Performance People

Georgie Ainslie and guest Professor Greg Whyte debate the most memorable performances from the second week of the Paris Olympics, breaking down what made them stand out from the rest. Featuring the serene brilliance of Team GB’s Keely Hodgkinson, the emergence of a new European track and field superstar and the mechanics behind what made the men’s 100m so special. Connect with Performance People H...

Georgie Ainslie and guest Professor Greg Whyte look back at the most memorable performances from the first week of the Paris Olympics, breaking down what made them stand out from the rest. From the otherworldly brilliance of Simone Biles to the longevity of Tom Daley, plus the Team GB all-time great who doesn’t get the recognition they deserve. Connect with Performance People Hit subscribe today f...

When Craig Wood was an 18-year-old soldier, a roadside bomb in Afghanistan left him a triple amputee. After a gruelling rehabilitation full of operations and setbacks, he needed a new focus and felt the pull of the sea as soon as he left hospital. A keen windsurfer before his injuries, he began to learn para sailing and it changed his life. He now lives on a catamaran with his wife and two young k...

At the Tokyo Olympics, two-time gold medallist Helen Glover showed to herself and the world that a working mother could also be an Olympian. And that, so we thought, was that. Except, well, some people are cut from a different cloth and Helen saw an opportunity to prove that women shouldn’t be written off at a certain age or life stage. What if she could medal in Paris at 38 with her kids at the f...

As a writer for The Times , Matt Dickinson has been an original and trusted voice on the key sporting events and characters of the last 25 years. He came to prominence as the reporter behind the interview with then England manager Glenn Hoddle in which Hoddle’s remarks on reincarnation ultimately led to his sacking. Matt recalls how being involved in such a high-profile story affected him, what it...

When Tim Herman first went to Wimbledon as a 6-year-old and saw Bjorn Borg play, his fate was sealed. It was tennis all the way. Fifteen years later, he was playing his first match as a pro on Centre Court, the place he wishes he could have played his whole career on. Tim looks back on his life in a tennis and sports-obsessed family, how he handled the pressure of being the great British hope at W...

Think of Wimbledon and the name Andrew Castle won’t be far from your mind.  A former British number one as a player, he took a chance in broadcasting and never looked back - his voice is now one of the most recognisable soundtracks to the British summer. Andrew talks frankly and entertainingly about his early life, how he got his break in tennis, his trials on tour and why making it as a pro...

One of the big stories going into this year’s America’s Cup is the collaboration between two different sports which share more similarities than you might expect. In a special episode of Performance People with the Inside Tack podcast, Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO of Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team sat down with Sir Ben Ainslie, CEO and skipper of INEOS Britannia, to discuss how Formula One th...

How much can we slow down the ageing process and extend our healthspan? It’s a growing area of interest and a subject in which personal trainer Matt Roberts is a leading and hugely knowledgable voice. Now in his fifties, Matt has the same body fat and measurements he had at 20. He believes - and is living proof - that we have more control over physiological ageing than we realise.  It ta...

England rugby stalwart Lewis Moody was known for his all-action approach which left everything on the pitch. You don’t get the nickname 'mad dog’ for nothing. Yet it was off the pitch that Lewis Moody had to overcome his biggest challenges, most notably having to deal with ulcerative colitis as a young player in an environment where sharing your vulnerabilities wasn't exactly encouraged....

Team GB’s Emma Finucane is on a whirlwind rise through women’s cycling and is heading to Paris with high hopes that she could become the next name in British Cycling royalty. Just a year ago, this wasn’t even part of the plan. It all changed for the 21-year-old when she won the 2023 World Championships as a newcomer and she’s since had to manage the shift in expectations and attention that co...

Michael Easter is a journalist and author whose two books ‘The Comfort Crisis’ and ‘Scarcity Brain’ reveal the ways in which the modern world has become incompatible with the way our animal brains are wired. In fact, we’re living pretty much the opposite lives to those of our ancestors. We have an excess of food which makes us crave other fixes, we sit down all day indoors and have had to invent t...

