Sportsworld

Just a week after turning professional, Lottie Woad is favourite for the final major of the year - the AIG Women's Open at Royal Porthcawl. It is a startling rise for British golf's most exciting prospect. She arrived in Wales having been crowned Scottish Open champion a week earlier This, in the same month she ended her amateur career by winning the Irish Open and finished third at the Evian Championship, the most recent women's major. Photo: Lottie Woad of England poses with the trophy following victory of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open following the final round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open 2025 at Dundonald Links Golf Course on July 27, 2025 in Troon, Scotland. (Credit: Getty Images)

Following England's Euro 2025 final win over Spain, defender Lucy Bronze revealed she had "played the whole tournament with a fractured tibia, but no-one knew." Mum Diane Bronze said the Chelsea full-back suffered the injury in June but she still started all six of the Lionesses' games in Switzerland and was a key reason for their success. The 33-year-old played 598 minutes across the tournament, with only Keira Walsh, Alex Greenwood and Hannah Hampton playing more for Wiegman's side. Nick Worth, who was England men's under-21 team physiotherapist between 2000-2003, told Sport Today how she managed the feat. Photo: Lucy Bronze of England on the ground during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 Final match between England and Spain at St. Jakob-Park on July 27, 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. (Credit: GES Sportfoto/Getty Images)

Prudence Sekgodiso won South Africa’s first World Indoor gold when she took the 800 metres title at the 2025 Championships in Nanjing, China. She discusses that victory, and her belief that it will lead to more titles. Prudence also describes wanting to quit the sport in 2021, after a positive test for Covid prevented her from competing at that year’s World under-20 Championships. She explains what happened, and who was there for her when she needed support. Growing up, there was no running track in her village – just gravel. The possibility that running could be her career didn’t seem like a reality until she moved to Pretoria. Her first national senior title soon followed at the age of just 17. Prudence is coached by Caster Semenya’s former coach. She says that what Caster achieved in the sport is an inspiration to her. They also competed together at the World Cross Country Championships where Prudence experienced first-hand how good Semenya was at motivating their team. Prudence takes us back to the last edition of the World Championships. In Budapest in 2023 she experienced the nightmare of falling in the semi-final. She resolved to learn from that set-back as she looked to the Paris Olympic Games. The crowd at the Stade de France was so loud it made her nervous, and she was also aware of the weight of expectation from South Africans who wanted her to do well. Whilst she was prepared physically for the Olympics, she now knows that she wasn’t mentally ready. Every goal, every success and every set-back is written down in her notebooks. They’re a key part of how Prudence prepares and how she wins. She speaks candidly about how life on the circuit can sometimes be overwhelming, especially when her coach is unable to join her at every Diamond League meet. We discuss the importance of family and how, even if they only see each other a couple of times a year, her mother is a key part of her life. She’s the one Prudence always calls pre-race and the person she sends a video of the race to afterwards. Prudence believes she will break Caster Semenya’s South African record at some stage, which she knows will take her close to the long-standing 800 metres world record. She’s also interested in running more 1500 metres races and might look to double at the next Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Prudence knows what it means to South Africans to see a black woman after Caster holding the flag high and she knows that the country is proud of her. Image: First placed Prudence Sekgodiso of Team South Africa celebrates winning the Women's 800 Metres final on day three of the World Athletics Indoor Championships Nanjing 2025 at Nanjing Youth Olympic Games Sports Park on March 23, 2025 in Nanjing, China. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Kgothatso Montjane, or KG as she likes to be known, was born with amniotic band syndrome, a condition that prevents limbs from developing properly. She has gone on to become a wheelchair tennis champion and inspire a new generation of players. In 2021 she became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon, and has won four Grand Slam titles in the doubles. Between matches at this year's tournament, KG describes the joy of finding herself back at Wimbledon, and her work to ensure younger players can secure the funding and support needed to break through into world-class competitions. Monjane is launching a foundation in South Africa this summer to help other young potential wheelchair tennis players. Image: Kgothatso Montjane during the Women's Wheelchair singles semi-final match at Wimbledon July 11 2025 Credit: Getty Images

Ethan Katzberg won Olympic Hammer gold in Paris. He was already the World champion and, at the age of just 23, his dominance of the event has led to him being nicknamed ‘Canadian Thor’. He describes in depth how he discovered hammer throwing, and how success came with some difficult decisions along the way – like telling his parents he was dropping out of college. He takes us back to the final in Paris, where he led from the first round. Did that ease the pressure on him, or add to it? We also discuss the mechanics of throwing the hammer, and just how wrong it can go; Ethan’s first experience of a global championship was at the World under-20s in 2021, where he failed to register a distance. He takes us back to that final where he ended up with ‘no mark’ against his name and explains the lessons it taught him. Ethan can throw the Hammer out beyond 84m, but the event’s world record is more than 86m and was set in 1986, during the era of the Soviet Union. Does Ethan think that record is casting a shadow over the sport and just how hard will it be to break it? We also discuss the future of the Commonwealth Games as a global sporting event. For Ethan, his 2022 Commonwealth silver was his first major senior medal and he believes that the Games still have a key role to play. Photo: Ethan Katzberg of Team Canada reacts during Men's Hammer Throw Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Credit: Getty Images)

