Sportshour

Live from Paris with all the action and stories from the 2024 Paralympic Games. PHOTO: Matt Stutzman of Team United States during the Men's Archery Individual Compound at Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (Credit: Buda Mendes/Getty Images)

Live from Paris with all the action and stories from the 2024 Paralympic Games Photo: Dong Lu of team China competes in the Women's 200m individual medley final at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games (CReditby Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

How does it feel winning the Tour de France Femmes? Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma will tell you directly – pain, suffering, excitement and euphoria. It was the rollercoaster of emotions the 2024 Tour de France Femmes winner experienced as she thought at one moment she had lost the yellow jersey, but Niewiadoma dug in to win the overall title by just four seconds. As the Women's Open golf takes place at St Andrews we chart the progress of Women's golf. Katie Dawkins is one of few female PGA professionals in Golf Monthly’s Top 50 UK list of coaches as well as being an instructional and features writer for the publication. Her podcast “Birdies Banter” is part of “A Birdies View” magazine, a women’s online publication www.abirdiesview.com. Having been involved in the game for many years, Katie is able to identify the changes that have made the growth in the women's game possible, and what still needs to be done, including "on course facilities" And staying with golf... Kind of! When you were young, did you and your friends or siblings make up your own games? Imagine if the games you played as a child went on to became a recognised sport, played across the world and who knows maybe even one day the Olympics!? Well that's where American Alex Van Alen finds himself. The sport he used to play as a youngster is called "FlingGolf". Played on a golf course, the aim is to get your ball in the hole, but you don't always hit the ball, you fling it... Alex Van Alen explains all You might think that the Dutch Formula One Grand Prix taking place this weekend would be the most important sporting event in the country this month... but those in Franeker in the north of the Netherlands would beg to differ. Sport as we saw at the Olympics can bring people together from across the world, but it’s also a way of binding together a community with a shared passion – especially if the sport has a powerful local identity. Which is why we sent Sportshour’s Matthew Kenyon to check out one of the biggest days in the sporting calendar in the Dutch province of Friesland. The opening ceremony for the Paralympics in Paris takes place on Wednesday. Thousands of competitors from all over the world will descend on the French capital in search of sporting glory... but they will also hope to once again showcase their skill, and in doing so change wrongly held stereotypes about disability. But for one group of athletes there's another goal, to lift the spirits of their nation. Sportshour's Andy Swiss has been to meet Ukraine's para athletes: Photo: Canyon//SRAM Racing team's Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma celebrates after crossing the finish line and winning the third edition of the Women's Tour de France cycling race (CREDIT: JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)

You could say Sportshour's Premier League preview lacks a bit of emotion. There's no drama. No temper tantrums. No overheated opinions. Just facts. Cold hard facts. Ian Graham is a 'data architect' and if you don't really know what that is then you are not alone. But it turns out data architects are one of the secret ingredients you need to win the Premier League. Ian is the proof. He was Liverpool's Director of Research until 2023 and has just written a new book "How to win the Premier League" It's not just the Premier League whose season starts this weekend. The inaugural Women's "USL Super League" launches in America. Aimed at providing younger footballers a stepping stone into the big leagues it's made up of eight teams, expanding to sixteen next season. One of stars of this new league is Laveni Vaka. Earlier this year she became the first female pro-footballer from the Pacific Island of Tonga. The defender tells us how thrilled she was to be turning out for her new team Fort Lauderdale United It's been a shocking week in the world of chess with news that Russian chess star Amina Abakarova, was caught on CCTV allegedly trying to poison her opponent who was taken ill and hospitalised after her chess board was smeared with mercury! Abakarova has been detained and faces a prison sentence of up to three years if convicted. Chess has been the subject of a number of bad headlines over the years from extra ordinary accusations of cheating to this latest life threatening incident. Grand Master, five time World champion and deputy president of the International Chess Federation Viswanathan Anand joins us The English Channel is not only the world's busiest shipping lane, it is an iconic challenge to cross for swimmers and now windsurfers too! Dodge the enormous ships and you could find yourself in a small elite club of people to have faced down that challenge... Windsurfer, Bob van de Burgt is hoping to do just that this coming week, but not content with simply landing in the UK from his home in Netherlands, he's going to return across the channel immediately! and you can follow Bob's progress at www.surfingformuscles.com Photo: Erling Haaland of Manchester City celebrates with his Premier League winners medal (Credit: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

