Send us a text We're never short on opinions at Backstraight Towers, but this week includes some particularly impassioned discussions: why on Earth are World Athletics persevering with the ghastly 'top three' jump competition format? does the European Team Champs have any relevance or merit as a meet these days? and what have we all made of sprinting sensation, Sha'Carri Richardson? We look back at Gateshead (wet and windy) and Doha (exactly the opposite), Silesia and Ostrava, and award a few go...
Jun 03, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 85
Send us a text We're back in the same room! We've got amazing new recording equipment! Katie Snowden's run 4:02! The women's 100 metres at Gateshead is going to be incredible! 'Sarah' actually exists! There's so much to be excited about this week, as the gang meet up - in the actual flesh - to look at recent standout performances by athletes all over the world, and preview the first Diamond League of the season. Bayo said it best: there are going to be some entirely 'wait, who?' unpredictable Ol...
May 19, 2021•54 min•Season 1Ep. 84
Send us a text 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 your...
May 09, 2021•53 min•Season 1Ep. 83
Send us a text 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 Tea...
Apr 22, 2021•40 min•Season 1Ep. 82
Send us a text 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...
Mar 24, 2021•45 min•Season 1Ep. 81
Send us a text 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 - alon...
Mar 20, 2021•47 min•Season 1Ep. 80
Send us a text 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 - o...
Mar 11, 2021•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 79
Send us a text 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 f...
Feb 26, 2021•1 hr 26 min•Season 1Ep. 78
Send us a text 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 givi...
Feb 16, 2021•1 hr 12 min•Season 1Ep. 77
Send us a text 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, ...
Jan 30, 2021•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 76
Send us a text 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 ...
Jan 11, 2021•58 min•Season 1Ep. 72
Send us a text 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 brillia...
Oct 08, 2020•41 min•Season 1Ep. 71
Send us a text 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 ...
Sep 10, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 70
Send us a text 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 Radclif...
Aug 15, 2020•29 min•Season 1Ep. 69
Send us a text '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 F...
Jul 22, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Season 1Ep. 68
Send us a text 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, Olym...
Jul 12, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 67
Send us a text 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-brai...
Jun 25, 2020•1 hr 3 min•Season 1Ep. 66
Send us a text 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...
Jun 14, 2020•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 65
Send us a text 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 ...
May 20, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 64
Send us a text 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 i...
May 15, 2020•55 min•Season 1Ep. 63
Send us a text 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 ...
Apr 27, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Season 1Ep. 62
Send us a text 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 cham...
Apr 10, 2020•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 61
Send us a text Does Caster Semenya have the raw speed to challenge the world's best over 200 metres? Does Britney Spears..? As the Olympic Games are postponed for the first time in their history, and Mark Dry receives the same length of ban as Ruth Jebet, the world - it seems - has truly gone mad. The only constant right now is that Mo Farah is embroiled in drama, as a new Panorama documentary airs, and his name makes headlines once more. At least we've something comfortingly familiar in these d...
Mar 27, 2020•49 min•Season 1Ep. 60
Send us a text We'll level with you: this might be a middle distance special, but it's the length of a marathon. It's an hour and forty-eight minutes of athletics chat, including four substantial interviews with a quartet of Great Britain's finest current 800 and 1500 metre racers. You could get half way through the responsibly-spaced queue at your local Tesco's in that time. 'The optimal length for a podcast episode is between 40 and 50 minutes', the received wisdom will tell you. Well, we've a...
Mar 21, 2020•1 hr 49 min•Season 1Ep. 59
Send us a text Mondo Duplantis is making history at whim, Jemma Reekie has stepped out of Laura Muir's shadow and is eating national records for breakfast, and Jessie Knight is laughing in the face of her own previous bests. Oh, and Joshua Cheptegei just dropped a 12:51 5km on the roads in Monaco. 2020 looks set to be epic. Claire's back with the boys this week, with all of the above covered, plus plenty of shout-outs to other Backstraight favourites around the globe (we see you, Amber Anning), ...
Feb 20, 2020•50 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Send us a text It's an Olympic year. Mondo has already broken a World Record. Jemma Reekie has broken three British ones. Jeanette Kwakye and Jon Mulkeen are on the pod. Goodness gracious, 2020 really is off to a fabulous start at Backstraight HQ. We've had a wonderful couple of months off, but are back with an absolute bang, and thought this would be the perfect appetite-whetter ahead of what ought to be a sensational year of running, jumping, throwing, and walking. Here's to rants, raves, and ...
Feb 13, 2020•1 hr 21 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Send us a text Radzi's back. He's an expert and a professional, who covered - with great warmth and nous, we might add - many of this year's major events. This recording should be plain-sailing... right? Of course not. Radzi thinks Kipchoge's sub-two was a phenomenal athletic performance. Jody and Bayo think it's a gimmick. Chaos ensues. He also thinks Christian Taylor might be his Male Athlete of the Year. Claire 'Keep it Karsten' Thomas is apoplectic. It was terrific fun, however, and we did a...
Dec 12, 2019•1 hr 45 min•Season 1Ep. 56
Send us a text Was Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two marathon an extraordinary athletic achievement? Or was it a technology-doped gimmick? Could it be viewed as both? A little late to the party, perhaps, but full of opinion as ever - we took a look at his history-making run through the streets of Vienna. Within 24 hours of that, Brigid Kosgei was smashing Paula's time in Chicago, and so fell one of the greatest statistical outliers in the sport: the longest-standing marathon record of the post-War era. W...
Nov 24, 2019•50 min•Season 1Ep. 58
Send us a text We've had a lovely, restful month off. Unfortunately, the IAAF haven't. They've been busy chopping the triple jump, steeplechase, discus throw, and 200 metres from the 2020 Diamond League. Honestly. You couldn't make it up. Taylor v Claye? Meh. Noah Lyles? We've had enough charismatic sprinters. World records? Completed it, mate. Some of the best discuss-throwers in history? Throws leave people cold... right? There's that rant to have, and then there's the NY Times' interview with...
Nov 13, 2019•1 hr 32 min•Season 1Ep. 57
Send us a text Where do we begin..? With the empty seats? The fainting marathon runners? Alberto Salazar's ban? With the DQs that were and weren't? Or the fact that we missed experiencing Mihambo's 7.30m live because it was necessary to watch (another) Mo Farah montage? OR - how about we talk about the world records? The African fans roaring on their athletes in the distance events without stopping dancing for even a second? The women returning to the sport to earn the titles of both 'mother' an...
Oct 07, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Season 1Ep. 56
