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US para cyclist Samantha Bosco who is no stranger to success. In fact she's won seven World Championships on the road, and plenty more medals on the track too! But a Paralympic gold eluded her in Rio and so in Tokyo she was set to put that right until an accident left her with a pair of skull fractures and a traumatic brain injury. She didn't just miss the Games, she nearly died. Her recovery was described as miraculous and she got her Hollywood ending by winning gold in Paris, but now she has a home Games in LA to focus on Ash Dykes is currently trying to make his way through one of the most difficult, dangerous and deadly places in the world.The Congo Basin. Ash is, amongst other things an adventurer, challenging himself to do remarkable projects and in many cases becoming the first person to complete them. You might have seen one of his videos walking the Yangtze or the length of Madagascar, he documents everything for his many social media followers. So why attempt such dangerous adventures, and how will he survive this time? Fancy a quick round of golf? Well Nullarbor Links an 18-hole, 72 par golf course in Australia is the wrong place for that! That's because the course spans more than 850 miles, making it comfortably the world's longest golf course! Played along the route of the Eyre Highway that links Western and Southern Australia through the Outback, it would take a very certain type of person to manage the course! Meet Bea and Graeme Wilmot. Just over 50 years ago teenage Californian Jeff Clark became the first person to surf the dangerous Mavericks waves near San Francisco. Nearly two decades later, the waves killed Mark Foo, one of the most famous surfers in the world. It was a reminder just how dangerous the sport and the Mavericks in particular are. Jeff tells his, and Mark Foo's story. This episode was edited on 10 October2026. Due to an editing error, two incorrect sections were inadvertently joined together. Photo: Bellboys from Cunard's Queen Elizabeth cruise ship pose for photos on one of the holes on the Nullarbor Links course (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images for Cunard)

Denise Mueller has gone faster than anyone has ever been on a bike! Eight years ago on Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, she travelled at an average of more than 183 mph, smashing the previous record and setting the mark that still stands today. What makes Denise's story even more remarkable is that she took a 20 year break from cycling before returning in her 40's to break the record. From her home in San Diego she took us back to where it all started, aged 14 when her grandfather bought both her and her dad a bike Pedro Cueto is a young man achieving remarkable things on and off the race track. At the age of just six Pedro's life changed when he was diagnosed with cancer. Eventually he had his leg amputated, but nothing would stop Pedro's driving dream. He became the first driver without a leg to compete at this level of international karting and now aged 11-years-old has just won the prestigious karting championship, the IAME Series Italy Racing Formula. Britain's Ollie Millroy and Netherlands' Loek Hartog have always loved racing cars... Le Mans, Formula 2, Gran Turismo Championship. They have done it all... Last month in Shanghai they were racing against each other when Ollie was involved in a crash that resulted in his Ferrari being engulfed in flames. Trapped, the window of opportunity to save him was closing fast when around the corner zoomed Loek... Ditching his desire to win, he stopped, ran over and pulled Ollie out. We hear from Ollie from his hospital bed alongside wife Fern and also Loek the man who saved him Back in 1983, American motorcyclist "Fast Freddie" Spencer won the world motorcycling championship aged just 21. Spencer won an epic battle against Kenny Roberts, another legendary US rider. Their rivalry is regarded as one of the fiercest in the history of the sport. Photo: Denise Mueller-Korenek was pulled along to 100 mph using a dragster before breaking the record (CREDIT: Getty Images