To the Paris pool next where The Chinese divers have again dominated the medals at the Paris Games, but they still have some way to overshadow Greg Louganis of the United States... widely regarded as the greatest diver of all time. Louganuis won DOUBLE gold at his home games in Los Angeles in 1984 and repeated that feat in Seoul four years later. But it's for a dive that went spectacularly wrong for which he is best remembered. At the '88 games he cracked his head open on the springboard. falling unceremoniously into the water... Remarkably, he brushed himself off and STILL went on to win gold. Greg has been speaking to Sportshour's Olympic reporter Joel Hammer, starting with the silver he won as a 16 year old in Montreal back in 1976: One man with a keen eye on the boxing later will be Maurice Hope. A former world champion, he fought at the 1972 Olympics in Munich for Great Britain. Those Munich Olympics will always be overshadowed by The Munich massacre, one of the darkest chapters in Olympic history... when eleven members of the Israeli team were taken hostage and killed... inside the Olympic village, by Palestinian gunmen from the Black September group. For Maurice those dark nights will live with him forever. Maurice Hope MBE has written a book about his life called "Land of Hope and Glory: The Windrush Kid Who Conquered The World". He talks about his journey from Antigua aged just nine... and moving with his family as part of the Windrush generation to the U.K when Caribbean people were invited to help rebuild the British economy after World War II. Plus, a true pioneer of the Olympic spirit and in particular women's sport. The Olympics of 2024 are the first with equal representation of male and female athletes, and the journey to equality, in part, is thanks to Alice Milliat's lobbying in the early 1900s. But who was Alice? A statue of Alice stands outside the headquarters of the French Olympic Committe and a book about her life has just been released called " La Vie Jamais Racontée: Alice Milliat, a French Heroine and Sporting Suffragette'. Its author is Nancy Gillen Throughout the Olympics we've been hearing from Dr Lindsay Krasnoff, expert in sport diplomacy specialising in France and in particular basketball. So what better way to end her Sportshour postcards from the Games than by previewing both Men's and women's upcoming basketball gold medal matches between the mighty USA and the hosts France. It's the hottest ticket in town! Photo: Greg Louganis of the United States prepares to dive in the Men's 10-metre Platform diving competition during the XXIV Olympic Summer Games in Seoul, South Korea. (CREDIT: Pascal Rondeau/Allsport/Getty Images)

Meet a sport's icon making his mark at the Olympics in Paris. After the biggest grind, Andy MacDonald will represent Team GB at the grand old age of 50. This is a man who holds the record for the most X Games medals in a skateboarding discipline - the pinnacle championships of extreme sports - and he has also been named World Champions skateboarder nine times. He has even invented tricks that will feature in the Games but even for him, going to Paris is something special. (Photo: Andrew Macdonald of Great Britain competes during the Skateboarding during the Olympic Qualifier Series. Credit: Fred Lee/Getty Images)

