TAP Talks

For episode 3 we are in the company of a European Record Holder, three-time NCAA champion and two-time Greek Olympic swimmer, Andreas Vazaios. We speak about the pressures of attending championships at a young age, the importance of mental wellbeing and how balancing studies with training can have its perks.

Andreas and I talk about his fulfilling of a childhood dream, being a sports psychologist, and how there is arguably no better place to both study and train for Tokyo 2021 Olympics than Loughborough University, the #1 University in the World for sports-related topics. We discuss the progression of sports, from a performance and entertainment point of view, the importance of mental wellbeing and much more.

Today we talk to GB 400m hurdler, Lina Nielsen, about the importance of “doing things that revive the soul”, having distractions from sport, dealing with an early-career stress fracture, and how the recovery process from that injury led to her pursuing a career as a yoga teacher working with Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill!

We discuss how important the social aspect of sport can be and how that can sometimes be lost at elite level, along with the sometimes-hard lessons learnt during U20s and how they have turned into valuable life lessons. 

Joined by Social Media Manager Sam Miller, we introduce theathleteplace, the importance of community and being there for one another. Alongside discussing social media growth for athletes, the importance of identity and much more.