The thing about Not by the Playbook is you never quite know where we'll end up. What you might not realise is that we have no idea either!  So, we present four guests who took us to completely unexpected places and even surprised themselves! Cyclist Pete Mitchell, who recently competed at the Commonwealth Games and is riding faster than he ever has all at the ripe old age of thirty-six. Pete's been on a long ride to success which has taken many unusual turns, including giving up his Olympic dream to pilot blind riders to achieve their paralympic dreams. Now back in able bodied sport Pete has been reflecting on his lifelong relationship with the sport of cycling, one that has given him so much, and at times taken its toll. Emma Wiggs, the most decorated athlete in paracanoeing history. Last month she won her 13th world Paracanoe World Championships to go alongside her gold medals from the Paralympics in Rio, Tokyo and Paris. As such, you might think that Emma's confidence is pretty impenetrable, but it isn't. At forty-six Emma's body is beginning to show the signs of wear a long pro sport career will provide, the most recent a serious shoulder injury has forced her to reevaluate everything, and yet Emma just keeps on going! Emma also explains why she is taking part in the UK's first festival to place elite Paralympic-pathway sport and disabled-led arts and culture on the same stage. The Inclusive Sport & Culture Festival is happening in Liverpool waterfront from 2nd to 8th May 2027. Connie Henry had a decent athletics career. She won bronze representing England at the Commonwealth Games in 1998, but it's perhaps what she did once she stepped off the track that has left the most significant legacy. For the last 20 years or so Connie has been the silent figure quietly enabling others to achieve their sporting goals whatever they might be. Having seen the influence a positive role model can have, she leaned on some of her friends, who also happen to be some of the most successful sports stars of recent years, from Daly Thompson to Lord Sebastian Coe, and Denise Lewis to write a book "Behind the Brilliance" In 1977 Englishman Michael Jay became the first foreigner to take part in Japan's "Soma Nomaoi" which celebrates classical martial arts and military horsemanship, and dates back to the 10th Century. PHOTO: Matt Crampton and Peter Mitchell of Great Britain in the Open Sprint during day four of the British National Cycling Track Championships at Manchester Velodrome on October 1, 2011 (CREDIT: by Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

This week athletes who went the extra mile, but the thing that makes them particularly remarkable is they kept going, eventually completing some of the most mind-boggling challenges on earth. Rob Pope's latest challenge is a 500-mile coast-to-coast run across the British Isles. As ever, he's raising awareness and money for good causes. This time it's food poverty. The previous challenge was in Australia running the route of rock band AC/DC's latest tour, whilst holding an inflatable guitar! But Rob is perhaps most famous for his Forest Gump impression. Actually, less of an impression and more imitation. Exactly 10 years ago he began a 422-day, 15,700-mile run crossing of the United States multiple times to become the first person to trace the route run by Tom Hanks' fictional character. Three brothers Lachlan, Ewan and Jamie Maclean have now successfully rowed both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, doing it non-stop and without any support whatsoever. They've just written a book about their experiences called "Three Brothers in a Boat: A True Story of Adventure and Purpose Rowing the Pacific" They tell us about their silent retreat in the ocean, a terrifying overboard moment and burning bagpipes At 200 miles, it might not be the world's longest race, but Tunnel Ultra is certainly the darkest. It is a gruelling two-day endurance event where competitors run underground laps in single file, to a backdrop of classical music. Headphones are banned but hallucinations are all but guaranteed, with sightings of abominable snowmen, giant slugs and orange blobby monsters all reported. So why do people do it? This is the story of those who do, including one who suffered temporary blindness, then thanked the race organiser for the privilege. In 2002, a middle-aged mother made history by winning one of the toughest races in the world outright. Pam Reed beat all the elite men competing in the 135-mile Badwater marathon through the desert of Death Valley, California. After, her victory was seen by some as a fluke. She responded by defeating all the male runners again the following year! Photo: Rob Pope aka the real Forest Gump finishes another run (CREDIT: Erik SAMPERS/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

There's no business, like show business, like no business I know! Whether it be sport or art, books or movies, we're all looking to occasionally escape from our daily life and be entertained. So, sit back and enjoy as we introduce you to the stars of sport who have also made it onto the big and small screen. Stranger Things has been one of the most popular television shows of the last decade. Although set in Indiana, most of the filming was done in Atlanta, Georgia. So, when Aimee Mullins turned up to set on the first day of filming, it represented something of a full circle moment. Aimee was playing the role of Terry, the biological mother of lead character Eleven, played by Millie Bobby Brown. Atlanta is a special place for Aimee. Born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her legs beneath the knee when she was young, she went on to represent the USA at the 1996 Paralympics Games in Atlanta. Now she was back there fulfilling her lifelong dream of acting. The Oscar nominated Hollywood hit Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet, tells the story of a table tennis player and hustler. Chalamet says he spent roughly seven years training for the role, performing many of the fast-paced matches on screen himself. No CGI needed. To add to the authenticity many of the other players in the film were professionals, like Yasiris Ortez. Yasiris came to the USA from the Dominican Republic in 2018 and set up "Spin and Learn" a project that goes into schools in New York and provides kids with the opportunity to learn and play table tennis. As for the movie, Yasiris didn't really know what she was getting into when she turned up on the first day of filming! Vicky Anstey whose life changed when she agreed to appear on a survival style television show - testing physical and mental stamina in the harshest conditions going. Since her TV appearance Vicky has become an adventurer and rowed across the Pacific Ocean. It's a far cry from the Vicky that had wandered through the first forty years of her life. That change is charted in her new book "Other People Are Like The Weather" and when we chatted, she started by explaining what her life was like before taking to the small screen. In the 1990s, the biggest clubs in English football decided to form a new league. Spearheaded by the ‘big five’ of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, the top teams broke away from the Football League. The Premier League began in August 1992, having securing a $500 million TV deal. David Dein was the vice-chairman of Arsenal at the time and was one of the main drivers of the new league. PHOTO: Timothée Chalamet attends the "Marty Supreme" New York Premiere (CREDIT: Dia Dipasupil/WireImage)

