Sportshour

It was John Lennon who said "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans!" and that's certainly true for Olympic gold medal winning Triathlete Jess Learmonth. Jess had her sights firmly set on retaining the title she won in Tokyo when Paris rolls around next year, but then an unexpected and wonderful thing happened. She became pregnant! Her due date is in just two weeks time, but that doesn't mean she isn't still eyeing up an Olympic berth in ParisOn Thursday the new NFL season kicks off. One man sure to be watching will be Marc Buoniconti. He comes from American football royalty. His dad Nick was a Hall of Famer, a star of the unbeaten Dolphins team of 1972, still the only side to go undefeated throughout an entire season. Marc was all set to carve out his own NFL career when at the age of just 19 he suffered a spinal chord injury whilst playing at college; in that moment his life changed forever. Marc has been telling Sportshour's Shari Vahl about his tragic and yet remarkably upliftin

We're at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest catching up on the latest action.Plus, the Women's World Cup has undoubtedly spurred a new generation of fans to the game. Street corners, parks and any where a game can be played is now almost as likely to be filled with youngsters wearing shirts with Carmano, Kerr or Bronze on the back of their shirts as Ronaldo, Messi or Kane. But up until Thursday, and despite her penalty saving heroics in the final, one replica shirt you couldn't buy was that of England Goalkeeper Mary Earps. Well after calls from fans and even a petition, Nike have finally succumbed. In a statement they said "Nike has secured limited quantities of goalkeeper jerseys for England, U.S., France, and the Netherlands... We recognize that during the tournament we didn’t serve those fans who wished to show their passion and support to the squad's goalkeepers. So why does it matter? We speak to Alex Ireland who is the author of the recently published Pretty Poly: The History of the Football

We preview the Women's World Cup final between England and Spain and review the tournament as a whole. Former Italian international goalkeeper Arianna Criscione, who told us before the tournament she wanted to see plenty of shock results and a narrowing of the gap between the best and the rest, certainly got what she wanted. But what else caught her eye and what room for improvement is still there on and off the pitchIt's not just on the pitch that attitudes and actions are changing, but off it too. Belinda Goh is an architect and designer for Populus, an Australian architectural firm and was heavily involved in the design of "the Home of the Matilda's" one of very few training facilities specifically designed for women, by women.It's less than a year until the Olympics in Paris and as always one of the most watched events will be the athletics but this years World Championships are more than just a staging post to the Games in 2024... On man hoping to make his mark is Sam Mattis. Sam has had an interesting r

The World Track Cycling Championships have been taking place in Glasgow, and the home crowd have had plenty to cheer. Success included Neah Evans, and her partner Elinor Barker, crowned world champions in the Madison, a team event as much about tactics as strength and speed. A crash in the race threatened to derail everything, but was Neah's previous experience as a veterinarian surgeon the difference in seeing them over the line?!Sport and music can sometimes have an uneasy relationship, from professional athletes with questionable vocals or novelty groups releasing silly songs about winning the World Cup or drinking at the World Cup. Or both. Well with the release of their fourth album 'Grand Salami Time', The Baseball Project have proved that great music and great sport can mix. Hardly surprising though, the group is made up of two members of R.E.M, one of the best known artists of the last thirty years. Scott McCaughey, often referred to as the unofficial 5th member of REM, is also part of the Project an

It’s a Sportshour special with Caroline Barker at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town. It’s the first time the tournament has been held in Africa and we’ll hear from former Proteas players Zanele Mdodana and Vanes-Mari du Toit about the impact of hosting the event for South Africa. We’ll also hear from Uganda’s Peace Proscovia about how the game lifted her and her family out of poverty.It must be very special to represent your country. Doubly so if you can do it alongside your sister! Well, that's what Sasha and Kadeen Corbin did when they played for England, but as their career come towards a close, they are back - but not for England - this time they are proudly representing Barbados . On the side-line, we speak to arguably the best coach in the business, the defending champions New Zealand’s Dame Noelene Taurua. We hear from a player who says climate change ended her career. Former Australian international Amy Steel says environmental change had a drastic, life changing effect on her health. Amy is part of

