Alex Seftel

Manchester

Freelance Journalist at Freelance

Journalist and Commentator at BBC

Host at The England Athletics Podcast

Journalist at BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

Journalist and commentator on athletics and other stuff | Sometimes stand-up comedian, sometimes sit down.

Featured in: Favicon

bbc.co.uk

medium.com Favicon

athleticsweekly.com Favicon

runjumpthrow.com Favicon

yahoo.com (+3) Favicon

newsbreak.com Favicon

bbc.com

Articles

Grand Slam Track: Final event of Michael Johnson-backed athletics competition cancelled

2 weeks ago | bbc.co.uk | Emma Smith |Alex Seftel

Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson is the main public face of Grand Slam TrackThe final leg of Grand Slam Track - the athletics competition backed by Olympic great Michael Johnson - has been cancelled, sources have told the BBC. It is understood there were concerns about the economics of the deal at the final venue of the 2025 calendar in Los Angeles, and organisers will instead concentrate on next season's programme.
2025 NAL season returns with Eton curtain-raiser

4 weeks ago | nationalathleticsleague.org.uk | Alex Seftel

NAL Premiership Round 1 – Eton – Saturday 31st MayWatch on Vinco Sport and RunnerspaceMore information on streamingStart lists, timetable and results on OpenTrackWritten by Alex SeftelThe 2025 National Athletics League season begins on Saturday 31st May, with Thames Valley Harriers looking for a fifth Premiership title in a row.
Jazmin Sawyers: Long jumper delighted to return after 20-month absence

1 month ago | bbc.co.uk | Alex Seftel

"It'll be a long road, but I'm ready to work hard," said Great Britain long jumper Jazmin Sawyers when sharing the painful news, external of her Achilles rupture last April. The injury, which ruled her out of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, came just over a year after her best moment in the sport to-date. Her ecstatic celebrations produced memorable images as she won the 2023 European Indoor title, jumping a UK indoor record of 7.00 metres in the process.
Hartpury University FC: Student club aiming to reach FA Vase final

Mar 28, 2025 | bbc.co.uk | Alex Seftel

Image source, Ellie BartonImage caption, Student club Hartpury University FC are in the FA Vase semi-finals and went 32 games unbeaten earlier this season"I always thought we could do it," says Dr Martin Longworth, a lecturer who is head coach of Hartpury University FC. The Gloucester-based ninth-tier club, comprised entirely of student players, are preparing for Saturday's first leg of their FA Vase semi-final at Whitstable Town.
Kate Axford: Former hockey player excited by GB athletics debut

Dec 5, 2024 | bbc.com | Alex Seftel

Image source, Jack EllissImage caption, Kate Axford, who is from Bedford, has improved her 5000m lifetime best by nearly half a minute in 2024"My mum played lacrosse and my dad played rugby," says Kate Axford, one of three siblings who have made a name for themselves in hockey. But the 25-year-old will make her Great Britain debut in athletics at the European Cross Country Championships in Turkey on Sunday, having switched sports as recently as last year because of injury.
Finland v England: Three Lions visit country where Brits are thriving

Oct 11, 2024 | bbc.com | Alex Seftel

Image source, Tommi KilpioImage caption, SJK Seinajoki manager Stevie Grieve, 37, has coached in six countriesEngland's Nations League match against Finland in Helsinki on Sunday marks the first time in 24 years that the Three Lions have played in the Nordic country. But Finland's men's domestic league, the Veikkausliiga, is home to 12 footballers from the United Kingdom and one manager. Only during the 1996 season has that number of players been higher.
Luke Pollard: Triathlete 'so glad' he became guide after Dave Ellis' Paralympic gold

Sep 3, 2024 | bbc.com | Alex Seftel

The part played by guides such as Luke Pollard is mainly about safe navigation of the course. The athlete and guide are tethered together by an elastic lace for the swim, before riding a tandem bike and then using a tether again for the run. "My job is to make sure he performs to the best of his ability but also to make sure he gets round with no mishaps," Pollard explained. "Dave can't really see much so he just feels the tension on the tether, of where I'm going.
'Best moment' - Para-triathlon champion guide Pollard

Sep 3, 2024 | sports.yahoo.com | Alex Seftel

"I think that is the best moment in my life so far," said Luke Pollard after guiding Great Britain's Dave Ellis to Paralympic gold in the men's PTVI triathlon. Ellis finished over a minute ahead of the rest of the field in Paris to avenge a gutting end to the pair's race in Tokyo three years ago. "That is definitely the best finish line I have ever had," Pollard told BBC Radio Shropshire. "[Dave] went to his first Paralympics in 2008 and he has been waiting since then for a medal.
'Best moment' - Para-triathlon champion guide Pollard

Sep 3, 2024 | au.sports.yahoo.com | Alex Seftel

"I think that is the best moment in my life so far," said Luke Pollard after guiding Great Britain's Dave Ellis to Paralympic gold in the men's PTVI triathlon. Ellis finished over a minute ahead of the rest of the field in Paris to avenge a gutting end to the pair's race in Tokyo three years ago. "That is definitely the best finish line I have ever had," Pollard told BBC Radio Shropshire. "[Dave] went to his first Paralympics in 2008 and he has been waiting since then for a medal.
Olympian Haydock-Wilson on appreciating club athletics and competing with brothers

Jul 30, 2024 | nationalathleticsleague.org.uk | Alex Seftel

Written by Alex SeftelParis 2024 Olympian Alex Haydock-Wilson has established himself as a recognisable member of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland athletics team. The 24-year-old won European 4x400m gold and individual bronze in Munich in 2022. But, take a closer look at National Athletics League (NAL) start lists in recent times and you will often see him competing for his club Windsor, Slough, Eton and Hounslow (WSEH).