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Speaker 1: Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where we're in

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Speaker 1: New York City for the Business of Women's Sports Conference,

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Speaker 1: trying not to totally fangirl Chelsea Clinton and Laurie Hernandez.

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Speaker 1: It's Tuesday, April twenty second, and on today's show, we're

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Speaker 1: skipping the need to know and jumping straight to my

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Speaker 1: interview with the American mile record holder and twenty twenty

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Speaker 1: four Olympian, Nicky Hilts. I caught up with them last

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Speaker 1: week to hear how things have been since our last

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Speaker 1: visit pre Paris Olympics, chat about why they joined the

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Speaker 1: inaugural season of Grand Slam Track, get a peek at

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Speaker 1: the behind the scenes competition between competitions, and talk about

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Speaker 1: the impact of music and pop culture on their training.

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Speaker 1: That conversation's coming up right after this. We've got a

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Speaker 1: repeat champ here joining us for a second time here

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Speaker 1: on Good Game. They're the American record holder in the

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Speaker 1: mile and the two time reigning US outdoor fifteen hundred

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Speaker 1: meter champion. At the US Olympic Track Trials last year,

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Speaker 1: they clocked the second fastest time ever recorded by an

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Speaker 1: American in the women's fifteen hundred meter race and went

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Speaker 1: on to take seventh and the fifteen at the Paris Olympics.

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Speaker 1: They're part of the inaugural season of the Michael Johnson

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Speaker 1: founded Grand Slam Track and at the first event in Kingston,

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Speaker 1: Jamaica earlier this month, they won the eight hundred meter

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Speaker 1: race with a personal best. They competed collegiately for Oregon

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Speaker 1: and Arkansas. They founded the Pride five k charity race.

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Speaker 1: They've done the Charlie XCX Apple Dance on a bigger

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Speaker 1: stage than any of y'all, and they should not be

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Speaker 1: trusted with the vouvuzela. It's Nicky hilt.

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Speaker 2: Hey Nikki, Hey Sarah, how's it going good?

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Speaker 1: I think you've got enough charisma and enthusiasm that we

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Speaker 1: do not need to hand you a horn. Based on

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Speaker 1: your Instagram and the voove azelas in Jamaica, I think

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Speaker 1: that was a bad idea for whoever did that.

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Speaker 2: I know I didn't they were loud. I didn't know

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Speaker 2: they were going to be that loud. But no, that

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Speaker 2: was so fun. I love that thing. I still have it.

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Speaker 1: Actually, do you do you remember? Are you old enough

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Speaker 1: to remember that there was a World Cup that they

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Speaker 1: started banning them because it was so annoying.

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Speaker 2: Oh I didn't know that, but that makes total sense.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, Like during the soccer games, it was

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Speaker 1: the entire crowd was using the and it made it

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Speaker 1: like insufferable to watch and they ended up banning them

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Speaker 1: from being in the stands. So somehow they slipped back

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Speaker 1: into the track world, at least in Jamaica, which I

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Speaker 1: guess makes sense. So we spoke to you before the

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Speaker 1: Olympics last year. You were one of our first guests

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Speaker 1: on the show, and I just want to start there.

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Speaker 1: How has life changed for you? That felt like, you

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Speaker 1: know phrasing, but a coming out party for you on

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Speaker 1: the national and global stage of a different kind. How's

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Speaker 1: life been since then?

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Speaker 2: Oh it's been great. I mean definitely was like, yeah,

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Speaker 2: Paris was incredible. It felt like a ten day fever dream,

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Speaker 2: you know. But yeah, I think I definitely kind of

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Speaker 2: hit the post Olympics like I wouldn't say depression, but

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Speaker 2: just like low, like whoa like. And I think it

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Speaker 2: was because so much of last year was spent thinking

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Speaker 2: about the Olympics and then it happened and then it

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Speaker 2: was like what do I think about now? You know?

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Speaker 2: But it's been good. I mean I made some changes.

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Speaker 2: I have a new coach, which is awesome, but a

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Speaker 2: lot of things have stayed the same. Just it's like

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Speaker 2: I feel like, yeah, I'm entering a part of my

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Speaker 2: career where I'm really excited to compete more globally now.

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Speaker 2: And you know, I was seventh at the Olympics and

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Speaker 2: that was awesome for me. But I want to just

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Speaker 2: keep improving as athlete and I want you know, the

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Speaker 2: medals or are right there, and I want to within

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Speaker 2: the next four years the next Olympics cycle will be Yeah,

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Speaker 2: have kind of my eyes on the medals, so kind

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Speaker 2: of making the changes and little tweaks here and there

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Speaker 2: to kind of element my game a little bit.

