Series 20 of The Game Changers

Welcome to The Game Changers – the podcast that celebrates extraordinary women in sport. In Series 20, we’re shining a light on the courageous, pioneering and fiercely passionate women who are re-defining the future of sport.

You’ll hear from Diane Edwards, the Commonwealth 800m champion who overcame a devastating injustice and fought a landmark legal battle to clear her name before becoming a powerful advocate for inclusion and opportunity in sport.

Pioneering skateboarder, Lucy Adams, shares how she carved her path in a male-dominated sport – breaking boundaries, staying true to herself and inspiring young people, from all backgrounds, to step onto a board.

Respected both as a former player and now as a top-flight coach, Carla Ward reveals what it really takes to lead in the high-pressure world of women’s football, while ultrarunner and campaigner Sophie Power opens up about motherhood and rewriting the rules for women in endurance sport.

We talk to Scottish rugby star Rhona Lloyd about body image and using her platform to challenge attitudes in society, and England netball icon Eboni Usoro-Brown about the challenges of motherhood in elite sport and her evolving mission to drive change on and off the court.

We hear from Sally Horrox, now shaping the global women’s game at World Rugby, as she shares insights from a groundbreaking career that’s spanned the commercial rise of netball and women’s football – including the creation of two Super Leagues.

And Sammi Kinghorn, Paralympic gold medallist and world-record holder on her extraordinary story of grit, growth and overcoming the unimaginable.
 
Join us as we uncover the stories behind the headlines and explore what it means to drive real change in sport.

New episodes in this series will be released throughout August on Mondays and Wednesdays each week, so please follow or subscribe now and you’ll be the first to hear from these extraordinary trailblazers.

The Game Changers is free to listen to on all podcast platforms or from our website @fearless.women.co.uk. The website is also where you’ll find details of the Women’s Sport Collective, our free, inclusive community for all women working in sport.

Thank you to Sport England, who support The Game Changers podcast (and the Women’s Sport Collective) through with a National Lottery Award.

The Game Changers – Series 20. 
Inspiring conversations with fearless women in sport.

Thank you to Sport England who support The Game Changers Podcast with a National Lottery award.

Find out more about The Game Changers podcast here: https://www.fearlesswomen.co.uk/thegamechangers

Hosted by Sue Anstiss
Produced by Sam Walker, What Goes On Media

A Fearless Women production

Episode Transcript

Rhona Lloyd (00:06):
I just had this thing of I didn't want to look
like a man and I was justobsessed with that like not
looking like a man, not lookingmasculine.
But I just associated lookingstrong with looking masculine at
that age, and that was kind ofthe thing that I was most scared
of when I was younger washaving big arms, whereas acting
now that's something that I loveand that I'm really proud of,
and I do see that as a strengthnow in terms of what my body can

(00:28):
do in the pitch.

Sue Anstiss (00:33):
Hello and welcome to the Game Changers, the
podcast that celebratesextraordinary women in sport.
I'm Sue Anstis and in thisseries 20, we're shining a light
on the courageous, pioneeringand fiercely passionate women
who are redefining the future ofsport.
You'll hear from Diane Modell,the Commonwealth Games 800m

(00:54):
champion, who overcame adevastating injustice and fought
a landmark legal battle toclear her name before becoming a
powerful advocate for inclusionand opportunity in sport.
Pioneering skateboarder LucyAdams shares how she carved her
path in a male-dominated sport,breaking boundaries, staying
true to herself and inspiringyoung people from all

(01:16):
backgrounds to step onto a boardRespected both as a former
player and now as a top-flightinternational coach.
Carla Ward reveals what itreally takes to lead in the
high-pressure world of women'sfootball, while ultra-runner and
campaigner Sophie Power opensup about motherhood and
rewriting the rules for women inendurance sport.

(01:40):
I talked to Scottish rugby starRona Lloyd about body image and
using her platform to challengeattitudes in society, and
England netball icon EbonyOsoro-Brown about the challenges
of motherhood in elite sportand her evolving mission to
drive change on and off thecourt.
We hear from Sally Horrocks,now shaping the global women's

(02:00):
game at World Rugby, as sheshares insights from a
groundbreaking career thatspanned the commercial rise of
netball and women's game atworld rugby.
As she shares insights from agroundbreaking career that
spanned the commercial rise ofnetball and women's football,
including the creation of twosuper leagues, and sammy
kinghorn, paralympic goldmedalist and world record holder
, on her extraordinary story ofgrit, growth and overcoming the
unimaginable it is somethingthat I really struggle with and

(02:26):
I would like to figure that out.

Sammi Kinghorn (02:27):
because I do the sport because I love it.
It's not like I get paid a lotto do it.
That's not the reason I do it.
It's because I love it, notthat I'm falling in love with it
, but I'm finding it harder tolove racing as much.

Sue Anstiss (02:39):
Join us as we uncover the stories behind the
headlines and explore what itmeans to drive real change in
sport.
New episodes in this serieswill be released throughout
August on Mondays and Wednesdayseach week.
So please follow or subscribenow and you'll be the first to
hear from these incredibletrailblazers.
The Game Changers is free tolisten to on all podcast

(02:59):
platforms or from our website atfearlesswomencouk.
The website is also where youcan find details of the Women's
Sport Collective, our free,inclusive community for all
women working in sport.
Thank you to Sport England, whosupport the Game Changers
podcast and the Women's SportCollective through a national

(03:20):
lottery award.

Rhona Lloyd (03:24):
Lottery Award.
I got my place in 2014.
I lost it because I waspregnant with my first son and
they said you couldn't defer forpregnancy.

Lucy Adams (03:33):
You could for injury .
Pregnancy was a choice.
You know, my little girl sortof said Mummy, are you off
tomorrow?
And I said no, baby, you are.
And she said when am I going tospend some time with you?
And that, as a mother cut deepand I remember going no, baby
you are.
And she said when am I going tospend some time with you?
And that, as a mother cut deep.
And I remember going to work,thinking I tell everybody what I
do is for my little one, buthere I am working 24-7, never

(03:54):
seeing her, and that was reallytough.