Sportsworld

Julien Alfred made history in 2024 when she won the women’s 100m gold in Paris becoming St. Lucia’s first ever Olympic medallist. In a special Sportsworld podcast, the sprinter sits down with Sportsworld’s Lee James to look back on her historic year, what it took to become Olympic champion and what it was like receiving a hero’s welcome back home. Also hear how Alfred’s athletics career started with her first coach Cuthbert Modeste and the impact it’s had on St. Lucia with Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Youth Development and Sports in Saint Lucia, Dr. Uralise Delaire. Image: Julien Alfred of Team Saint Lucia celebrates winning the gold medal during the Women's 100m Final on day eight of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 03, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

A new era is beginning at Manchester United with former Braga and Sporting CP boss Ruben Amorim officially installed as head coach. He'll take charge of his first match against Ipswich Town, but who is Ruben Amorim and what makes him tick? In a special Sportsworld podcast, United We Stand fanzine editor Andy Mitten joins Delyth Lloyd to find out more about Amorim from those who know him best - his childhood friends, former colleagues, players who have worked with him, as well as discovering what it takes to manage one of the biggest clubs in the world. Photo: Ruben Amorim visits Old Trafford on November 13, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Credit: Manchester United via Getty Images)

Ahead of the start of the Paralympics in Paris which will see 4,400 athletes competing in 22 sports, Mani Djazmi looks ahead to the Games. Mani is joined by 16-time British Paralympic gold medallist Tanni Grey-Thompson, Australia’s most successful Paralympian Ellie Cole and journalist Andy Stevenson. Indian shooter Avani Lekhara explains how sport has transformed her life, while French wheelchair tennis superstar Stephane Houdet expresses his excitement about the prospect of competing in a home Games. Photo: A general view of the 'Three Agitos' Paralympic symbol as it is installed at the Arc de Triomphe ahead of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games on June 28, 2024 in Paris, France. Paris will host the Summer Paralympic Games from August 28 till September 8, 2024. (Credit: Getty Images)

After 16 days of competition across 32 sports with 329 gold medallists the Olympic Games in Paris has drawn to a close. Lee James is joined by French broadcaster Julian Laurens to assess the impact of the Games and the legacy they can have on the city of Paris and the nation of France. The team look back at the memorable moments and athletes from the Games, and what may be to come in Los Angeles in 2028 with the help of USA Today’s Rachel Bowers as well as Sportsworld's Ed Harry and Ade Adedoyin. Image: A general view inside Eiffel Tower Stadium following the Women's Semifinal match between Mariafe Artacho del Solar and Taliqua Clancy of Team Australia and Ana Patricia Silva Ramos and Eduarda Santos Lisboa of Team Brazil on day thirteen of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on August 08, 2024 in Paris, France. (Credit: Getty Images)

BBC World Service introduce you to the five bosses who’ll be making their managerial debuts in the Premier League this season. Find out all you need to know about the managers including Pep Guardiola’s former assistant, the man following in Jurgen Klopp’s footsteps and the youngest permanent coach in Premier League history. Plus two managers who are tipped for big things after winning promotion last season. Sportsworld’s John Bennett is joined by former Tottenham defender Sebastien Bassong and journalist Carl Anka, plus four experts who’ll give you an insight into the personality of the new head coaches you’ll be hearing during Sportsworld’s Premier League coverage this season. Image: Head coach Arne Slot of Liverpool yells from the side line in the first half during their pre-season friendly against the Real Betis at Acrisure Stadium on July 26, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)

In Rio 2016, African competitors won 45 medals, with 10 of them golds. At the last Games in Tokyo - that number slipped to 37 medals overall. But Africa does have its first medal. On the opening day, South Africa won bronze in the men's Rugby 7s. BBC Sport Africa's senior reporter Celestine Karoney. George Addo Junior and Nishat Ladha joined Sportsworld’s Lee James at our Olympic hub to take a look at Africa’s medal chances. Photo: Bronze medallist Mohamed Elsayed of Team Egypt celebrates on the podium during the Men's Épée medal ceremony on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Grand Palais on July 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Credit: Getty Images)

Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred is this year’s World Indoor champion for the women’s 60 metres. She’s aiming to win Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal, and would like it to be gold. After a stunning US Collegiate career, Alfred reached the final of both the 100 and 200 metres at the 2023 World Championships, just missing a medal in the longer sprint. In 2024, her first season as a professional, she made history for Saint Lucia, winning the island’s first World Indoor gold, taking the 60 metres title in Glasgow. Julien describes just how tough the pathway to the top of the sport can be. She explains how hard it was relocating to Jamaica as a young teenager in order to join a coaching group. We also gain a real insight into the role of her coach, Edrick Floreal, and the value he places on supporting his athletes – not just on the track, but in terms of their mental well-being. Over the winter of 2023, Dina Asher-Smith joined Alfred’s training group – so what’s it like working each day alongside one of your main rivals? What was it like when she returned home to Saint Lucia from this year’s World Indoor championships with that 60 metres gold? How much pressure is she putting on herself to deliver the country’s first Olympic medal of any colour? Plus, even when you are truly world class at 100 and 200 metres, does that necessarily mean you enjoy both events? Image: Gold medallist Julien Alfred of Team Saint Lucia poses for a photo after winning the Women's 60 Metres Final on Day Two of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 2024 at Emirates Arena on March 02, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Canada’s Marco Arop is the reigning World champion for the men’s 800 metres. He describes being inspired to take up the event after finding the video of David Rudisha breaking the world record to win Olympic gold in 2012. Marco tells The Warm Up Track that he watched it repeatedly. Fittingly, it was the Kenyan who presented him with his World gold in Budapest in 2023. For Marco, that moment was even better than winning the race and, in the near future, he hopes that they can find time to sit down together and talk all things 800 metres. Having made his name as a front-runner, an athlete who likes to lead a race from gun to tape, Marco was finding it hard to hold on and win races at the highest level. He’s very candid about just how hard it was it for him go against his natural instincts and change his tactics, and how not making the final at the Tokyo Olympics was part of that difficult journey. In the late 1990s, Marco’s family fled the war in Sudan, eventually settling in Canada. So how much contact does he have now with his family in Sudan? Also, while he represents Canada, how aware is he of being a symbol of hope for refugees everywhere? Finally, with some incredible times being clocked this year in his event, does Marco think that Rudisha’s world record is on borrowed time? Image: Gold medallist Marco Arop of Team Canada reacts after winning the Men's 800m Final during day eight of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 26, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Larissa Iapichino is the European long jump silver medallist indoors and out. She talks to The Warm Up Track about being the daughter of Fiona May, winner of two long jump World titles and two Olympic silver medals. Larissa is coached by her father, Gianni, who was also an elite athlete and coached her mother too, so how do they keep athletics and their family life separate? How does Larissa cope with having a famous mum and the inevitable comparisons that come with that? She tells us why it’s important to pay attention to all of her life’s different ‘spheres’; because she’s not only an athlete, she’s a friend, a sister, a daughter and much more besides. With her mother Fiona May competing first for Great Britain and later for Italy, what’s it like being a child of both places? Why does Larissa love the rain in Derby, but not Italian rain? While her mother is her mentor, she’s also a bag of nerves when her daughter is jumping – so where in the stadium was she when Larissa was winning European silver in Rome? Plus, you’ll also find out why the BBC conjures up memories of visiting her grandparents in the English Midlands. Photo: Italy's Larissa Iapichino competes in the women's long jump final during day six of the 26th European Athletics Championships - Rome 2024 at Stadio Olimpico on June 12, 2024 in Rome, Italy. (Credit: Getty Images)

