Episodit
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Libby Clegg is a blind sprinter in the Paralympics GB team in Tokyo. Libby won double gold in Rio but since then has become a mum to Edward.
Libby reveals here here struggles over the last year after the Games got postponed last summer. She was at the peak of fitness last spring after appearing on Dancing on Ice. But has really found the last year hard - not being able to be with her training partners because of social distances and a lack of opportunity to compete.
Libby admits she is not where she'd like to be following an injury and her mental struggle. She wasn't selected for the Games, but got called up as a reserve. And she tells me how she really doubted her place in July and thought about pulling out. She turned to a doctor, sports psychologist and her partner Dan for help before deciding that she should take up the place. She's now happy and in a good place mentally.
That's it for the series. Many thanks for listening over the last 8 months and thanks to all you athletes for taking part.
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Charlotte Moore ie a wheelchair basketball player for Paralympics GB. Tokyo will be her second Games after making her debut as a 17 year old in Rio.
She's been playing since she was 8 when she had a chance meeting whilst shopping with her mum at Sainsbury's when she was approached by the coach of a local wheelchair basketball team. She's never looked back from that chance meeting.
She's played lots of sport and even got to carry the Olympic Torch on the Torch Relay ahead of London 2012.
Charlotte talks about the extraordinary issues they've had as a squad during Covid which has limited severely the time they've been able to spend training together.
GB just missed out on a medal in Rio as they finished 4th. Charlotte's hoping it'll be at least one better this time!
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Richard Whitehead is competing in the T61 200m at the Paralympics in Tokyo.
Richard won gold in London in 2012 and Rio 2016 but a hat-trick is going to be a challenge at the age of 45.
Richard talks to me from Japan and tells me about the atmosphere and conditions in the training camp.
Things have changed as Richard's been reclassified from T42 to T61 ,which is for double leg amputees. Richard feels this is to the detriment of para-athletics. It also means he can't now compete in a 100m as that event, which he won silver in rio, has been removed.
Richard has started a foundation to coincide with the Paralympics to help others with disabilities.
He also has his own podcast with Team GB footballer Ellen White called Track and Ball with a stellar guest list. Check it out! https://www.trackandball.co.uk/
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Stef Reid will compete in the Long Jump for Paralympics GB and she starts this double header. Stef talks about life at the GB preparation camp and dealing with the Covid protocols.
She's been to 3 previous games and draws on her experiences to think about the weeks ahead. She also reveals, because of Covid bubbles, she's unlikely to be able to meet her partner Brent who competes for Canada.
Stef revealed when she was last on the podcast that she was about to study Executive Coaching at Henley Business School - and she talks about what's she's drawing from that.
I also chat to Stef's Loughborough based colleague Thomas Young who's a sprinter. This is the first Games for Thomas and it's great to hear the excitement from a rising star of the sport.
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Today's guest is Hannah Cockroft, wheelchair racer for Paralympics GB.
Hannah has won 11 world titles and 5 Paralympic gold medals and she talks about the weight of expectation as she heads to her third Games.
She talks brilliantly about the moment she discovered sport and what it's taken to get to be top of the world.
And she now embraces the fact she is a role model and loves the thought of others being inspired to take up some sport.
Hannah says she is still loving sport and feels lucky to have the opportunities to compete. She says lockdown has shown that we need to make the most of every single second.
Thanks Hannah! Great chat.
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Lauren Rowles is part of the rowing squad for Paralympics GB for the Tokyo Paralympics.
This is a really revealing chat with Lauren who found para-sport after becoming paralysed as a 13 year old. She was inspired by London 2012 and went on to win a gold medal at Rio just four years later.
But the last five years have been tough with a number of physial injuries and a really rough time with her mental health that sent her into a deep depression.
But she's worked hard on both physical and mental health and is in a great position to challenge for a medal again in Tokyo.
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Big thanks to the Her Spirit Podcast for letting me use this interview. Check out Her Spirit on herspirit.co.uk - your friendly coach in your pocket. But also, I know you'll want to listen to the whole hour of Mel Marshall - she's quite brilliant. So please go to the Her Spirit Podcast too.
I work with Lousie Minchin and Annie Emmerson on the Her Spirit podcast and we were thrilled to have Mel Marshall as a guest during her post Olympic holiday.
Mel has turned into one of the world's most respected coaches. She's helped Adam Peaty to his domination and medal haul but also had other successes in Tokyo which was phenomenal for British Swimming.
She talked brilliantly about coaching in general, her approach to sport and Adam Peaty.
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I'm back with a quick reflection on the Olympics before we head to a final preview of the Paralympics Games
Shona has been one of our regular contributors and she's brilliantly articulated all the doubts and concerns of the last six months or so.
She gives an inside track on what conditions were like in Tokyo and what winning a bronze medal means to the squad. You may be surprised after the Gold medal performance in Rio five years ago.
Shona talks about the emotions of the Games and gives a peek into her Tokyo diary.
Thanks for listening!
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Here's a bonus edition
Beth Tweddle won a terrific bronze medal at the London Olympics. She's on the podcast to talk about a big participation event called I am Team GB which finishes with a weekend of special activities on 14/15th August.
Beth talks about her Olympic experiences and about the events.
You can find all the details at
Iamteamgb.com
That's it for our Olympic interviews - back in a couple of weeks with some Paralympic chats.
Thanks for listening!
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Maddie Hinch is the GB Hockey goalkeeper who was one of the heroes of the Rio Olympics in 2016. But she's had a difficult time since with mental health issues.
Maddie talks about the roller coaster she has had since winning gold in that historic match in Rio in 2016. She gave up hockey for a time and, as she says herself, she got herself in a bit of mess.
