Backstraight Boys Athletics Chat

The World Relays were a funny old meet, but - as per - we were just thrilled to have athletics to watch, and used it as an opportunity to *finally* welcome along Martyn 'relay' Rooney: one of the country's most adored, decorated, and long-limbed stars.Why didn't British Athletics send a 4 x 100 squad? How much can be learned at events like this? What on earth is the point of a Mixed 2×2×400 m? All this and more on the latest episode.A reminder that you should absolutely get yourselves down to a Runners Need store pronto, or - if online shopping is more your (virtual) bag - don't forget to nab yourself a discount at runnersneed.com, with our code 'backstraight'. 15% off is not to be sniffed at...Ts & Cs:*15% off is valid from 16th February 2021 to 30th April 2021 using the code backstraight and applies to full price products only at www.runnersneed.com and excludes electronics. The code does not work with any other offer or discount. The promotional code must be used at t

British javelin throwing is not in a good place right now. The days of Fatima, Tessa, Steve, and Goldie feel long gone, and it's not entirely clear why that is.Lack of coaching or competition? Poor talent identification? Other sports poaching promising youngsters? Lacklustre marketing of the event? We had plenty of ideas at Backstraight HQ, and you lovely lot sent us plenty of fantastic suggestions of your own, but - with an Olympics looming large, and a very real chance that Team GB won't be sending a single javelin thrower - it was time to bring in the big guns.How big? Oh - just a pair of Olympic medallists, one of whom is a former World Record-holder... We don't mess around here. With Goldie Sayers and Steve Backley's passion and expertise to help, here's our attempt to get to the bottom of Britain's ailing javelin landscape.If you enjoy the listen, please leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts, and remember to hit that 'subscribe' button. We also love a c

Tom Bedford made it happen. Tim Hutchings will be on the mic. Tom Bosworth will be doing all that he can to finish... second? Intriguing.This one came together very last minute, but we couldn't not look ahead to the first Team GB Olympic trials event - taking place on the morning of March 26th at Kew Gardens, and available to watch on BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, and the British Athletics website. Not. To. Be. Missed.A big thanks to all three of our guests, and to you lovely lot for tuning in.Enjoyed the listen? Leave us a review, and let us know in all the usual places: @BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas on Twitter, or @BackstraightBoysPodcast on Instagram.Don't forget to check out runnersneed.com, and to use 'backstraight' for 15% off at the checkout. Here are the full Ts & Cs:*15% off is valid from 16th February 2021 to 30th April 2021 using the code backstraight and applies to full price products only at www.runnersneed.com and excludes electronics. The code does not work with any

The second fastest of all time, and - if we're going by performances - the third, ninth, and tenth, too. Norway's all-conquering Viking horn-adorned superstar, Karsten Warholm, only took up the 400-metre hurdles a few years ago, but has come to dominate one of the highest quality events in the sport, and in real style. A huge presence on the start line, a rocket out of the blocks, an aggressive racer, and an effusive victor: he's got the personality to back up the pace, and - along with his smartphone-toting, caffeine-chugging, detail-nailing mastermind, Coach Leif - looks pretty unbeatable right now. Kevin Young's record is quaking in its spikes.The two-time World Champion looked nailed-on for Olympic gold, before Covid hit 'pause' on all of our plans, but has been honing his craft away from the circuit (when he's not building lego castles, of course), and it was a delight - a proper delight - to catch up with him for this latest interview special.Enjoy the listen? Let us k

You could be forgiven for thinking that this is the second instalment of our women's middle distance special -  70% of this episode is either us waxing lyrical about the tactical excellence of the British contingent in these events, or Jody's interview with the brilliant Holly Archer - but we do discuss other bits: promise!From Hannah England and Richard Kilty's analytical abilities, to the weeping Lavillenies, and back again via the piece of toast Torun employed as its mascot - our latest offering attempts to cover the 2021 European Indoor Championships, which were such an utter treat in these strange old times.Keely H is a star, Amelia Q is a new pod favourite, the DQs have been gratuitous, and Jodie W is now - officially - a 400-metre athlete.Oh, and gold star to Jody for nabbing European silver medalist Holly Archer for a really fascinating chat: she's a total delight, and we can't wait to see her use her gutsy run/wrestle as a springboard into Tokyo preparations.Enjoyed the liste

