Okay, Joy, let's go over the rules.
Yes, ma'am, Elise.
The first rule of Couch Club is... We do not talk about Couch Club.
Correct.
The second rule of Couch Club is... Just kidding.
We definitely talk about Couch Club.
Tell everyone.
Also correct!
The third rule is... You stay on the couch as long as humanly possible.
But... But what?
Uh, no!
Your butt!
Oh, right!
You must have at least one butt cheek on a cushion at all times for it to count.
Correct!
And the final rule of Couch Club Joy?
No double dipping your chips!
Great work!
Now, should we start practice?
Do you mean sitting on the couch eating chips for hours on end and watching cool sports?
Of course.
Assume the position.
Legs bent.
Butts out.
Ready to sit in three, two, one.
Oh, yeah.
Nothing like doing nothing.
Nothing.
We've got lots of training to do.
You think we'll be the world-class couch sitters by just sitting on our pumps?
Yes.
Uh, no.
We need to train.
Sit and give me 20.
20 glute clutches.
That is... Go!
Okay.
One.
Two.
Three.
Hello, you're listening to Forever Ago from APM Studios.
I'm Joy Dolo, and my co-host today is Elise.
Hey there, couch mate.
Hey, Joy, how you doing?
Oh, you know I'm doing so good, Elise, baby.
It feels good to be alive, baby.
Today's episode is all about the Olympics. specifically women in the Olympics.
Because, believe it or not, the 2024 Summer Games in Paris is expected to be the first time in Olympic history that there will be the same number of female athletes as male athletes.
Yeah.
In the past, men have always outnumbered women.
And in the early days, women weren't allowed to compete at all.
For shame, Olympics.
For shame.
So, Elyse, do you think it's more fun to play sports or watch sports?
Probably playing sports, I guess.
Playing sports.
What sports do you play?
Um volleyball, i'm trying to get into that and lacrosse, lacrosse oh lacrosse is cool, so lacrosse, volleyball.
I just learned how to play volleyball this year too, and so i didn't know any of the.
I can't remember now the positions that there were, but i was really good at like serving the ball, like in the very beginning, when you have to hit it over the net.
You know nice.
Do you think volleyball is fun to watch?
Are there other sports that you like to watch?
I really enjoy watching football with my dad.
He is crazy.
He's a nut.
So, you know, he's like, yeah, let's go.
E-A-G-L-E-S.
It goes.
Dad, please.
Let's just watch the game.
Let's get through the game.
OK, so if you could create your own Olympic event, your own event, what would it be?
I think my Olympic event would be like how many like Chipotle bowls could you eat?
I love Chipotle and I just like love their bowls so much.
So I would wonder how many bowls would you really eat?
It's like a whole plate of food.
And usually I eat all of mine.
When I'm starving, I have the whole bowl.
But I feel like that would be such a cool sport to watch.
That would be so fascinating because I know a lot of people that like Chipotle.
So it's like we would just be all in common.
All the Chipotle lovers would watch it together.
I feel like it would be great.
Listen, I would love to be a part of your team if I can join because I also love a Chipotle bowl.
Absolutely.
Yes.
Okay.
Now let's get back to business.
We were talking about the history of female athletes in the Olympic Games.
Right.
Let's start with a brisk jog back to the year of the first modern Olympics, 1896.
I thought we weren't leaving the couch.
I mean jogging your seat, Joy.
It's good for circulation.
Kick your legs like you're running, but remember, one cheek on the couch at all times.
And go!
I'm sit-jogging!
I'm sit-jogging!
Now, picture 1896.
Way before TV.
Most homes had no electricity.
Phones or radios were brand new and not super common.
Right.
There were no airlines, so if you wanted to travel far, you'd probably go by horse or by train or steamship.
Over in Greece, some people organized a giant sporting event and invited a bunch of different countries to come.
The first modern Olympic Games.
It was inspired by the ancient Olympics held in Greece around 2,000 years ago.
This new version was a mix of older sports, like wrestling and running, and newer ones like cycling and fencing.
But like we said, it was all men.
Yeah.