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Speaker 1: We love all of our guests here, but I have

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Speaker 1: to admit you're definitely one of our favorites. And I

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Speaker 1: don't think it seemed like anyone was having more fun

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Speaker 1: at the Olympics than you. Like you obviously were ready

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Speaker 1: for your race and prepping, and you went out of

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Speaker 1: you know, the area of Paris to train and make

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Speaker 1: sure you were in the right head space. But once

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Speaker 1: you got back, like just the selfies with everyone in

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Speaker 1: the dancing and everything, you really managed to bring your

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Speaker 1: whole self and your unique style to it instead of

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Speaker 1: getting too like tight, which was so fun to watch,

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Speaker 1: But that letdown is really common say that about things

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Speaker 1: like their wedding or things like the Olympics. Right when

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Speaker 1: there's that giant build up? Do you reset goals for yourself?

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Speaker 1: Because that dream of making the Olympics is such a

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Speaker 1: big one. Now is it about finishing a certain place

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Speaker 1: or continuing to just get better? Like what what have

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Speaker 1: you reset post Olympics?

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Speaker 2: Yeah? I think the way I set goals, they're very

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Speaker 2: like process focused and like not really focused on the outcome.

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Speaker 2: Like my my goals for Paris were to number one,

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Speaker 2: have fun, and I think you saw that ye nailed it,

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Speaker 2: and then number two was run three fifteen hundreds that

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Speaker 2: I was proud of, Like that was just like my goal.

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Speaker 2: So it's not like I want to medal at the

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Speaker 2: Olympics or I you know, like it's kind of more

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Speaker 2: things that I can do. And so I think I

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Speaker 2: still have that same framework. Now it's just like a

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Speaker 2: new season and there's no Olympics on the line, but

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Speaker 2: we still have a World Championship and this fall in Tokyo,

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Speaker 2: and so yeah, I think just similar like I just

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Speaker 2: want to keep having fun. I want to grow and

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Speaker 2: I want to you know, get better. And like when

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Speaker 2: I think, like for me, when there's an area i'm

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Speaker 2: weak at or like there's room for improvement, I get

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Speaker 2: really excited because I'm like, oh, cool, I find master that,

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Speaker 2: then maybe that's what's gonna help getting to the next level.

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Speaker 2: Like I get really excited about kind of where I

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Speaker 2: can find inconsistencies or room for growth.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, because then it's like, oh, I'm going to unlock

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Speaker 1: something new and maybe do something else. You posted recently

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Speaker 1: just such an unhinged distance runner thing. You were like

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Speaker 1: when the thing you love doing is also your self care.

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Speaker 1: So I probably just needed a hug, but instead I

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Speaker 1: ran twenty two four hundred meters. It grows ghost but

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Speaker 1: obviously that's that's what makes you great. Okay, So tell

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Speaker 1: us about Grand Slam track. How did you get involved?

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Speaker 1: Was it like a phone call from Michael himself?

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Speaker 2: I wish no. It was an email from Kyle Murder

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Speaker 2: and he's the he's the one that like signs all

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Speaker 2: the athletes and.

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Speaker 1: The lesser representative.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Chris, you know, but I was shocked. I mean

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Speaker 2: because I knew the format, and I was like, oh,

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Speaker 2: I hope that one of them I could be a challenger,

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Speaker 2: you know. But to get that email to be like

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Speaker 2: do you want to be a racer? Was like awesome,

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Speaker 2: and I my agent, you know, emailed it to me.

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Speaker 2: It was like he knew that there was something that

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Speaker 2: I really wanted and I was just it was just

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Speaker 2: immediately yes, like yes, I want to be a part

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Speaker 2: of this league. And yeah, that was back in like

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Speaker 2: I think it was October, so a couple months after

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Speaker 2: the Olympics, and I was I was just on board

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Speaker 2: right away.

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Speaker 1: Can you tell us about the format the racer versus

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Speaker 1: challenger in the two events?

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Speaker 2: I think a good way to explain it is that

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Speaker 2: this Michael Johnson says this, but it's like the Olympics

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Speaker 2: is the best going head to head once every four years,

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Speaker 2: and Grand Slam track is the best going head to

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Speaker 2: head four times a year. And so the racers are

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Speaker 2: people who are signed on for all four of the

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Speaker 2: Grand Slams, and there's four per event category and then

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Speaker 2: each Grand Slam four new people will come in as challengers.

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Speaker 2: So the one we just had in Kingston, you know,

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Speaker 2: the event group that I'm in is the short distance,

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Speaker 2: and so we all run an eight hundred and a

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Speaker 2: fifteen hundred, and then you know, challengers of racers race

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Speaker 2: each other and then the combined score the highest points wins,

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Speaker 2: and so I was I won the eight hundred, and

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Speaker 2: I was third in the fifteen hundred, and so that

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Speaker 2: was enough points to get second overall in my event

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Speaker 2: category and which was awesome. Like, so that's kind of

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Speaker 2: I think the breakdown. I feel like if you follow

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Speaker 2: Grand Slam Track on social media, they have a lot

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Speaker 2: of ways where they break it down that's probably probably

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Speaker 2: like more well spoken than I am, but that's like

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Speaker 2: the gist of it.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so that's great for folks like you that can

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Speaker 1: excel at multiple distances. Do they have any plans for

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Speaker 1: the field event folks that aren't multi events, because you can't,

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Speaker 1: you know, if you're a shot put or you're not

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Speaker 1: just gonna like randomly throw a Jav'm planning on just

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Speaker 1: keeping it on the track for now.