As crazy as it sounds, middle-distance runner Jake Wightman doesn’t really enjoy the act of going for a run. Sounds like a bit of a problem when you’re an elite athlete with his sights set on an Olympic gold this summer. As a talented and sporty kid he was spotted for his potential and realised he needed to grab the opportunity - and the responsibility - that comes with it. Fortunately what he doe...

Journalist and author Bryony Gordon’s books, including her latest ‘Mad Woman’, are dark, funny, no holds barred accounts, of what it’s like to live with addiction and mental illness while, at the same time, putting on the mask of being a high-functioning and successful human being.  Now a mental health campaigner, she sees her honesty about her struggles as an essential part of staying well,...

Big wave surfing is a sport like no other. Clearly you need incredible technique and athleticism just to be in the conversation. But beyond that it’s the mental side of taking on a monster wave, each one unique in how it forms and breaks, that puts it in a category all its own. British surfer Laura Crane takes us inside this otherworldly pursuit, from the moments of calm as she waits for her chanc...

GB Triathlete Beth Potter didn’t even own a bike eight years ago. Now she is a gold medal favourite for the women’s triathlon in Paris this summer. The story of why she decided to trust her instincts and quit track athletics for a completely new sport is a lesson in trusting your instincts, staying patient and taking advice from people who really know. There was no immediate success to validate he...

It’s the most basic function we all take for granted but learning to harness our breathing can help us manage stress, release tension and even allow us to switch our mindsets when we need to.   Stuart Sandeman was grieving the death of his girlfriend when he booked a breath class as a Mother’s Day gift. What happened in the next hour changed the course of his life and he now works as a breath...

How do you approach a goal as big as becoming the fast man on planet Earth? Team GB sprinter Zharnel Hughes made incredible strides in 2023, blitzing a new British record of 9.83 seconds, and now has his sights on the Olympics in Paris this summer. He goes through some of the techniques and habits that have helped him on his journey - including why journalling has become a major part of his routin...

Asking yourself this simple question is something that coach Alex Kergall believes is central to performing at our best. And he should know. He spends his life helping CEOs and professional athletes to keep improving. In his chat with Georgie, he considers the common characteristics and challenges of building the life we truly want to live, why we often approach life ‘upside-down’ and if you focus...

Philippa Langley has an extraordinary story. Flying high in her career she was struck down with chronic fatigue syndrome and, as she recovered, only had enough energy to read. But what she read led her to become a world-renowned expert in Richard III and ultimately find the location of his lost remains in a story that made headlines around the world. It’s a lesson in high performance against the o...

Rugby player and world cup winner Natasha "Mo" Hunt is proof positive that getting your mindset right can take you to the top of your field - and keep you there. Fearless on the pitch, she credits her competitive upbringing with building her will to win which only seems to be getting stronger in her thirties. One performance tip she prizes above all others is having the right people around you. Wh...

Studies show those living in the Nordic regions are happier than in the rest of the world. Why? Helen Russell is a best selling author and speaker and has raised her children in Denmark. She shares with Georgie what she's discovered about how the culture of a place can truly sway the happiness dial. Connect with Performance People Hit subscribe today for the latest. 🎧 Spotify/Apple Music http://w...

Anya Hindmarch joins Georgie on this episode to explain why women are ‘organizational legends’ and how positive thinking is a necessary prerequisite for any entrepreneur. Anya describes her passion for order and how a lifelong obsession for labeling has shaped her business. As a mother of 5 and a business leader she shares with Georgie the deeper thinking behind her book’s title “If in d...

Sleep is the precondition to life. It is something we all do so, how come so many of us get it wrong? Anna West explains to Georgie why sleep should be part of everyones performance enhancement strategy and they discuss how we can all change small things in our day to day to help us get a good nights rest. Anna West specialises in sleep, recovery, and wellbeing. Her company, Sleep2perform is a sci...

Hanneke Smits shares with Georgie the best way to approach the balance of work and home life, plus her time saving tips to creating efficiency - and achieve results. Connect with Performance People Hit subscribe today for the latest. 🎧 Spotify/Apple Music http://www.performancepeoplepodcast.com/ https://www.instagram.com/performance.people/ ________________________________ The views and opinions...