Anything but Footy

2020 is another Olympic and Paralympic year! The older you get the more they seem to come round (NB. they're every two years of course with the Winter Games too!)

In this pod, Michael and John look-back at some of their first Olympic experiences as children, discuss some of their best moments and sports people to interview and look ahead to what might be to come in the Olympics in the future!

As we're heading into the festivities, forgive us for a little self-indulgence - its Christmas after all!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Michael stated on a recent edition of the podcast that BBC Sports Personality of the Year is the closest the UK gets to the Oscars for talkability about an awards show. Tonight's gong-fest in Aberdeen has again sparked debate and conversation. Ben Stokes won the main award with the England Men's Cricket Team picking up team of the year and moment of the year. We also discuss awards for Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Doddie Weir.

Our other main talking point is about how the UK is the live sport capital of the world. Data analyst company Two Circle has crunched the numbers and come up with the amazing statistic that the UK has more people going to watch live sport in any one year than it's actual population. We discuss how and why.

Tahiti appears to have won an unlikely Olympic bid. Sort of. Paris has put forward the French Polynesian Island as the host of Olympic surfing in 2024. Meanwhile, The British Olympic Association has reacted strongly to news it might be facing legal action from it's own athletes.

And, there's news on rugby sevens, skiing, equestrian and golf. Plus, how you could be an Olympic Sailor...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WADA has announced that Russia will be banned from international sporting competition for four years. The ban, subject to appeal, means that Russia will not be able to send a delegation to the Olympic or Paralympic Games in Tokyo and will also be banned from most other sporting competition. Euro 2020 is not affected and FIFA is currently reiewing the decision ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

So, Russia are kicked out after failing to adhere with guidelines around their anti-doping operation. Except, they've not been kicked out because individual athletes who can prove they operate outside the system - clean athletes - will be allowed to compete as neutrals. Rob Koehler, Director General of Global Athlete, tells us he thinks this loophole in the ruling needs to be closed and banned should mean banned. So, are Russia kicked out or in? We discuss.

We look at the recent announcement by British Athletics as to which athletes they are funding in 2020 and at what level. We explain the reasoning behind some of the decisions and congratulate the governing body on maintaining Eilidh Doyle's funding through her pregnancy.

There's European Short Course Swimming news from Glasgow, sailing medals in New Zealand and success for British teams in cross country, taekwondo and rugby sevens.

We also round up the latest news on snow and ice with athletes switching sports. Vicky Williamson has joined the British Bobsleigh programme from British Cycling whilst Gus Kenworthy, the Winter Olympic freestyle skiing medallist, has switched to Great Britain from the USA.

Plus, Commonwealth Games shooting in India and a third Olympic Games Down Under as Queensland bids for 2032.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this week's episode of Anything but Footy, we discuss the shortlist for the prestigious BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. 6 were named ahead of the event in Aberdeen, but there's been an equal amount of discussion over the names left off - including swimmers Adam Peaty and Alice Tai, motor sport's Jonathan Rea and athlete Hannah Cockroft. We discuss the main details and make some predictions about how the awards will be distributed.

From short lists to short shifts. Very short shifts, in fact. The new CEO at British Athletics didn't even get her feet under the desk before announcing she would not be taking up the role after a newspaper revealed details of her husband's inappropriate relationship with a 15 year old girl. With safeguarding and governance now at the top of the agenda as far as sport in the UK is concerned, we debate the fallout and discuss who might be the right person for the job.

Russia could be forced to miss the next four years of international sporting competition. That would mean not being able to compete as a nation at the next two Olympic Games in Tokyo and Beijing. It's the latest development in the long running story of their state sponsored doping.

We have news from the trampolining World Championship in Japan. Along with some terrible puns... And, a look ahead to the Nacra 47 Sailing World Championship which begins soon. There's also hockey and cross country news and a potential unlikely Olympic venue for Paris 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Another round up of the week's talking points in the world of Olympic and Paralympic sport.