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Speaker 2: I don't know. I mean, I know right now this

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Speaker 2: season is it's great slam track, like it's very track focused.

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Speaker 2: But yeah, I do think in the future there's there's

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Speaker 2: definitely like a possibility to get field events involved, because

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Speaker 2: you know, that is the beauty of track and field,

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Speaker 2: like we have both. But yeah, no, I think I

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Speaker 2: think just now the focus is on on racing on

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Speaker 2: the track.

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Speaker 1: So you're saying there's an opening for Grand Slam field axactly,

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Speaker 1: all right, there's an opportunity obviously. You know, this is

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Speaker 1: one of a couple things that have started up in

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Speaker 1: the track space. Michael Johnson a name that people will

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Speaker 1: follow and people will get on board with. Did you

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Speaker 1: look up to him growing up or did you mostly

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Speaker 1: stick to watching and idolizing the middle distance folks.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I obviously knew of him, and yeah,

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Speaker 2: the legacy that he has in our sport, and I

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Speaker 2: think it's just really cool, Like I feel like he's

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Speaker 2: really brought whatever made him a good athlete, you know,

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Speaker 2: an Olympic gold medalist like multiple time. Like he's bringing

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Speaker 2: that same intensity and focus and drive to Grand Slam

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Speaker 2: and like it's just cool to see a fellow athlete

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Speaker 2: like and a lot of the people on you know,

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Speaker 2: the leadership of Grand Slam track are former athletes as well,

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Speaker 2: and it's just like, oh, this is why this is

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Speaker 2: so well done. You know, these people are good at

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Speaker 2: their craft and they're you know, maybe to some extent

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Speaker 2: like perfectionists or whatever it is that makes someone a

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Speaker 2: good athlete, Like they're bringing that same intensity to it.

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Speaker 2: And I really really admire his not only just like

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Speaker 2: entrepreneurship and like we're gonna do this, but like after

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Speaker 2: our inaugural Grand Slam and Kingslam, he tweeted, like, hey,

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Speaker 2: give us feedback, like how can we be better? And

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Speaker 2: it's kind of like what I was just talking about

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Speaker 2: of I just I just think that's a really admirable

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Speaker 2: quality of like where is their room for growth and

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Speaker 2: how can we do it? And I think that you're

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Speaker 2: gonna see Grand Slam evolve and grow because of that,

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Speaker 2: and like because of the athletes in charge. They just

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Speaker 2: like they just care so much and they know what

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Speaker 2: they're doing, you know well.

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Speaker 1: And there's obviously exceptions where the ego gets in the way,

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Speaker 1: but I think in general, across a lot of spaces,

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Speaker 1: that's a through line for athletes is give me feed

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Speaker 1: back and make me better. And so they're going to

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Speaker 1: apply that to themselves, like you said, where you're looking

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Speaker 1: for little things you can fix in your own racing,

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Speaker 1: and they're going to apply that after they're done competing

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Speaker 1: to whatever business they're in. So not only is he

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Speaker 1: bringing the excellence that he brought to the track, but

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Speaker 1: also now he wants to, like an athlete, be coached

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Speaker 1: up by everyone and hear how to make things better. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so you talked about the format. One of the most

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Speaker 1: striking things about it is the money. A total of

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Speaker 1: three point one five million dollars in prize money was

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Speaker 1: awarded just at that Jamaica event. Last place in every

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Speaker 1: event there took home as much as the regular season

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Speaker 1: Diamond League winners in the past. A couple Diamond League

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Speaker 1: events are paying a little bit more this year, I

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Speaker 1: think because Athlos kind of gave him a nudge and said, hey,

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Speaker 1: spend more money on the winners. But still the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to go to races like this and make a ton

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Speaker 1: more money than you're making elsewhere. Even if your last

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Speaker 1: no wonder you said, I'm in right away to be

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Speaker 1: a racer, right, that's four guaranteed paydays if you if

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Speaker 1: you compete right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, no, exactly. The money is definitely a huge draw

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Speaker 2: for the athletes, especially in a sport like track and

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Speaker 2: field where we're not football players. Or basketball players like,

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Speaker 2: we don't make these huge incomes and so prize money. Yeah,

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Speaker 2: it's incredible, and the prize perse is it's hard to ignore.

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Speaker 2: And I think you're gonna see a lot of athletes like, shoot,

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Speaker 2: I want to be a part of this. I feel

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Speaker 2: like I think I was talking to Kyle murber A Browde.

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Speaker 2: He's like, I want really good athletes to be watching

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Speaker 2: at home and then be like, oh, I could have

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Speaker 2: won that, and then they come be a challenger the

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Speaker 2: next time, you know.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, so Miami is the next one. It's happening in May.

