SportSpiel

Alasdair Hooper hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with Tokyo 2020 silver medalist Mallory Franklin. The canoe slalom paddler has every right to be recognised for what she has achieved in her sport. In 2018, she became Britain’s most successful female canoeist and she is a former C1 European and World Cup champion. She followed up that Tokyo silver medal with a K1 World Cup silver medal at the...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with former Peterborough United footballer Bobby Copping. Just over a year ago, in July 2020, the Peterborough youngster went up for a routine header in training. He landed and his vision went. He’d suffered a mini seizure and went on to spend four days recovering in hospital. The defender hoped it was a one-off incident and he fought his way...

Will Moulton hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with GB Wheelchair Basketballer Sophie Carrigill. Ten years ago, at the age of 16, Sophie was involved in a car accident that changed her life forever. She initially struggled with the change to her identity but she has since transformed herself into a motivational, and inspirational, individual. Sophie is one of the stars of the British Wheelcha...

Sonny Pike was the wonderkid that had it all. He was the gifted young footballer destined to be a star, until it all came crashing down to earth. His reputation during the 1990s exploded and there was immeasurable hype that came with it. Dutch giants Ajax had swooped on him, he was touted as English football’s Diego Maradona and his legs were insured for £1million at the age of 11. Coca Cola, McDo...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the fifth and final Mental Health Awareness Week episode all about mental health and nature. Joining the podcast for the discussion are GB steeplechaser Iona Lake and Christina Colmer McHugh, the Director of Moodbeam. Considering the last year we have faced, with the ongoing Covid pandemic, many of us have spent more time indoors than ever before. It's no surprise, then, that...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the fourth Mental Health Awareness Week episode all themed around mental health and sport in the LGBTQ community. Joining the podcast for the discussion are Karina Murray, of Sporting Pride Ireland, Assistant Editor at Goal, Emma Smith, and also Martin Stark, the CEO and founder of the World Gay Boxing Championships. Of course, being from the LGBTIQ+ community doesn't mean yo...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the third Mental Health Awareness Week special episode with commentator Chris Murphy on addiction recovery, depression and Sporting Chance. Chris knows what it’s like to decide to make the unthinkable decision. At the heart of it was a crippling gambling addiction, after first placing a bet at the age of 17, as well as a battle with depression. For years the gambling and the...

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host the second of our Mental Health Awareness Week episodes all about mental health in the media. Joining them are Ryan Conway , The Athletic's Derby County writer, Tommy Wathen , the Sport Social Media Editor for the Mirror, Express and Star, as well as Rebecca Myers of The Sunday Times. Working in journalism and the media comes with incredible opportunities. The...

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host the first episode of our Mental Health Awareness Week series on addiction with Russell Pearce and Patrick Foster. Addiction is a major problem in the UK and former Welsh boxer Russell, and former cricketer Patrick, know that better than most having suffered from alcohol and gambling addictions respectively. In Russell's case his addiction essentially cost him...

Alasdair Hooper hosts this episode of SportSpiel with guest Emily Borthwick. The high jumper had quite the debut for Team GB as she starred at the European Indoor championships back in March this year. She recorded a four-centimetre personal best of 1.91 to qualify for the high jump final and finish eight in Europe. But at the heart of that insane result – combined with the hard work and the deter...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with 2018 MXGP World Champion Jeffrey Herlings. In this wide-ranging chat the motocross star takes us through his childhood and the horrifying crash that derailed his 2020 season. Herlings was the red-hot favourite for last year’s MXGP world championship title but it all changed in September when he was involved in that head-first crash in fre...

Will Moulton hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with Saracens and England star Zoe Harrison. In a wide-ranging interview with the Women's Six Nations now underway, Zoe discusses her experiences of playing rugby at school and getting one over the bullies in recent years. From her perspective one vital piece of advice is to not take any notice of those trying to put you down. Zoe also takes us t...

T38 sprinter Sophie Hahn has already achieved so much by the age of 24. Back in 2018 her gold medal in the T38 100m at the Commonwealth Games meant she became the first female track and field athlete to win the grand slam - namely holding gold medals in the same event from the Paralympics , World Championships, European Championships and also the Commonwealths. Her rise has been rapid, ever since...

Katie Milner is one determined racing driver making waves in motorsport. She is the first female to be on the McLaren Driver Development Program, was the first female Junior Saloon Car Champion in 2016 and she also won the inaugural British Women Racing Drivers gold star driver award. But, as she has moved up through the motorsport ranks, questions about being a women in motorsport inevitably come...

Deaf footballer Fil Kamps has had quite the career. He’s competed for Great Britain at the World Cup, the Deaflympics and he is also a British Deaf Football Cup, English Deaf Football Cup and English Deaf Football League winner. That’s a lot of success to enjoy, and to be proud of, for the now 27-year-old. Turning out for his country in particular – a dream he had held ever since he was a boy - is...

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host a special episode of SportSpiel all about Time to Talk Day. Joining the show to mark the day - held on February 4 - are British Olympic trap shooter Georgina Roberts as well as England and Northampton Saints rugby star George Furbank . Brought to you in association with The Mintridge Foundation and the Royal Agricultural University, also joining the show for t...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the first SportSpiel episode of 2021 with Northampton Saints and England full-back George Furbank. The last 12 months have been quite the ride for the 24-year-old. Just under a year ago - January 20, 2020 to be exact – he received his first call up to the England squad for the Six Nations before making his debut against France for Eddie Jones’ side. After that rapid rise to t...

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host SportSpiel's Review of the Year 2020. The past 12 months have proven to be a year like no other - as major sporting events were cancelled and our lives were completely altered - but one constant has been the enjoyment of sport in our lives. For many of us it has kept us going and there have still been some fantastic highlights to look back on this year, despit...

Will Moulton hosts the latest episode of SportSpiel with GB Hockey stars Emily Defroand and Tess Howard. Like many athletes both Emily and Tess were gearing up towards Tokyo 2020, along with the rest of the GB Hockey team - a competition that would be the pinnacle of their careers. Of course, the global pandemic had other ideas with the Olympic Games postponed until next year. But rather than let...

Changing Lives FC are a football team with a story.   Every training session, and during every game, you can hear around a dozen different languages – that’s because each member of the squad is a migrant, refugee or asylum seeker.   All of them have fled war, terror or they are in desperate search for a better life. They are all young men who would be extremely vulnerable if left to fend for thems...

Will Moulton hosts this episode of SportSpiel with We are Girls in Sport founders Caroline Kings and Jo Wimble-Groves. The pair have an identical vision on the importance of sport to girls and that was how We are Girls in Sport was born in early 2020. The global movement looks to share the stories and remarkable achievements of girls and women in every sport you could possibly imagine. Put simply,...

Will Moulton hosts this latest episode of The Women's Football Diary with Leicester City midfielder Remi Allen . In her third appearance on the podcast Remi reflects on the last few months as she returned to Leicester City 10 years after leaving the club where she first came through. Much has changed since then as Leicester are now a full-time professional outfit after being taken over by King Pow...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the latest episode of The Women's Football Diary with Aston Villa defender Anita Asante. The England international, and former Arsenal and Chelsea player, is one of the most successful players around but her journey has coincided with plenty of personal realisations along the way.   Right now she is homing in on the norm, or rather society’s perception of what is normal. That...

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton host a special discussion episode on body image in women's sport, in association with The Mintridge Foundation and Limitless . Joining us to pick apart the issue and share their own experiences are Olympic gold medal-winning Great Britain hockey captain Kate Richardson-Walsh as well as England Rugby internationals Justine Lucas and Zoe Harrison. Body image is an in...

Alasdair Hooper hosts the fourth episode of The Women's Football Diary with West Ham United defender Maz Pacheco. The USA scholarship system has long been a huge draw for promising women’s footballers in this country – but Pacheco did things her own way.   Eleven days after signing for West Ham in the summer, the left-back graduated from Sheffield University with a law degree. That was the culmina...