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Watching Christine Ohoruogo race was exhausting. The gun would go. She'd be in the mix. You'd not panic - knowing that her finish was her greatest strength. Another hundred metres would pass. She'd look off the pace. The butterflies would begin. You'd quell them. 'It's fine. Chrissy finishes like a train.' The athletes would exit the bend. Ohoruogo not even amongst the medals. The butterflies set loose. You'd leap from your seat. 'She's left it too late. Even Christine can't pull this off.' But, wait! With eighty or so to go, she'd start to move through the field. Are they slowing down? Is she speeding up? Who cares? Britain's finest every quarter-miler would surge through the standings, and - implausibly - produce the goods. She'd have a new international medal. You'd have a few new grey hairs. Each and every time she'd get you with one of the sport's most exhilarating pranks: waiting until the last minute to remind you just how phenomenal she was.

Four Olympic gongs. Eight from outdoor World Championships. Medals at nine consecutive global championships: a feat only matched by Usain Bolt and Merlene Ottey. One of Britain's all time greats.

Since announcing her retirement, the British record holder's given very, very few interviews, and so we were chuffed to bits when she sat down with Bayo for almost three hours. In this, the first of a two-part interview special, Christine discusses international netball, being 'found' by the 400 metres, her breakthrough season on the track, and the build up to her scintillating World gold in Osaka - including a powerfully honest discussion of her year-long suspension after missing a third out-of-competition drugs test. 

We think this is a great listen, and reckon you'll feel the same. Whatever your thoughts - let us know: @BackstraightB & @Claire_GThomas

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2018 was a doozy. A vintage year. Mondo, Dina, Eliud, Kevin, Laura, Abderrahman, Nafi, Niamh: we could list athletes until 2020 rolls around, but we've just received our accreditation for European Indoors in March, and are rather excited to crack on with covering that for you instead. It was a year in which 6.69 didn't even get you on the women's long jump podium at the British Championships; in which we saw KJT beam - yes, beam! - after a shot put in a major heptathlon; in which you could win double European gold and then be unable to purchase yourself a celebratory beer, because you're an underage, 17-year-old prodigy. How to tackle such a sumptuous 12 months of athletics? With Tom Bosworth, pastries, and mimosas, of course. We sat down with the Commonwealth silver medallist to discuss everything: from the highs of Birmingham and Berlin, to the lows of the Diamond League scheduling and Callum Hawkins' Gold Coast collapse; why Caster is our female athlete of the year; and to whom we would give this year's Wooden Spoon Award. It was lots of fun, and we hope it prompts a fond look back over a seriously good year of track and field your end. Leave us a review, share this episode with all your friends and family, and get in touch: @BackstraightB, @Claire_GThomas, and @TomBosworth. 

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'He's got a sprinting library. In his house,' Asha Philip asserts from the physio table, as she receives treatment at the end of a long day's training. 'A bag of books,' adds Seye Ogunlewe, sat alongside. You'll have to listen to this episode to find out whether or not Steve Fudge actually owns a collection of speedy tomes, but - either way - his knowledge of the sport is certainly encyclopaedic. His meticulous mechanical coaching is matched only by his intuitive management of each of the athletes within Fudge Project London, where Claire was lucky enough to spend the day. In Loughborough, Fudge worked with Dasaolu, Gemili, Peacock, and Baptiste (amongst others), before moving to London to set up his Fudge Project, where he currently coaches Asha, Seye, Ojie Edoburun, and Imani Lanisquot. It's fair to say that this quartet have the personalities to match their talent, and we gave up trimming it all down into a normal-length episode, so here's a two-hour exploration of one of the most exciting training groups around. A big thanks to Coach Steve, Osteopath Rob, and all four athletes for their time and insights. Oh - and to you for listening. Let us know your thoughts, won't you? @Claire_GThomas & @BackstraightB

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As we hit 'publish' on this episode, 1,810,242 runners have - over the last 14 years - given up their Saturday morning lie-ins to cover an astonishing 120 million kilometres of parks worldwide. It is in no way hyperbolic (and, trust us, we know all about hyperbole on this show) to describe parkrun as a global phenomenon, and we had a myriad of questions about the mass participation sensation: is it good for athletics? is it really more of a 'run' than a 'race'? what's it like to volunteer at one? and, how on Earth has Bayo not done one yet..? In search of answers, we roped in Danny Norman - host of the hugely successful parkrun podcast, 'With Me Now', and tourist extraordinaire (612 runs at 266 different events, and counting) - and headed down to Southwark Park. Tail Walkers, Event Directors, 1st-Placers, and even the 11-year-old who beat Bayo with a Tirunesh Dibaba-esque finish - we spoke to as many people as we could, and have produced (we hope) a happy hodgepodge of parkrun: a veritable smorgasbord from what was a really inspiring and insightful morning. Thank you to everyone at Southwark Parkrun for having us, to Danny for getting involved, and to you for listening. As per, let us know your thoughts via a review, or dropping us a tweet: @BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas. Finally, if you haven't already, go and parkrun. Trust us; it's fabulous.

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Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

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Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.

Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at

Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).