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Speaker 1: Will you run the same races there? Are you a

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Speaker 1: racer in your two events for the entire circuit?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm a racer for the short distance event category

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Speaker 2: for the whole thing. There's a few athletes like Gabby

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Speaker 2: Thomas who can kind of jump event groups. You know,

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Speaker 2: she can run a one to two and a four.

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Speaker 2: Right now, she's in the two four event group. But

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Speaker 2: I think for some she'll switch to like the one too.

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Speaker 2: But for me, yeah, I don't. I don't want to

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Speaker 2: move up. I don't want to be a part of

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Speaker 2: the three K five G group.

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Speaker 1: No, And that was an interesting element of that first

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Speaker 1: event was and I'm forgetting the guy's name, but he

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Speaker 1: had such a lead in the first race that by

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Speaker 1: the time he got to the second he just had

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Speaker 1: to finish like top five or something to win. So

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Speaker 1: he coasted a little bit. And we're used to seeing

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Speaker 1: that in maybe like the Tour de France, where there's

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Speaker 1: multiple stages, maybe not so much on the track. So

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Speaker 1: something to think about in terms of the excitement. Also,

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Speaker 1: if you're better at the first event than the second,

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Speaker 1: it's harder to celebrate when you win the first one

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Speaker 1: because you still don't know how many points you might

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Speaker 1: need in the second one to win, Whereas if you're

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Speaker 1: leading in the first and then you perform well in

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Speaker 1: your second event, you kind of can celebrate the win.

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Speaker 1: How did you feel about that? That feeling of I mean,

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Speaker 1: of course you're going to celebrate your race and your time,

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Speaker 1: but when you finish being like, I don't know, was

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Speaker 1: that enough to get me enough when I get to

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Speaker 1: the next race. It's you don't usually pair things up

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Speaker 1: like that in racing totally.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a brand new concept for a track, but

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Speaker 2: I really like it because I think it keeps the

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Speaker 2: focus on competing and not like oh, let's chase these

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Speaker 2: pace lights and run a fast time, like it's about

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Speaker 2: just head to head racing and like, Okay, what do

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Speaker 2: I have to do to be the overall champ? What

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Speaker 2: do I have to do in this race? What about?

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Speaker 2: You know, like who do I have to be? And

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Speaker 2: I think it's just people picked it up pretty quickly,

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Speaker 2: like yeah, you're talking about Grant Fisher, like he won

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Speaker 2: the five k and then I think he only had

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Speaker 2: to be third in the three k to secure the win.

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Speaker 2: And I think it's I think it's fun. I think

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Speaker 2: it's a new stratagy. It's something new for track, but

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Speaker 2: it's not new at the same time, it's just racing.

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Speaker 2: And that's the whole thing I think. You know, you see,

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Speaker 2: there's so many in all sports, but like track right now,

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Speaker 2: there's so much development in like technology, like the shoes

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Speaker 2: are insane. There's like we just have more knowledge than

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Speaker 2: ever on how to recover and like the training. Because

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Speaker 2: of the shoes, you can put in a lot more

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Speaker 2: training and recover quicker, like and so you're seeing and

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Speaker 2: the tracks are better surfaces right, like you're seeing the

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Speaker 2: fastest times we've ever ran. Of course, we are, like,

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Speaker 2: we're setting world records because we have the best technology.

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Speaker 2: So it's kind of like I hate that that's kind

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Speaker 2: of been the focus for the past few years of like,

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Speaker 2: you know, who can run the It's like, guys, the

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Speaker 2: point is racing. You don't ask the Olympic gold medalist

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Speaker 2: what time did you run? You're like show me your medal,

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Speaker 2: you know, Like, and I think that that's why I

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Speaker 2: was so attracted to Grand Slam, because that's how I've

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Speaker 2: always approached it, Like you can't compare our era to

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Speaker 2: like even ten years ago at this point because it

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Speaker 2: was so different than technology. So let's just stick to

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Speaker 2: the basics of like who in this era is competing

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Speaker 2: against each other and kind of just yeah, keep the

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Speaker 2: focus on competing, not chasing fast times.

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Speaker 1: Well, and that's like what racing always starts at is

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Speaker 1: in the backyard on the school track, Like who's faster

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Speaker 1: than who? That's what it is. Yeah, right, and you

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Speaker 1: get to have that feeling again. Also, by the way,

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Speaker 1: as a heptathlete, we've been doing that whole did I

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Speaker 1: do enough in this event to have to do enough

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Speaker 1: in this event? To do enough in this event? The

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Speaker 1: entire so now you guys are just understanding what it

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Speaker 1: feels like for us, For me, for instance, to suck

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Speaker 1: at the eight hundred and be like, it's all right,

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Speaker 1: I did enough in the javelin, I did enough in

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Speaker 1: the hurdles. What about the other racers. Obviously there's a

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Speaker 1: family of people you train with, people you see at

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Speaker 1: World Championships, Olympics. But is it a nice feeling to

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Speaker 1: have more of these events during the regular, like off

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Speaker 1: season of those major internationals so that you can hang

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Speaker 1: out with them. Are there racers that you're like, oh,

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Speaker 1: I'm so excited they signed up. I really wanted to

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Speaker 1: meet them or get a chance to hang out with them.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean the racers in my event category are

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Speaker 2: the like the best in the world, and it's really

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Speaker 2: cool that I get to go up against them four times.