We're live in the French capital as the Games begin! One of the most popular Olympic disciplines is gymnastics. It requires artistic flair alongside core strength and amazing flexibility. So imagine having to compete with scoliosis, a condition that curves the back into unnatural positions. That's precisely the challenge Italian Marta Pagnini had to overcome in order to achieve her dream of competing at the Olympics, winning bronze in the Group All Around in 2012. Now retired Marta has been telling Sportshour's Caroline Barker about her gymnastics career and her continued battle with scoliosis. Kayla Harrison has always been a fighter, both inside and out of the sporting arena. The double Olympic gold medal winning judoka now completes in mixed martial arts in the UFC. Twelve years on from her first gold in London and just months after her debut in the UFC, Kayla has been reflecting on her career and the challenges she has had to face outside sport. She's been telling Sportshour's Joel Hammer how she now splits her time between training and competing and spending time with her children on the farm they live on. From life in the Olympic village to the secrets of the Opening ceremony, and what essentials you need to pack that no one tells you about. Speaking to Sportshour's Caroline Barker, Team GB's Olympic cycling silver medallist from Tokyo Neah Evans busts some myths ahead of setting off for Paris. Photo: Olympic Rings displayed at the Eiffel Tower Stadium at the Paris Games. (CREDIT: DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome. In Episode 4 it's early 1996 and preparations for the Games are nearly complete. Just the torch relay, the symbolic journey the Olympic flame makes to the host city, carried by the great and good across the host nation. Despite everything, the flame was still set to pass through Cobb County. But Jon-Ivan Weaver and Pat Hussain weren't going to allow that to happen. Plus, we also discuss how far gay rights have come in the last thirty years, and how much further they still need to go. This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta Organising Committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome. In Episode 3 we hear from Olympic legend Greg Louganis. In the early 1990’s there were few openly gay athletes, retired or active. Having only recently come out the Olympic movement wanted to recognise his bravery with an award. Louganis used his acceptance speech to condemn the decision to have the Games in Cobb County and added to the pressure to have them removed. This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta Organising Committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets. Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome. In Episode 2 we meet the driving forces behind the “Olympics out of Cobb” movement, Jon-Ivan Weaver and Pat Hussain and their life partners Diego and Cherry. They explain the lengths they had to go to, to have their voices heard. This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta Organising Committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets. Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome. Episode one looks at the history of the US South, the campaign to get the Games to Atlanta and help change perceptions of what the South was like. At the same time a conservative backlash against gay rights was forming in Cobb County. This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta Organising Committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets. Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library

We’re live at Royal Troon at golf’s 152nd Open Championship. The course contains one of the most iconic holes in golf. The 8th hole known as the "postage stamp" it also contains the longest hole in all Open history, a whopping 623 yards. So what exactly does it take to win there? Germany's Sophia Popov knows, she's the last person to win an Open Championship at Troon when she Women's Open in 2020. Plus and as this year's winner is crowned, we’ll speak to someone who has eyes on a future Open title and he’s no stranger to sporting success. The former Super Eagle now looking for birdies. Peter Odemwingie joins us fresh from successfully becoming a PGA pro golfer. The World Orientation Championships have been taking place this week, Switzerland's Ricardo Rancan, part of the winning sprint relay team, on what it takes to navigate your way to the top of the podium Ahead of the Paris Games we look at what it takes to put on a memorable Opening ceremony. The highs and lows, the pitfalls and the pleasure. Photo: The Claret Jug on display (CREDIT: Mark Runnacles/R&A/R&A via Getty Images)

Having fled the Syrian Civil War aged just seventeen, Yusra Mardini competed in swimming for the first ever Refugee Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Five years later in Tokyo she had the honour of carrying the team flag at the opening ceremony. Now a goodwill ambassador for the UN, Yusra will be making a difference out of the pool in Paris, working as a reporter telling the stories of the current refugee athletes. She tells Caroline Barker why it’s maybe more important than ever to champion the athletes and shine an even bigger spotlight on them at this summer’s Games. Yusra also recounts her story when she fled Syria for Germany in 2015, including her extraordinary sea crossing from Turkey to Greece. We’ll be at Wimbledon with Jamie Broughton, who has been sniffing out the big stories off the court during the championships. He’s been on patrol with one of the dogs that helps to keep the All England Club safe. We hear from the Guru of the penalty shootout, Professor Geir Jordet, author of the new book “Pressure: Lessons from the psychology of the penalty shootout.” As a consultant for more than 60 teams, and a personal performance adviser to over 130 top flight players, who better than to find out the keys to success for spot kicks. There’s also the caffeinated tea that is causing a stir at the Copa America. Our Latin American Editor Mimi Swaby tells us why fans of Argentina, who play Colombia in the final, are so annoyed after the team were pictured drinking the Uruguayan brand on social media. And we talk to former ice hockey enforcer Kyle Clark, who is now an electric aircraft pioneer. His company Beta Technologies is looking to change the way we fly to a more eco-friendly way. He tells us how hockey inspired the name and how he’s looking to shape the future of aviation. Photo: Yusra Mardini of Refugee Olympic team warms up during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on July 24, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan (Credit: BSR Agency/Getty Images)