Michael and John start with an argument over whether The Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards got their main title right for 2019. Dina Asher-Smith won the award for the second year in a row after her gold and two silver medals at the World Athletics Championships in Doha. John agrees but Michael argues that Katarina Johnson-Thompson's gold medal in the heptathlon was a bigger achievement. Have a listen to the debate.

Plenty of other awards were handed out this week and we run through them all. Plus, Team GB's bobsleigh four were finally presented with their bronze medals from Sochi 2014 at the Team GB Ball this week. They were re-awarded the medals earlier in 2019 after two Russian crews were disqualified for cheating.

The IOC announced a new worldwide sponsor this week - Airbnb. The decision has gone down badly with French hoteliers and John is expecting burning tyres as a result! But, Michael says it's part of the Olympic movement having to adapt to changing times and talks about his own experiences of living with a family in Rio during the 2016 Olympics. He explains how they lived on an island near the Olympic Park which required a trip on a wooden boat each day, and despite losing the battle with the mosquitoes, says he would recommend the experience ahead of an inter-continental hotel to everyone travelling to a major event.

Swimming's ISL arrrived in London with a spectacular staging of the new event at the London Aquatic Centre whilst the new look Davis Cup also saw Great Britain reach the last four in Spain.

There's also skateboarding, hockey, shooting, gymnastics, cycling, table tennis, curling and skiing news too.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Great British Bosses by Anything but Footy. We profile the women and men responsible for sport in this country - many at national governing bodies - who manage teams, staff, budgets, grass-root participation and overseeing those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

Triathlon was only invented in San Diego in 1974, but now the swim bike run event is an integral part of the Olympics and Paralympics and is expanding in 2020 for the first time since started in Sydney 20 years ago. In this episode, we're back in Loughborough and the base of British Triathlon with Chief Executive Andy Salmon. Andy joined British Triathlon in November 2017, having previously chaired Triathlon Scotland. He talks us through the challenges ahead for a sport that's had great success in GB - the joint most successful nation in the Olympics and medals on debut in Rio at the Paralympics. Andy admits he had sleepless nights about the heat of Tokyo for his competitors following the test events there last August, but is also confident the event will be a huge success. We talk about the possibility of double Olympic champion Ali Brownlee returning for Tokyo, and also his delight at him not retiring after a disappointing performance at his home World Triathlon event in Leeds earlier in 2019. And Andy gives us his personal view on how many medals British Triathlon will win at Tokyo 2020!

This is episode six of the first series of Great British Boss - Badminton, Gymnastics, Fencing, Swimming and Table Tennis covered off so far - watch out for more in 2020! In the meantime if you like what you hear please leave a review and rate us on Apple Podcasts!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The World Para Athletics Championship has ended in Dubai, We hear from Head Coach Paula Dunn on the success of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team. Athletes from these shores finished third on the medal table with the likes of Hannah Cockroft and Sophie Hahn again on top of the world. There were familar names like Richard Whitehead winning medals along with a new generation of stars getting ready for Tokyo 2020. We discuss the sucess of the para team and how maybe it's time to get beyond the narrative of using words like 'inspirational' and 'super-human' and how we should just be accepting of their incredible athletic endeavours.

On track to Tokyo, the British Olympic Association has been threatened by legal action from some of it's own athletes. Big names like Mo Farah, Adam Gemilli, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Laura Muir want more rights around how they can work with personal sponsors. We look at both sides of the debate and highlight how Team GB is not a publicly finded entity, but continues to send teams that are prepared better than anyone to successive editions of the Olympic Games.

In other news, we talk about Any Murray and the Davis Cup. We also have news of British medals in para fencing and para badminton as well as more success for table tennis player Liam Pitchford. We look back on the career of British double Olympic gold medal winning cyclist Steven Burke, who announced his retirement this week, and look ahead to the International Swimming League landing in London.

