We talk about the culture of the sport in our region, and hear from players, coaches, and die-hard fans.  Also, an interview with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.  And, we learn more about the sport of curling.

These were some of the voices in this week's news.

Olympic skiing legend and Vermont native Andrea Mead Lawrence has died at the age of 76.   A three time Olympian, she's the only woman skier to win two Olympic Golds in one winter games.

It was a great run to Beijing but the run for an Olympic medal at the 2008 games has ended for Norwich's Andrew Wheating.  

VPR's Jane Lindholm talks with Summer Olympians Judy Geer and Serena Eddy Moulton, who both competed in rowing in the 1980s about what it's like to train for and compete in the Olympics, and how athletics have shaped their lives since.

Survey says Vermonters value the state's working landscape; more Vermont children will be eligible to receive free breakfasts at school this fall; Middlebury celebrates opening of the Town Hall Theater; a recent UVM graduate among five activists deported by China for protesting at Olympics.

Only a handful of Vermonters have competed in the Summer Olympics and a few of them join us to share their memories of reaching the highest goal in athletics. Also in the program, the Vermont Supreme Court will be hearing a case that tries to determine what the death of a pet is worth.

Wheating is heading to Beijing next month after placing 2nd in the 800 meters qualifying trials held at the place he attends college--the University of Oregon. But if not for the watchful eye of his former soccer coach in Norwich, Wheating says his medal dreams as a runner would never have materialized at all.

Monday's Boston marathon is one of the most prestigious road races in the country, but on Sunday Boston hosted another elite group of runners: the women's U.S. Olympic team trials.

The co-founders of Ben and Jerry's ice cream are underwriting a campaign to protest China's support for Sudan. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield launched a three-vehicle caravan to San Francisco, where protests are expected to greet the only U.S. visit of the Olympic torch.