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The Breakdown with Orla Chennaoui and Greg Rutherford
Ronnie O'Sullivan
We’ve taken a short break to make way for an epic summer of sport, but we’re back with a bang with none other than the legendary Ronnie O’Sullivan.
In an incredibly open conversation with Orla Chennaoui and Greg Rutherford, Ronnie takes us back to the dark places he promised himself he’d never return to en route to winning his record-equalling seventh World Snooker Championship title.
He also opens up about his experiences with anxiety over the last decade, the invaluable buzz he gets from running and his revolutionary work with psychiatrist Steve Peters on taking ownership of his thoughts: “It’s about parking it up; we’re not dealing with that now, we’ll chat about that later but not right now while you’re trying to win this snooker match…”
Audio Editor: Phil Golston
Footage Editor: Phil Golston
Cameras: Alex Giles
Production Manager: Maria Pilkington
Produced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton
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9. Greg Rutherford
01:12:02||Season 1, Ep. 9To mark the end of Series One of The Breakdown, Orla Chennaoui puts co-host Greg Rutherford in the interviewee seat for a special bonus episode... In what could be a therapy session, the 2012 Olympic champion looks back in candour on the childhood experiences which propelled him into the world of sport and shares the sliding doors moment when as a tearaway teenager, he could have died ‘car surfing’. We take a deep dive into the trials and tribulations of his career, and explore the chip on his shoulder that drove - and still drives - him to strive for more… “I think no matter what walk of life you’re in and what you’ve done - be it in sport, business, whatever it is - you can try new things and challenge yourself”.Production Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Phil Golston and Chris WattsFootage edit: Phil GolstonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton8. Barry Hearn
34:00||Season 1, Ep. 8In the latest episode of The Breakdown, Orla Chennaoui and Greg Rutherford pay a visit to one of the most successful operators in the history of the British sport industry, Barry Hearn.Renowned for his revolutionary promotion of snooker, darts and boxing, Barry - now aged 74 - draws distinct parallels between sport and business and looks back light-heartedly at the many lessons of success he’s learned throughout his accomplished career: “My candle is not the brightest in the room, but it burns longer than anyone else.”He also opens up about his relationships with two hugely important men in his life; son Eddie and snooker legend Ronnie O’Sullivan…Production Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Phil Golston and Chris WattsFootage edit: Phil GolstonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton7. Amy Williams
01:05:08||Season 1, Ep. 7Amy Williams, MBE joins Greg and Orla for an enlightening and honest account about life as a retired athlete and working mum. “I actually love being spontaneous and I love not having the routine, and then I know in certain elements of life, you have to.” The former skeleton racer and Olympic gold medalist also reflects on her career, the importance of trusting your gut and knowing the ‘right’ time to walk away. Then based on her own personal experiences, Amy shares her approaches for managing anxiety (with an improvised Box Breathing demo) and we dig into colour personalities as a technique to better understand ourselves and others… Production Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Phil GolstonFootage edit: Phil GolstonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton5. Robert Rinder
01:07:17||Season 1, Ep. 5In a change of pace this week, we speak to TV celebrity, and good friend of Greg, Robert Rinder.You may know him from an array of TV shows, and what follows is a fascinating conversation about life, sport, and everything in between.Rinder tells us how taking up running "really did change my life" - even if he's not a fan of the London Marathon route...We also hear about the extraordinary challenge he faced for Sport Relief and how his first response was, “I do think you should know everybody's going to sue you..."The Breakdown is presented by Orla Chennaoui and Greg RutherfordProduction Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Pete BurtonFootage edit: Phil Golston and Pete BurtonCameras: Marco Camilloni and Pete BurtonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton4. Jess Learmonth
57:32||Season 1, Ep. 4After last week's emotional discussion with Sir Chris Hoy, another Team GB gold-medal winner joins Orla and Greg this week as we meet Jess Learmonth.Part of the team which brought home the gold in the mixed relay triathlon in Tokyo, Jess has a remarkable backstory, which involves working in Sainsbury's on minimum wage - a world away from some elite athletes.We also hear about the moment she thought her "world was about to end", when she broke her back just five months before the Olympics were due to start...The Breakdown is presented by Orla Chennaoui and Greg RutherfordProduction Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Pete BurtonFootage edit: Phil Golston and Pete BurtonCameras: Marco Camilloni and Pete BurtonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton3. Sir Chris Hoy
40:42||Season 1, Ep. 3Greg and Orla’s latest guest on The Breakdown is track cycling royalty Sir Chris Hoy. The six-time Olympic champion dives into a range of topics on our new podcast, including the dangers of comparison, using visualisation for focus, and how revered sports psychologist Steve Peters “changed my life”. We also discuss the importance of smiling, and the psychology behind using that as a weapon in elite sport, in a fascinating insight into high performance from one of its very best practitioners.However, the conversation begins with a raw, emotional reflection on the tragic death of cycling journalist Richard Moore, a good friend to both Orla and Chris, whose loss is greatly felt.The Breakdown is presented by Orla Chennaoui and Greg RutherfordProduction Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Pete BurtonFootage edit: Phil Golston and Pete BurtonCameras: Marco Camilloni and Pete BurtonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton2. Jamie Chadwick
59:38||Season 1, Ep. 2We've been blown away by the reaction to our first episode of The Breakdown (check out the chat with Mark Cavendish if you haven't already) - and we hope you enjoy episode two just as much as Orla and Greg sit down with Jamie Chadwick.Jamie is the two-time reigning champion of the W Series and tells us what it's like to have the one and only Caitlyn Jenner as a team boss, having signed for Jenner Racing for the 2022 season, which began with a double-header of victories in Miami at the weekend.She is also part of the Williams development programme and tells us about her dream of racing in F1, and the pitfalls and pathways to achieving it. We learn what it's like to be a female racing driver in a world designed for men, what the sport can do to encourage more female talent to progress to the top - and the part she is playing to actively make that happen.Oh, and Jamie shockingly reveals she isn't very good at parking....The Breakdown is presented by Orla Chennaoui and Greg RutherfordProduction Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Pete BurtonFootage edit: Phil Golston and Pete BurtonCameras: Marco Camilloni and Pete BurtonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton1. Mark Cavendish
01:15:09||Season 1, Ep. 1Eurosport is delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new podcast taking you into the heart of elite sport, The Breakdown with Orla Chennaoui and Greg Rutherford.With new episodes every Tuesday, Warner Bros. Discovery presenters Orla and Greg meet sports stars and celebrities, breaking down the components of success, the battles common to us all, and the elements of sport that unify each and every one of us.The season kicks off with British Cycling legend Mark Cavendish. The most successful sprinter in the history of the Tour de France opens up like never before on his battles with depression, a condition he admits to dismissing in the past, his relationship with teammate Fabio Jakobsen, that Eddy Merckx record and a brilliant story about his team initiation. This sets the tone for a podcast which delivers raw reflections and unrivaled insights.The breakdown is a three-way conversation breaking down the elements of success and the lessons learned through sport. Every week, broadcaster and journalist Orla Chennaoui and Olympic Champion Greg Rutherford speak to elite athletes, celebrities and renowned experts in their field to break down the ways in which their successes and failures can help us all.The Breakdown is presented by Orla Chennaoui and Greg RutherfordProduction Manager: Maria PilkingtonAudio edit and mix: Pete BurtonFootage edit: Phil Golston and Pete BurtonCameras: Marco Camilloni and Pete BurtonProduced by Orla Chennaoui and Pete Burton