Maddie talks about how she found her love of the sport again and how she got over the demons in her head and learning to accept her vulnerabilities.
So can the team win gold again? Maddie talks about the hopes for these Games with a very different squad.
Good luck to Maddie and team!
And that's it for the series of Olympic preview chats. I'll be back ahead of the Paralympics. Thanks for listening over the last six months! See you soon.
If you'd like to make a donation to Maggie's Cancer Centres - here's the link
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/destinationtokyo
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Natalie Powell is in the Judo team for the Tokyo Olympics. This will be her second Games.
Natalie talks about what she learnt from competing at Rio five years ago. And one things she will definitely be doing for the Olympics is come off social media - and she tells me why.
Natalie has also increased her step count this year to prepare for all the walking that's needed at the Athletes Village.
Chelsie Giles says she has found her voice through judo. She's competing at her first Olympics in Tokyo
She started judo at 8 years old and has loved it ever since. She tells me why. And she talks about achieving her best ever results which have given her belief in herself.
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Today I have 3 swimmers as guests. Adam Peaty won gold in Rio and is completely dominant at his event. He's favourite to retain his Olympic gold medal.
Adam talks about what he hopes to achieve in Tokyo and how he keeps delivering the times.
Adam also talks about coming to these games as a dad.
My other guests are Max and Joe Litchfield, the brothers from South Yorkshire. It's their first major games together.
Thanks for listening.
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Moe Sbihi has won medals at the London and Rio Olympics. Gold in the coxless four in 2016 and bronze in the eight in London.
I spoke with Moe just before he left for Tokyo and he reflected on the last few months and the benefits for an inexperienced team of an extra year.
This is Moe's third games and he reflects on the differences between Tokyo and his experiences in London and Rio. Moe had his honeymoon in Japan and is slightly sad that it's so different as he felt this was going to be the most amazing and different games.
Moe talks about not having his wife and his young son out to watch him. At 6'8 he also talks about long distance flying in Covid times.
Thanks for listening!
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Darren Pearcy is the Team Manager at Skateboard GB as the sport makes its Olympic debut. And this is a great insight into the culture of a very non-traditional sport.
Darren talks about what he does to help his team of two teenage girls in Tokyo making sure they are well looked after.
Darren talks about this major new platform for skateboarding and his hopes that kids who don't like traditional sports will be engaged and take up the sport. He talks about its unique culture - which is about a lifestyle as much as a sport. Friends, fashion, art, music.
Thanks for listening!
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George Peasegood is going for a unique treble at the Paralympics in Tokyo this summer. George has qualified for the para-triathlon and for the road race and time trial in cycling. He's going to have a mad week in the intense heat and humidity of Tokyo.
George talks about competing in all three events and how he's preparing including time in the heat chamber. He comes across as very laid back about it all in a matter of fact way that makes it sound easy. It's not, of course!
George has been charting his training since January and we wish him all the best with his final preparations.
Thanks for listening!
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Patrick Huston is part of the Team GB Archery squad for the Tokyo Olympics. Patrick has been giving us a unique insight in this podcast into his Olympic preparation and his love of a very different exercise routine. Definitely check him out on social media!
Today Patrick takes us behind the scenes at the Team GB Holding Camp where athletes make their final preparations ahead of moving into the Athletes Village and on to competition.
He's loving his stay overlooking Yokohama Bay and is impressed with the effort that's been put in to make it a Team GB Home!
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Nick Hope will be reporting on the Olympics for BBC Sport. He's one of the most knowledgable Olympic reporters around and definitely worth a follow at the Games on @NickHopeTV
Nick talks about arrival in Japan and the warm welcome at the airport. He discusses the various Covid measures in place. And then there's the climate with the end of the rainy season being marked by some heavy downpours.
It's a great insight from one of the first reporters on the ground in Japan.
Thanks for listening!
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Beth Dobbin will run the 200m at the Tokyo Olympics for Team GB and she has quite a story to tell. As you'll hear Beth is absolutely thrilled to be going to the Olympics. Since she was a young girl, it's something she dreamed of. She well remembers Dame Kelly Holmes winning in Athens with her dad screaming at the TV. And then in 2012 she was obsessed, buying lots of memorabilia to fill her room.
But Beth's path has been far from easy. She feels she has made it against the odds and she doesn't know how it has happened. She has a history of epilepsy and had a serious seizure in her teens. She didn't really improve her times until she came off the medication she was on through her teenage years so consequently she won little as a junior.
Beth wasn't funded and she had multiple jobs to try to bring the money in whilst allow her to train as much as possible.
If you'd like to make a donation to Maggies Cancer Centres here's the link - they do amazing work!
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/destinationtokyo
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Hollie Pearne-Webb is the Team GB women's hockey captain. She was part of the gold medal winning team in Rio. And she had a key role in that victory. Hollie took the penalty shuffle that gave Team GB an historic gold against the Netherlands.
Hollie talks about the penalty moment and what it meant. She discussed captaincy during Covid and how she likes having a job alongside playing hockey.
The team have just arrived in Tokyo ready to defend their title and we chat about going in to the Games as holders.
Thanks for listening!
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Alison Peasegood has been named in the GB Paralympics team to compete at Para triathlon. Alison Peasegood will compete in PTVI which is for athletes with visual impairment, less than ten per cent vision.
Alison won silver in Rio and she's back for more with her new guide Nikki Bartlett. Alison talks about the challenges of social distancing when needing a guide to train in swimming, cycling and running.
It's helped massively that she chose to marry a triathlete! Her husband is planning a marathon bike ride from their home in Scotland to his parent's house in Cambridgeshire to watch the Paralympics.
Alison recently one bronze in her first race in nearly two years in the world series event in Leeds.
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