In a lot of Europe and America.
Back then it was popular to think that the perfect woman was gentle, frail or even weak.
And those folks thought women shouldn't push themselves too hard and being competitive was unladylike.
In fact, one of the founders of the modern Olympics even once said women's sports were against the laws of nature.
Boo to all of that.
Boo.
Plenty of women disagreed, and lots were already playing sports.
So when the next Olympics rolled around four years later in 1900, things changed, well, a little.
Speaking of changing, time to change our sitting position so we can do some couch crunches.
We gotta keep training.
Um, seriously?
I usually try to not move at all when I'm on the couch.
Are you in it to win it, Joy?
Or are you cruising for a losing?
If we're gonna do this, I want you all in.
This is not what I expected when I signed up for Couch Club.
Oh, good.
The other couch coach is here.
What?
I thought I was the only couch coach.
Oh, yeah.
Well, I just thought we needed someone a little less driven.
That's them now.
I'll just get the... Joy!
No getting up!
Oof.
Right.
Left cheek is still touching.
Come on in.
We're on the couch.
Hey, y'all.
Someone call for a professional couch potato?
Elise, meet Couch Coach Winnie.
Hey, you can call me W for short.
W is actually more syllables than Winnie, so it's technically longer.
W-dubs.
I'm going to call you Coach Dubs.
Cool?
Cool.
Just don't call me before noon.
Because Coach Dubs is not a morning person or a night person.
Honestly, I'm in bed most of the time.
See, this is the do-nothing attitude we need on our side, Elise.
I guess.
Coach Dubs, join us on the couch.
We were just talking about the first time women competed in the Olympics.
Nice.
Okay, I'll just sit still and listen.
Listening is like giving your mouth a nap.
So wise.
My mouth never naps.
Anyway, like we said, in 1900, women were allowed to compete in the second Olympics, but only in five sports.
Tennis, sailing, croquet, golf, and horseback riding.
Out of 997 athletes, only 22 were women.
That's less than 3%.
And it wasn't like we picture sports today.
For starters, women still had to wear big frumpy, long-sleeved dresses when they did stuff like play tennis.
It's gotta be hard to serve the ball when your outfit is serving Little House on the Prairie realness.
But still, many of them gave it their all, including the first woman to ever win an Olympic gold medal.
And she did it competing against men.
Her name was Elena de Portales.
She was born in New York, but spent most of her childhood near Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
Growing up near water, she absorbed a love of boats.
Eventually, she learned to sail and started competing in races.
Ah, how I do love sailing.
It's so relaxing, especially when I'm smoking the competition.
Woo-hoo!
When she heard the second Olympics would allow women to race boats, Elena and her husband and their crew signed up.
The race took place near a small town in France.
Her team had to sail almost six miles and it was pretty challenging, especially with so many boats competing.
But they practiced a lot on Lake Geneva, where the weather could change quickly.
This is so tricky.
For you.
For me, it's a walk in the park.
Come on, team.
Let's put those other boats on blast.
They led their sailboat to victory and first place.
And just like that, Elena became the first woman ever to win gold at the Olympics.
So you think she'd be super famous, right?
Wrong.
Newspapers mostly focused on male athletes.
She lived the rest of her life without much attention for her historic win.
Harsh.
I don't go much for pomp and circumstance, but seems like she should have gotten more attention.
Yeah, sail champ.
Elena wasn't the only woman to win gold that year, but these women didn't get much attention either.
In fact, the first American woman to win gold didn't even know she won.
What?
In 1900, Margaret Abbott entered a golf championship in Paris, and Margaret crushed it.
Yeah, but instead of getting a medal, she got a porcelain bowl.
The organizers didn't make a big deal about the contest and no one told her it was part of the Olympics.
It wasn't until 1955, long after she died, that someone found her story and told her family that Margaret made Olympic history.
It was just one more example of how female athletes were an afterthought.
Yeah, but coming up, one woman was about to steal the attention of the world.
Ooh, I can't wait to hear this.
But in the meantime, can you give me a chip?
Uh, they are literally on your lap.
