The Jack Murley Sports Show

To say that Francis Highton has sport in his genes would be an understatement.
A national-level swimmer as a teenager, he switched to rowing as a way to help with his conditioning – and promptly fell in love with it.
And it wasn’t just adoration for rowing that Francis found, but an aptitude as well – because his career on the water saw him compete for Britain on the international stage on a number of occasions, and become a former two-time Henley finalist.
Francis stepped away from rowing at a competitive level due to injury, but that hasn’t driven him away from the boat entirely – and with a charity expedition down the Zambezi already under his belt, and one coming up in Mozambique this summer, the sport is still very much in his blood.
So, when Francis dropped us a message, saying he’d love to come on to talk about his experiences – including why he didn’t feel comfortable coming out until after he’d left full-time sport, we were always going to say yes.
And this is a brilliant conversation about Francis and his experiences in rowing – making the national team, what rowing gave him socially, his journey with his sexuality, coming out, these mammoth rowing expeditions, how you navigate around hippos – it’s all in this conversation!
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?@franco.hight on Instagram
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com
SUPPORT FRANCIS AND HIS CHARITY ROW:www.rowzambique.com
 

With a resume that includes public speaking, content creating, modelling and TV presenting, there are very few things that Tegan Vincent-Cooke isn’t capable of doing.
That includes in the world of para-dressage, where Vincent-Cooke represents Britain and recently completed her first CPEDI3* event - which is the equivalent of the Paralympics.
That, in itself, is an extraordinary achievement – and what makes it even more remarkable is the fact that Tegan is, to her knowledge, the first black rider to reach this level.
Tegan is also bisexual – and she’s an absolutely brilliant guest to have on the podcast with us today as we talk about her life, her career, and everything in between.
We chat about finding a sport that fitted for her; how riding makes her feel; the importance of representation in equestrianism; representing Britain; her TikTok stardom; her coming out via social media and loads more, all in a cracking episode!
It’s brilliant to get to chat with someone so young in their career who has already accomplished so much, and we think you’ll love this one.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?tegan.vincent.cooke on Instagram
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com

Few people had a better 2023 in professional wrestling than Adam Bolt.
The Doncaster-based grappler headlined shows across the UK, including winning the first-ever WAW Pride Championship when he beat Mitchell Starr in what was later nominated as a QWI Match of the Year.
Throw in appearances for promotions like House of Pain, True Grit, Elevation and many others, and you can see why this man is one of the most sought-after talents on the UK scene.
But it’s not just wrestling that makes Adam stand out – but also his willingness to talk openly about his sexuality, his journey with his own body image and lots more besides.
Time spent chatting with Adam is always time well spent, so we’re delighted he’s on the show with us today for a long overdue catch-up.
We talk about using his platform to help others, how lockdown was the making of him, coming out and being a role-model in the industry, when he knows he’s had a great match, the reasons why 2024 is going to be a huge year for him – and loads, loads more.
It’s a cracker, this conversation – and we think you’ll love it as much as we do!
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?@adamboltwrestler on Instagram@adam_bolt on Twitter
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com
READ MORE ON OUR SUBSTACK: https://jackmurley.substack.com/
 

Luke Pullen has always dreamed of being a racing driver – and still only in his early-20s, he’s made that dream come true.
You may well have spotted Luke racing Mazda racecars around the world, as well as through his work as an ambassador for Racing Pride – so it’s an absolute pleasure to get him onto the podcast to have a chat.
This is one of those episodes that has everything in it – it’s powerful, it’s fun, it’s moving, it’s something that has something for everyone, as Luke is never anything less than frank.
Parts of this are about Luke’s relationship with his dad and how that’s embedded in the world of racing; parts of it are about the thrill of managing to accomplish your dream and make it onto the track; and other parts are about Luke coming to terms with who he was away from racing.
We’ve wanted to have Luke Pullen on for ages – and this episode absolutely doesn’t disappoint, and we think you’ll love it as much as we do.
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?@lukey_pullen on Instagram lukepullen.co.uk 
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com

Ash Harwood is someone who has spent plenty of time pounding pavements around the world.
As a member of the London Frontrunners inclusive running club, Ash is used to racking up the miles – with marathons and other endurance events under his belt in all sorts of different cities, including most recently in Paris and London.
But if you didn’t know Ash from that, you’ve almost certainly seen him on BBC1 – where he was a big part of the hit reboot of the classic show Gladiators.
Ash said he wanted to be part of that show to represent the LGBTQ+ community in sport, so of course we were going to get Ash onto the podcast to have a chat about everything to do with his life in and out of sport.
This is a conversation that includes everything you’d expect, as we chat to Ash about his love of marathon running and where that came from; the skill that it takes to get into endurance running, his time on Gladiators, the importance of that visibility and loads, loads more.
It’s a cracking conversation with Ash that we loved and we think you’ll love as well!
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?@the_ashlete on Instagram
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com
 

Daniel Hutchings has been involved in football for as long as he can remember.
Starting out, it was as a playing and watching as a kid, and then, it was in the role of a football analyst - which he performed as Barnet, Stevenage FC and, in his current job, at Cavalry FC in the Canadian Football League.
The beautiful game means everything to Daniel – and in January 2022, he decided to open up about the fact he happened to be gay in an emotional post on social media.
The outpouring of support for Daniel after that post was huge - overwhelming, in some ways – and since then, Daniel has got his head down and let his football do the talking.
So when he dropped us a message, saying he was ready to have a chat about his journey, on and off the pitch, we were only ever going to say yes to having him on!
And that decision means ever more due to the fact this is the first time that Daniel has ever had a conversation like this publicly, and we’re hugely grateful he's decided to do it with us.
We talk about Daniel’s obsession with football; what analysis actually means in practice; how it feels when the analysis delivers results on the pitch; the move to Canada; his decision to speak publicly about his sexuality; the reaction to it; and loads, loads more.
We loved this conversation and we think you will as well - and we're really glad that Daniel took the time to join us for it!
WANT TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR GUEST?@dhutchings7
WANT TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE PODCAST?@jack_murleyjack@jackmurley.com