Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton are joined by talkSPORT's Jackson Cole and Love Sport Radio's Kieran Wellington for SportSpiel's Review of the Year 2019.

On the last episode of 2019 the panel review the year in sport while dishing out awards in eight important categories.

In doing so they look to celebrate outstanding sporting moments, inspirational characters and the athletes that gave us goosebumps.

The categories on this episode:

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Alasdair is running the Vitality Big Half on March 1 in aid of The Mintridge Foundation. Donate here: https://themintridgefoundation.charitycheckout.co.uk/pf/alasdair-hooper

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Music: Otis McDonald

Will Moulton presents this SportSpiel feature interview with rising British Taekwondo star Rebecca McGowan.

There has been a consistent stream of talent coming through the ranks of the sport in the UK - names such as Jade Jones, Bianca Walkden and Lutalo Muhammad are just three of them. 

But one person who is well on her way to making a name for herself is the Scottish-born teenager Rebecca. 

In this episode the up-and-coming talent tells us all about her journey through the sport and what it is like to train and compete against some of the very best talent there is out there.

She also talks about the role she can play in dispelling the myth that women are not suited to combat sports.

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Image credits: With thanks to Rebecca McGowan and British Taekwondo

Music: Otis McDonald

Team GB trampolinist Laura Gallagher presents a special SportSpiel episode as she interviews her teammates Bryony Page, Kat Driscoll and Izzy Songhurst.

On this edition of the show Laura helps to give us a valuable insight into the team ahead of the 2019 Trampoline World Championships, which run from November 28 to December 21 in Tokyo. 

In part one (3:07) Laura chats with Kat Driscoll - a legend of the sport who has been her teammate for the best part of 10 years.

They talk all about her life in trampolining and experiencing London 2012, as well as what she would do if she met Lewis Hamilton tomorrow.

In part two (22:09) Laura speaks with Izzy Songhurst, the youngest women's team member. 

They delve into how tough it is to transition to the senior world and they talk about Izzy's comeback following a serious recent injury. 

In part three (50:47) Laura speaks with Rio 2016 silver medalist Bryony Page, who became the first British trampolinist to win an Olympic medal out in Brazil. 

The pair look back on that memorable moment from the Games and her journey that led up to the remarkable success.

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Image credits: With thanks to Bryony Page, Laura Gallagher and British Gymnastics

Music: Otis McDonald

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton present SportSpiel’s November discussion episode.

On this edition of the show they go through and pick apart some of the biggest talking points in sport.

In part one (5:02) the pair look at the inaugural Women's Football Weekend and what impact it will have long term. 

With a huge effort to get the game in people's faces they ask what we can learn from this first edition of the initiative.

In part two (25:28) they look at serious breaches of discipline after NFL player Myles Garrett ripped the helmet off an opponent before hitting him over the head with it on Thursday night. 

They also look at the fall out from the drink-driving crash involving three Derby County players and why different punishments were dished out to those involved as well as trying to figure out how you can get greater consistency of punishment across all sport.

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Music: Otis McDonald

There's been no shortage of shocks in Dartford, home of the London City Lionesses. The brand-new FA Women’s Championship side are currently second in the league – with five wins in seven games.

According to their team captain Ellie Mason, things are looking very positive. The club was created after the decision, at the end of last season, by Millwall Lionesses to break away from Millwall and go it alone.  That saw the birth of London City, an independent side without any ties to a men’s team at all.

In this episode Ellie tells us about the unique mission this club have set themselves, to prove that you can make it as an independent women's club.

She tells us how they've shocked everyone so far and why, despite only being a few months old, people can keep expecting to be shocked.

The 23-year-old defender also tells us about her career so far and just why football is so important to society, women and young girls who want to get involved.

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Thanks go to Next Gen Sport Solutions for setting up the interview with Ellie Mason. For more information about the sports management company for female athletes go to: https://nextgensport.co.uk

Thanks also go to Sue Anstiss and Promote PR for naming us in their list of eight recommended sports podcasts  - https://www.promotepr.com/news/8-sport-podcasts/

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Image credit: With thanks to Next Gen Sports Solutions

Music: Otis McDonald

Great Britain’s women’s basketball team are working wonders.

