On the Podium BBC World Service

Eliza Skinner and Ed Harry meet more amazing Olympic and Paralympic athletes ahead of the 2024 Paris Games. New episodes from Thursday 27 June.
Paralympic sprinter John McFall left athletics behind to become an orthopaedic surgeon - and is now setting his sights on outer space. Triathlete Jess Learmonth nearly abandoned her sporting dreams to work in a supermarket, until an epiphany led her back. Stacy Dragila had to conquer stereotypes and outdated attitudes before becoming the first woman to claim Olympic pole vault gold. And Ntando Mahlangu claimed his first Paralympic medal aged 14 - four years after he first learned to walk on prosthetic blades.
Discover more stories of extraordinary Olympic and Paralympic journeys in our back catalogue. Basketball champion Breanna Stewart and shot-putter Raven Saunders explain why they use the platform sport gives them to act as advocates. Swimmer Anastasia Pagonis and rower Brigit Skarstein share how sport helped them rebuild their futures after life-changing events, while John McFall, Markus Rogan and Maarten van der Weijden talk about the lives they have found after leaving competition behind. Multi-sport stars like Oksana Masters and Jana Pittman reveal what it's like to compete at both the summer and winter Games. There's stories of memorable victories, like the moment high jump champion Gianmarco Tamberi chose to share his gold medal, and Shaunae Miller-Uibo putting everything on the line to reach the top step of the podium. Plus, the triumphs nobody predicted, including Molly Seidel's shock marathon bronze, and the day Anna Kiesenhofer rode away from cycling's biggest names to claim gold in Tokyo.

From an alcoholic home to three gold medals aged 16, swimming was Carrie Steinseifer-Bates’s "safe place". But the pressure of being an elite athlete took its toll, and Carrie herself became an alcoholic. Today she is sober and dedicated to helping others.

Australia’s track and field gold medallist Jared Tallent campaigned for years to get what was rightfully his, following a doping scandal. Already an Olympic silver medallist in race walking, it took four years before a Russian rival was disqualified and Jared finally got his gold medal.

The Olympic water polo gold medallist inspired by her friendship with the late basketball star Kobe Bryant. After an accident left her with severe injuries, Kaleigh Gilchrist vowed to get to Tokyo in his memory. And in honour of her Olympian father.

“It saved my life.” BMX competition helped the Swiss-American athlete fight anxiety attacks, which left her unable to leave home as a young teenager. The Olympic bronze medallist is now a mental health advocate.

Singapore’s most decorated Paralympian, with five gold medals. When Yip Pin Xiu won her first gold at the Beijing Paralympics, she was the youngest in her country’s team. And it was the first time ever that Singapore’s national anthem had been played in an Olympic arena.