to control temperatures of soups. Literally and figuratively. Oscar Terry Young, though. Yeah. Fantastic fresh food fighter. So what sort of medal position are we looking at? Cake.

Cake medal. Cake medal. Nice. Yeah. But then it is put on a table with real medals and the judges have to identify which one is cake. Been watching a bit of Is It Cake lately. Is it cake?

Great question. And Oscar Terry Young can answer. And your final shout out there, David? Final shout out. Another mole fortress dweller. Unknown location of Shauna Utber. Utber. Shauna Utber. Shauna Utber.

Horse drawer. Okay. Yeah. So, while the equestrian event is on, Shauna draws... Well, Shauna is very good at it too. But, I mean, the whole field draws the horses. And the best drawing wins. That's what? I like it.

Wins a medal. And Shauna won the gold plated medal. Yep. Which is what they, I mean, all the gold medals are just gold plated. But Shauna likes to be honest about it. I don't really think it was a gold medal. Shauna says it's only gold plated. Right.

And everyone's like, yeah, yeah i mean that's all gold medals isn't it and she says i don't know and that thrilling conversation was of course worth repeating yeah well it's one of the most famous uh interviews bruce mcavaney ever did i mean they all they're all gold-plated, Shauna. Well, I didn't know that, so. Okay. Well, good. Good to know, I suppose.

Thank you, Shauna, Oscar, Craig and Becca, Benjamin, Karina, Kate, Stefan, Jill and Richard. And the last thing we like to do is welcome members into the Triptych Club. Only one this week. Okay. So, the Triptych Club is a place you get entry into, lifetime entry, if you support us on the shout-out level or above, for three straight years. And once you come in, you enter the club,

I'm standing on the door, I'm the door man. I've got the door list. I pull up the velvet robe. I welcome you in. Dave's on stage inside, as so is everyone else has been welcomed in before, and they're cheering you on. Dave is hyping you up. The's on stage inside, as so is everyone else has been welcomed in before, and they're cheering you on. Dave is hyping you up.

The crowd's chanting your name. Dave gives you a little tickle, a little ego tickle. Not a physical one. By doing some sort of a weak pun on your name or your city of origin, and then Jess sort of builds up Dave. Yeah, we'll not be touching the patrons. And Jess, you normally have a cocktail named after the episode as well? origin and then jess sort of builds up dave yeah we'll not be touching the patrons and uh jess you normally have a cocktail named after the episode as well yeah well um actually what i have now is

uh everything is olympic themed and i've got a food for each olympic like i've got the olympic rings laid out on the table but in food yeah. Yeah, it's beautiful. Yeah. So it's really nice, actually. And they're all soup. It's all soup. I've got blue soup. Five different coloured soup. I've got green soup. Yeah.

You know, I've got all the soups. Black soup. I've got black soup. It's not good. No, it's very burnt. It's very bad soup. But it hits the colour markers. Yeah.

Visually beautiful. Visually beautiful. Don't eat it. Don't eat it. Maybe the red one. That's okay. That's markers. Yeah. Visually beautiful. Visually beautiful. Don't eat it. Don't eat it. Maybe the red one. That's okay. That's tomato. Yeah.

Green soup, not too bad, but... But it's too hot. Yeah. I will warn you. It's the edible one, but it's far too hot. Yeah, you've got to give it quite a bit of time to cool off. It's a very hot soup. It's a hot soup.

Dave, you normally book a band as well? Yes, we are so fortunate to have booked. I've been in contact with these guys for months. They managed to sort of give me the run around, I'll be honest. But I've been able to lock them in this week. That is the band Marathon. Oh, that's convenient. Performing their hit songs, some lovely parting gifts,

and I don't have a dancing problem. Yeah. Very defensive, Marathon. I don't have a dancing problem. Very defensive Marathon. I don't have a dancing problem. I'm fully in control of my dancing. That's from their 2005 self-titled. I'm a social dancer. So Marathon will play the after party. Grab yourself some soup.

Get ready to say do not eat it, whatever you do. Let it cool for at least three hours it's so hot oh my god and probably avoid the blue and black suits

don't eat the blue and black and looking forward to hearing Marathon but before we get to that let's welcome in this week's new inductee to the

Triptych Club from Surrey Hills here in Victoria, Australia it's Sam Cross oh I was Cross but now I'm happy. Sam Cross. Go on, Matt.

Find a flaw in that. That was perfect. That was fantastic, Dave. Thank you. A return to form. Finally. Jess felt so strongly about it, she didn't even hype you up. Didn't need to.

I just went straight for his main criticiser. You defended me. Yeah, defended your honour. So welcome in, Sam. Make yourself at home. You defended me. Yeah, I defended your honour. So welcome in, Sam. Make yourself at home. Enjoy the soup. Don't eat it. Please don't eat it.

You've got to give it quite a bit of time. So much time. I'd get something else in the meantime. Before we go, Jess, is there anything we need to tell people? That you can suggest a topic in the show notes or also at our website, dogoonpod.com. You can find us at dogoonpod on all social media

and you can contact us at dogoonpod at gmail.com. And Dave, I think that's all we've got time for. I absolutely love it. And I'll just add on to the end of that with suggesting a topic. Oh, okay. I forgot something. No, I'm just going to say. No, it's fine.

Just fucking tell them about the socials as well because I probably fucked that up, didn't I? Because I'm an idiot. No, I just wanted to say, if you're from a part of the world that we don't often report on, I don't think we've ever done an Ethiopian-based story before, you've got a local story or a hero or something, we'd love to know about it.

We'd love to expand our horizons. And so, yeah, that would be really cool. Do you think? I'm not talking to you. All right, Dave. Bring this baby home. Hey, we'll be back next week with another episode. But until then, also, thank you so much and goodbye.

Later. Bye. Bye. Your money's not good here, baby. We can wait for clean water solutions. Or we can engineer access to clean water. We can acknowledge indigenous cultures. Or we can learn from indigenous voices.

We can demand more from the earth. Or we can demand more from ourselves. At York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future. York University, we work together to create positive change for a better tomorrow. Join us at yorku.ca slash write the future.