Anything but Footy

The Olympic and Paralympic games of 2020 have been postponed for a year, Wimbledon has been cancelled and the Premier League are lookin at ways of finishing their season.

In this special episode, we discuss the impact Lockdown has had on sport in this country and across the globe. We talk about the consequences for UK Sport, Team GB and Para GB following the announcement that Tokyo 2020 will take place 12 months later than scheduled. We also ask whether sport in Great Britain should be using this time to look at how it is structured and administrated.

We ask the question about whether you have missed sport and how the current situation has maybe highlighted the importance of keeping active and fit for the health and well being of the general population.

And, we round up some of the latest headlines fromthe world of Olympic and Paralympic sport including news from British Canoeing, British Sailing and British Rowing.

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This is a special edition of the podcast produced on behalf of Swim England.

The swimming family, like the rest of the country, has been hugely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. We hear about some of the steps Swim England has taken, and continue to take, to support clubs, members, staff, pools and the wider swimming sector during this challenging time for everyone.

Jane Nickerson - the CEO at Swim England describes how the organisation has been able to react to the situation and how it has implemented Government advice.

George Wood - the Sport Development Director describes the action plan the organisation has put together to support the swimming community.

And, Grant Robins - the Head of Talent talks about some of the practical support and resources that have been made available.

For more information, go to www.swimming.org or follow Swim England across all its social media platforms.

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An unforgettable night in Highgate - overlooking the City of London - with world class competitors, results and times! 

We hear from Steph Twell, the new British champion, European Cup gold medalist who has automatically qualified for the 10,000m at the World Championships in Doha while with just a year to go to Tokyo 2020 she also bagged herself an Olympic qualifying mark! The women’s ‘A’ race was for many the highlight as 29 year old Twell outpaced the 2018 European Champion Lonah Chemtai Salpeter of Israel.

Eilish McColgan grabbed silver in the European Cup and a World and Olympic qualifying time - before her mum, coach and 1991 10,000m World Champion Liz revealed exclusively to us she wasn’t intending to run 25 laps in Doha - this was all about Tokyo! The British women also secured Team Gold for a second year in the European Cup.

The #Lane3BeerNCheer was a ‘wall of sound’ inspiring athletes to dig deep - we speak to Ben Connor after he was crowned Men’s British Champion after coming third in the European Cup - but he missed out on a qualifying time - will he try again before the Worlds in Doha in late September? GB Men also won Team silver.

The #Highgate10k event is praised for its attention to detail for everyone - not just the athletes but spectators too! We hear from the gong man encrusted in gold, the bright orange ’Strava’ man running in a morph suit (!!!), the Q&A with legend Liz McColgan & Britain's Andy Vernon and those constant cowbells clanging encouragement!

And Major Events Director of British Athletics and a Vice President of European Athletics Cherry Alexander, along with BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth on her first visit, tell us why running, athletics and this night in particular, can inspire the next generation!

Relive it all in just under 27 minutes - virtually the same time as Mo Farah’s British 10,000m record!!

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This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy - the series where we profile the men and women responsibly for running sport in this country - from grassroots participation to those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

In this episode we practise Social Distancing in light of Government advice around the spread of COVID-19. Hugh Brasher - the Event Director at London Marathon Events Limited joins us via Skype from home to discuss, at length, why it was right to postpone this years event which was due to go ahead in April.

Since the first race in 1981, the London Marathon has captured the public imagination attracting tens of thousands of runners, hundreds of thousands of spectators, millions of television viewers and raising over a billion pounds for charity at the same time.

The event has spawned a number of spin offs - including cycling and swimming events - but the Virgin Money London Marathon remains the flagship. This year it is now scheduled to take place at the start of October, when it is hoped thousands will be able to take to the streets of the capital city with COVID-19 under control across the globe. There would be no better event to announce that sport was back at the centre of society.

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A special edition of Anything but Footy focuses on the choice facing the IOC and IPC about Tokyo 2020.

Currently, the position is that the organisers are committed to staging the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games this summer in Tokyo. The British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association are planning accordingly, albeit with a warning for their athleties not to endanger their health or wellbeing.

This week has seen many leading names, including Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Adam Gemilli, question the current position. The qualification process is in tatters following the cancellation of so many events and it's not clear how teams will be selected if the events do happen.

The World Anti-Doping Authorities have also had their work impacted by the spread of COVID-19 and this could lead to the integrity of the Games being questioned if athletes aren't subject to the usual strict testing procedeures that normally operate.

We hear from Rob Koelher of Global Athlete - an organisation that representes athletes interests as well as Team GB hopeful Verity Ockendon who was hoping to line up for great Britaon and Northern Ireland in athletics.