Yeah, but the key to doing nothing is to not do something.
So it would really help me out if you just put one in my mouth for me.
Uh, I guess.
Here comes the chip.
Maximum relaxation.
Yeah, for you.
Anyway, sit tight and we'll tell you more in a minute.
But now, time to play... First Things First!
This is the game where we try to guess the order things came in history.
Ready, Elise?
Oh, yeah, I'm ready.
Okay, our three items today are Olympic sports.
You've got to guess which became an official Olympic sport first, which was second and which was added most recently.
The sports are ping pong, basketball, and volleyball, which you know a lot about.
So what do you think, Elise?
Which came first, which came second, and which came most recently in history?
Okay.
So first I'm going to say ping pong.
Okay.
All right.
Why is that your first gut reaction?
I feel like it's the easiest one out of them to like put in there, especially with all the sports and people get really into it.
So I feel like it's easy to set up and a lot of people like do enjoy ping pong matches.
So I would say that goes first for me.
Yeah, I agree with that.
That makes sense to me.
Okay.
So we have basketball and volleyball still.
Oh, gosh.
That's a tricky one.
For me, I'm going to say... It's hard because they're both, like, court-based, you know?
Yeah, I'm going to say volleyball.
I am going to say volleyball.
Okay, all right.
Then I would say basketball last, because I feel like it would take them like a while to get like an indoor stadium.
I think it would be hard to like set that up because you know this would be hard to get that together.
So that's why.
That makes sense.
Okay, so we have ping pong, volleyball, and basketball.
Is that your final answer?
Mm-hmm.
Mm-hmm.
All right, well, we'll hear the answers after the credits.
So keep listening.
Keep listening.
Here at Forever Ago, we love talking about the surprising history behind some of our favorite inventions.
Like, remember how the microwave was invented totally by accident?
Or how early ice cream was made from whale puke?
Listeners, we want to hear from you.
Thank you so much for having me.
I would probably say the invention of the phone.
I feel like right now teenagers are really in their phone and that would be me.
So especially talking to people like it's like a basic communication thing.
So that's important.
No, you're totally right.
I think it's teens and adults alike.
Like we all live in our phones.
Yeah.
Well, we can't wait to hear your invention mentions too.
Send them to us at foreverago.org slash contact.
And we'll be right back.
You're listening to Forever Ago.
I'm Joy.
I'm Elise, Joy's co-host and couch coach.
And I'm Coach Dubs, co-couch coach.
Now time for your next lesson on couch potatoing.
I'm ready.
All set.
Let's hear it.
Lay it on me.
One great way to be one with the couch is to make like a couch cushion and sleep.
Wait, I don't get it.
Are couch cushions asleep?
They're not really alive, so...
And she's out.
Huh.
I've never seen someone fall asleep on command like that.
Kind of impressive, actually.
Well, I have too much energy to sleep.
Plus, we have more history to explore.
Yeah, her loss.
Let's keep going.
Definitely.
Today we're talking all about the history of women in the Olympics.
Women weren't allowed in the first modern Olympics.
They were allowed in the second, but only in a few events.
And the winners didn't get celebrated as much as men did.
But now it's time to hear the story of an Olympic superstar who was celebrated as much or more than any man.
Wilma Rudolph had an unusual start for someone who was going to one day be called the fastest woman in the world.
She was born in 1940 in Tennessee and was the 20th of 22 siblings.
By 1940, the television had been invented, but almost nobody had one in their home.
Instead, people got most of their news and entertainment from the radio.
And in Tennessee, everything was segregated.
Segregation meant that white people and Black people were kept separate.
And the businesses and services open for Black people were often worse than those for white people.
Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely, meaning she was very small when she was born.
She was only about four and a half pounds at birth and needed extra care.
Wilma was so tiny as a baby, her doctor didn't even think she would survive.
But she did.
And as soon as she learned to walk, she was running and jumping all over the place.
She was already showing herself to be a natural athlete.
Except Wilma had a lot of health problems as a kid.
Like one of her siblings would get a cold and she would end up with pneumonia and measles and mumps and scarlet fever.