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Speaker 2: And you know, Jesshole is someone that I've competed against

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Speaker 2: for a very long time. We were I think a

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Speaker 2: year apart in college, and so you know, my senior year,

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Speaker 2: her junior year, she won and I was second by

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Speaker 2: like point oh two at the NCAA Championship. So we've

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Speaker 2: had like a long career of like, yeah, just going

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Speaker 2: head to head racing and and you know, Mary Morrow

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Speaker 2: is world champ in twenty twenty three, you know, in

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Speaker 2: the eight hundred, so it's really cool to I'm going

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Speaker 2: to be racing eight hundreds against a world champion in

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Speaker 2: that event, Like that's really special. Well, Tedgi is a

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Speaker 2: twenty two year old Ethiopian who is like just coming

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Speaker 2: into her own and she's you know, she's competed. I

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Speaker 2: think she's the only one that's competed out of world

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Speaker 2: champs in both the eight and the fifteen. So it's like,

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Speaker 2: I'm in really good company and I'm I really really

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Speaker 2: am excited that I get to race them, and then

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Speaker 2: the challengers that are going to come in are also

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Speaker 2: world class, so I'm just excited, Like this is just

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Speaker 2: what I love. And the people I think they're only

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Speaker 2: going to make me better because I'm I'm trying to

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Speaker 2: beat them and I'm like, well, shoot, I gotta get

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Speaker 2: better if I want to win.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, we got to get like remember the old Mike

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Speaker 1: versus Mike. We need like a Hall versus Hilts. We

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Speaker 1: need like people to know your stats and how many

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Speaker 1: times you've raced and who's got the lead in the

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Speaker 1: heads ahead. We need to start marketing those rivalries the

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Speaker 1: way that we used to in the old days. Even

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Speaker 1: though I guess that one or was it Dave versus

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Speaker 1: Dan that was the one I'm thinking of, right.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I think Grand Slamchack has made a couple

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Speaker 2: graphics of those key matchups for sure. So yeah, we'll

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Speaker 2: see if there's a Hilts first whole one coming out.

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Speaker 1: So well, tail of the tape, if you will. The challengers,

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Speaker 1: are they different every race or might someone come around

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Speaker 1: in Kingston then be back again in Philadelphia.

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Speaker 2: I think for the most part, they'll be different for

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Speaker 2: each Slam, but if someone comes in and wins the

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Speaker 2: Grand Slam, then they get invited back if they want to.

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Speaker 1: We got to take a quick break more with Niki

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Speaker 1: right after this. So Grand Slam Track, as I mentioned,

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Speaker 1: not the only circuit that has been added to this

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Speaker 1: elite racing opportunity world. We saw Alexis O'hanian's Athlos event

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Speaker 1: just for women and sprinters last year. Meg the Stallion

385
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Speaker 1: was performing you want to Tiffany Crown as part of

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Speaker 1: the winnings, like they made it really kind of a

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Speaker 1: cool event. And then Grand Slam Track arrives and for

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Speaker 1: such a long time. The Diamond League was like the thing.

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Speaker 1: Can you speak to how the pro running space has

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Speaker 1: changed and what that means for elite runners?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean it's really exciting. I love what Athlos did.

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Speaker 2: I think, you know, they raise the bar in prize

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Speaker 2: money and then also, hey, we could have like a

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Speaker 2: really cool musical performance, like you know, why not have

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Speaker 2: Mega selling there? And I think it's it's a really

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Speaker 2: cool that that track is like finally I think having

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Speaker 2: its moment and growing. Yeah, and it just makes me

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Speaker 2: really grateful to be an athlete during this time. And

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Speaker 2: I think it's only going to keep growing. Like we saw,

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Speaker 2: you know, the Olympics, Like I don't know the exact

401
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Speaker 2: stat but what twenty four million people tuned in to

402
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Speaker 2: watch tracks something like that. A lot of people tuned

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Speaker 2: in to watch track at the Olympics, and like, so

404
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Speaker 2: clearly there's a market for it. Clearly people want to

405
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Speaker 2: watch this sport. It's just like you ask people, hey,

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Speaker 2: when's the next time you're going to watch track, and

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Speaker 2: a lot of them will be like, oh, probably in

408
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Speaker 2: LA in twenty twenty eight, and it's like, no, we

409
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Speaker 2: have track all year round, every single year, like let's

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Speaker 2: just start getting some eyes on it. And I think

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Speaker 2: all those people, you know, at the people behind a flows,

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Speaker 2: people on Grantslamtrack understand that and they're they're feeling that

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Speaker 2: need of Hey, people like track and we have it

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Speaker 2: like watch it?

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Speaker 1: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Yeah.