American Football is back and won't stop until the Super Bowl champions are crowned in Los Angeles on Valentines day. But maybe you are more of a baseball or BBall fan. Maybe it is the action on the ice that really does it for you. This week, one athlete from each of America's most popular sports details the amazing and inspiring stories of their lives on and off the field of play Legendary football coach Vince Lombardi once said: "Winners never quit and quitters never win". American Football is a tough physical sport played in all weathers, with nuances and strategy. Only a tiny percentage ever make it to the NFL. Shaquem Griffin did. He was a Linebacker for the Seattle Seahawk. When he made his debut in 2018 he made history, becoming the first known one-handed player in NFL history. Born with a condition that caused him great pain in his left hand, by the time he was four years old, he had attempted to cut off his own fingers with a knife. Eventually he had surgery to amputate his hand and never looked back. Shaquem's journey to the NFL was always going to be an extra ordinary struggle, but this is not just his story, it's the story of his twin brother and fellow NFL star Shaquil. Both attended UCF (University of Central Florida) and after many years of struggle Shaquem and Shaquil took to the field together, first at College and then in the NFL. "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take". So said ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky and it is that philosophy that propelled Zoe Boyd to become a professional ice hockey player for the PWHL Hamilton, an expansion team in the Professional Women's Hockley League. She has grown up in a sports mad family - encouraged to get involved with anything and everything. In 2005, aged just five years old, everything turned upside down. Zoe's mum Tammy was involved in a car accident that left her with brain damage that irrevocably changed both of their lives. Zoe is part of a new generation of players with the opportunity to make a career in Ice Hockey, a responsibility she takes very seriously. She hosts a podcast called No Straight Answers and wants to be a role model and show others what is now possible. Michael Jordan said "I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed". But you have to have the opportunity to play to get that chance. Not something that was afforded to Connie Hawkins. A once-in-a-generation basketball superstar, in the early '60s he was blackballed from the NBA for a crime he did not commit. His downfall? His association with Jack Molinas, an ex-NBA All-Star turned mob fixer. The story is the subject of a new podcast called Connie and Jack: A Rigged Game. “It’s hard to beat a person who never gives up.” So said Babe Ruth and Tommy John certainly proved that. Back in 1974 baseball pitcher Tommy John suffered a serious elbow injury. His career was over, until he underwent a revolutionary surgery that was named after him. He became known as the Bionic Man. Tommy passed away just a few weeks ago, aged 83. A couple of years ago he told his story (Photo: Travis Kelce #87 of the Kansas City Chiefs looks on after the preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on 22 August, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. Credit: Mike Carlson/Getty Images)

Andrea Jaeger takes us the behind the scenes and reveals the secrets of her remarkable rise to stardom as one of the youngest players to make a Grand Slam final. How she beat Billy-Jean King, in what was the legends final grand slam match, and the conversation they had after! Andrea's star burned exceptionally bright, but it was a shooting star, retiring at the age of just 19. What the early end of her career allowed her to do was pursue what has become a lifetime's passion. Charitable work supporting children with cancer! Joanne Schickerling is a racquet wizard. Born in South Africa it was her tennis ability that brought her to the USA. In 2023 she became a Racketlon World Champion, and if you don't know what that is, you are not alone!  All you need to know is that you have to be very very good at many sports played with a racquet. Joanne explained what's needed to win and also how Street Squash, the non-profit she is part of run is helping the children of Harlem not only discover the joy of squash, and provides a safe place to be. Sport is by definition a cutthroat business, but is it "The Cruellest Game" there is? Well, that's the question author and tennis journalist Matt Futterman has set out to answer in his new book of the same name. Is there something specific about tennis that seems to demand more than any other sport - and why do so many players walk away from the sport? Nearly thirty years ago Australian tennis player Pat Rafter was the surprise winner of the Men's US Open. Dismissed as a “fluke” victory by John McEnroe, Rafter returned to Flushing Meadows the following year and retained the title, becoming world number one in the process. He tells his story. Photo: The US Open at Flushing Meadow Credit: Joel Hammer/BBC)