As the Women's World Cup continues we look at the drama behind the French women's national football team have been through this past couple of years. We get a potted history of this unsettling period for 'Le Blues' from author Professor Lindsay KrasnoffThis week the UN said this month is on course to be the world's hottest on record... and whilst Southern Europe is suffering with wild fires, catastrophic flooding has affected other parts of the world most recently the US state of Vermont, tucked up high on the countries East Coast. Renowned for it's snow capped mountains, it has produced many a Winter Olympic star, including biathlete Susan Dunklee, who was just one of those who has been affected by the weatherSami Jo Small has always taken on difficult challenges head on... She studied the traditionally male dominated field of mechanical engineering at Stanford University, made an appearance on cult Canadian sitcom 'Letterkenny' playing herself and was part of the first Canadian women's Ice hockey team to wi

We meet some of the character, on and off the field, as the Women's World Cup finally gets underway.What does it take to win a stage of the Tour de France, and could anyone do it?! I think we all know the answer to that, but it hasn't stopped author James Witts. James' new book "Riding with the Rocketmen" is all about his attempt to ride a single stage of the tour, despite being "45 years old with fatty deposits" (his words not ours) So did James complete his challenge, and what did he learn about what athletes have to go through to win that yellow jersey.Photo: USA lift the trophy after victory in the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (Credit: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

This weekend will see the world's most famous Grand Slam crown it's champions but what's it really like to take part in such a momentous occasion? The All England Club has opened a new entrance for the players which sees them head to the dressing rooms and eventually on to centre court  we're given an exclusive tour by the tournament director Jamie Baker.And once you have walked you from the entrance to the baseline?! How do you make sure you perform to the very best of your ability, in the most pressurised moment of your career? Well one person who knows exactly what it feels like, and how to harness that emotion, is Monica Puig. In 2016 she won the women's single title at the Rio Olympics, it was the first ever gold medal Puerto Rico had won. The pressure she faced that day was enormous, but she dealt with it and has been revealing her secrets having been forced to retire from the game in the last year aged 28The Women's World Cup in Australian and New Zealand gets under way on Thursday. We look ahead to t

We're at Wimbledon hearing about how The Ukrainian tennis project is helping one young player realise her Wimbledon dream after fleeing from her war torn home. Plus we are given a tour of the picturesque ground of the All England Club head gardener Martyn Falconer. Plus, while the biggest stars in tennis are on the court at Wimbledon, Rufus, an American Harris hawk, is there every day to keep an eye out for pigeons. His job is to patrol the skies, scare away pigeons and stop them eating the grass. Jamie Broughton met up recently with Rufus while on patrol with his handler, Donna Davis.And away from SW19, to a sporting event where for some, the hardest part is simply getting to the venue! The bi-annual Islands Games get underway on the Channel Island of Guernsey on Saturday. The Games brings together athletes from some of the remotest islands around the world for a week of sporting competition Jorgen Peterson is chair of the Island Games and lives on the island of Aland in the Baltic Sea in between Sweden and

On this week’s Sportshour, we’re joined by a woman with a claim for having the strongest arm in Africa. Grace Mintah works as a police officer in Ghana but she also happens to be a three-time champion at the African Arm-Wrestling Championship. She tells Caroline Barker about switching from athletics to arm-wrestling, her dream of becoming a “superstar”, and one day winning an Olympic gold medal. The president of the African Arm-Wrestling Federation, Charles Osei-Asibey also discusses the rise in the sport’s popularity.We also meet Claire Lomas, a former equestrian event rider who was paralysed from the chest down after a horse riding accident in 2007. Since then she’s raised over £850,000 for spinal injury charities by taking on sporting challenges, such as walking the London Marathon using a robotic suit, which she completed in 17 days.To mark the start of the 110th edition of cycling’s Tour de France, Sportshour heads back in time to 1989 when American Greg LeMond recovered from being shot in a hunting acci