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Speaker 1: It feels like that's been a narrative for such a

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Speaker 1: long time though, and there hasn't been enough movement on

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Speaker 1: until this year and last year. I mean, the Diamond

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Speaker 1: League could have done this right with better sponsorships, with

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Speaker 1: more money, with some innovation and creativity that it's been

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Speaker 1: around since I think twenty ten, right, and you know,

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Speaker 1: there's only one Diamond League event that will be available

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Speaker 1: on TV in the US this year, the Prefontaine. Everything

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Speaker 1: else you have to find on flow Track. They don't

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Speaker 1: make it easy to find, and they haven't made it

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Speaker 1: kind of cool and flashy the way that Athlos and

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Speaker 1: maybe Grand Slam have. Does it feel like a missed

429
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Speaker 1: op opportunity for the Diamond League that they already had

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Speaker 1: this established circuit and if they had just made some

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00:20:05,320 --> 00:20:09,120
Speaker 1: tweaks and then up the prize money using sponsors effectively,

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Speaker 1: they could have been getting some of the They could

433
00:20:12,359 --> 00:20:14,600
Speaker 1: have just owned it in a way that other like

434
00:20:14,720 --> 00:20:18,760
Speaker 1: the NHL, MLB, NFL they own that sport in this country.

435
00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,399
Speaker 1: Diamond League could have done that probably right.

436
00:20:21,840 --> 00:20:24,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, totally, and I think they still can. Like I

437
00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:27,640
Speaker 2: think there's room, like you said, like at the start

438
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,760
Speaker 2: of this podcast, like they did up their prize money

439
00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:31,639
Speaker 2: this year for a first place, which is great. I

440
00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:34,160
Speaker 2: think what's tricky about the Diamondees that from my understanding,

441
00:20:34,200 --> 00:20:37,280
Speaker 2: there's each meat on the Diamon League circuit has a

442
00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:40,200
Speaker 2: very different like meat director and like it's not one

443
00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,320
Speaker 2: cohesive thing. It's like I think that that's an issue

444
00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,359
Speaker 2: for them. And then yeah, I don't want to like,

445
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,000
Speaker 2: you know, hate on the Diamond League. Like there's a

446
00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:51,879
Speaker 2: time and place where and it's his own thing. And

447
00:20:51,920 --> 00:20:54,199
Speaker 2: like I was saying earlier, they are very focused on

448
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,400
Speaker 2: running fast like and they're you know, at all their

449
00:20:56,400 --> 00:20:59,520
Speaker 2: Diamon leagues. They have pace lights and they have pacers

450
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:01,720
Speaker 2: who come in and you know, run the first half

451
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,200
Speaker 2: of the race and then step off to get the

452
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:07,200
Speaker 2: thing going. And that's great, and I think that's awesome

453
00:21:07,240 --> 00:21:09,879
Speaker 2: and it's it's its own thing. But it's just I

454
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:12,440
Speaker 2: don't know, I think there's room for both and all

455
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:15,000
Speaker 2: of it, and but yeah, I do think that they're

456
00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,879
Speaker 2: kind of like, oh wow, these new ventures are coming

457
00:21:18,920 --> 00:21:22,040
Speaker 2: in and these new meets and these new leagues. Huh,

458
00:21:22,119 --> 00:21:23,880
Speaker 2: Like maybe we do need to step up our game.

459
00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:26,560
Speaker 2: And I think it's kind of challenging them. I think,

460
00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:28,159
Speaker 2: like a rise what is it like, It's not a

461
00:21:28,240 --> 00:21:29,000
Speaker 2: zero sum game.

462
00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:31,600
Speaker 1: I think Rising Tide the cell ships, yes.

463
00:21:31,359 --> 00:21:34,480
Speaker 2: And I think Grand Slam and Athlos are the diamond

464
00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:35,360
Speaker 2: it's going to help them.

465
00:21:35,400 --> 00:21:37,720
Speaker 1: And yeah, well and I think also we always get

466
00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:39,920
Speaker 1: really excited about the flashy new thing and it needs

467
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,680
Speaker 1: to be sustainable, right, Like it was just the very

468
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,800
Speaker 1: first event for Grand Slam Track, but the crowds in

469
00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:47,840
Speaker 1: Kingston were super disappointing. In fact, Athlos and the Diamond

470
00:21:47,880 --> 00:21:50,479
Speaker 1: League both kind of took shots at the Grand Slam

471
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:54,240
Speaker 1: Track launch, Like on the day of Athlos was taking

472
00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:56,360
Speaker 1: a subtle dig by posting about the crowds they had

473
00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:58,920
Speaker 1: at their event, and Diamond League announced their places the

474
00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,560
Speaker 1: most elite set of a and the one that's been around.

475
00:22:01,640 --> 00:22:04,080
Speaker 1: So there's a little bit of rivalry there, which to

476
00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:06,480
Speaker 1: your point, could be very good. It could inspire more

477
00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:09,679
Speaker 1: money and some changes. Is there any chance they'll cannibalize

478
00:22:09,680 --> 00:22:13,200
Speaker 1: each other. Is there a point where some athletes will

479
00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:15,000
Speaker 1: be at one event, some athletes will be at another,

480
00:22:15,080 --> 00:22:16,560
Speaker 1: they won't compete at the same and then it will

481
00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:18,360
Speaker 1: feel like you're missing out on the opportunity to have

482
00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,000
Speaker 1: this really high level competition that has all the stars.