The 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln once said "Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle." So this week, with the Paralympics starting in LA in exactly two years time, we can't wait to talk about para sport bringing you some truly outstanding stories from those who hustled their way to the top. Kathrin Marchand is an athlete who has done something no one else has ever achieved. She rowed for Germany at two Olympics, no mean achievement in its own right. She stepped out of the boat for the final time in 2016 and embarked on a career as a doctor, then aged just 30, and without warning, she suffered a stroke. Sport became part of her rehabilitation and she went on to join an exclusive group of athletes to compete at both the Summer Olympics and Paralympics when she rowed again in Paris. But that wasn't enough for Kathrin! When she took part in cross-country skiing at the Winter Para Games in Milan she became a true one-off! Pioneering Matt Scott is a 5-time paralympian. He picked up two golds and a bronze as part of the USA's wheelchair basketball team. Having left the court for the final time he is now fully focused on his "Fly Without Limits" foundation. It provides opportunities and adapted wheelchairs for individuals living with physical disabilities who want to compete in sport. In Spain para sport is now on the rise and it all starts at the grass roots. The Tambien Foundation was set up twenty-six years ago with the aim to provide opportunities for those with disabilities to take part in adaptive sport. And it's starting to show in the medals table! Skier Audrey Pascual Seco, who won two golds at the recent Winter Paralympics, first visited the Foundation when she was eleven years old. This year they launched an adaptive climbing program aiming for more medal success at the Summer Games. Para climbing is making its debut in LA. The story of US Navy bomb disposal officer Brad Snyder who a year after being blinded by an Improvised Explosive Device while serving in Afghanistan won Paralympic gold in the swimming pool. Photo: Kathrin Marchand of Team Germany competes during the Women's 10km Para Cross-Country Skiing Standing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games (CREDIT: Luke Hales/Getty Images for IPC)

The future of one of the most progressive Polo clubs is under threat. For over twenty years Catherine Cairns has run Polo Africa on her farm in the Eastern Free State of South Africa. Over the years she has not only enhanced the lives of hundreds of children in the local community by introducing them to the sport of polo, she's helped reshape the sport itself. Often seen as a sport for royalty and rich people, Polo Africa has made the sport accessible and changed the lives of many of those who had the chance to play... but now the work Catherine has put in over the years is under threat as she looks for alternative revenue streams... So she has enlisted former British army officer and Polo player Mark Cann who amongst many things has produced a stunning visual documentary of the farm, the surroundings and the lives of those that have been improved. Cricketer Ross Taylor who has achieved legendary status in New Zealand. His list of record and achievements is immense. A former captain of the national team, he played more than a record 450 times and is the only person in the world to have played more than 100 times in all three formats of cricket. The son of a New Zealand father and Samoan born mother, Ross grew up immersed in both cultures and wore the New Zealand cricket jersey with pride. Ross retired from the sport in 2022 but as it turned out his career in international cricket wasn't entirely over, when a chance to represent Samoa in 2025 he couldn't but help to answer the call! Now having finally retired, (we think!) Ross was looking for opportunities to use the platform that cricket gave him to influence the next generation. He explains why he wanted to join the "ALL IN" initiative a high-level panel pushing for the funding and political will to end violence against women and girls. Imagine competing in the same sport as your brother but having to watch him compete at the Olympics, but you can't. Why? Well the sport of Nordic Combined remained the last discipline at the Games not open to women. Well that's what has happened to Annika Malacinski. Nordic Combined is a combination of ski jumping and long distance endurance skiing. Now 25, Annika has fought hard to establish herself as one of the world's leading female Nordic Combined competitors but from the very first Winter Games in 1924 right up to and including the last Winter Olympics in Milan/Cortina a few months ago, women are not allowed to compete. 70 years ago at the 1956 Olympics, the Czechoslovak discus thrower, Olga Fikotova, caused a scandal by falling in love with an American hammer thrower called Harold Connolly. Despite winning her country's only gold medal, Olga was treated as a traitor by the communist government and her achievements were ignored. A few months later, Harold Connolly visited Prague to marry Olga and take her back to America with him. PHOTO: One of the players benefiting from the Polo Africa project (CREDIT: https://www.poloafrica.com/ © 2026 Poloafrica Development Trust)