On this week’s Sportshour, former British athlete Hannah England joins us after having her voice cloned by artificial intelligence. You can hear “Hannah-bot” delivering updates from the European Team Athletics Championships in Poland on YouTube, with tennis’ Wimbledon set to follow suit over the next few weeks. Is a new era of sports commentary being ushered in?This week is World Refugee Week and to mark the occasion we’re joined by 20-year-old Benham, who has been living in the United Kingdom since fleeing Iran in 2019. After the trauma of having to leave his home, family, friends and education, Benham has suffered from anxiety and depression. He tells Caroline Barker that playing sport has been the key to rediscovering happiness, sharing details of his recent trip to Wimbledon where he received tennis coaching and got a glimpse of Centre Court.We’re joined by two of the Woolf Women – an all-female group of downhill skateboarders who, following the sudden death of one of the group’s father, decided to embark

It’s one of the most historic and fearsome sporting rivalries – The Ashes as World Champions Australia up against a reborn England team – There is no contest quite like it.With the series underway, have you ever wondered why this cricketing duel between Australia and England is called The Ashes? For that we go back to a Test Match at the Oval in South London in 1882 when Australia recorded their first ever win over England. Neil Robinson of the MCC explains the story.Plus, we are on the road with the power couple of Squash, Ali Farag and Nour El Tayeb of Egypt recently won their respective singles titles at the Manchester Open. As often is the case with elite sport, the journey to the top brings its challenges from dealing with setbacks to travelling on tour with their young daughter so how do they juggle family life with being the best Squash players in the world? Ali will explain all.Over the next week, Germany will welcome 7,000 athletes from approximately 190 countries to compete in 26 sports in the Speci

Turkish runner Emine Hatun Mechaal explains how holding the Champions League final in Istanbul is providing hope to people from her country following February’s devastating earthquake. Mechaal recalls visiting her home city in the aftermath of her emotional performance at the European Indoor Championships in March and tells us she lost 40 friends and family to the disaster. Hari Budha Magar reflects on making history as the first double above-knee amputee to scale Mount Everest. Magar lost his legs in an explosion while he was serving for the British Army in Afghanistan, and says he took on the challenge to change perceptions about people with disabilities.Plus, triathlete Emma Pallant-Browne discusses normalising conversations about periods, after sharing a photo of her competing where she bled through her swimsuit. Photo: A giant replica of the Champions League trophy is seen in front of Taksim Mosque ahead of the UEFA Champions League 2022/23 final on June 9, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Credit: Getty Images

Sportsworld’s Lee James joins us live from Wembley ahead of the first-ever Manchester derby in the FA Cup final and Maz Farookhi joins us live from Eindhoven ahead of the Women’s Champions League final.The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, tells us the fact Manchester United and Manchester City are facing each other proves his area is the biggest football city in the world. We also hear from Alex Rowe and Jack Dormer about how they’ve managed to get to a game in every round of this year’s FA Cup.As he prepares to race in the Epsom Derby for the final time, jockey Frankie Dettori jokes he missed seeing Elton John to speak to us along with describing the emotions around a race he compares to the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.Young, strong, and Muslim. We meet powerlifter Tahirah Ali who is becoming a sports role model among Muslim women. Ali tells us how she’s helped get the rules around clothing changed to allow her to wear a hijab while competing in events.And - the four-time freestyle world champion k

The Philadelphia Eagles set up a girls Flag Football league in 2022, which has subsequently grown to 52 teams and this year they’ll donate over 30,000 sports bras to athletes in need. Palumbo Lady Griffins player Ruth Duink and her coach Chris Donnelly discuss how having access to sports bras has boosted the girls confidence out on the field.Loni Bergqvist tells us how she found love while hiking the famous Camino del Santiago. The American former teacher booked the trip while at a crossroads in her life and met her husband Kjarten, who was also restless in his own life. The couple now live in Denmark with their three children.And - Manchester City and Netherlands defender Kerstin Casparij joins us to chat about her love of gaming. Casparij fell in love with video games by watching her father play Lara Croft: Tomb Raider when she was younger and says at City they try and score “FIFA type” goals.(Photo: Palumbo Griffins at Lincoln Financial Field, the home of the Philadelphia Eagles. Credit: Philadelphia Eagle