This documentary contains discriminatory and homophobic language that some listeners may find offensive. In 1993 the legislators in Cobb County, Georgia passed a resolution stating that “lifestyles advocated by the gay community are incompatible with the standards to which this community subscribes". Cobb County was due to welcome the Olympics in 1996 hosting the volleyball competition as part of the Atlanta Games. Narrated by Wanda Guenette, a member of the 1996 Canadian volleyball team who identifies as gay, and who faced the prospect of having her Olympic dream turned into a nightmare, forced to compete in a place that had made it clear she and other gay athletes were not welcome. This is the inspiring story of a small campaign group who took on one of the most powerful organisations in the world and forced change. With the help of an Olympic legend and after months of high-profile peaceful protests, the Atlanta organising committee finally stripped Cobb County as a host venue and diverted the torch relay away from its streets. Coming soon. Photo Credit: Carol Brown/Georgia State University Library

We speak to sports psychologist Doctor Carly Anderson who is the team psychologist for the US curling team including when the men won Olympic gold in 2018. She tell us about the mental toughness and the preparation needed to compete in an Olympics after US gymnast Simone Biles qualified for her third games. NFL player Jermaine Eluemunor has been playing in the NFL since 2017, but this season will turn out for the New York Giants. It was the team that made him fall in love with the sport when he watched them play on TV in his home town of London. This week he returned to the UK and tells Caroline about a camp he is running to get more kids involved. Caroline is joined by Met police officer turned boxer Rachel Bower on why she wants more women to take up the sport. Plus, we get cooking with Tour de France chef Owen Blandy. He tells us what food he cooks up a mountain and the strangest requests that he has had. We head to Wimbledon to preview the second week of action and hear how the famous Slazenger balls used at the event are kept in such pristine condition. Photo: Simone Biles of the United States on the podium with her gold medal after her victory in the Women's Balance Beam Final at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships-Antwerp 2023 at the Antwerp Sportpaleis on October 8th, 2023 in Antwerp, Belgium. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

Noor Slaoui is another history maker at this year’s Olympic in Paris becoming the first equestrian rider from the Middle East or North Africa to compete in Eventing in the history of the Games. Growing up Morocco, Noor tells us about walking equine animals in the Atlas Mountains with her family in her childhood and how she has ended up in England’s horsing hub via France. Spurred on by the belief in her by her mother, Noor also tells us how she feels when she represents the region as a female athlete. Hear how a school in one of the most disadvantaged areas in London, just 10 kilometres from the home of Wimbledon, is making tennis more accessible. Under a programme set up by the charity Greenhouse Sports, tennis coach Tom Sippy has transformed the sporting complexion at Sarah Bonnell school in the heart of East London. Tom and student Manal explain how a scheme which started with holey nets and broken tennis courts has turned into an award-winning initiative. We’ll meet Caroline and Tinashe Gatimu, the mother and daughter rally team from Kenya trying to inspire unexpected passions. The pair are the first mother-daughter team to race at the World Rally Championship Safari, and 2024 marks the 71st edition of the Safari Rally in Kenya. Sportshour's Shabnam Younus-Jewell has been speaking to them about how they are encouraging more women to get into motorsport. Dynamo Victoria FC’s founder Alejandro Ramirez explains how Sir Alex Ferguson has shaped the ethos and the name of one of the most multicultural amateur football teams in Australia. With more than 30 nationalities across their men's and women's teams, we’ll hear about their success and the “cultural mosaic” that is Melbourne. Plus, we hear why Parkrun – the weekend running event with millions of participants worldwide - could now be on its way to Uganda. Parkrun MD for Europe and Africa Tom Williams joins us, as well as Josephine Ocaka, one of a group of Ugandans, looking to take the social running event to their home country. Photo: Noor Slaoui competes in the Aston Advanced 2022 with her horse Cash in Hand. (Credit: ROKH Global)

Kenya’s leading tennis player Angella Okutoyi continues to make history against the odds. The African Games champion tells Sportshour’s Caroline Barker about her struggles growing up – including living in an orphanage – to becoming the first Kenyan to win a tennis Grand Slam after winning the Wimbledon girls' doubles title in 2022. Australian para climber Sarah Larcombe shares how she used to hide her disability, but now fully embraces her amputation. The multiple international medallist is hoping para climbing’s proposed inclusion at the 2028 Paralympic Games will help the sport climb to new heights. Sportshour meets the football fan who has watched football in all 55 UEFA member countries and even came onto play in the final game himself after flying English eighth tier side Hadley FC to San Marino. Also hear the story of the Georgian footballer who is having an impact on European aviation, Tottenham Hotspur defender Amy James-Turner on playing for the planet and Anthony Hamer-Hodges, Principal at the London College of Contemporary Music, on football anthems. Image: Angella Okutoyi of Kenya celebrates winning a point against Carolina Kuhl of Germany during her first round Juniors match on Day 7 of the US Open Tennis Championships at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre on September 04, 2022 in New York City (Photo by Robert Prange/Getty Images)

