The SportsAid Vault Podcast was recorded live, in-person, for the first time at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games!
Anyika Onuora, Clare Cunningham and Lutalo Muhammad joined us at SportsAid House as guests for the final episode of the second series….and there was also a surprise visit from Team England weightlifter Chris Murray - less than 72 hours after he won Commonwealth gold!
The second series of the podcast, hosted by Tom Gayle, BBC sports presenter, commentator and reporter, is inspired by Team England Futures. The ground-breaking programme was delivered by SportsAid, on behalf of Commonwealth Games England and Sport England, and saw over 800 talented young athletes and aspiring support staff attend Birmingham 2022.
Episode six is themed ‘Time to Shine’ and sees Anyika, Clare and Lutalo talking about the atmosphere they’ve felt around Birmingham, what it means for a young athlete to compete at their first major Games, the importance of ‘bouncebackability’ and how best to capitalise on increased exposure – both from a personal standpoint and for less mainstream sports. Chris reflects on his incredible performance and his experiences afterwards!
Track and field star Anyika is an Olympic, world, European and Commonwealth Games medallist. She competed in the 100m, 200m and 400m - and starred in many successful 4x100m and 4x400m relay teams. She claimed bronze for Team GB at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and represented Team England at three Commonwealth Games - Melbourne, Glasgow and the Gold Coast - returning one silver and two bronze.
Anyika retired from athletics in 2019 and recently released a book called ‘My Hidden Race’. She currently sits on the Team England Athlete Advisory Group.
Clare is a para swimming and triathlon legend. Aged just 15, she burst onto the international swimming scene as she won five medals at her debut Paralympic Games in Barcelona back in 1992. She also took the World Championships by storm in 1994 before retiring from swimming following the Atlanta Games. In 2009, she discovered para triathlon and became world and European champion within her class that same year.
She became the first ever female para triathlete to sit on the International Triathlon Union Athletes Committee in 2012 and is now the Head of Athlete Services at ParalympicsGB.
Lutalo is a two-time Olympic medallist and one of the most recognised faces in taekwondo. He won bronze at London 2012, under the spotlight of a Home Games, and followed this up with silver in Rio. During his career, Lutalo has also won multiple European and Grand Prix medals and is a leading voice on the sport through his broadcasting commitments.
Lutalo was supported by SportsAid for three years in the build-up to London and has acted as an ambassador for Team England Futures alongside Anyika and Clare.
