The Christians in Sport Podcast

The Winter Olympics begin in Beijing on Friday under a mountain of controversy.  Beijing 2022 is not the only event suffering from allegations of human rights abuses and questions about whether they should have been awarded a major sports event. The FIFA World Cup next year in Qatar has also had large voices of opposition due to the poor treatment of migrant workers building the stadiums and accusations of slave labour. When a governing body chooses to compete however, is there anything an athlete should consider if they follow Jesus? Whilst it was definitely not the athlete’s choice to select Beijing to host the games, they are the ones now facing questions about whether it is right to compete there and what to do when they arrive if they do. The letter of 1 Peter can help us think through how Christians should engage in our world as it was written to Christians feeling exiled and marginalised in the world and unsure how to act in it. Five truths from 1 Peter 2:9-17 can help us think through this issue.

At 19 years of age Jake threw in the towel. He gave up competing as a fighter, but this wasn’t the only life change that occurred during his late teens. Join Danno as he chats to Jake about discovering his gift as a young martial artist, becoming North American and European Champion in Muay Thai, and the compatibility of combat sports with faith in Christ. 

Today's guest is Dr Suzanne Ferreira from Stellenbosch, South Africa. She's won 70 plus medals, through the athletes she coaches, at the Paralympic Games, the World Championships, the All-Africa Games, the Commonwealth Games.  She's been at the Paralympics as a coach in Beijing 2008, London 2021, Rio 2016 and the International Paralympic Committee World Championships in 2006, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. She's been the the Western Cape coach of the year nearly every year since 2012 and finalist in the Coach of the Year for South Africa in 2008, 2016 and 2018. Currently she's out in Tokyo coaching at the Paralympics. In this episode, Graham Daniels speaks to her about her coaching philosophy and how her faith impacts how she trains elite athletes. You can listen to our podcast here, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you get your podcasts from. Find out more about the work of Christians in Sport at christiansinsport.org.uk

Danno sits down with Paralympic goal-ball player Anna Tipton (nee Sharkey). She played in eight European Championships, two World Championships and also competed in the Paralympics at London 2012. In this interview she speaks about how she got into goal-ball, the nature of elite sport and its challenges and how her faith shapes how she views her sport and her disability. 

We all get disappointed in our sport don't we? Whether it's from injury, loss of form or not being renewed for another year, sport is full of lows, probably more often than the highs. So we've got four-time Olympian Debbie Flood, and two-time Winter Olympian Adam Pengilly into to chat about their experiences of facing huge disappointments in their sports, and how they've come to process them and now help others do the same.  As it's the Christians in Sport podcast, our overarching question is how can we navigate disappointment as a Christian in the world of sport? What comfort does God offer to those struggling? Listen in to this really useful interview for all sportspeople.

The CEO of Skateboard GB, James Hope-Gill joins us today, on the day Sky Brown won bronze at Tokyo 2020 to become the youngest ever British medallist.  In a fascinating short conversation, he explains the distinct culture that skateboarding has, how he's helped form a governing body from scratch and how his faith impacts his work.

The Rev’d Canon Dr. Ashley Null is an internationally respected scholar on the grace and gratitude theology of the English Reformation. He teaches regularly in seminaries and churches in the Americas, Europe, Africa and Australia.  Meanwhile, Ashley serves as a chaplain to elite athletes and coaches, helping them to integrate the Reformation’s emphasis on the unconditional love and grace of God with their vocation as professional sportspeople. Ashley is a five-time Olympic chaplain, most recently at Rio 2016. As we record our conversation, Ashley is Omaha for the US Swimming Olympic Trials prior to the Tokyo Olympics.  Our conversation today concerns his approach to the pastoral care of elite athletes...and it is gold!

In this re-release from 2016 in Rio, ex-athletes Debbie Flood and Adam Pengilly tell us what it is like to compete at the games. Debbie won silver medals as a rower at Athens and Beijing and also reached the final in London. Adam raced skeleton bobsleigh at Turin and Vancouver, winning a world silver medal in between. Here the pair offer an insider’s view on the games and share how their Christian faith shaped their view of the Olympics. Listen as Debbie and Adam talk about… How they felt when they first got selected for the Olympics How faith in Jesus gave them perspective during the highs and the lows What it’s like to be in the Olympic Village The emotions they experienced just before their races The joys of hurtling down a mountain at 90mph

A brand new series for Tokyo 2020 as we speak to Olympians, chaplains and coaches about what it means to be a Christian in the pinnacle of all sport. In this episode we speak with Christian Taylor, the two-time reigning Olympic and four-time reigning world triple-jump champion. We speak about: - The impact of the pandemic on athletes - The forming of the Athletics Association to speak for track and field athletes - How his faith has led to and impacted the work of the newly formed association Listen in and look out for further Tokyo 2020 episodes in weeks to come. 

Michael Johnson joins our podcast from St George's Park a few days after the Euro 2020 final. Jonno is currently an England U21s coach, having held a number of other roles in football after a stellar playing career primarily with Notts County, Birmingham City and Derby County. In this powerful interview we speak with him about: - Systemic racism in sport and society - The encouraging changes in the last 10 years at the FA with diversity - The leadership of Gareth Southgate around diversity - How he integrates his sport and faith in his various roles It's a super interview with some real insight. Enjoy.