In May 2025 Andreas Toba performed his final international gymnastics routine for Germany at the European championships in Leipzig. Andy won the silver medal in front of a home crowd and announced his retirement from the sport of men's artistic gymnastics following an incredible career. He has represented Germany at four Olympic Games and competed at the very highest level in 22 major championships events. His father Marius Toba competed at three Olympic Games himself and has helped guide his son Andreas through the many challenges of elite level sport. I was lucky enough to compete alongside Andy during the 2013 German Bundesliga winning the league title with TV Wetzgau and was able to learn a great deal from him about being a strong leader. And this is his story.
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1:21:37
The Joel Fearon Story | EP 122
In 2014 Joel Fearon represented Great Britain at the winter Olympic games in Sochi, Russia. Hew was part of the four man bobsleigh team that were awarded the bronze medal following the disqualification of the two Russian teams for doping violations. Two years later Joel became the seventh fastest man in British sprinting history by running the 100m in 9.96 seconds. After his athletic career where he trained under the tutelage of Michael Khmel at the Birchfield harriers club. He's now turned his attention to coaching the next generation of young British talent and delivering school events. And this is his story.
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1:20:53
The European Championships Debrief | EP 121
In May 2025 the European gymnastics championships took place in the city of Leipzig in Germany. A week prior to the event, I was asked to be part of the BBC broadcasting team covering the European championships from media house in Salford Manchester. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to sit down and watch the apparatus finals live in the studio and then catch up with the earlier events that had taken place throughout the week. In this episode I cover all the big moments from the competition including the team qualification, all around final, mixed team event and individual apparatus finals. The British men have already been back in action following their team gold medal out in Germany at the British team championships. Congratulations to all of the gymnasts that represented their National teams at the European championships it was a real pleasure to watch all of the performances. And this is my story.
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1:14:09
The Shane Wiskus Story | EP 120
In 2021 Shane Wiskus represented team USA at the Tokyo Olympic Games, helping the men's gymnastics team finish 5th. Shane finished 9th individually on floor just missing the out on the Olympic final and 23rd in the All around but suffered from the two per country rule in the sport. He competed for the University of Minnesota throughout his NCAA college career up until the program was controversially disbanded in 2021. Shane has won a total of five Pan American championships medals and multiple National titles to date. At the 2024 US Olympic trials Shane placed third in the All around after an incredible performance but was only named to the team as the travelling reserve. Shane is currently recovering from shoulder surgery and is now based in Florida as part of the very successful EVO gymnastics team. And this is his story.
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1:48:55
The Mike Canales Story | EP 119
In 2013 whilst taking part in the Pro Gymnastics Challenge as part of the World team I heard a familiar voice introduce himself to me. Mike Chanales had been the cameraman, coach, physio, sports psychologist and best friend to Paul and Morgan Hamm as they attempted to make a comeback ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Mike fell in love with the sport of Artistic gymnastics in the early nineties and went on to represent the Ohio state university college gymnastics team in the NCAA championships. Following his competitive career Mike began a profession in medicine and later married Dominique Moceanu the 1996 Atalanta Olympic champion who was part of the famous magnificent seven women's US gymnastics team. Throughout his gymnastics journey Mike spent time with some of the very best gymnasts in the world and he is now coaching his son Vincent who has aspirations of reaching the highest level in the sport. This is one of the very best conversations we've had on the podcast and I want to thank Mike for being such an incredible human being. And this is his story.
At seven years old I walked into a gymnastics club for the very first time. I was hooked. For the next twenty one years, I dedicated my life to becoming an Olympic champion. I'm going to share with you the life lessons, experiences and stories that have shaped the man I am today. I'm now starting a new chapter in my life beyond my sporting career and look forward to bringing you along with me.
Ireland