Backstraight Boys (& Girl) Athletics Chat
Join Jody, Bayo, and Claire each fortnight as they discuss athletics' hot topics, cover live events, and host stars of the sport in longer interview specials. Hit 'subscribe', give us a rating, and join in the conversation on Twitter: @BackstraightB and @Claire_GThomas.
- Update frequency
- every 10 days
- Average duration
- 58 minutes
- Episodes
- 184
- Years Active
- 2017 - 2025
Footie, Fourths, and Fabulous Four-by-Ones: Adam Gemili Interview Special
Adam Gemili likes to break records. When he produced a dazzling 9.97 in 2015, he became the first British athlete to dip below the two hallowed barriers of men's sprinting. When he scor…
Olympics Postponed, Dry Punished, and Britney (Bitch): Hot Takes for your Locked-Down Ears
Does Caster Semenya have the raw speed to challenge the world's best over 200 metres? Does Britney Spears..? As the Olympic Games are postponed for the first time in their history, and …
Fiendish Trials, Canny Tactics, and Upholding a Legacy: Our British Men's Middle Distance Special
We'll level with you: this might be a middle distance special, but it's the length of a marathon. It's an hour and forty-eight minutes of athletics chat, including four substantial inte…
Jemma's Flying, Mondo's Soaring, and GB's Spoilt for 400m Talent: the Glasgow Grand Prix and a few more besides
Mondo Duplantis is making history at whim, Jemma Reekie has stepped out of Laura Muir's shadow and is eating national records for breakfast, and Jessie Knight is laughing in the face of…
Jeanette, Jon, and Pre-Season Joviality: Backstraight's 2020 Preview
It's an Olympic year. Mondo has already broken a World Record. Jemma Reekie has broken three British ones. Jeanette Kwakye and Jon Mulkeen are on the pod. Goodness gracious, 2020 really…
Barshim's Back (so's Radzi), Kat's Beaming, and Athletics is Better (or is it?): Our 2019 Season Review
Radzi's back. He's an expert and a professional, who covered - with great warmth and nous, we might add - many of this year's major events. This recording should be plain-sailing... rig…
King Kipchoge, Awards Analysis, and Federation Formations: Records are Falling, but Athletes are Rising
Was Eliud Kipchoge's sub-two marathon an extraordinary athletic achievement? Or was it a technology-doped gimmick? Could it be viewed as both? A little late to the party, perhaps, but f…
Mary Cain (brave), Diamond League (diminished), and some British favourites (journalised): two mega rants and three mega interviews
We've had a lovely, restful month off. Unfortunately, the IAAF haven't. They've been busy chopping the triple jump, steeplechase, discus throw, and 200 metres from the 2020 Diamond Leag…
Shot Putters in the Stratosphere, Kat and Dina in the History Books, and Elephants in the Room: Our Big Doha Review Pod
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.…
Falling Records, Sizzling Match-Ups, and Cooling Stadiums (hopefully): An Epic Doha Preview with Our New BFF, Radzi
We’ll level with you. We completely and utterly lost control of this one. Like Eilish McColgan in the British Championships 5000m this year, it set off like a train, and we never stood …
Karsten's King, Abi's Back, and Amelia's Just Getting Started: Diamond League Finals Wrap & Those Picked To #Represent
The 2019 Diamond League has finished, British Athletics have named their team for the World Championships, and the gang's back together! Oh - hang on - Bayo's running late. Close, but n…
Bounding Ben, Dashing Dina, and Heights-Hitting Holly : The Race to Represent at British Champs
Newly-crowned British 100m Champion, Ojie Edoburun said something very wise to us this weekend: ‘you can be a circuit guy, or you can be a championship guy.’
Now, in an ideal world, you…
Best of British, Birmingham-Bound, and Doha Dust-Ups: Our British Champs Preview Pod
Claire's away 'doing rugby in France' (close enough, lads; she's been in both Portugal and West London, and is now - terrified - hitting 'publish' on an episode the boys promise needs o…
Youcef Zatat, Rabah Yousif, and Plenty More Besides: Recent Results and Clangers from the World of Track and Field
We've two guests this week, and they're on for very different reasons. Double European U23 Champion and enormous talent Jemma Reekie is back (we've had her on before. We adore her), to …
Jakob's baby fat, Karsten's heart, and Shelly-Ann's GOAT status: Backstraight's Half-Century at the London Diamond League
We've recorded 50 episodes! How on earth has that come about? Thank you *so* much to those of you joining us on our error-strewn, star-sprinkled athletics' romp to date. We've loved eve…
Plenty of Laps, Oodles of Fun, and Lots to Discuss: Journalising (G&Ts in-hand) at the Highgate Harriers Night of the 10k PBs
'Distance running isn't sexy. How on Earth are you meant to market it? Does anyone even want to watch races longer than 4 minutes these days? Definitely - DEFINITELY - let's not sell be…
Handling nerves, seizing opportunities, and PBing for fun: Niamh Emerson Interview Special
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…
#47 - Fantasies, Nightmares, and Errors (So Many Errors...): If Bulls did Athletics Round Ups in China Shops
As gaffs go, we thought we'd be hard-pressed to beat missing the entire Stockholm round of the Fantasy Diamond League this season. Our rankings were decimated; our hearts broken. Our se…
#46 - Caster’s Class, Doha’s Diamonds, and Eliud’s Enduring Excellence: Backstraight’s Take on the Last Few Weeks
Caster Semenya is a terrific talent. She is a fierce competitor. She is a dignified presence in a melting pot of opinions: an articulate and inspirational oasis in the face of a relentl…
#45 - Our Young Guns Special with Amber Anning, Molly Caudery and Cameron Corbishley
'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times' wrote Charles Dickens, but this canonical line could well have been penned by Georgia Nicholson, Lady Bird, or any other coming-of-…