Podcast: No easy catch – 3x Commonwealth gold winner – runner Kirsty Wade
Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Zola Budd, are all household names from the 80s, but we reckon Olympian Kirsty Wade (née McDermott) is right up there among them. She is one of the finest middle-distance runners the UK has ever produced and we were delighted to welcome her and Tony, her husband and former coach, to the studio. Kirsty may underplay her achievements, (which are too long to list here), but they include triple Commonwealth gold wins at 800m & 1500m and breaking records, some of which still stand 37 years later!
Unique sports injuries podcast hosted by expert, specialist sports orthopaedic surgeon, Professor Gordon Mackay, and broadcaster Jennifer Reoch who asks the questions you all want answers to! Together they explore the world of sport, injuries, treatments, rehab, and recovery.
We have amazing guests who range from Olympians to weekend warriors in all sporting disciplines- from football to skiing, golf to rugby, we learn how they managed their injuries and recoveries and discover what impact this had on their sporting careers. But we also love to chat about their sporting careers and highlights.
In other episodes, experts in fields of sports medicine and rehab join us to discuss how advances in research, technology and treatments are helping athletes both avoid injury or accelerate recovery.
Conversations range from the light-hearted to the more serious and along the way it is hoped listeners pick up tips about how to deal with your own sports injuries, how to avoid injury, and just enjoy the general sports chat.
In our latest episode, we have the privilege of chatting with a young cross-country mountain bike champion who has the world at his wheels! Just 22, Charlie Aldridge first rode to victory in 2019 becoming Junior World Champion, and three years later claimed the prestigious title of British National Champion.
But his recent achievement is his biggest win to date – becoming the 2023, U23 World Champion – a victory made even sweeter as it was won on home turf in Scotland. Of course, it's such a high-octane sport he has already faced some injury hurdles along the way, sometimes battling more than just his competitors!
So far he has batted off a serious posterior shoulder dislocation, a broken collarbone, and a savage cut to a knee that would have had most of us calling for help – not Charlie he just cycled home! We talk to him about these injuries and his treatments and it's fascinating to hear his take on tackling recovery.
Prof Mack met Charlie when his shoulder insisted on popping out following his dislocation and he explains a little more about why a posterior shoulder dislocation can be trickier to treat than the more common anterior dislocation.
So join us as we unravel Charlie's incredible journey so far and look ahead, we all hope, to Olympic glory. Jennifer and Gordon find out more about the disciplines within the world of competitive mountain biking and Charlie has top tips for anyone wanting to take up the sport.
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In fact, from the moment the pair laugh about meeting over poetry lectures and Tony recalls their first-ever run together with a certain hint of rivalry, we knew we were in for a treat and it’s an episode packed with insight and humour. Kirsty chats about how she managed to achieve all she did in the decades before lottery funding and you will be fascinated to hear the pair’s take on competing in the era of widespread drug abuse in athletics. Incredibly Kirsty managed to achieve her wins while on a highly restricted diet (encouraged back then) that sports nutritionists will shudder at today.
Today the couple and their family live on the Hebridean island of Lewis which is where Prof Mackay first met them, little realising he was in the company of athletic royalty. Both are still involved in sports and running although in very different capacities these days and offer tips about keeping fit and active as middle age beckons.
Kirsty suffered very little injury throughout her career and Tony only needed a knee fixed after an altercation with some wellies, But this brilliant episode is not so much about injury & recovery but recalling a remarkable career in an incredible era for athletics.