The side secured a historic fourth-placed finish at the 2019 EuroBasket in July, which came off the back of England’s surprise silver medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Quite simply, they are punching above their weight with the resources they have at their disposal.

Yet, for those working in and around GB Basketball, as well as at Basketball England, it’s time for things to change.

On this episode, Will Moulton speaks to the head coach of the GB Women's team Chema Buceta as well as CEO of Basketball England Stewart Kellett.

In the show they touch on the reasons why the side are punching so far above their weight as well as the frustration over a lack of recognition and media coverage.

They also discuss the desire to capitalise on this success and the launch of the All Girls campaign - designed to inspire more girls and women to get involved with the sport of basketball.

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Image credit: With thanks to Promote PR

Music: Otis McDonald

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton present SportSpiel's October discussion episode. 

On this edition of the show they go through the biggest headlines and pick apart the most important questions in the news.

In part one (6:31) the pair look at racism and football fandom after several high-profile incidents of racial abuse both abroad and in the UK. 

In the discussion they try and analyse the root causes and look at what can be done to stamp out the abuse.

In part two (35:00) they look back at mental health in sport as several high profile athletes chose to share their own personal struggles around World Mental Health Day, including England Hockey's Suzy Petty.

Finally, in part three (50:56) they look at athletes who excelled in more than one sport after former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech starred in his ice hockey debut.

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Music: Otis McDonald

Jamaican diver Yona Knight-Wisdom is something of an anomaly in his sport.

As the Leeds-born athlete says himself, he is almost two metres tall, is a ‘heavy diver’ and he’s black. That isn’t something you see very often.

But despite the stereotype he is writing history in Jamaican sport.

Not only was he the first Jamaican diver to medal at an international diving event, he was also the first Jamaican - and first to represent a Caribbean island - at the Olympics in diving.

On this episode Yona takes us through the reasons why we don't often see people like him in his sport. The Leeds-born athlete also explains why he took the Jamaican route - quite simply he wouldn't be diving now if he hadn't.

He also tells us about the tough lessons he learnt after Rio 2016 as well as the story behind his own podcast The Athlete's Voice.

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You can find The Athlete's Voice on Apple Podcasts here - https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-athletes-voice/id1417298918

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Image credit: With thanks to Yona Knight-Wisdom

Music: Otis McDonald

Alasdair Hooper and Will Moulton are joined by journalists Julia Cook and Ollie Godden for SportSpiel's September discussion episode.

On this edition of the show the panel go through the biggest headlines and pick apart the most important questions. 

In part one (6:07) it's all about the IAAF World Championships and whether Doha - the capital of Qatar - is a suitable venue after horrible scenes during the women's marathon. 

With attendances far from full, it raises doubts as to why the event is being held in the city at all. 

In part two (21:08) the panel look at social media and body shaming after runner Eilish McColgan recently called out the trolls on her own account. 

Finally, in part three (37:09), the four look at the cloud that is doping after the latest twist involving the Russian Anti Doping Agency

Notes

Make sure you catch our cameo in the short documentary One Voice, One Mic - the Rise of Podcasting

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Music: Otis McDonald

Lizzie Simmonds is one of Britain’s most successful swimmers.  She is a double European Champion, a 13-time British Champion, a double Olympian and a Commonwealth silver medallist – that’s just a short list of her achievements.

The 28-year-old retired from the sport back in July 2018 but things have been far from simple since then.  When you’ve lived for most of your life as an elite athlete – chasing targets and aiming to go as fast as you can – there is a massive void to fill when you take it away.  That’s proved to be particularly challenging for Lizzie as she struggled to come to terms with her loss of identity.  Not only that, but the current vice chair of the BOA Athletes' Commission also admits to struggling with her emotions at competitions - too often she would believe her self-worth as a person was wrapped up with her success in the pool. 

In this feature interview Lizzie speaks to Alasdair Hooper all about her life after sport – the identity crisis, the battle with self-worth, and also the challenges of seeing your body change once you retire. But, through the hardship, the 28-year-old has learnt a lot and she is ready to pass on her knowledge to the next generation.

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Image credit: With thanks to Lizzie Simmonds and The Mintridge Foundation

Music: Otis McDonald