Valarie Allman is reigning Olympic champion for the women’s discus and has also won bronze and silver at the last two editions of the World Championships. She tells The Warm Up Track how she and her coach figured out ‘the master of all puzzles’ to win Olympic gold in Tokyo. Valarie explains how, starting out, they sought to break the mould of how previous US throwers had prepared for global championships, and that strategy was to face her main rivals as often as possible on the circuit. But, having succeeded in that, the pandemic then took away that opportunity to compete. Valarie says that actually helped her fall back in love with the sport – all of which set up her Olympic gold medal winning season in 2021. She tells us how it felt silly telling herself she was going to win Olympic gold – but how, after a while, those affirmations began to feel authentic. Young Valarie was a dancer, so what was it like to be around the TV show ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ at weekends, and then being back in Middle School during the week? Also find out how the prospect of a spaghetti dinner encouraged her to try out for the discus in High School and what it meant the day she could throw as far as the prairie dog hole on the school field. Plus, how having an older brother helped develop her competitiveness, and which Frank Sinatra song she’s really taken to heart. Image: Valarie Allman of Team United States celebrates with her countries flag after winning the gold medal in the Women's Discus Final on day ten of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 02, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Seventeen-year-old Maria Sharapova shocked the tennis world when she won Wimbledon in 2004. The teenager beat top seed and defending champion Serena Williams to win her first Grand Slam singles title in one of the most memorable finals in history. Twenty years on, Sportsworld’s Delyth Lloyd looks back on Sharapova’s rise and route to the Wimbledon title with insight from her former doubles partner Tamarine Tanasugarn, her second round opponent Anne Keothavong, and tennis commentator Barry Millns, who commentated on the final for BBC World Service. After winning Wimbledon, Sharapova went onto win a career Grand Slam and became the highest paid women’s sports star in the world for over a decade. Forbes reporter Matt Craig shares what it is that made Sharapova so marketable, while Tanasugarn and Keothavong both reflect on Sharapova’s career and legacy. Image: Maria Sharapova, 17 year old Russian from Siberia who won the women’s singles championship at Wimbledon 2004. (Credit: BBC News & Current Affairs via Getty Images)

It's 20 years since Greece caused one of the biggest shocks in the history of football by winning Euro 2004. Greece were 80/1 outsiders before a ball was kicked, and had never even won a match or scored a goal at a major tournament. They had a two-man coaching team and a squad of unknowns, but became champions of Europe. Sportsworld’s Mani Djazmi looks back on their triumph in Portugal and in a special podcast, you’ll hear from members of the Greek squad including Angelos Charisteas, Nikos Dabizas and Traianos Dellas. Photo: Greece players lift the Euro 2004 trophy, having beaten hosts Portugal 1-0 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal. (Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

The oldest of the continental tournaments - the Copa America - begins its 48th edition on 20th June. It's being hosted in the United States and the World Cup holders Argentina are defending the title they won in Brazil three years ago. Sportsworld's Mani Djazmi and guests have your essential guide to the Copa America of 2024. Photo: Lionel Scaloni, Head Coach of Argentina, presents the Copa America trophy during the official draw of CONMEBOL Copa America 2024 at James L. Knight Center on December 07, 2023 in Miami, Florida. (Credit: Getty Images)

Sada Williams of Barbados is the reigning Commonwealth champion for the women’s 400m and also won bronze at the last two editions of the World Championships. Williams is among the favourites for Olympic gold in Paris but, when she isn’t racing, she’s not someone who seeks the spotlight. In a rare interview, she explains how being the centre of attention is not her thing – and that extends to her gold medal winning moment on the podium at the Commonwealth Games. As happy as she was, she was thankful when the anthem ended and the whole stadium stopped focussing exclusively on her. Williams shares how she has suffered from anxiety in her career, and some of the strategies she’s used to overcome that – including no longer following what her opponents are doing. In fact, she barely follows track and field at all when she’s not actually at a meet or a championships. Plus, as reigning Commonwealth champion, she expresses her hope that the 2022 Games in Birmingham don’t turn out to be the last. Photo: Sada Williams of Barbados following the women's 400m hurdles finals during day five of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023. (Credit: Getty Images)

Delyth Lloyd is in Berlin for the start of the men’s European Championship. She travels across the German capital and visits famous sports teams such as Bundesliga side Union Berlin and basketball club Alba Berlin to understand how you build a successful team in the city. She also gets to hang out with Berliner and future Olympic rower Maren Volz as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games. Image: The Olympiastadion in Berlin during the men's European Championship. (Credit: BBC)

