In January 2023 we recorded the first episode of The Sam Oldham Podcast. Since then, we have released one hundred weekly conversations and have accumulated over 65 thousand downloads and 120 thousand streams through Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I've had the opportunity to sit down and interview 48 amazing men and women from the world of sport. Every episode has been available to watch on YouTube and this year we are going to produce our own documentaries sharing incredible stories from the world of sport. Together with my co-producer Sam Lindley we have created something that we are both very proud of. And this is our story. 

In 2016 at the Rio Olympic Games Fabian Hambüchen completed the full set of Olympic medals by winning gold on the High Bar. Fabian's Olympic journey began in Athens 2004 at the age of just sixteen where he took part in the Olympic final that changed the sport of gymnastics forever. The perfect 10 was no more and three years later at the 2007 gymnastics World championships in Stuttgart, his gold medal winning routine on the High Bar sky rocketed him to fame in Germany. He was the last man to beat the great Kohei Uchimura in 2009 before Kohei went on to become the most dominant male gymnast in history. Throughout his career Fabian won a total of 23 major championships medals and inspired a whole generation of young male gymnasts around the world with his incredible performances. I'd like to thank Fabian and his Dad Wolfgang for their amazing hospitality during our time in Germany. And this is his story. 

In this episode of the Sam Oldham Podcast, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview Wolfgang Hambüchen, the coach and father of the Rio 2016 Olympic High bar champion, Fabian Hambüchen. Wolfgang was a professional gymnast him self and during his career spent time in Japan studying and training.  In the 1970's the Japanese gymnastics team were the very best in the world producing legends such as Mitsuo Tsukahara and Sawao Kato. This influenced his gymnastics coaching philosophy and years later he encouraged Fabian to follow in his footsteps as young teenager and travel to Japan to train. Wolfgang moved to Wetzlar with his young family to become the head men's gymnastics coach in 1989 the year Fabian was born. Their incredible relationship is testament to Wolfgang's passion for gymnastics and determination to do the very best for his son Fabian. Who went on to become a superstar in Germany at the age of just sixteen and win a total of 23 Olympic, World and European medals throughout his career. It was a pleasure to spend time with them both in a recent trip to Fabian's childhood gymnastics club and thank you to Wolfgang for making us feel very welcome. This is his story. 

In 2008 Reece Pearson was part of the first men's British gymnastics team to ever win a major championships team Gold medal and beat Russia at the Junior European championships in Switzerland. He was a multiple English and British junior all around champion and is widely regarded as one of the best talents Great Britain produced of his generation. Reece walked away from the sport of gymnastics at very early age but has since gone on to qualify as an electrician and start a family of his own which is now his legacy. For many years we trained alongside one another at the Notts School of Gymnastics and were both coached by Sergey Sizhanov. Reece will always be a part of British gymnastics history and without athletes like him that paved the way for future success. Men's gymnastics in the UK would look very different today. And this is his story. 

In 2024 Kensley Behel was part of the NBC broadcasting team covering gymnastics for at the Paris Olympic Games working as the data analyst. She is a journalist specialising in covering the sport of Men's gymnastics and runs the Neutral deductions social media channel. In this week's episode Kensely shares some fascinating data analysis her team put together focusing on the Team USA men's gymnastics team. We discuss the future of men's gymnastics in America and what to expect in the coming Olympic cycle as we head towards LA 2028. There will be some big changes to the COP ( Code of points ) next year and we talk about how these may impact the athletes moving forwards. You can keep up to date with everything that is going on in the world of men's gymnastics through the Neutral Deductions instagram page. And this is our story. 

In 2001 Sergey Sizhanov moved from Vladimir Russia to coach gymnastics at what was then called The notts School Of gymnastics in Nottingham. His incredible legacy is still being felt today throughout gymnastics clubs in Great Britain with many of his former athletes now coaching the next generation. Sergey is now the head of the Irish National team program and is based at the training centre in Dublin full time. The life lessons that I was lucky enough to learn through spending twenty one years with one of the very best gymnastics coaches in the world have had a huge impact on me as a young man. In this episode I talk about ten of the very best lessons he taught me throughout my career. And this is my story. 

In November 2024 Shane Curtis travelled out to Texas to compete in the Main Character professional Jujitsu event which was broadcast live on Flo Grappling. Unfortunately Shane injured his knee in a freak accident and had to withdraw from the competition where he was hoping to test himself against some of the world's best athletes. The initial spark that inspired him to get into martial arts came after watching the Bruce Lee film "enter the dragon" as a young energetic kid growing up. Shane only started the sport of Jujitsu at the age of nineteen and after a decade of training out of the Nottingham MMA gym he is now a black belt. Mixed martial arts has gained huge popularity in recent years thanks to the UFC and the podcaster Joe Rogan who share the incredible stories of the world's best fighters on massive platforms. After returning from America Shane has now set his sights on one day completing at the ADCC submission fighting World championships. And this is his story. 

In November the All Japan championships took place and this week I'm joined by Katharine Mills the very talented lady behind MAGNASTICS. She runs a twitter account and website focusing on mens artistic gymnastics, writing incredibly detailed articles by gathering competition data from the around the world. We both sit back and relive the Paris Olympic Games, sharing the big moments that stood out for us both. Katharine was able to watch all of the Japanese championships that took place last week and has some brilliant insight to share with the listeners. It's also that time In the Olympic cycle where the rules in gymnastics ( code of points ) change, so we give our initial observations and thoughts on what impact those decisions will have on the sport. And this is our story.

In 2024 at the Paris Olympic Games Harry Hepworth made history winning the bronze medal on the vault and becoming the first British man ever to achieve that milestone. Harry started the sport at the age of eight after seeing a live gymnastics demonstration during a visit from a local athlete to his school. In the three years prior to that encounter Harry had been diagnosed with Perthes disease and was unable to participate in sports activities. He entered Leeds gymnastics club with the goal of learning a backflip and is now one of the most exciting young talents in the world. In 2023 he made his senior global championships debut at the World championships in Belgium, qualifying into three individual apparatus finals and making history in the process. At the age of 18 Harry was sidelined with a double stress fracture in his spine which makes his Olympic success at the age of just twenty even more remarkable. And this is his story. 

In 2023 Heath Thorpe was crowned the Australian national all around men's gymnastics champion for the first time. Despite this achievement he was not selected ton represent team Australia at the World championships and Olympic qualification event later that year in Belgium. Heath has a large online following within the gymnastics community thanks to his unique style of gymnastics and ability to communicate through social media and content creation. He now trains in Europe and is based at the gymnastics centre in Ghent full time. Heath is an openly gay male gymnast in a space where many athletes are fighting against the publics preconception that gymnastics is a girls sport. With the new code of points rewarding more original skills on the High bar, Heath hopes to start achieving international success on the world stage with his incredible routine in the lead up to LA 2028. And this is his story.