Best in the World with Richard Parr

Fabian Cancellara has won four Time-Trial World Championships and two Olympic gold medals. The Swiss rider won eight stages in the Tour de France during his career. He has claimed victory in the Paris-Roubaix race three times and is also a triple time winner in the Tour of Flanders.   Fabian is our guest on this episode of the Best in the World with Richard Parr.  On the podcast the man known as Spartacus talks about what he has been up to since retiring from the sport in 2006 after the Rio Olympics.   Fabian reveals what a typical day in his life was while competing and his favourite race of his career.   To find out more about Fabian’s latest project, head to chasingcancellara.com. 

In 2017 Tim Don broke the Ironman World record at the South American Championship in Brazil. He took four minutes off the previous time.   Months later, just days before the World Championships, Tim was hit by a car while he was training on his bike in Hawaii. His neck was broken.  On this week’s Best in the World with Richard Parr podcast, Tim talks about his remarkable recovery from the crash. Just over six months from the injury Tim is aiming to compete in the Boston Marathon.   He also talks about growing up running with Mo Farah, his dad being former Premier League referee Philip Don and his decision to now live in the United States.  You can follow Tim on @tri_thedon on Instagram.   If you want to continue the conversation on sports performance then join our new Best in the World Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/528892100811980/ 

Tim Brabants is Great Britain’s first Olympic Gold medalist in canoeing. It was at the 2008 Beijing games that the kayaker was victorious in the K1 1000m.  Tim is our guest on this episode of the Best in the World with Richard Parr. On the podcast he explains how he managed to juggle being an Olympic kayaker and a doctor.   The 2007 World Champion has recently joined the performance coaching team for British Canoeing and he explains how the new job is going.   Richard discusses with Tim about the importance of data and technology in the sport.  You can follow Tim on twitter @timbrabants  If you want to continue the conversation on sports performance then join our new Best in the World Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/528892100811980/

Gigi Fernandez is a 17x Grand Slam champion in doubles tennis. She won 14 of those titles with Natasha Zvereva and the other three were with Robin White, Martina Navratilova and Jana Novotna.   On this week’s Best in the World with Richard Parr, Gigi talks about how Jana’s decision to split up their team led her to her ‘invincible’ partnership with Natasha.   Gigi also won two Olympic gold medals alongside Mary Joe Fernandez in 1992 and 1996.   Along with raising her children, Gigi runs doubles.tv. Identifying the lack of doubles specific tennis coaching, the Puerto Rican created this online platform to help recreational players.   By listening to this podcast you’ll get to learn about the Gigi Method and the five most important steps any doubles players need to know to be successful.   Gigi is helping raise funds to power Puerto Rico. You can learn about the Viktre Challenge here: https://www.viktrechallenge.com.  You can also follow her on instagram @gigifernandeztennis17 

Tianna Bartoletta is the reigning Olympic Long jump champion. She also has gold medals in the 4x100 metres relay from both the 2012 and 2016 games.  The 2-time long jump World Champion is our guest on this episode of the Best in the World with Richard Parr.  Tianna opens up on the podcast regarding the break up her marriage and the reason why she is most proud of the long jump bronze medal she won last year at the World Championships. The American admits that while it is still difficult to talk about she knows she needs to so she can help others.   Tianna talks about her time competing in bobsled and how it helped her regain her confidence in jumping.   The Ohio native explains the added expenses she incurs on the road so that she can stay in the best shape possible to compete. Tianna goes further by saying that events can be won in the airport before the competitors even get to the track.  Richard and Tianna also talk a lot about her writing and her blog which you can read here: https://teamtb.snappages.site/blog  If you want to continue the conversation on sports performance then join our new Best in the World Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/528892100811980/ Plus, if you want to keep listening and learning from World and Olympic Champions then please support the Best in the World with Richard Parr podcast on Patreon at https://patreon.com/bestintheworld.

Susan Francia is a 2-time Olympic champion and a 5-time World Champion in rowing. On this episode of the Best in the World, Richard Parr asks Susan if she felt invincible between 2006-12 with all of those achievements?  Susan talks about how she got started in the sport and how one coach could recognise her Olympic talent right at the start.   The American reveals which NBA star she inspired with her first gold medal in the women’s eight at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.   Also on the podcast Susan gives her advice to any sports people trying to get sponsorship. Now a coach Susan explains what she knows now and what she looks for when she is identifying new talent.   All that and more on this episode of the Best in the World with Richard Parr.  You can follow Susan on instagram @susanfrancia.  We’re continuing our conversation on sports and high performance in our Best in the World Facebook group. Be a part of our community here https://www.facebook.com/groups/528892100811980/  If you want to support our podcast please also check our our Patreon page patreon.com/bestintheworld