483
00:22:22,560 --> 00:22:25,119
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you kind of maybe see that a

484
00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:28,920
Speaker 2: little bit happening now, Like people you know are choosing

485
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,240
Speaker 2: the Diamond League over Grand Slam or vice versa. I'm

486
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:33,800
Speaker 2: definitely choosing Grand Slam over Diamond League this year, Like

487
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,640
Speaker 2: I'm only going to do one, whereas like if Grand

488
00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:38,760
Speaker 2: Slam wasn't a thing, I probably would go to Europe

489
00:22:38,800 --> 00:22:42,280
Speaker 2: and race a lot more. But I don't know. I

490
00:22:42,320 --> 00:22:46,320
Speaker 2: think I hope that My hope is that, yeah, Grand

491
00:22:46,359 --> 00:22:48,760
Speaker 2: Slam just continues to grow because I think that model

492
00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:51,120
Speaker 2: is like what we need to get back to. It's

493
00:22:51,200 --> 00:22:55,000
Speaker 2: like head to head racing, pure racing. Like there's sure

494
00:22:55,040 --> 00:22:56,440
Speaker 2: if you want to go chase a world record, go

495
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 2: do it. But like this is a league and like

496
00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:02,879
Speaker 2: this is there are people, we all have contracts to

497
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,520
Speaker 2: be a part of this league. Like we want this

498
00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:08,680
Speaker 2: is like other sports, right, Like we want to grow

499
00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,000
Speaker 2: the sport, and I think this is I don't know,

500
00:23:11,080 --> 00:23:13,960
Speaker 2: I just I'm biased, but I think Grand Slam is

501
00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:17,240
Speaker 2: the way to grow it. But I don't Yeah, I

502
00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:18,879
Speaker 2: don't want to say, like, let's burn down all the

503
00:23:18,920 --> 00:23:21,600
Speaker 2: other leagues, you know, Yeah, I don't know. I think

504
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 2: there's room for both for sure.

505
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:24,800
Speaker 1: It also feels like maybe a little time and place,

506
00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:27,840
Speaker 1: like you still want to get your best numbers, your

507
00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:30,720
Speaker 1: fastest races, you still want to hit those marks, but

508
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:33,240
Speaker 1: there's a little bit of like tapering or training. We're

509
00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,280
Speaker 1: working on things that you can do at Grand Slam

510
00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,000
Speaker 1: where it's about winning and not numbers that maybe feels

511
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:40,960
Speaker 1: like less of the goal at other events. And so

512
00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,000
Speaker 1: this allows you to keep competing and having the head

513
00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:45,399
Speaker 1: to head and having it be as much about the

514
00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:47,480
Speaker 1: win as it is about the number, and then time

515
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:49,760
Speaker 1: and place for when it goes back to like this

516
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:51,119
Speaker 1: is this is the goal and this is what everyone's

517
00:23:51,119 --> 00:23:53,760
Speaker 1: going to be talking about. Okay, So last thing, when

518
00:23:53,800 --> 00:23:55,359
Speaker 1: we talked to you last time and you were prepping

519
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:57,600
Speaker 1: for the Olympics, a lot of Taylor Swift, a lot

520
00:23:57,600 --> 00:24:00,000
Speaker 1: of Charlie XCX, we saw a lot of TikTok dances.

521
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:01,480
Speaker 1: Is what are we working on now? Do we have

522
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:03,760
Speaker 1: any new dances in the works. Do we have any

523
00:24:03,840 --> 00:24:06,520
Speaker 1: music that's pumping through the headphones as we're running?

524
00:24:07,520 --> 00:24:11,679
Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, I no, I mean I saw I

525
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:13,960
Speaker 2: obviously didn't go to Coachella, but I feel like my

526
00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,960
Speaker 2: TikTok was all Aboutella and I heard Charlie XX like

527
00:24:18,240 --> 00:24:20,879
Speaker 2: her like that set was incredible, and then I Lady

528
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:24,680
Speaker 2: Gaga set was also great. I don't know. I mean,

529
00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:28,720
Speaker 2: I'm so basic. Whatever's like, I'm into pop, you know,

530
00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 2: whatever is popular, and so I don't know. Yeah, I'm

531
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:34,879
Speaker 2: just waiting for the next new I guess dance trend.

532
00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 2: I wish I had a better answer, But no.

533
00:24:37,920 --> 00:24:41,000
Speaker 1: No worries. Nothing is broken through yet because it's not summer.

534
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:43,840
Speaker 1: We're all pale and cold. We're waiting for the song

535
00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 1: of the summer to hit so we can learn the

536
00:24:45,400 --> 00:24:46,720
Speaker 1: dance and get basic with it.