Cole Hocker won Olympic 1500m gold in Paris. He describes in depth how the last lap of the race unfolded and how he claimed the greatest victory of his career. Cole discusses the era he’s running in and how this period compares to what’s gone before. He explains the impact that Steve Prefontaine had on him growing up, from watching videos of his races to drawing inspiration from his quotes. Bearing all of that in mind, Cole gives us a real insight into his decision to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene – meaning he’d be joining the same college track team which produced Prefontaine and so many others. What was it like to embrace that opportunity and the inevitable pressure that came with it? Paris was Cole’s second Olympic Games. Had Tokyo gone ahead as planned in 2020, he’s doubtful he would have made the team. As it turned out, the delay caused by the pandemic meant that he was ready by the time the Games were staged in 2021. How was the journey through that year’s US Trials all the way to the final in Tokyo, and how valuable were all of the lessons he learned? Cole is a real student of the sport and takes us inside why the running community in the United States has always prized The Mile, and it’s metric equivalent, so highly. He also discusses why he accepted the invitation to join the inaugural season of Grand Slam Track and, more generally, what he would like to see happen to grow the sport of Track and Field in the US ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Photo: Silver medalist Josh Kerr of Team Great Britain, gold medalist Cole Hocker of Team United States and Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Team Norway cross the finish line during the Men's 1500m Final on day eleven of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 06, 2024 in Paris, France (Credit: Corbis via Getty Images)

Former England international, Natasha Dowie, and Euros winner, Fran Kirby, join John Bennett as we look ahead to Euro 2025. Will England defend their crown or will Spain add the title to their 2023 World Cup win? Who else is among the favourites and what about debutants Wales and Poland? We hear from England captain Leah Williamson, Poland and Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor – the top scorer in the world in 2025 – and other stars who will be playing in Switzerland for the Championship.

Mackenzie Little won Commonwealth Javelin silver in 2022 and World bronze in 2023. She won those medals whilst qualifying as a medical doctor. Following her bronze at the Worlds in Budapest, she was due back at the hospital to continue her training, but had to delay her departure for Australia so that she could attend her medal ceremony. She describes how flying back from a Worlds or an Olympics and going straight into a night shift is a very grounding experience with no time to dwell on the highs or lows of competition. After her medal in Budapest, there were patients who couldn’t have cared less where she’d just been. Equally though, after personal disappointment at the Paris Olympics, her patients’ enthusiasm and excitement for her even being at the Olympics gave her a sense of perspective on what she had achieved. Mackenzie is currently a second year doctor. She explains how she plots a course through life that allows her to continue her medical training and her track and field career. We recorded this episode in Oslo, where Mackenzie had used some of her annual holiday allocation to fly from Australia to Norway in order to compete at that Diamond League meet. On those ‘whirlwind’ trips to Europe, as well as competing, she says she gets more sleep than when she’s at home working shifts as a doctor. Briefly, having graduated from college in the United States before starting med school in Australia, Mackenzie competed for a European season as ‘just’ an athlete, and found that she was ‘rubbish’. Mackenzie believes she is at her best when balancing her academic commitments with the demands of being a professional track and field athlete. Mackenzie won the US Collegiate title twice and was also a room-mate of another former Warm Up Track guest – the double Olympic discus champion Valarie Allman. We discuss imposter syndrome, which Mackenzie feels both ways. She wonders whether her fellow athletes think she’s a part-timer, who hasn’t sacrificed enough and isn’t fully dedicated to her sport. The anxiety is also there in a medical setting – but this time it’s the worry that her fellow doctors might think she’s an ‘air-head athlete’. The Australian thinks that being a javelin thrower makes the balancing of her two careers possible. If she was, for example, a middle or long distance runner, she knows that there wouldn’t be enough hours in day to fit in her training around her day job. Mackenzie believes that the real world demands of medicine, full of situations ‘where you’ve just got to do it’, stands her in good stead in an athletics environment. It might be raining, she may have lost her luggage, but she can switch into competition mode and get it done. Mackenzie isn’t sure whether she’ll have to choose one path or another, or when that decision might need to be made, it’s about what she can achieve now. Image: Bronze medalist, Australia's Mackenzie Little celebrates with her National flag and medal after the women's javelin throw final during the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest on August 25, 2023. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP) (Photo by KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP via Getty Images)