Former Nigeria goalkeeper Carl Ikeme discusses his move into Mixed martial arts and says there is something very humbling about being choked out in the cage. Ikeme’s football career was cut short after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2017. He reflects on that period of his life and tells us he’s only recently been able to enjoy watching football again. Great Britain sitting volleyball player Nicole ‘Jodi’ Hill chats to us as the team set out on the road to potential qualification for Paris 2024 by playing in the Silver Nations League. Hill tells us she had a leg amputation after nine years of failed attempts to save her ankle after she fell off a balcony.And - Dr Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff explains the phenomenon of ‘Wembymania’, with the French teenage basketball prodigy Victor Wembanyama set to move to the NBA. Krasnoff – who is the author of the upcoming book ‘Basketball Empire: France and the Making of a Global NBA and WNBA’ - has seen first-hand Wembanyama’s popularity in Paris and tells us he’s viewed a

Ragnar Klavan joins us to chat about being the spokesperson for Estonia at Eurovision. The former Liverpool defender will deliver the scores of the Estonian jury at the singing contest. He also discusses his time playing for Liverpool and how he felt hearing You’ll Never Walk Alone as a player.Costa Rican surfer Brisa Hennessy believes the health challenges she’s been battling over the last 18 months have given her a greater understanding of who she is. Hennessy had a benign tumour on her brain and has struggled with brain fog, depression, lethargy and heart palpitations. Despite all of that, she has managed to qualify for the Paris Olympics.Babalwa Latsha tells us she has made it her life’s mission to ensure all young girls have access to sanitary products in South Africa and that when she was younger she sometimes went without them. The Springbok also discusses what life was like growing up in a township and how she has been held up at gun point and robbed more times than she can remember.And – amateur hik

One of King Charles III’s greatest passions outside of royal duty was polo, one of the world's oldest team sports. It’s a game played on horseback, where a long handled wooden mallet is used to hit a small ball. The King was considered to be a very good polo player and featured in some of the world’s strongest teams. His captain for five years was England international Julian Hipwood. Julian speaks to Caroline Barker about the times the then Prince stayed at his house in order to get a “quiet night”, how he mishit a shot and scarred Julian’s face and explains why he will do a “first class job” as King. We’re also joined by Antony Fanshawe, the director of polo for Guards Polo Club, which was set-up by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh in 1955. Eleanor Oldroyd is one of the BBC Radio's most experienced sport commentators, but she also commentates on key royal events. Before the coronation of King Charles III, Eleanor joins us to discuss the similarities and differences between commentating on an event l

The five times world champion – Viswanathan Anand – explains his approach to commentating on chess during the World Chess Championship. Anand believes that a fan’s experience of watching a chess game is equivalent to watching a marathon while flying in a helicopter and he aims to fill in the blanks. He also believes the battle between Ian Nepomniachtchi and Ding Liren is among the best matches of the last twenty years.We speak to Birmingham Bulls player Dan Booth about how joining the inclusive rugby club has helped him and about the importance of the Union Cup. The tournament is the UK’s biggest LGBTQ+ rugby tournament, featuring over 47 teams and 1400 players from more than 18 countries in a four day event. Booth discusses the issues he faced when he first revealed his sexuality to former team-mates and recalls how hearing homophobic abuse directed at the Bulls, while he was playing for another team led him to leave that team and join the Bulls.And – Royale Union Saint-Gilloise defender Christian Burgess

Eryn Mathewson tells us about competing for Team USA at the World Transplant Games in Perth this week. Eryn required a transplant and was given just seven days to live after suddenly developing liver failure. She has named her new organ “Salvador”, which is Spanish for saviour as her donor was of Dominican descent. Eryn discusses winning a silver medal in the 4x100 meters relay, her 80 year old teammate winning the 5K race, adapting to her new organ and her hopes of meeting her donor’s family one day.Malawi netball international Towera Vinkhumbo discusses the situation in her home country a month on from Cyclone Freddy wreaking havoc in the southern hemisphere. Vinkhumbo – who plays her club netball in Scotland – initially struggled to contact her family in Malawi. She tells us about the first phone call she had with her five year old daughter, who lives in Malawi and about how she’s using her position to raise awareness of what people need in the country following the storm.And Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt r