Not by the Playbook

How does it feel winning the Tour de France Femmes? Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma will tell you directly – pain, suffering, excitement and euphoria. It was the rollercoaster of emotions the 2024 Tour de France Femmes winner experienced as she thought at one moment she had lost the yellow jersey, but Niewiadoma dug in to win the overall title by just four seconds. As the Women's Open golf takes place a...

You could say Sportshour's Premier League preview lacks a bit of emotion. There's no drama. No temper tantrums. No overheated opinions. Just facts. Cold hard facts. Ian Graham is a 'data architect' and if you don't really know what that is then you are not alone. But it turns out data architects are one of the secret ingredients you need to win the Premier League. Ian is the proof. He was Liverpoo...

To the Paris pool next where The Chinese divers have again dominated the medals at the Paris Games, but they still have some way to overshadow Greg Louganis of the United States... widely regarded as the greatest diver of all time. Louganuis won DOUBLE gold at his home games in Los Angeles in 1984 and repeated that feat in Seoul four years later. But it's for a dive that went spectacularly wrong f...

Meet a sport's icon making his mark at the Olympics in Paris. After the biggest grind, Andy MacDonald will represent Team GB at the grand old age of 50. This is a man who holds the record for the most X Games medals in a skateboarding discipline - the pinnacle championships of extreme sports - and he has also been named World Champions skateboarder nine times. He has even invented tricks that will...

We're live in the French capital as the Games begin! One of the most popular Olympic disciplines is gymnastics. It requires artistic flair alongside core strength and amazing flexibility. So imagine having to compete with scoliosis, a condition that curves the back into unnatural positions. That's precisely the challenge Italian Marta Pagnini had to overcome in order to achieve her dream of compet...

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of...

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of...

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of...

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of...

We’re live at Royal Troon at golf’s 152nd Open Championship. The course contains one of the most iconic holes in golf. The 8th hole known as the "postage stamp" it also contains the longest hole in all Open history, a whopping 623 yards. So what exactly does it take to win there? Germany's Sophia Popov knows, she's the last person to win an Open Championship at Troon when she Women's Open in 2020....

Having fled the Syrian Civil War aged just seventeen, Yusra Mardini competed in swimming for the first ever Refugee Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Five years later in Tokyo she had the honour of carrying the team flag at the opening ceremony. Now a goodwill ambassador for the UN, Yusra will be making a difference out of the pool in Paris, working as a reporter telling the stories of the current re...

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of...

We speak to sports psychologist Doctor Carly Anderson who is the team psychologist for the US curling team including when the men won Olympic gold in 2018. She tell us about the mental toughness and the preparation needed to compete in an Olympics after US gymnast Simone Biles qualified for her third games. NFL player Jermaine Eluemunor has been playing in the NFL since 2017, but this season will...

Noor Slaoui is another history maker at this year’s Olympic in Paris becoming the first equestrian rider from the Middle East or North Africa to compete in Eventing in the history of the Games. Growing up Morocco, Noor tells us about walking equine animals in the Atlas Mountains with her family in her childhood and how she has ended up in England’s horsing hub via France. Spurred on by the belief...

Kenya’s leading tennis player Angella Okutoyi continues to make history against the odds. The African Games champion tells Sportshour’s Caroline Barker about her struggles growing up – including living in an orphanage – to becoming the first Kenyan to win a tennis Grand Slam after winning the Wimbledon girls' doubles title in 2022. Australian para climber Sarah Larcombe shares how she used to hide...

Australian motorcycle racer Tayla Relph’s interest in motorsport made her a target of bullying at school and she began travelling around Australia in a van with her family whilst following the motorcycle racing calendar. Now Relph is lining up alongside 25 other women - from 18 different countries – as the first all-female motorcycle circuit-racing series at world championship level gets underway....

Sportshour hears about an incredible act of generosity. Rob Adcock was set to be the first person to attend a game in every round of the Champions League without visiting the same country twice. With nine countries visited and just the final in England to tick off, he gave away his ticket – which cost more than $2,500 – to a Borussia Dortmund fan for free. Caroline Barker speaks to both Rob and th...

Dame Kelly Holmes was the first British woman to become a double Olympic champion winning the 800 and 1500 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Despite the jubilation, it was not a moment of happiness but a period of fear. A fear that she might be outed as being gay. Revealed publicly just two years ago this month, Dame Kelly tells Caroline Barker about her renewed joy in life after coming...

Taiwan badminton player Chou Tien-chen was keen to make sure he was in the best shape possible ahead of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games. What should have been a straightforward full medical examination saw him diagnosed with early stage colon cancer. After taking a second doctor’s opinion to undergo surgery, Chou is now back playing on the world stage. He’ll explain why he kept the news from...

As flooding in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul continues to cause devastation, Shabnam Younus-Jewell speaks to Brazilian surfer Pedro Scooby who is among a number of sportspeople from the country helping those affected. Gaz Choudhry explains why he switched the wheelchair basketball court for the theatre stage. The two-time Paralympic medallist has recently been performing in 'Grenfell: I...

Would you move heaven and earth to change your life? No? Well how about just your living room? When times got tough, New Yorker James Grammer found solace in sport, in particular the ancient Japanese sport of Sumo. But initially there was nowhere local to compete. While the parks were fine in the summer, the traditional sumo loincloth would be a bit chilly in winter ! So James turned his apartment...

Caroline Barker speaks to Jake Peacock on how he wants to entertain and inspire the world through his achievements in the Muay Thai ring. Peacock, who was born with one arm shorter than the other, was bullied at school and still receives negative messages on social media, but he says his greatest satisfaction comes from inspiring people. From free classes and sharing equipment to the Olympic Games...

***This episode contains discussions and references to suicide. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org*** Depression, health issues and the impact of the covid pandemic are familiar to many the world...

***This episode contains discussions and references to extreme violence, sexual violence and domestic abuse. If you are suffering distress or despair and need support, you could speak to a health professional, or an organisation that offers support. Details of help available in many countries can be found at Befrienders Worldwide: befrienders.org*** Tracy Otto is on the verge of representing the T...

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Bára Votíková tells Sportshour's Caroline Barker about how she balances her football career alongside being one of the Czech Republic's best known and most followed content creators. She tells us about using her social media platforms to advocate for gay rights, and how she deals with the haters. New Zealand pole vaulter Eliza McCartney is about to take a leap of faith...