Then when she was five years old, Wilma was diagnosed with polio.
That's a dangerous virus that makes people very sick and can cause paralysis.
That's when you're not able to move parts of your body.
Today, we have a vaccine for polio, but back then, it didn't exist yet.
So Wilma got really sick.
Right.
The virus left Wilma's left leg twisted, and doctors said she would never walk again.
But her family always believed she would, and they were determined to help her get there.
The closest hospital that would treat Wilma was at a historically Black university in Nashville, 50 miles away.
So twice a week, Wilma and her mom rode the bus there.
And every night, Wilma's mom or one of her siblings would massage her leg.
Slowly, Wilma got better.
And she was able to walk again.
For a few years, she had to use a heavy metal leg brace.
But when she was 12, she surprised everyone by taking it off and walking without it.
And once Wilma could walk, she was ready to play.
Yeah, she had spent years watching her classmates and siblings play basketball at recess and was eager to join her big sister on the team at school.
By her sophomore year of high school, Wilma was a star player.
She even broke her school scoring record.
799!
801!
803!
Whoa, she scored 803 points in one season?
That's a lot of scoring.
Dubs, you're awake!
Yeah, I woke up to eat more chips.
All this resting works up an appetite.
You said it!
Anyway, the record was amazing, but it was Wilma's speed that made her stand out to Ed Temple.
Hey kid, who is that?
That's Wilma, but coach calls her Skeeter because she darts around like a mosquito.
Ed Temple was the woman's track coach at a nearby university and he convinced Wilma to run with the team.
Soon, she and her teammates were headed to Melbourne, Australia for the 1956 Olympic Games.
They won bronze medals in the 400-meter relay.
Over the next four years Wilma kept training and eventually qualified for the 1960 Olympics in Rome.
Go, Wilma, go!
Now, 1960 was like no other Olympics that came before it.
In the 20 years since Wilma was born, the popularity of TV had exploded.
I mean, obviously.
TV's rule.
TV's rule's so hard.
And now, since tens of millions of Americans had them in their homes, CBS had decided it would broadcast the Olympic Games for the very first time.
This meant beyond the thousands of people in the stands.
Millions of people were also watching Wilma back home.
An earlier generation of couch club.
We owe them so much.
They sat so we could sit more.
Wilma won all three of the races she entered, becoming the first American to win three gold medals at the Olympics.
She became an instant celebrity, and not just in the U.S.
People around the world were in awe of her style and speed.
Here are some quotes from newspaper articles written about her wins.
Wilma Rudolph, queen of the women's sprinters, anchored the United States Women's Quartet to its world record.
She flicks over the ground, poised and reveling in her wonderful talent.
Wilma Rudolph, the Tennessee Tornado, outraised a brilliant 200-meter field in 20 seconds flat yesterday.
She earned lots of nicknames, including the Tennessee Tornado.
Her hometown even played a parade in her honor.
Finally, female athletes getting their due.
Yeah, it was a big step up from the days of women winners getting porcelain bowls and not even knowing they were in the Olympics.
But the parade was going to be segregated, which means black and white residents would have to watch from separate areas.
Wilma said she would not attend unless they changed course and integrated the celebration.
She wanted it to be free and open for everyone.
Threatening to skip your own parade.
Total power move.
And Wilma had a lot of newfound power.
Eventually, the city agreed and the parade became the first ever integrated event in her hometown.
Wilma was a trailblazer in many ways.
And lots of great women would follow in her footsteps.
There was Florence Griffith Joyner, who set sprinting records in the 80s that still stand today.
Or Nadia Komanich, the gymnast who, at age 14, was the first athlete ever to get a perfect score at the Olympics.
Before her, lots of people thought that that was impossible.
Today, athletes like Simone Biles and Yusra Mardini are pushing sports to new limits.
Yeah.
The Olympics have come a long way since the early days when women were an afterthought.
There's still a lot to do to get female athletes the attention that they deserve.
But thanks to all these groundbreaking women, we've seen even when society doesn't believe in you, you can win big if you believe in yourself.
