Jeanette Kwakye is former international athlete turned broadcaster.
This British sprinter was five-time British champion, Olympian and world indoor silver medallist, competing in the Olympic final of the 100 meters in Beijing 2008.
Since retiring as an athlete and becoming a journalist in 2013, Jeanette's become a regular broadcaster across the BBC, Sky Sports and Channel 5. Jeanette works across many sports, having anchored world championships and athletics, swimming and taekwondo, along with Olympic and Commonwealth Games.
In 2020, Jeanette became the first Black woman to present boxing on British TV and regularly presents the BBC Women's Football Hour show, BBC Five Live Breakfast and Fighting Talk. She's also hosting an exciting new show for Sky Sports' this autumn, bringing the British Basketball League, Men's and Women's games, to our screens.
In 2017, Jeanette wrote a children's book called Femi the Fox, which teaches the younger generations about West African culture, and in 2021, she was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to sports and sports broadcasting.
Jeanette is incredibly open about her life as an elite track athlete - who as a youngster was sometimes a challenge to coach.
We talk everything from the issue of drugs in sport and the revealing sports kit worn by female athletes (which Jeanette loved when competing) through to her own challenges with injuries and how it felt to miss out on London 2012, having started the year as Britain’s fastest woman.
We track Jeanette’s career path to becoming a prominent sports broadcaster in a space where there were few black women, and how it feels to now be on the other side of the microphone being the first person to talk to emotional British athletes as they finish their events at major Championships.
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
Jessica Ennis-Hill: On being the poster girl at a home Olympics
Orla Chennaoui: The power of being authentic as a woman reporting sport
Pippa Grange: Understanding the role of fear and how to combat it
Esme Morgan & Charlotte O'Neill: Leading the way in women's football
Rimla Akhtar, Wendy Taylor, Tess Howard & Holly Bradshaw explore the impact of women's sport clothing
Jackie Oatley: Changing career to follow your passion
Lauren Steadman: How para athletes change society's perceptions
Tanni Grey-Thompson: Calling out sports governing bodies for lack of diversity
Steph Houghton: Lessons learnt as a captain of club & country
Mo Hunt: The journey to professional rugby
Lisa O'Keefe: Uniting women’s sport across the world
Kristen Dusting: The cultural and community impact of roller derby
Sabrina Pace-Humphreys: Running Towards Inclusivity
Sue Redfern: Breaking boundaries for cricket umpires
Claire Taggart: The impact of Boccia – a totally inclusive sport
Jess Carter: The reality of life as a Lioness
Series 16 of The Game Changers
2023 Highlights
Kelly Smith: Why talking openly about mental health is so important
Casey Stoney: On embracing mistakes & the desire to keep learning
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