Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Athletics Chat

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Earlier this year, UKA announced that they were going to consult clubs, athletes, and competition organisers about cross country race distances. A host of GB runners, including three-time World Champion over the cross - Paula Radcliffe - penned a response, arguing against equal distances for men and women. As could only have been expected, Twitter immediately became the sort of rocky, perilous landscape only previously seen in Aarhus in 2019.

Why the furore? Should gender parity, something we love about athletics, extend to XC race distances? Women *can* run as far as men, but should they? With Paula’s near-peerless expertise and passion, we debate all of this in the latest Backstraight pod - before talking through some other distance goodies (or baddies, in some cases): pacing lights, shoe technology innovations, and how Mo Farah’s return to track is going.

This is a contentious one, and we’d love your thoughts, so please - as ever - get in touch on Twitter (@BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas), or on Instagram (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Thanks, as ever, to Mark Shearman MBE - @athleticsimages - for the photographs in our show artwork.

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Where do we begin..? With the empty seats? The fainting marathon runners? Alberto Salazar's ban? With the DQs that were and weren't? Or the fact that we missed experiencing Mihambo's 7.30m live because it was necessary to watch (another) Mo Farah montage?

OR - how about we talk about the world records? The African fans roaring on their athletes in the distance events without stopping dancing for even a second? The women returning to the sport to earn the titles of both 'mother' and 'world-beater'? Mutaz Barshim shrugging off gravity with a series of the most implausible world leads before a rapt home crowd? The flair of Jeanette Kwakye? The chemistry between Toni Minichiello and Steve Backley? The moment Sophie McKinna threw 18.61 to qualify for a global final? The vaulters who cleared national records minutes after snapped poles? Or the fact that Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson are both World Champions?

Doha was problematic. It was frustrating. But it was also tonnes of fun, and some of the performances were staggering.

Speaking of which, here's our stagger through the champs. A look back at the 2019 Worlds, in all their humid, historic glory. Enjoy.

@BackstraightB & @Claire_GThomas

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Being a heptathlete (we imagine; we’re hardly speaking from experience here at Backstraight HQ...) requires not only explosiveness, endurance, technical finesse, and sublime co ordination, but nerves of absolute steel. The psychological challenges of the event have proven a stumbling block for many physically-gifted athletes, and to be able to reach into your bag of tricks and deliver a third round clearance, lifetime best, or gutsy 800 metres at the end of two gruelling days of competition requires the mentality of a supreme competitor. Niamh Emerson, from what we’ve seen so far, is one of those. Bronze at her first major senior championships, gold in Tampere after the most dramatic of 800 metres, and silver behind KJT with the best pentathlon performance ever executed by a teenager: we have grown accustomed to this athlete bringing her A-game every time. Great Britain’s heptathlon heritage is as rich as they come - Mary Rand, Mary Peters, Judy Simpson, Denise Lewis, Kelly Sotherton, Jess Ennis-Hill, and Katarina Johnson Thompson - and it seems increasingly evident that Emerson’s name is destined to join that illustrious roster. A knee tendon tear in Gotzis might have brought her season to an abrupt halt, but her outlook is remarkably positive, with Tokyo drawing ever-closer, and this pause in her meteoric ascent the perfect opportunity to reflect upon her career so far. Friendships with Jess and Kat, working on her explosive power whilst maintaining that fantastic 800 metres of hers, and how on earth she always manages to find that extra centimetre when the pressure’s on: we hope you enjoy this latest interview special.

Here’s a seven-event challenge of your own, should you choose: listen to this episode, give it a share to spread the Emerson love, review the Backstraight Boys (& Girl) podcast, let us know your thoughts (@BackstraightB & @Claire_GThomas), follow us on Instagram (@BackstraightBoysPodcast), join our Fantasy DL League (PIN: 5533292), and - finally - just keep being the awesome listeners that you already are x

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.
Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at
Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.
Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at
Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).

Send us a text

The year is coming to an end so we get together for a quick catch up on all of the recent news for the world of T&F
From the Euro Cross Country to new announcements from WA and British Athletics as well as updates on the Ultimate Championships and talk of a potential Treadmill Champs. We pack in a lot before our End of Year Review, coming soon!!!

Please enjoy, please subscribe and please let us know what you think on all our socials.
Thanks for listening and follow us on Social Media at
Twitter - (@BackstraightB)
Insta - (@BackstraightBoysPodcast).