Plus, Munich will host the next edition of The European Championships in 2022.

It's all on Anything but Footy - your Olympic and Paralympic sport podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

2018 British 200m Champion Beth Dobbin joins us to give her reaction to this week's news that The IAAF are cutting some events from The Diamond League in 2020. Beth tells us what it mans to lose events, including the 200m, from the core programme as The IAAF aim to make the event a more marketable product for broadcasters. The fall out this week has included the establishment of a new union for the athletes.

In boxing, Nicola Adams announced her retirement this week. The two time Olympic Champion and World Professional Champion chose to make her announcement in her local newspaper - The Yorkshire Evening Post. YEP Sports Editor, Nick Westby joins us to give us the background on how the newspaper landed the world exclusive with one of the nation's biggest sporting icons.

The IPC World Athletics Championships continue in Doha. Hannah Cockroft is now an 11 time World Champion in what has been a great start to the Championships for British athletes although crowds have been disappointing to date. There has also been British Cycling success in Glasgow at the World Cup, including a notable gold for Rio 2016 medallist Katy Marchant.

We also have table tennis, badminton, swimming and skateboarding news.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Great British Bosses by Anything but Footy. We profile the women and men responsible for sport in this country - many at national governing bodies - who manage teams, staff, budgets, grass-root participation and overseeing those medal moments at Olympic, Paralympic and elite level.

This episode, we're in Lilleshall and the base of British Gymnastics with Chief Executive Jane Allen. Formerly of Gymnastics Australia, Jane arrived in 2010 and oversaw the remarkable transformation of a sport that won its first men's Team medal in 100 years in London, produced a double Olympic champion in Rio in Max Whitlock and is planning for more glory at Tokyo 202. Not only is it excelling in elite sport, it now has 400,000 members across the UK, growing every year, with waiting lists at some gymnastics clubs for youngsters to take to the floor! We ask Jane about her role, her and her team's success and when she's back in Oz with a glass in her hand what she'll look back on as her biggest achievement. She also tells us in her view 'it's not a coincidence the 2022 Commonwealth Games were backed by Government and brought to Birmingham. Why wouldn’t you have something that would have the same impact as London had, when you’ve just made one of the biggest political decisions of your life in exiting Europe. I think Sport is so uniting and I’m so proud of what it does. If a Government stopped funding sport it would be a very brave one!' So it seems the future is bright for British sport and gymnastics in particular!

And if there's someone who you think is a Great British Boss - and would make a good podcast - please free to get in touch on twitter @AnythingbutF and using the hashtag #GBBosses or contact us through our website www.anythingbutfooty.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Canadian World Championship medallist Evan Dunfee joins us this week to give us his views on the IOC decision to move the marathons and race walks from Tokyo to Sapporo during the 2020 Olympic Games due to concerns over the temperatures. Evan tweeted a number of observations and factual comments this week about the history of Olympic and World Championship marathon running and tells Anything but Footy why he thinks the decision needs to be looked at again. Evan won bronze in the 50km race walk in Doha at the 2019 World Championships.

The IPC World Athletics Championships begin this week in Dubai. We look at how the event will pan out after the success of the staging in London in 2017. There's a run down of the main athletes to watch from home and abroad and we hear from Kare Adenegen and Hollie Arnold who will be representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Great Britain has qualified for the Olympic Hockey tournament after both the men and women came through their play off games held in London. Team GB's women won gold in Rio in 2016 memorably but face a huge task to retain that title.

There were plenty of British medals at Cycling's World Cup event in Belarus and at Taekwondo's European Championships in Italy. We'll round up who won what and look ahead to the cycling in Glasgow next weekend where Laura Kenny is rested from the British team after a good weekend in Minsk.

There's also changes to the backroom staff at British Cycling and British Athletics and we'll re-cap who's going where.

Plus, rowing, judo & para table tennis.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices