WiSP Sports Desk: S3E22 - The Pressure of Elite Sport on Young Athletes

Tennis is the top story this week as Wimbledon gets down to the quarter final stages. Britain’s Emma Raducanu, 18, made it through to the fourth round in her Wimbeldon debut and made a name for herself with a determined fight against Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic before being forced to retire when she was not feeling well in the second set. Emma’s retirement due to health concerns comes after the withdrawal of 23 year old Naomi Osaka from the French Open and Wimbledon after she was feeling overwhelmed by the pressure of her media responsibilities. And last week it was the American sprinter 21 year old Sha’Carrie Richardson who turned to Marijuana, a forbidden substance under IOC rules, to help her cope with the news of her mother’s death. The laser focus that elite athlete’s come under clearly imposes a unique pressure at a young age which we discuss. Chris shares her highlights from the US Women’s Soccer Team Send Off Series where the USA came a way with 4-0 victories in both games. Tobin Heath earned her place in the starting line up against Mexico this week when the US played the second of their friendly games. In last week’s game Heath returned to the squad after injuries to score within a minute of coming off the bench in the second half. And she underlined her form for the Tokyo Olympics by scoring again in the first half of last night’s game. While it was 4-0 in both games, the only difference was that in the second game all the goals came in the first half.

Hosts: Chris Stafford & Nancy Gillen

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