Brady Kramer always dreamed of scoring the winning goal in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup. And he got closer than most when he was drafted to the NHL by the Montreal Canadiens. But the challenges he faced off the ice caused his life to go in a very different direction. Challenges he's happy to share, in the hope he can help others. Brady excelled on the ice from a young age and earned himself a place at Providence College and a top tier, Division I hockey career. However, adapting to life away from his family was difficult, and he soon fell into bad habits. Despite Brady's unhealthy relationship with alcohol, his ability on the ice got him to Draft day in the NHL, but after a brief, unhappy spell in the Minor Leagues, Brady hung up his skates and faced his biggest challenge to date, life after hockey. He now spends his days helping those who also suffer with addiction, whilst continuing to navigate through his own difficulties. No one has represented England at rugby union more than Ben Youngs, and yet of his achievement he said "People are patting you on the back and telling you how great you are. And you’re thinking: ‘But I don’t feel that.’" Playing professional sport was sometimes something of a contradiction for him. He also said he "felt guilty playing for England after family tragedy", both his brother and sister lost their partners to illness. Now retired Ben has had some time to look back on his long career and evaluate when playing helped him off the pitch and when it was a struggle. Evaluating this balance is something he's carried on in his post playing career as a businessman and podcaster. When former Dutch boxing champion Barry Groenteman used to visit his grandmother at her retirement home, he would often see an older man shadow-boxing. "He showed me his ring with the Star of David on it. And my grandmother would whisper: 'That's Ben Bril.'" This is the story of a Jewish boxer from Amsterdam who had his life transformed by invasion, violence and anti-Semitism. A champion forced into hiding, then captured and sent to the Nazi concentration camps - after being betrayed by a former Olympic teammate. In 2015 and Nepalese runner Mira Rai who took the international "sky running" scene by storm, winning gold medals in ultra-endurance running events ranging from 50-150 kilometres. And behind Mira's achievements was a personal story that shocked the ultra-running world. She been telling Not by the Playbook's Hunter Charlton about being a teenage combatant in the Nepalese civil war. PHOTO: Ben Youngs of England acknowledges the fans whilst wearing his bronze medal following the team's victory during the Rugby World Cup 2023 Bronze Final match between Argentina and England (CREDIT: Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

The Commonwealth Games - known as the Friendly Games - are held every four years. They have a three word moto "Humanity - showing that sport brings people together. Equality - that sport is for everyone. And Destiny - that sport is just the beginning. It's the only sporting event that combines both able bodied and para athletes. And the Commonwealth Games are a chance for smaller nations to shine in the sporting spotlight In 2014, Tonga had no national netball team, coach, squad, or training facilities. Determined to change that, former television news anchor Salote Sisifa became CEO of Tonga Netball and promised the board that within five years she would build a team capable of competing internationally and reaching the world’s top ten by 2025. If she failed, she would resign. Alongside, Head Coach Jaqua Pori-Makea-Simpson, Salote propelled Tonga from 42nd to 7th in the world rankings navigating national disaster, the Covid-19 pandemic, and restricted resources along the way. Sophia Hartley examines Tonga’s extraordinary journey and how they have become a formidable force on the international stage. Their next milestone is their Commonwealth Games debut in 2026. In the pool Olympic Champion Freya Anderson is aiming add to her already impressive medal collection. But Freya doesn't just have the opposition to beat, she has a condition which causes chronic pain; especially tough given her gruelling training schedule. Three years ago she was diagnosed with Endometriosis. Now back to her competitive best, Freya is raising awareness of the condition through her charity " Fast and Female ". Diminutive weight-lifter, Precious McKenzie was a prodigious talent. Apartheid prevented him from competing for his native South Africa. So Precious moved to the UK and worked in a shoe factory. While doing so, he finally achieved international success at the 1966 Commonwealth Games in Jamaica. Photo: Tonga fan during the Netball World Cup 2023 (CREDIT: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images/Netball World Cup 2023 via Getty Images)