537
00:24:47,480 --> 00:24:47,800
Speaker 2: Yes.

538
00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:52,040
Speaker 1: Have you listened to a lot of the New Gaga album?

539
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:55,280
Speaker 2: Yes, like well like here and there, Yeah, yeah.

540
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:58,240
Speaker 1: Yeah, because if you like pop, she's just like. There's

541
00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,600
Speaker 1: actually a podcast I would wack commend called Switched on Pop,

542
00:25:02,000 --> 00:25:05,160
Speaker 1: and one of the recent episodes is all about Gaga's

543
00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:07,639
Speaker 1: new album, all the references to our own work, all

544
00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:09,639
Speaker 1: the references to other people's work. There's a song on

545
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:13,080
Speaker 1: her album that's very Taylor Swift coded, which is kind

546
00:25:13,119 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 1: of shocking. It's Gaga doing Swift like definitely would recommend.

547
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:19,840
Speaker 1: I'm gonna just shout out that podcast because it's such

548
00:25:19,840 --> 00:25:22,240
Speaker 1: a fun listen. So next time you're going for like

549
00:25:22,240 --> 00:25:24,000
Speaker 1: a long casual run and you want to like learn

550
00:25:24,040 --> 00:25:27,639
Speaker 1: while you're running, listen to the Gaga episode. They'll take

551
00:25:27,680 --> 00:25:30,440
Speaker 1: you through the whole new album. We always love catching

552
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:32,720
Speaker 1: up with you. So excited that we get to see

553
00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:34,679
Speaker 1: more of you in these Grand Slam events. So we're

554
00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:36,680
Speaker 1: looking forward to Miami, and thanks for checking in.

555
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,000
Speaker 2: Thank you so much, Thanks for having me.

556
00:25:41,320 --> 00:25:43,439
Speaker 1: Thanks so much to Nikki for taking the time. We

557
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,359
Speaker 1: have to take another quick break when we come back.

558
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:57,560
Speaker 1: That feeling when audio forms collide. Welcome back, Slices. We

559
00:25:57,680 --> 00:25:59,400
Speaker 1: love that you're listening, but we want you to get

560
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,960
Speaker 1: in the game every So here's our good game play

561
00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:05,000
Speaker 1: of the day. Follow Nicki and follow Grand Slam track

562
00:26:05,080 --> 00:26:07,159
Speaker 1: on social media. We'll link to the accounts in the

563
00:26:07,160 --> 00:26:09,119
Speaker 1: show notes. You know, we always love to hear from you.

564
00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:12,040
Speaker 1: So hit us up on email. Good game at wondermedianetwork

565
00:26:12,080 --> 00:26:15,560
Speaker 1: dot com, and don't forget to subscribe. Rate and review

566
00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:19,840
Speaker 1: It's easy. Watch Switched on Pop rating ten out of ten.

567
00:26:20,040 --> 00:26:23,320
Speaker 1: Holy shit, this is interesting. Review you heard me tell

568
00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 1: Nicki about it. Super cool podcast called Switched on Pop

569
00:26:26,640 --> 00:26:29,919
Speaker 1: that dives deep into one artist, one album, sometimes just

570
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:32,480
Speaker 1: one song. There are so many good ones, but start

571
00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,560
Speaker 1: with the three to eighteen Lady Gaga episode, then the

572
00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,119
Speaker 1: two twenty seven and four to two Cowboy Carter Beyonce episodes,

573
00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:43,560
Speaker 1: the eleven nineteen Fleetwood Mac episode, and then the shockingly

574
00:26:43,640 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: interesting twelve twenty Santa Claus Is Coming to Town episode

575
00:26:47,680 --> 00:26:50,119
Speaker 1: Just trust Me. And if you can't get enough musical

576
00:26:50,160 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 1: deep diving, check out the Netflix show Song Exploder. There

577
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,000
Speaker 1: are only eight episodes, but start with lin Manuel Miranda's

578
00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 1: Wait for It and then The Killers When We Were Young.

579
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,480
Speaker 1: Now it's your turn. Rate and review. Thanks to listen,

580
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:05,199
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow, Good game, Nikki, Good Game, Grand Slam

581
00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:09,720
Speaker 1: Track prize money you trash bags on the street, Get

582
00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,320
Speaker 1: your literal shit together, New York. I know, I know,

583
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,480
Speaker 1: it's just how they do it here. Yet another reason

584
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:21,240
Speaker 1: Chicago is Superior. Good Game with Sarah Spain is an

585
00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,600
Speaker 1: iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports

586
00:27:24,600 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 1: and Entertainment. You can find us on the iHeartRadio app,

587
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,800
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Production by

588
00:27:30,800 --> 00:27:34,280
Speaker 1: Wonder Media Network, our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones.

589
00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:37,919
Speaker 1: Our executive producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan,

590
00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 1: and Emily Rudder. Our editors are Emily Rutterer, Britney Martinez,

591
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,560
Speaker 1: and Grace Lynch. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones and

592
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: I'm Your host Sarah Spain