Wow.
That's really amazing stuff.
You know, it's got me thinking.
Maybe the key to greatness isn't found in doing nothing.
Maybe being a couch potato is just a way for me to hide the fact that I'm afraid of trying.
Because when you try, you can fail.
But none of these women would have broken barriers and won medals if they didn't try.
So maybe it's time I stop doing nothing and try doing something.
Eh, maybe after another nap.
I can't get used to how fast she does that.
It's like turning off a light switch.
Elise, I don't want to do nothing either.
I want to train hard and push myself to the limits of couch athleticism.
Can you keep running couch club training?
You mean it?
Of course I can.
Oh, great.
Now, Joy, get ready for your next drill.
Aggressive reclining!
Or just regular reclining.
This should be fun after all.
Or else, why do we do it?
Well said.
I love reclining.
Hey, you know what would make this better?
More chips.
This bag's empty, and the other ones are in the kitchen.
The kitchen?
I can't reach that from the couch.
Even with my arms outstretched and only one butt cheek touching.
No!
No!
This episode was written by Nico Gonzalez-Whistler and Sandon Totten.
We had help from Shayla Farzan, Molly Bloom, Nico Gonzalez-Whistler, Aron Wildes-Lossie, Anna Goldfield, Rosie Dupont, Ruby Guthrie and Anna Wagle.
Sound design by Rachel Breeze.
Theme music by Mark Sanchez.
Beth Perlman is our executive producer.
We had engineering help from Anna Haverman, Zach Haney, and Alex Simpson.
The executives in charge of APM Studios are Chandra Kavadi, Joanne Griffith, and Alex Shaffert.
Special thanks to Maureen Smith and Falashide.
Okay, Elise, you ready to find out the answers to today's First Things First?
Yes.
Yes.
So just a reminder you had in the Olympics it was first ping pong and then volleyball and then basketball.
Those were your guesses.
Yep.
Here are the answers.
Ooh.
First up was basketball.
What?
Okay, so basketball was invented in 1891, and it got popular real quick.
But it wasn't a full event in the Olympics with medals and everything until the 1936 games, and it was only for men.
Women's basketball wouldn't be added to the Olympics until the 1970s.
What a mess that is.
Because, you know, even nowadays, women's basketball is doing great.
Right.
You know, but we still have to wait till the 70s.
I'm so over this.
OK, so get ready.
Hold on to your horses, because the second one, you were correct.
It was volleyball.
Yes.
Yes.
You got it.
You did it.
I knew you could do it.
Next up, volleyball.
It didn't get officially added to the Olympics until much later in 1964.
And at first, it was just indoor volleyball.
But eventually, sitting volleyball was added to the Paralympics.
That's a sport like volleyball, except players are sitting and have to keep one cheek on the ground when making contact with the ball.
It's designed so it can be played by athletes with disabilities.
Oh, wow, that's really awesome.
Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool.
Like, volleyball's for everyone.
Yeah.
So we can all play.
So that means that, last but not least...
It was ping pong.
Craziness.
That's nuts.
I didn't think ping pong was going to be the most recent.
I felt like I agreed with your table theory.
But finally, ping pong entered the chat at the 1988 Olympics.
The sport dates back to the late 1800s and it was invented in London England, as a way for tennis heads to keep playing in winter months when it was too cold to play outside.
Oh, it had a lot of names over the years, like whiff-waff, clip-clap, netto, and tennis-day-salon.
That doesn't even seem creative.
That doesn't.
It just seems random.
It's like tennis, but smaller.
It's mini tennis.
So what do you think about that?
I think that's actually kind of cool.
I did not know basketball would be first.
Yeah, me neither.
That's interesting.
Yeah, since like 1891.
It's crazy.
I didn't think people played basketball back then.
Right.
I also think, just to throw this out there, I think whiff-waff is the best name for a sport.
Me too.
I think that's really cool.
What's the other one with the N?
What's that?
A netto?
Netto.
I like that.
It's like netto.
Yeah.
That's it for this episode of Forever Ago.
We'll be back next week.
Thanks for listening.