Australia's Emma McDonald is an acrobatic pilot for team "BeyondGravity", racing her plane at high speeds and low altitudes, weaving her way through a course set out in the sky competing in the Air Race X championship. Needing a remarkable mix of strength and agility, and a super focused mindset, those like Emma who succeed at this high octane sport are a rare breed. So how does anyone develop a career in acrobatic aviation? Emma has been revealing all the secrets. Dutchman Bob Van De Burgt loves windsurfing, but it's a demanding physical activity that needs more than a little help from mother nature. It's why races tend to be short, sharp and exciting. Bob excels in all of that, but what he really loves is endurance windsurfing. And it turns out he's pretty good at that too. A few weeks ago he took to a lake near his home in the Netherlands and didn't get off his board again for a full twenty four hours! In that time he broke all sorts of world records and raised money for charity along the way : We send ten billion of them every day! Emoji's have become a very common way of communicating because sometimes words just aren't enough and an emoji can says it all! When elite climber Sasha DiGiulian told us on a previous show that the climbing emoji was based on her, we wanted to know a little bit more. Turns out we live in a world with an official "chief emoji officer" so we tracked them down. Welcome to the wonderful world of emojis with former "Chief Emoji Officer" Jeremy Burge. Smiley face emoji To celebrate his 90th birthday this year, Shaul Ladany went out for a walk near his home close to the city of Beer Sheva in southern Israel . A pretty LONG walk. 5 kilometres in fact. Not bad for a man of his age, but nothing compared to his heyday as a long-distance race-walker who set world records that stand to this day! But, even more remarkably, he survived a childhood in the Belsen concentration camp and then the terrorist attack on the Israeli team at the Munich Olympics in 1972. (Photo: Matt Hall (top) and Emma McDonald of the Red Bull aerobatic team perform during the Australian International Airshow Aerospace and Defence Expo at Avalon Airport in Geelong, 3 March, 2023. Credit: Paul Crock/AFP)

"The World Cup is not just a great global sporting event, it is also inscribed with much deeper cultural and political importance". So said academic Martin Jacques, and so to mark the World Cup final we bring you stories from the very top echelons to the most basic grass roots of the game and everything in between. When Isha Johansen returned to Sierra Leone after the brutal civil war there she was determined to help heal and rebuild her country. Her tools, football. She set up her own team and started laying the foundations for a career in the governance of the game. Firstly by being elected president of the Sierra Leone Football Association and then, by election, on to the FIFA Council. But despite her success Isha was exposed to some of the very worst aspects of power and influence and what people are prepared to do for it. Isha has recently charted her life and pioneering career in a new book called “The Uncommon Enemy: A True Story of Football, Power and Betrayal”. Gundeep Anand is a bundle of energy. A man with more than a decade of community engagement and working with young people, you might have thought he had been jaded by the drudgery of life. But he's the opposite and it's this verve and vibe he brings to his annual street soccer tournament, The Last Stand. A busy man (not least because he was organising the tournament) we spoke to Gundeep as he travelled to his next meeting in a cab in Central London, and there's even a cameo from David Beckham! The American Outlaws are the largest soccer supporters group in the world. Nearly 20 years on from their founding we hear from Trevin Wurm, who runs the Lincoln, Nebraska branch about his highs and lows from the World Cup and what he expects the legacy to be for soccer in the USA Pickles the dog became an unlikely hero before the 1966 World Cup when he found the stolen Jules Rimet trophy on his daily walk. Stardom beckoned as he was honoured with a medal and a role in a film, even becoming part of England's celebrations when they won the tournament. (Photo: A general interior view of Dallas Stadium in Dallas, United States, on June 27, 2026, ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group J match between Jordan and Argentina. Credit: Ahmad Alameen/Getty Images)