New Zealand’s Hamish Kerr had a golden 2024. He was one of a handful of athletes who won the World Indoors in March, and then followed it up with an Olympic title at the Games in Paris. But Hamish almost missed that final. He was facing elimination in the qualifying round at the Stade de France. After two failures at 2.20 metres, he tells us he thought about retiring if he failed again and crashed out of the Olympics. Hamish explains how, after going to that ‘dark place’, he knew he had the mental strength to win gold in the final. At the previous Olympics in Tokyo, Mutaz Barshim and Gianmarco Tamberi had elected to share the High Jump gold medal and not to enter a jump-off to determine the winner. Hamish describes how early on in his final he began to wonder whether he’d have to make the same decision. As it turned out, he and Shelby McEwen did finish the competition with identical records and couldn’t be separated. So why did they choose to jump-off for gold? It’s the High Jump’s equivalent of a penalty shoot-out in football, and both men had already been out there competing for several hours. Why did Hamish believe he’d cope with that situation better? We find out why food was on his mind as he stood waiting to take the jump that could win him the Olympic title. Hamish also describes the moment during that attempt when he knew he would clear the bar and claim the gold. As for the celebrations afterwards, when he ran into the middle of the infield to bow to the capacity crowd, how much thought had gone into that? After all, the women’s Javelin final had been taking place, making that potentially a pretty dangerous place to be! Hamish also talks about his rise through the sport; from winning Commonwealth gold, to the World Indoor title and then the Olympic Games. He takes us inside his mindset, and explains how and why ‘old Hamish’ needed to change in order to be challenging for those medals. Photo: Hamish Kerr of Team New Zealand celebrates winning the men's high jump at the Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Credit: Sportsfile via Getty Images)

As Aiden Markram added his name to the Lord's honours board after hitting the only century on the World Test Championship final, Sportsworld looks at the top ten Test batters of all-time. Cricket writer and broadcaster Jarrod Kimber released a new book called The Art of Batting: The Craft of Crickets greatest Runs Scorers. He joined Lee James in our quest to name the greatest of all-time. So, how did compiling a list turn into a study of batting and how cricket has evolved over the years? Photo: A general view of play during Day One of the ICC World Test Championship Final between South Africa and Australia at Lord's Cricket Ground on June 11, 2025 in London, England. (Credit: ICC via Getty Images)

Dominica’s Thea LaFond had a golden 2024. She was one of a handful of athletes who won the World Indoors in March, and then followed it up with an Olympic title at the Games in Paris. That night, the entire population of her native Dominica could have fitted inside the Stade de France. Her gold at the Games was the island nation’s first of any colour in any Olympic sport, just as her World Indoor title was their first medal of any colour at those Championships. Having moved to the United States at the age of five, Thea describes how hard it was to adapt to a different kind of life. Dance, and later track and field, helped her with that transition. She remembers trying the Triple Jump for the first time, taking off and doing three ballet-style leaps with straight legs before the coach told her that wasn’t the way to do it! Thea has remained a child of both countries, and is rightly proud of everything she’s achieved wearing the vest of Dominica. She was their only representative at the Glasgow World Indoor Championships, and then part of a team of just four athletes in Paris. Thea explains how she had the best season of her life just as she was turning thirty, and how the death of her friend and inspiration, Dr Carissa F. Etienne, the Director of the Pan American Health Organization, was a catalyst for that. Thea jumped all season with a yellow ribbon in her hair to remember her fellow Dominican, and says it gave her ‘an extra pair of wings’. Thea tells us about those times when she considered giving up the sport. She worked for six years as a teacher, and was a largely self-funded and part-time athlete during that period. Find out how she won both of 2024’s golds despite carrying a knee injury through the season, and how she won in Glasgow and Paris with personal bests in both finals. Plus, how Thea’s coach and husband Aaron Gadson’s weather forecasting played a key role on the night of the Olympic final. Photo: Dominica's athlete and gold medallist Thea Lafond poses with her medal on stage at the Champions Park at Trocadero during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on August 6, 2024, with the Eiffel Tower visible in the background. (Credit: AFP via Getty Images)

Karsten Warholm has been one of the biggest stars in world athletics since winning the 400m hurdles world title in 2017, going onto become Olympic champion and win multiple World and European titles. But why has the Norwegian felt like he has needed a ‘reboot’ ahead of targeting a fourth world title at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo? Warholm shares more in a special podcast with Sportsworld’s Lee James ahead of the start of the 2025 season, including an insight into his training, how the new 300m hurdles Diamond League event came about and whether there could be a head-to-head race between him and 110m hurdles world champion Grant Holloway. Image: Karsten Warholm of Norway with flag after competing in the Men's 400m Hurdles during Day 14 of Athletics - Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 9, 2024 in Paris, France. (Credit: BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Sebastian Vettel dominated the sport in his Red Bull car before leaving to join the most successful and iconic team on the grid - Ferrari. The German went onto win 53 Grand Prix's during his career and came close to delivering the Italian team their first drivers title since 2007 when he twice finished runner-up to Lewis Hamilton. After retiring from the sport in 2022, Vettel has dedicated his efforts to sustainability projects and uses his platform to promote many environmental and social causes around the world. In a special podcast, Sportsworld's Lee James finds out more about Vettel's life after Formula One. Photo: Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Aston Martin F1 Team receives a guard of honour on the grid prior to the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 20, 2022 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Credit: Formula 1 via Getty Images)

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)