Grenada’s Kirani James discusses winning his first global medal aged 14, and the Olympic title at 19. He also describes being diagnosed with the thyroid condition Graves’ Disease in 2017, and the impact that had on him. He tells us where he keeps his full set of Olympic medals, and explains what it’s meant to stand on the podium in the same event at the last three editions of the Games. When he won at London 2012, he went online to check the words of Grenada’s national anthem, because he knew all 105 thousand residents of the island would be watching him sing. Still only 31, James believes he can reach the Olympic final again in Paris and tells us why, once there, all things are possible. He also reveals that, whatever happens in the French capital, he wants to compete at LA 2028, and that desire grew out of a conversation he had last year with his former coach Harvey Glance, before he passed away in June of 2023. Photo: Grenada's gold medallist Kirani James celebrates on the podium of the men's 400m at the athletics event during the London 2012 Olympic Games on August 7, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE (Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

World 400 Hurdles silver medallist, Kyron McMaster, describes in detail losing his coach in 2017. Xavier Samuels was killed when Hurricane Irma hit The British Virgin Islands and McMaster believes that, together, they would have broken the world record. The twice and reigning Commonwealth champion describes how coach Samuels’ words and methods have continued to shape the athlete he’s become in the years since, and explains why the world record and Olympic gold medal can still be his. He also discusses how different his career might have been if he’d chosen to represent Great Britain, instead of the British Virgin Islands. There’s also a visit to see King Charles to be planned to collect his OBE. He might even celebrate by buying a new PlayStation, or maybe he’ll keep the old one a while longer, even if it does sound like a fridge or a boat engine. Plus, the benefits of listening to some Beethoven are all on the agenda. Photo: Kyron McMaster of Team British Virgin Islands celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Men's 400m Hurdles Final on day nine of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium on August 06, 2022 on the Birmingham, England. (Credit: Getty Images)

Jurgen Klopp is the smiling, bear-hugging coach who leaves Liverpool having led the club to eight trophies – including winning the Champions League and a first Premier League title. But what do you know about his Black Forest roots, and his journey from second division footballer to managerial master? Sportsworld’s John Bennett takes you to Klopp's home village of Glatten, to Mainz where he was a player for a decade, then tasted promotion and relegation as a manager - and to Dortmund where he won trophies, became a celebrity and had a pop song written in his honour. Hear from school friends, players, executives and fans about how he developed his coaching philosophy, his big personality, his gifts as an orator and the man-management skills that set him apart from many of his peers. This programme - which won an SJA award for best audio documentary in 2021 - is the comprehensive back story of one of the most revered coaches of modern times, and it’s been updated to include Klopp’s nine years at Anfield and the legacy he leaves in Liverpool. Photo: Liverpool's German manager Jurgen Klopp (L) and his players pose with the Premier League trophy during the presentation following the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield in Liverpool, north west England on July 22, 2020. (Credit: AFP)

After British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group were confirmed as new minority investors in Manchester United - a deal which saw them take control of United's football operations - will this new era return the club back to their perch at the top of English football? The BBC’s Chief Football News Reporter, Simon Stone; Carl Anka who covers Manchester United for The Athletic; and United fan Beth Tucker, presenter of The United Stand, join Sportsworld’s Lee James to discuss what can be expected from their involvement at Manchester United. We'll also hear at length from Sir Jim Ratcliffe himself, who spoke to BBC Sports Editor Dan Roan after the deal was completed. Image: A billboard near Old Trafford shows a picture of Sir Jim Ratcliffe above the words 'Welcome To Manchester' prior to the Premier League match between Manchester United and AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford on December 09, 2023 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

The Asian Cup is football’s second oldest continental championship and the 18th edition – which gets underway in Qatar on 12 January 2024 – will see the continent’s best football nations go head-to-head to be crowned this year’s Asian champions. Who are the main contenders? Which team could spring a surprise? What can be expected? Mani Djazmi is joined by Asian football journalist Michael Church, Japanese sports journalist Kumi Kinohara and BBC Persian Service’s Iran reporter Pooria Jafereh to preview the tournament. Also hear from South Korea’s manager Jurgen Klinsmann, Palestine’s midfielder Mohammed Rashid, India’s goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and tournament debutants Tajikistan’s Amirbek Juraboev. Image: Qatari footballer Hassan al-Haydos carries the Asian Cup trophy during the draw for the AFC Asian Cup in Doha on May 11, 2023. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)