We say it so often, we might as well replace that part where Jody and Bayo forget their social media handles at the end  of each episode with this refrain, but: the British middle distance trials are going to be something else. Olympic qualifying standards are casually scattered up and down the domestic rankings, and we are truly spoilt for choice when it comes to world-class athletes over 800 and 1500 metres. In 2020, we had three women in the global top ten over 800 metres, and four in the metric mile. Laura Muir's so phenomenal that we no longer bat an eyelid when she runs sub-four minutes, and Jemma Reekie was breaking British indoor records for fun last winter. Keely Hodgkinson is the fastest teenager there's ever been over four laps of an indoor track, and there are some seriously speedy juniors nipping at her heels.With that in mind, we caught up with three of our favourites - Sarah McDonald, Melissa Courtney-Bryant, and Reekie - to discus this gloriously congested landscape of middle distanc

There's regular athletics back on our screens, which is heaven (cheerless cheerleaders in Lievin aside). With Euros just around the corner, we take a deep - far deeper than planned, as per - dive into the performances we've enjoyed so far.From the absurdly talented Grant Holloway, to the fact that Laura Muir ran 3:59 and was beaten by six seconds. From the contrasting styles of two huge middle distance talents - Elliot Giles and Jakob Ingebrigsten  - to the gift that keeps on giving: the pole vault. Oh: and the handful of world records we've seen. There are those, too.The crowning jewel this week is Claire's chat with Trayvon Bromell, who is back and better than ever. His world-leading 6.48 marks a return to form for the 2015 World medallist, who explains the struggles he's faced to be back at the summit of sprinting, and what motivates him each and every day. Bromell's passion is infectious, and we're thrilled that the men's 100 metres - for the first time since Bolt -

Earlier this year, UKA announced that they were going to consult clubs, athletes, and competition organisers about cross country race distances. A host of GB runners, including three-time World Champion over the cross - Paula Radcliffe - penned a response, arguing against equal distances for men and women. As could only have been expected, Twitter immediately became the sort of rocky, perilous landscape only previously seen in Aarhus in 2019.Why the furore? Should gender parity, something we love about athletics, extend to XC race distances? Women *can* run as far as men, but should they? With Paula’s near-peerless expertise and passion, we debate all of this in the latest Backstraight pod - before talking through some other distance goodies (or baddies, in some cases): pacing lights, shoe technology innovations, and how Mo Farah’s return to track is going.This is a contentious one, and we’d love your thoughts, so please - as ever - get in touch on Twitter (@BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas), or on Instagram

2021 is upon us. Covid’s still here. Winter training is well underway. The calendar is teeming (but for how long, we don’t know). And - most excitingly - Backstraight is back.In their first pod of the new year, Jody, Bayo, and Claire are joined by Olympic medallist and broadcasting superstar Kath Merry, to discuss everything 2021: the events we can expect to happen and are most excited for; the stars we can't wait to see - both established and rising; and what we would guarantee for this season, if we were given a magic wand each with one wish in it...Expect plenty of Tokyo and Karsten, Wightman and Weightman, shot put and trials - and, bizarrely,  a big love-in for the hosts with the mosts this season: Poland.We're thrilled to be back, and want this year to be our best ever. YOU can help make that happen, by letting us know what sort of content you'd like, and by leaving us a review.Want to get in touch? @KatharineMerry, @BackstraightB, and @Claire_GThomasWe hope that you and yours are happy a

2020: the year that we witnessed garden-staged pole vault AMRAPs and a London Marathon consisting of 19 laps of St James' Park. A season that brought us world records, empty stadia, and Noah Lyles running a devastating 180 metres (in every sense of the word). Months of waiting for Karsten Warholm to scorch his way to history, and a few seconds of explosive perfection as Johannes Vetter hurled a javelin beyond the 97-metre mark. A season sprinkled with individual moments of brilliance, and yet overshadowed by a global pandemic, a decimated calendar, and a huge amount of uncertainty. It's been a strange year for us all.With all of this in mind, and a few rants about the new long jump competition structure and the lights being used to help pace WR attempts, the team look back on 2020: celebrating its highs and the *incredible* podcast guests we've been lucky enough to host, and reflecting on where things were just as disappointing as they had every right to be, given the circumstances...The conclu

