Our cover stars Alex Scott, Clare Balding and Gabby Logan look forward to a summer of exciting sport

There’ll be plenty of competition when the Tokyo Olympics get under way. But there’ll be no rivalry among the BBC’S top presenting trio, Clare Balding, Alex Scott and Gabby Logan, who unite to share what sport means to them

It’s time to get excited, because 2021 is the summer of sport. As well as the Euros and Wimbledon Championships, we can finally hope to enjoy the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, which is set to start on 23 July. There will be no spectators in Tokyo because of Covid-19, but there’s still plenty of action to look forward to from our sofas, including five new sports – surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing, baseball and karate. There are also 15 new disciplines, including the 1500m women’s and 4x100m mixed events in swimming, a mixed team event in archery, the 4×400m mixed relay in athletics, and the 3×3 women’s and men’s in basketball. It’s all about promoting women’s participation and equality.

Presenting the Olympics from a studio in Salford will be three of our most-loved sports presenters: Clare Balding, Alex Scott and Gabby Logan. They all have first-hand experience of competing in top-level sport – Clare was once a leading flat jockey, Alex was a professional footballer and Gabby was a rhythmic gymnast. ‘Look at us!’ Clare says excitedly, at the GH photoshoot. ‘I think we represent three different types of women: I’m the oldest with no children, Gabby has two and Alex doesn’t have any yet – all trying to do our jobs and juggling our lives as best we can.’ We sat down with Clare, Alex and Gabby to find out why we all need sport now more than ever…

During the lockdowns, sport was effectively brought to a halt. What was that like for you?

ALEX: The magic of sport, and of the Olympics, is that it unites people, so it was tough to have that taken away. I was fortunate to still be working across a number of TV shows during the lockdowns, but I remember discussing on The One Show early on that it felt like everyone was on a journey of constantly trying to search for an end point, which was possibly the hardest thing. That’s why it will be so brilliant to have a summer of sport, to get that feelgood factor back.

CLARE: I had a bit of an epiphany, because I realised I don’t have to be defined by my work. I think a lot of people feel like me – this quest to keep going, keep proving yourself. But lockdown has helped me immensely to deal with a slower pace and it was actually nice to come off the wheel completely. I wrote, walked, read, played a lot of golf, watched a lot of telly and thought, ‘Do you know what… I think I’ll be okay when I retire!’

GABBY: It was the strangest of times. I was lucky in the sense that I was doing football coverage again by June last year, but when I went back after a couple of months off, I found myself feeling inordinately nervous, thinking, ‘Can I still do this?’ I also felt really sorry for the athletes, especially because I know from my time as a gymnast that you rely on competitions for motivation; it’s really hard to find the energy to keep pushing when you don’t feel like you’re training for something specific.

I wrote, walked, watched a lot of telly and thought, ‘Do you know what… I think I’ll be okay when I retire!’

What helped you stay positive during the lockdowns?

CLARE:

I walked and walked. It might not have helped me much physically, but it certainly helped me mentally. I found a peace, a sort of rhythm to the day. I also had French lessons on Zoom, but I was like the naughty kid in school and ended up chatting to everyone in the breakout rooms in English! Meanwhile, my partner, Alice, did two online courses: one on the weather, and one about conflict resolution. I did enjoy the back-to-school feel, and it’s made me think I’d like to do a postgraduate course in something in the future.

I’ve been trying to learn Spanish.

One day, I want to travel around Peru and do the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. But like Clare, lockdown did also give me an opportunity to slow down.

I still go for my daily walks – I never really noticed before the beauty that was all around me.

GABBY: For me, it definitely wasn’t some great renaissance of learning, but I exercised to keep the stress away, tried to do some nice cooking and I managed a jigsaw! The main positive was having bonus family time that I wouldn’t otherwise have had with my husband, Kenny, and twins, Reuben and Lois, 16. Reuben is rugby mad and Lois does showjumping and, while it was a shame for them that the sports they love were put on hold, our weekends felt much more relaxed. Plus, the weather was beautiful. My son still says Lockdown One was his favourite time! How do you stay fit and healthy? GABBY: I try to exercise five or six days a week. I enjoy running, Pilates and weights. My advice to people wanting to get fitter is to get it out of the way early on, because if you tell yourself you’ll do it later, you probably won’t. Also, be realistic. I think the NHS Couch To 5K is one of the best inventions in fitness. It’s about small steps and once you’ve started exercising, it’s like you’ve been let in on the secret of feeling better.

