Reviews

It’s time to wrap up an epic Paralympics as Off The Podium looks back on 13 incredible days of competition. We go over the biggest highlights from both Australia and Canada, celebrate some of the other memorable moments from across the Games and debate whether the Paralympics might actually be more entertaining than the Olympics. We also ask why the event still doesn’t get the coverage it deserves and why that needs to change moving forward.

After 16 incredible days, it’s time to farewell Tokyo 2020 with Off The Podium’s full wrap of the Games we thought might never happen. We look back at the best, worst and weirdest moments, crown our stars of the Olympics, debate the new sports and see how Australia and Canada stacked up against our medal predictions. And while Tokyo is over, there’s still plenty to get excited about with the Beijing Winter Olympics just around the corner.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics come to a close as Off The Podium recaps the final day of competition and another memorable closing ceremony. Ben, Colin and Jarrod react to Canada’s final-day gold medal, Australia’s quieter finish and a ceremony that left them with plenty of questions. The trio also crowns the unlikely star of the night, reflects on the Games as a whole and looks ahead to Paris 2024, including the very real hope of competitive jet fighting.

The penultimate day of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics brings more memorable moments as Off The Podium recaps day 15. Ben, Colin and Jarrod celebrate Canada’s historic women’s football gold and Australia finally winning its first Olympic medal in men’s basketball, while also praising high jumper Nicola McDermott. The trio tackles javelin, saves some of its best commentary for rhythmic gymnastics and looks ahead to the closing ceremony.

The third-last day of Tokyo 2020 brings more medals for Australia and Canada as Off The Podium recaps all the action. We debate Australia’s beach volleyball silver and boxing bronze, celebrate Canada’s athletics success and get pumped about more medals for past podcast guests. There’s also more Modern Pentathlon love, some questionable table tennis commentary and plenty of excitement as we look ahead to the final days of the Games.

Day 13 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics delivers more gold for both Australia and Canada as Off The Podium recaps another remarkable day. Ben, Colin and Jarrod react to two surprise Australian victories, Canada’s decathlon triumph and the continued celebrations around Andre de Grasse. The trio also looks at Canada’s growing strength in canoe and cycling, tries its hand at artistic swimming commentary and celebrates the crowning of New Zealand’s greatest-ever Olympian.

Australia and Canada both celebrate gold on day 12 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as Off The Podium recaps another big day of competition. Ben, Colin and Jarrod react to Australia’s sailing triumph and surprise bronze medals, assess the return of skateboarding and celebrate Peter Bol’s breakthrough performance. The trio also looks at the decathlon, tries its hand at wrestling commentary and once again debates who deserves to be named athlete of the day.

Day 11 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics brings plenty of drama as Off The Podium recaps Norway’s surprising success away from the snow, the long-awaited Olympic debut of sport climbing and frustrating fourth-place finishes for Australia and Canada in cycling. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also celebrate big results in football, hockey and boxing, before another fiercely contested athlete of the day debate threatens to send the chairs flying.

Day 10 of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics brings a quieter but still eventful day as Off The Podium recaps Andrew Hoy adding two more medals to his remarkable career, Canada’s huge football victory and Australia’s disappointing Hockeyroos exit. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also reflect on the men’s 100m result, admit they’re already missing the swimming, try to make golf exciting with commentary and work out exactly who is representing Australia in the javelin.

Day nine of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics delivers more record-breaking moments for Australia and Canada. Off The Podium celebrates Emma McKeon becoming Australia’s most decorated Olympian and Penny Oleksiak making Canadian Olympic history, while also embracing BMX freestyle and reacting to a remarkable men’s 100m final. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also return with race commentary, defend Steven Bradbury’s legacy and debate another heated athlete of the day.

Tokyo 2020 reaches the halfway point as Off The Podium recaps another golden day for Australia and more silver success for Canada. Ben, Colin and Jarrod celebrate Emma McKeon equalling Australia’s Olympic medal record, another backstroke gold for Kaylee McKeown and Kylie Masse adding another silver. The trio also looks at strong athletics performances, returns to swimming commentary, debates a tennis medal and discovers an unexpected new favourite Olympic sport.

Australia and Canada both celebrate gold on another memorable day at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Off The Podium recaps Emma McKeon’s latest swimming triumph, Cate Campbell adding another medal and Canada’s success on the water. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also react to Rosie MacLennan missing out on a third straight trampoline gold and celebrate major football victories for both Australia and Canada.

Jess Fox finally reaches the top of the Olympic podium as Off The Podium recaps another golden day for Australia at Tokyo 2020. Ben, Colin and Jarrod celebrate Fox’s breakthrough victory, Zac Stubblety-Cook’s swimming success and Canada’s rowing bronze, while also recognising Australia’s other medal winners. The trio also salutes San Marino’s first-ever Olympic medal, tries some sailing commentary and takes a look at NBC’s Games coverage in the United States.

Day five of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics delivers a huge medal haul for Australia as Off The Podium recaps a history-making day of competition. Ben, Colin and Jarrod celebrate Tasmania’s remarkable place on the medal tally, give rowing some overdue attention and hail Penny Oleksiak’s record-breaking achievement for Canada. The trio also brings out some badminton commentary and once again debates who deserves to be named athlete of the day.

Australia and Canada enjoy another golden day at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics as Off The Podium recaps day four of competition. Ben, Colin and Jarrod celebrate Kaylee McKeown’s 100m backstroke victory, declare the podcast curse officially broken and revisit their latest swimming commentary. The trio also embraces surfing, laments softball’s Olympic exit, feels for Jess Fox and faces its toughest athlete of the day decision yet.

Australia and Canada both strike gold on day three of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, while Tasmania also gets its moment in the spotlight. Off The Podium recaps all the medal success, some unexpectedly revealing triathlon coverage and the latest victims of the podcast’s Olympic curse. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also try their hand at fencing commentary, examine Canada’s disappointment in judo and reflect on a difficult day for the Australian softball team.

After a golden day for Australia and a silver day for Canada, the squad is back to recap day two of Tokyo 2020! We celebrate the medal rush, unleash some swimming commentary, praise Cate Campbell and salute Tunisia’s big moment. There’s also plenty to say about skateboarding, surfing, the Storm Sanders Barty Party, Canada’s softball confusion and whether we’ve already found Tokyo’s answer to Ryan Lochte.

Day one of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is complete, with Australia and Canada both finishing without a medal. Off The Podium reviews the biggest moments, including the road race, weightlifting, fencing and two Australia v Canada showdowns. Ben, Colin and Jarrod also put their commentary skills to the test with dressage, debate whether fifth place can count as a Canadian victory and tackle the challenge of explaining one of Tokyo’s new Olympic sports.

The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are officially underway as Off The Podium reviews the opening ceremony and the first action from the Games. Ben, Colin and Jarrod debate whether the ceremony lived up to expectations, assess Channel Seven and CBC’s coverage, rank the best and worst team outfits and wonder whether anyone else was missing Nikki Webster. The trio also looks at the early results, previews day one of competition and launches some unique fan engagement for Australia and Cana

PyeongChang 2018 comes to an end as Ben, Colin and Jarrod recap the final day and closing ceremony. The trio questions the ceremony itself, wonders where Psy was, looks ahead to Beijing 2022 and asks whether Thomas Bach is still speaking. There’s also Ben’s newfound friendship with Edwina Bartholomew before the team reflects on where PyeongChang ranks among their favourite Olympics and farewells the Games in style.