One left with a national record, one left not a dry eye across the land, but both Harrys were stars of the show at last weekend's British Championships. Alongside the now world-leading Aimee Pratt, the prodigious Lucy-Jane Matthews, the wonderful trio of women's 100m medallists, and - you know what? It'd take too long to list; the event was just gorgeous, which is really saying something, given the circumstances.No crowds and seriously depleted fields could have turned the whole affair in Manchester into a damp squib, but we were thoroughly entertained for two days of personal bests, returns from injury, and athletics at its most pure, dramatic best. That men's 400m final? Loved it. Jess Judd's determination to cover more ground than anyone else at the entire event? Heroic. Jaz Sawyers' brilliant 2020 consistency resulting in her topping the domestic podium for the first time since 2016? Fabulous. Daniel Rowden's performance against the magnificent Jake Wightman? Standing-ov

Safe to say we all had *big* Friday nights... from our sofas... drowning in world record attempts, huge performances, and that ubiquitous green-and-blue Nike race kit.That's right: athletics - proper athletics - is back, and Monaco. Went. Off.Joshua Cheptegei broke Bekele's 5,000m WR, Baby Ingebrigsten has his first European Record, and Faith Kipyegon ran the second-fastest kilometre of all time.Laura Muir broke a British Record, Laura Weightman is now behind only Paula Radcliffe on the all-time 5000m list, and Jake Wightman is also sitting pretty in second after his 3:29.47 performance over 1500m. Cracking runs by Gemili, Reekie, Langford, and Pozzi, too.Amongst all the drama and blink-and-you'll-miss-it heroics, there was the soothing constant of Karsten Warholm, setting off at a speed which appears deranged, but transpires to be genius. He's just the best, isn't he?Anyway - Claire has lots of work to do, so has trusted Jody and Bayo to chat this one through. Expect the usual: stron

'One Dream, One Team, One Chance', reads the tagline of Regan Hall's 2012 masterpiece, 'Fast Girls'.Those of us at Backstraight HQ suggest the following might be more accurate: 'a plethora of inaccuracies, 91 minutes of madness, one seriously feel-good movie'. It is brilliant and bonkers and almost as full of drama as it is famous athletics faces amongst the extras (seriously; look at the credits. EVERYONE is in this film), and it's the perfect choice for our first Backstraight Film Club.Similarly ideal are our two guests this week - phenomenal fast girls in their own right, and fabulous company for a discussion of this nonsensical romp of a film: World Champion and true star of the sport Dina Asher-Smith, and junior world record-holder and prodigious talent Amy Hunt.We discuss Amy's breakthrough 2019, Dina provides some amazingly honest advice for the teenager, and we attempt to cajole the pair into committing to a 4 x 400 in the future - before turning our attent

Athletics is creeping back - from the Showdown in Otown to the Inspiration Games. In the former, Noah Lyles beat Justin Gatlin over 100 metres. In the latter, Noah Lyles beat no one over 185 metres. The world's gone mad.Bowerman TC continue to tear things up across the pond, Allyson Felix is looking *quick*, and we still can't bring ourselves to get excited by 100 yard dashes or 3 x 100m relays.There's also been the patter of tiny feet down the home straight: welcome along, Olympia Lightning Bolt and Ruby Elizabeth Pearson. Don't forget to rate, review, and subscribe, little ones: there's no such thing as being too young to enjoy a good podcast.In sadder and more serious news, beloved President of European Athletics, Svein Arne Hansen, passed away last month, and Bianca Williams was left distraught after an encounter with police in Maida Vale. We discuss all of the above in this episode, plus launch 'Backstraight Film Club', which kicks off with the astonishing masterpiece t

Sprint queens, step aside (for one week only, please; we still adore you): the jump queens are in town, and it's been a total hoot.When we say 'in town', we mean on a Zoom call with us, for a lockdown special featuring two of our favourite Team GB athletes - the wonderful Morgan Lake and Jazmin Sawyers. Not only are these two international medallists, articulate podcast guests, and major fans of the sport itself, but they're regular listeners to this show, and so it was a no-brainer to get them on for a chat.Topics covered include: Christian Coleman's latest whereabouts palaver (by the time you read this, he's probably blocked all of us on Twitter (although it should be noted that Jody and Bayo have actually been blocked by the geographically-challenged World Champ for almost a year already)); the recent statement by the IOC confirming that athletes will not be permitted to take a knee at the Games; adapting as athletes to the challenge of training during lockdown; their targets

