Journalist and podcaster
Three years after SportSpiel's initial Mental Health Awareness Week in 2018 we brought the series back, as we felt it was especially important amid the Covid pandemic. We released five episodes in five days with a mix of personal stories and group conversations on different topics. Our first episode was themed around addiction and featured … Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Week 2021
It has long been an ambition of mine to host a series dedicated to women's football and telling the stories of the players involved. On SportSpiel we created a spin-off series dubbed the Women's Football Diary, which launched with six weekly episodes to coincide with the start of the 2020-2021 WSL. The footballers we interviewed … Continue reading The Women’s Football Diary
This episode is one of our proudest pieces of work on SportSpiel. Organised in conjunction with The Mintridge Foundation and Limitless, this episode homed in on an incredibly important discussion – body image in women’s sport. Joining us as guests were Olympic gold medal-winning Great Britain hockey captain Kate Richardson-Walsh, as well as England Rugby … Continue reading Kate Richardson-Walsh, Zoe Harrison and Justine Lucas: Body image in women’s sport
Race, stereotypes and healing divisions are issues that have surged to the front of the public's consciousness in 2020. In light of the Black Lives Matter movement, and seemingly endless levels of abuse on social media, conquering hate and outdated attitudes has become a vitally important battle in society. Alice Dearing is one athlete who … Continue reading Alice Dearing: Being the black swimmer from Britain
This episode of SportSpiel will always stand out to me and Will as we explored the destructive power of a gambling addiction. As part of The Mintridge Foundation’s #28NotOut – raising money for the Max Hunter Fund - Patrick Foster came onto our podcast to open up in a truly remarkable way. The ex-cricketer was plagued for years … Continue reading Patrick Foster’s gambling addiction
I first met Middlesex and Scotland cricketer Olivia Rae at Lords in February 2020 after we were introduced over email by a mutual contact. It was one of those meetings where you instantly click, and she explained a number of ambitions she had after going through a challenging time mentally. Not only did she want … Continue reading Olivia Rae: How to build a mental health support network
British sailor Eilidh McIntyre had always dreamed of going to the Olympics. Her dad is a former gold medallist from Seoul 1988 and she was one of the favourites, along with her teammate Hannah Mills, to do something special in Tokyo before the Games were postponed for a year. At the start of March, SportSpiel … Continue reading Eilidh McIntyre: ‘I was broken, that’s the only way I can describe it’
Grace Harrison is best known for being the first female gymnast from the Isle of Man to qualify for an individual Commonwealth Games final. She achieved that feat at the Glasgow 2014 games at the age of 19. However, instead of appearing at the Gold Coast 2018 games as she had hoped, she ended up … Continue reading Grace Harrison: Retirement struggles and how sepsis changed her outlook
Through SportSpiel’s relationship with The Mintridge Foundation we were able to organise an interview with former British swimmer Lizzie Simmonds. The now-retired 28-year-old enjoyed plenty of success – including appearing at two Olympics and winning two European titles – but I wanted this interview to be something else. Rather than looking back at her career … Continue reading Lizzie Simmonds’ identity crisis and self-worth
Scottish 200m sprinter Beth Dobbin missed the 2018 Commonwealth Games by one hundredth of a second. But after that disappointment she burst back onto the scene in June when she broke the 34-year-old Scottish 200m record. Just two weeks after breaking that record she appeared as an interview guest on SportSpiel and it became one … Continue reading Beth Dobbin’s rise and her epilepsy battle
There are few athletes who show you their true colours in the way Elise Christie does. The speed skater’s talent is unquestionable, becoming World Champion in 2017, but it was the trials she faced at the 2014 and 2018 Winter Olympics that captivated the nation. She is an athlete that everyone would love to interview … Continue reading The Elise Christie story
The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France has received an unparalleled level of attention and coverage. As a podcast, SportSpiel has always championed women’s sport and we knew – despite how hard it would be – that we had to contribute what we could and be a part of it. With an immense amount … Continue reading The SportSpiel FIFA Women’s World Cup specials
Alasdair Hooper 