ALEX: As a former pro footballer, my training regime used to be all about aiming to be the best, but when

I retired, I gave myself a break; I didn’t want to wake up with the feeling of ‘I have to train, I have to be in shape’. Now, I run several times a week, but it’s about freedom and enjoyment. During the lockdowns, I was definitely having too many takeaways. But you know what… we’re all human. It’s just about balance. My guilty pleasure is a glass of Prosecco.

What’s my fitness regime like? Not good enough, to be honest! But, hey, I know that. I do 10,000 steps every day minimum, and I really love playing golf. I also played tennis with my 10-year-old niece, Flora, the other week, which was fun. She ran me around a bit!

Have you taken up any new sports recently? ALEX:

For the past few months, I’ve been doing boxing classes. I love getting out of my comfort zone and trying something totally different. When it comes to exercise, you need to find an activity you connect with, otherwise you won’t stick to it.

GABBY: I’ve started having tennis lessons, which I haven’t had since

I was a kid. I have a lot of friends in their 40s who took up rowing after 2012, and there was a massive upsurge in women who had played netball suddenly taking it up again after the Commonwealth Games. I love that; seeing how professional sport can penetrate through society.

CLARE: I quite fancy getting back into netball. They do it in a park near where I live, so I might give it a go.

What are your earliest memories of sport?

GABBY:

I remember going to watch my dad play football when I was little, but it was all men – I rarely saw women playing any sport on TV. The first time I was really influenced by a big event was the Moscow Olympics when

I was seven [in 1980]. It turned me from being a gymnast who enjoyed her sport to a gymnast who wanted to properly compete.

CLARE: I played lacrosse and tennis, and I rode. I got a great sense of confidence and freedom from riding. It taught me from an early age about falling off and getting back on again, which I think has helped a lot in life.

ALEX: Playing football with my big brother and the boys from the neighbourhood in the football cage down the end of our estate. I was so lucky that I eventually got spotted and signed by Arsenal. That cage was where all my dreams started.

Do you feel there are more opportunities for women in sport now? CLARE:

Definitely. Take Rachael Blackmore who, this year, became

the first female jockey to win the Grand National. The British Racing School has various apprenticeship colleges across the UK; around 10 years ago, just 20% of graduates were female, but now, that’s increased to 65%. And in the Olympics this year, there will be more mixed events, which I’m so excited about. Broadcasters have become more confident in showing women’s sports so that people want to see it, rather than waiting for them to want to see it. I really believe that women’s sport can set a standard that says to men’s sport: ‘Hey, look at how you could do it.’

ALEX: When I first transitioned from football to broadcasting, I was often spoken about as ‘the female pundit’. I would always respond by saying, ‘No, I’m just a pundit.’ The ability for young girls to see strong, positive role models is so key. If they can see it, they can aspire to be it. Sport is sport, and I think that’s important, not just when it comes to gender but also diversity and inclusivity more broadly, for instance, with the Paralympics.

GABBY: I’ll always remember in 2012, we went to the Paralympics as a family. A few weeks later, we were on the way to school one morning when Reuben shouted, ‘I’ll be Jonnie Peacock and you be Usain Bolt!’ I loved that, because he didn’t see any differences between the two; he just saw two athletes. There’s been so much progress made in terms of women’s representation, but for me, it’s about thinking more widely. Sport should be accessible to all. How will this year’s Olympic Games be different to previous years?

GABBY: We’ll be presenting from Salford this year, using a green screen to look like Tokyo! It’ll be tough from a concentration point of view, because we don’t have focal points to draw on, but we’ll do our best to create a great atmosphere and an enjoyable show.

CLARE: I did the Winter Olympics and the last Commonwealth Games from Salford and the studio there is really cool. I know I’m an eternal optimist, but I actually think it will be a better show. A lot of our interviews will be live where they wouldn’t have been if we were in Tokyo. As a presenter, so much of it is about what you do behind the camera. It’s the homework; knowing that if you have a minute to fill at the end, you need to know which major events are coming up next. Even though I’m not in Tokyo, and I’ve only been once in my life, I need to know the major hotspots and key facts. I take notes every day, pack my head with information and then kind of filter it. And how does it feel to be presenting the Tokyo Olympics?

ALEX: I am so excited. It was such a special part of my footballing career walking out on to the pitch at the London 2012 games as part of Team GB. To now be on the other side and have the opportunity to present with the BBC feels surreal and amazing. It’s hard to get my head around it!

GABBY: The Olympics never fail to bring emotion that you didn’t expect, and after 2020 when everything got postponed, these games feel especially important. There’s a cross-generational pull to it, too, which really brings people together. I think we all need that buzz; that chance to cry and laugh and cheer. • Alex, Clare and Gabby are part of the BBC’S Olympic Games line-up. Watch the action from Tokyo 2020 live on the BBC from 23 July