Plus, the latest on the ongoing dispute between UK Athletics and UK Anti-Doping over the role of Mo Farah's former coach Alberto Salazar.

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This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy - the series where we profile the men and women responsible for running sport in this country - from grassroots participation to those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

At the Rio 2016, British canoeists won 2 golds and 2 silvers in the Olympics and also topped the medal table as the sport made its Paralympics debut. Just before that, David Joy arrived, and set about delivering fundamental changes after an independent review into British Canoeing was instigated by UK Sport, following allegations from athletes. And after his time at Scottish Athletics and England Golf, he also had to bring together the 'paddle' community - British Canoeing is the governing body for all these disciplines - slalom, sprint, marathon, surf kayak, canoe polo, freestyle, white water rafting, wild water racing, ocean racing, outrigger canoeing and canoe lifeguards!!!

This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and also leave a review on Apple podcasts.

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A special edition of the podcast recorded live for Superpod 2020 which raised money for Sport Relief.

Superpod 2020 brought together a number of leading podcasters in one venue in Southampton and saw them broadcast back to back across two days. Anything but Footy was invited to take part to stage a special edition of the pod in front of a live audience at the venue.

This special edition welcomed guests from British Sailing - windsurfer Saskia Sills and Nacra17 sailor Kirstie Urwin - who gave us an insight into becoming an elite sportsperson and their ambitions for Paris 2024. They also gave us their thoughts on the group of sailors selected by Team GB for the next Olympic Games in Tokyo.

As ever, we looked at the big sport stories of the week in the world of Olympic and Paralympic sport. We discussed at length the impact coronavirus was having and the potential impacts for Tokyo 2020. The Associated Press' Global Sports Correspondent Rob Harris joined us to give his views having been in Lausanne reporting on the recent meeting of the International Olympic Committee where the issue was top of the agenda.

In athletics, we also analysed the latest developments in the Russian doping scandal, asked what next for Mo Farah and his advisors in light of more recent revelations and spoke about how Nike's new running shoes are not the only reason behind the breakthrough this season of leading British middle distance runner Jemma Reekie.

Plus, we looked back at how Great Britain performed at the recent World Track Cycling Championships and what the medal return in Berlin meant for the potential sucess of British Cyling in the summer. In Rio, every member of the track team won a medal and it seems a repeat of that feat is unlikely, although there could be potential British medals in BMX and Mountain Biking.

It was great to be part of Superpod 2020 and thanks to everyone who donated to Sport Relief.

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This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy - the series where we profile the men and women responsible for running sport in this country - from grassroots participation to those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

Julie Harrington took control at British Cycling in May 2017. She took over an organisation reeling from a series of damaging episodes involving bullying, discrimination and doping. Her aim was to change British Cycling, so successful at Olympic and Paralympic level, into a world class governing body, whilst also ensuring the medal success continued.

She doesn't believe an organisation with a positive culture can't also achieve sporting success, but Tokyo 2020 could prove to be a challenging time for a group which has been Team GB's most successful sport for three successive editions of the Olympics whilst Para GB topped the Paralympic cycling medal table in Beijing, London and Rio.

This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and also leave a review on Apple podcasts.

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This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy the series where we profile the men and women responsible for running sport in this country, from grassroots participation to those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

Neil Armitage is the Chief Executive of Archery GB, an organisation that the financial company he then worked for sponsored before the London Olympics. He loved it so much he took over as CEO in 2016 and as the sport lost its main funding after Rio, has focused on a new strategy strengthening relationships with external stakeholders. Neil tells us he's 'incredibly frustrated' Archery wasn't picked by the Commonwealth Games for Birmingham 2002 which is literally down the M6 from their base in Lilleshall - but he's not giving up! And hopes are high for Britain's first medal success in Tokyo since there Athens Olympics, and maintaining their achievements in the Paralympics after topping the table in Rio.

This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and also leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

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This is Great British Bosses from Anything but Footy. In this series, we profile the men and women responsible for running sport in this country. These people are often responsible for managing teams, staff, budgets, grassroots participation and overseeing those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

James Hope-Gill is the Chief Executive of Skateboard GB and Skateboard England. Both are relatively new organisations with Skateboard GB set up to represent skateboarding athletes on the lead up to Tokyo 2020. It will be the first time skateboarding has been part of the Olympic Games. Skateboard GB was in receipt of UK Sport funding to help qualify and prepare a potential British team in Japan. In this episode we find out about the challenges of establishing a new national governing body for a new Olympic sport.

This is great British Bosses from Anything but Footy. If you like what you hear, please subscribe and also leave a review on Apple Podcasts.

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