Olympic legend stars in first UK Sport podcast
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Edwin Moses
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Russell Langley 03 October 2007
Double Olympic champion Edwin Moses, British taekwondo star Sarah Stevenson and Chelsea Warr, architect of the Sporting Giants Talent Identification Scheme, all feature in the first UK Sport Podcast which is published today. The Podcast is the latest exciting development in UK Sport’s web-based communications strategy.
Moses was speaking from Namibia where he spoke at the recent Next Step Conference, hosted by UK Sport, which focused on the use of sport internationally as a tool for human development and social change. He reflects on his work on the Laureus Academy and how conferences such as Next Step can make a difference where it’s needed most:
“We’re talking about using sport to help people who don’t have the basics in life. Sport is the hook to get the kids to pay attention to the social problems they face, be it AIDS, homelessness or crime. This type of event really does make a difference. It allows us to exchange information and get feedback on what’s working and what’s not.”
Stevenson then looks back on a successful weekend after securing her ticket to Beijing at the World Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Event in Manchester. “It brilliant to qualify so early, and I’ve now got a whole year to prepare,” she said. “I now feel really confident and know I’m good enough to go to Beijing and medal.”
The first edition of the UK Sport Podcast concludes with Chelsea Warr talking about the Sporting Giants scheme – looking at the reasons why UK Sport launched it in partnership with the EIS, and what has happened since almost 5,000 people expressed an interest in representing Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games. She also looks ahead to what’s next:
“This is where all the hard work starts,” she says. “The athletes are currently going through final rounds of screening and are entering what we call the Talent Confirmation stage where they are exposed more intensively to the high performance environment.”
Tim Hollingsworth, Director of Policy and Communications at UK Sport, explains the thinking behind the Podcast launch:
“In many ways this first Podcast reflects the unique insight into high performance sport that UK Sport can provide,” he said. “We have a wide-ranging remit – covering performance, major events, international work and anti-doping – and the Podcasts will help bring these to life, highlighting what it takes to lead sport in the UK to world-class success.
“Less than a year out from Beijing, and with one eye already on London 2012, we are keen to engage as widely as possible and feel that Podcasts provide a further avenue to build more understanding of our work and what goes on behind the scenes to help British athletes achieve success on the world stage.”
Future Podcasts will include reports from the World Conference on Doping in Sport from Madrid, and highlights of UK Sport’s annual World Class Coaching Conference. They will be available to download from the UK Sport website on the first Thursday of each month, and can also be subscribed to through all major Podcast players, including iTunes.