It's nearly 20 years since Wimbledon decided to award equal prize money. The tennis world has come a long way since a group of women players known as "The Original 9" eventually forced the creation of a Women's tour. Billie Jean King was the most famous of the Original 9, but Julie Heldman was also one of the nine, and her mother, Gladys, also played a crucial role... I've been speaking to Julie about that and what life was like as a top female tennis player back in the later 1960's. But Julie's story is made all the more remarkable when you learn about what life was really like with Gladys Heldman as your mother behind closed doors... and I should warn you, I found much of what Julie had to say very hard to listen to.  Before the original tournament was held in the States in 1994, there was no professional league, but the popularity of the world Cup spawned the MLS, one of its first stars was Paul Wright. A goal scoring machine Paul was a pioneer of the game and is still very much involved in his hometown of San Diego, from where he is nurturing the next generation of talent... In the US sports like basketball and American football have free school programmes, playing to a high standard without having to pay. Not so soccer, where you have to join a club in a "Pay to play" system and that can be expensive, anywhere up to $10,000 a year! In Europe that cost tends to be heavily subsidised by professional teams of national federations. It leaves American kids at the lower end of the socio-economic ladder unable to play the game... So, Paul decided to do something about that. Tensions between the United Stated and Iran are not a new thing. Far from it, but could there be a place for football in the road to peace? The Iranian national football team left a note in its locker room at the Los Angeles Stadium after their game against Belgium earlier in the competition, thanking the people of Los Angeles for their hospitality during the World Cup. The note ended "We wish peace, respect, and friendship among all the nations of the world". Well, after the two countries met competitively at the 1998 World Cup in France, a couple of original thinkers organised a friendly match between the two nations. The US would host Iran before a proposed return fixture... This is the story of how that game at the Rose Bowl in California came to pass in the late 1990's The remarkable story of tennis star Liesl Herbst who just after the second world war competed at Wimbledon with her daughter Dorli to play in the ladies' doubles. They remain the only mother and daughter who have competed together at Wimbledon. Felice Hardy, granddaughter of Liesl and daughter of Dorli, and author of "The Tennis Champion Who Escaped The Nazis", told their story to Not by the Playbook's Megan Jones. PHOTO: Top female tennis players hold up their $1 bills which will make them contract pros and eligible to play for money instead of trophies in the Virginia Slims tournament at the Houston Racquet Club in defiance of the USLTA. The players are (standing, L-R) Valerie Ziegenfuss, Billie Jean King, Nancy Richey, Peaches Bartkowicz; (seated, L-R) Judy Tegart Dalton, Kerry Melville, Rosie Casals, manager Gladys Heldman, and Kristy Pigeon. The players breakaway from the tennis establishment eventually lead the way to the formation of the Women's Tennis Association. Not pictured: Julie Heldman. (CREDIT: Bela Ugrin/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

It's one of the most refined sporting venues in the world. Hydrangeas and petunias, complemented by climbing roses and foxgloves, A glorious display of purple white and green. Welcome to South East London and the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club club here in Wimbledon We start with the remarkable story of Andrea Jaeger. Her career burned bright like the star she is, and in a flash it was over. Remarkably she turned pro aged just 14. By 16 she was ranked number two in the world, then she made the French Open final and the following year she did the same at Wimbledon. By 19 she had retired through injury. A bundle of energy and positive vibes Andrea joined us as she watched on from her home in Florida. Within the vast complex of arenas and buildings that make up the All England Club, there's a spot that is unusually quiet, but not for long! The press conference centre, where after each match players are expected to open their souls to journalists and explain how the snatched victory from defeat, or maybe the other way round. Up there on stage behind the microphones can feel like a very lonely place, in fact being on tour can be a very isolating experience. In recent years there has been a trend amongst players, but bring their pet dogs on tour with them! But actually that first happened some time ago! More on that in a moment from our poochie pioneer, who was also a semi finalist here in 1991 beating Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl on the way... American David Wheaton has been chatting to me from his home in Minnesota about how WImbledon helped him find a higher calling in life Murray Mound, or Henman Hill as it was known actually has the official title of Aorangi Terrace and it's a beautiful spot to enjoy a drink, sit on the grass with friends and watch the action on the big screens mounted on the outside of centre court. It's the sort of place anyone could fall in love with tennis. Something Edward Schmit would approve of. He has just published his first novel "The Open Era" and according to the back cover "combines three things close to Edwards heart: queer love stories, mental health awareness, and the most beautiful sport in the world: tennis... The Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum is full of interactive displays that tell the story of the championships from its inception in 1887. One corner of the museum is dedicated to the American tennis player Maureen Connolly. She was the first woman to win the tennis Grand Slam in 1953. That's all four major tournaments in the same year! Nicknamed “Little Mo” after a US warship, Connolly dominated her sport and became a global celebrity, but her career was cut short by injury and she died an early death. PHOTO: An aerial view of Wimbledon's Centre and Number one courts and the grounds (CREDIT: Chris Gorma/Getty Images)