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In this episode, Tom Bosworth, a two-time Olympic race walker from England, joins the Dive Beyond Sport podcast to share his powerful journey through elite sport, mental health, and life beyond competition. Tom reflects on rising from grassroots athletics to competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics, winning 20+ national titles, captaining England at the Commonwealth Games, and helping bring race walking into the Diamond League. He opens up about the intense pressures of professional sport, a heartbreaking disqualification at the 2017 World Championships, and a severe mental health crisis in 2018. With support from UK Athletics, Tom began rebuilding his life, sharing practical tools for creating identity beyond sport and finding balance after retirement. He also
talks about coming out publicly ahead of Rio with Victoria Derbyshire, and how living authentically improved both his wellbeing and performance. Now retired, Tom discusses chronic injuries, rediscovering everyday life, and his new project Walking With Purpose — a movement app designed to help vulnerable and inactive people build simple daily walking habits. An honest, inspiring conversation about pressure, identity, recovery, and finding purpose beyond elite sport.
Show Notes
• How does an elite athlete rebuild identity when sport is no longer everything.
• What does resilience really mean when pressure, injury, and mental health collide.
• How can athletes separate self-worth from results, funding, and public expectation.
• What happens when your entire sense of self is built around performance.
• How do you navigate burnout, loneliness, and the emotional cost of chasing Olympic dreams.
• What role does movement play in healing, perspective, and long-termwellbeing.
• How can vulnerability become a strength in high-performance environments.
• What lessons does elite sport teach about balance, relationships, and everyday joy.
• How do athletes redefine success after retirement from competition.
• What can Tom’s journey teach us about contentment, courage, and life beyond medals.
Chapters
00:00 Walking for Mental Health
00:36 Pandemic Fitness Reset
02:04 Modern Fitness Problems
03:11 Walking With Purpose App
04:35 Working With the NHS
07:10 Moving Without Pressure
08:48 Small Walks, Big Impact
10:33 Prevention Through Movement
14:00 Does Housework Count?
16:17 Everyday Movement
17:32 What’s Next
18:32 Coming Out in Sport
19:13 Before Rio 2016
21:50 LGBTQ+ Olympic Athlete Life
25:16 Advice on Coming Out
28:08 Why Race Walking Is Hard
31:01 Injuries & Retirement
32:26 Where to Find Tom Bosworth
Book 1: The Chimp Paradox
Link: https://amzn.to/4juCEQF
Book 2: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Link: https://amzn.to/4p9UNUO
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