It would be remiss to talk about anything else right now, so - here it is - a Backstraight episode with neither bells nor whistles: just a discussion of this essential global movement away from racism and towards equality. To help us sift through this weighty, complex topic, we're joined by two incredibly knowledgeable former athletes: Chris Lambert - whose impassioned, articulate writing has inspired and educated thousands of people on the topic in recent weeks - and Donna Fraser, whose work as Equality, Diversity & Engagement Lead at British Athletics allows her to shed real light on what's being done at an organisational level to address these issues within the sport we all hold so very dear, but which still has a long way to go.If you've any questions or thoughts, please get in touch via all the usual places (we're @BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas, and you can find our guests at @DonnaLegz and @LambsEnglish). We'd love to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement, how we can a

WHAT a cliff-hanger that was. Aren't we wicked?But - great news - Bayo is back, and so is Denise, and we're ready to pick up where we left off: approaching the 2000 Olympic Games.Just in case you don't know how Denise got on in Sydney (although the episode title does contain a slight spoiler in that regard), we won't ruin the surprise here, but her recounting of the competition makes for a cracking listen. That said, the highlight of this episode is probably Lewis' Dolly Parton impression, which has to be heard to be believed. 'Better than her one of Eunice Barber in the last episode..? Surely not!' we heard you cry, but - trust us - it's magnificent.Denise also discusses injury struggles and her ill-fated trip to Edmonton for the 2001 Worlds, her retirement a few years later, her move into broadcasting, and some of the most memorable moments she's witnessed at championships over the years.Last, but certainly not least, there's a really quite lengthy chat abou

From Wolverhampton to the top of the podium in Sydney - via a handful of Commonwealth titles and records, a pair of World silvers, a couple of take-off leg changes, and the opportunity to compete against some of the greatest multi-eventers to have ever donned a pair of spikes - Denise Lewis has some cracking stories to tell.So many, in fact, that she spoke with Bayo for two hours for this interview special, and we made the decision at Backstraight HQ to split their conversation into two instalments. Two episodes, spanning five decades, from the one and only seven-event superstar, Denise. And that's Numberwang.She discusses her early drive and junior career, her breakthrough at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, missing out on SPOTY to Michael Owen, and a whole lot more besides. Don't worry: she's *just* as honest, humorous, and insightful as she is in her current role as an analyst, and we know you'll love the listen.Thanks for all the wonderful questions you submitted ahead of time, and for tun

We say this with love - enormous amounts of it - but Christian Taylor is a serious over-achiever. Double and reigning Olympic Champion, four-time and reigning World Champion, seven-time and reigning Diamond League Champion, and the second best triple jumper of all time. He's also a 45.07 quarter miler, has a gold medal from the World Relay Championships, and is using his platform and influence to benefit his fellow athletes, through the foundation of The Athletics Association.OH - and he's also super duper lovely and interesting.We were chuffed to bits that he took time out of doing lots and lots of things really, really well to come on the podcast - offering wonderful insight into his determination to smash that world record, and how his love of the sport is driving him to want to modernise, protect, and democratise it.Thank you to all of you who submitted questions for Christian, and to all of you listening now. Enjoy, review, subscribe, tweet, give us a follow on Insta, and stay safe.Christian -

Adam Gemili likes to break records. When he produced a dazzling 9.97 in 2015, he became the first British athlete to dip below the two hallowed barriers of men's sprinting. When he scorched past several of his competitors down the back straight of the Olympic Stadium in the 2017 4x100 final, he helped Great Britain to their first ever global title, and a whopping national record. When his funding was reduced to that of a relay athlete only, he marked his return to form with a championship record at the 2019 British Champs.We reckon you'll love this interview special, which is with a bona fide world class athlete and proper fan favourite: a hugely talented sprinter who's been bringing smiles to spectators since he burst onto the scene in 2012, having switched from football to the track just that season.It's not all been sunshine and rainbows, however: Gemili has endured his fair share of disappointment - from recurrent injury troubles to agonising 4th-place finishes at both the Rio Olympics