Australian motorcycle racer Tayla Relph’s interest in motorsport made her a target of bullying at school and she began travelling around Australia in a van with her family whilst following the motorcycle racing calendar. Now Relph is lining up alongside 25 other women - from 18 different countries – as the first all-female motorcycle circuit-racing series at world championship level gets underway. Sportshour’s Caroline Barker speaks to Relph ahead of the first race in Italy. Allison Hill shares how she fell in love with running during the pandemic and how that led to her creating Hill Run Club in Toronto, Canada. It’s a story of community, friendship and grief with the club boasting over 500 registered members. Born in Germany, European champion boxer Abass Baraou moved to Togo, before returning to Germany. He’s since lived in the UK and now in Miami and he tells Sportshour’s Sophia Hartley about his globe-trotting story, the racist abuse he faced in Germany and how he's edging closer to a fight for the world title. And – NFL Fan of the Year and US comedian Tom Grossi returns to Sportshour to share his latest challenge of visiting five countries and seven international NFL stadiums in 10 days, passing a $1 million raised for charity in the process. Image: Tayla Relph riding for TAYCO Motorsport during testing ahead of the inaugural FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship season. (Credit: Click Diversity)

Sportshour hears about an incredible act of generosity. Rob Adcock was set to be the first person to attend a game in every round of the Champions League without visiting the same country twice. With nine countries visited and just the final in England to tick off, he gave away his ticket – which cost more than $2,500 – to a Borussia Dortmund fan for free. Caroline Barker speaks to both Rob and the Borussia Dortmund fan, Raphael Kopp. Austria’s Valentina Cavallar explains why she has made the switch from rowing - a sport she competed in at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games - to professional cycling and how she’s hoping to be on the start line at this year’s Le Tour de France Femmes. British endurance runner Susie Chan shares her running adventures which have taken her all around the world, but reveals how her love for running came later in life and has helped her through some of her toughest moments. And – with the NBA finals getting underway, Sportshour looks at whether a simple pat on a player’s back from their teammates can improve their chance of scoring a free throw? The University of Basel's Christiane Büttner tells us more about what their research has found. (Image: Borussia Dortmund fan Raphael Kopp outside Wembley Stadium holding up his ticket on the UEFA app ahead of Borussia Dortmund against Real Madrid. Credit: Rob Adcock)

Dame Kelly Holmes was the first British woman to become a double Olympic champion winning the 800 and 1500 metres at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Despite the jubilation, it was not a moment of happiness but a period of fear. A fear that she might be outed as being gay. Revealed publicly just two years ago this month, Dame Kelly tells Caroline Barker about her renewed joy in life after coming out as gay. She explains the terror of hiding her sexuality in the British Army, where being gay was illegal until 2000 and how her story has inspired others to reach out to her. Kelly also talks about how being able to be herself has given her the confidence to do pantomime and what she wants to do next to help others. With the Paris Olympics the first Games with equal men and women participation in sailing, World Sailing is bidding to increase female representation in the sport at all levels with a new report. Who better to explain the development of that than trailblazing Olympic gold medallist Jo Aleh, who will go to her fourth Olympic Games this summer? She'll tell us about the powerful women in the sport, her experience of gender equality in coaching and her journey to Paris. Award winning journalist Joe Posnanski tells us why we should love baseball and divulges his equation for what he thinks makes a great sporting moment. He also shares a few of his favourite moments from the sport’s history picked from his new book “Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments”. We’ll also find out how the iconic Champions League final music was made ahead of the biggest club game in football. PHOTO: Kelly Holmes during The British Diversity Awards 2024 at Grosvenor House on March 20, 2024 in London, England. (Credit: Getty Images)