World Athletics and Voiceworks Sport launch podcast partnership ahead of milestone year in athletics

World Athletics has agreed a production partnership with fast-growing sport audio business Voiceworks Sport.

The partnership will see Voiceworks Sport provide audio and visual content production support for World Athletics as part of its ongoing series of content on Inside Track – the exclusive, access-all-areas platform for everything athletics – with the first episode set to air on Friday (1 March).

The World Athletics Inside Track Podcast begins with a four-part series covering the events at the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.

It will be presented by Olympic and world 400m gold medallist Sanya Richards-Ross, 2014 world indoor and two-time European indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty and three-time Olympic medallist Kelly Sotherton.

The trio will be trackside in Glasgow to provide unique insight into some of the event’s most significant moments, while the podcast will also feature interviews with a range of special guests, including athletes, legends and coaches.

Fans will not only be able to gain behind-the-scenes insight from Richards-Ross, Kilty and Sotherton via all the usual podcast platforms – including on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and the Sport Social Podcast Network – but they will also be able to watch the show on theWorld Athletics website.

Following Glasgow, the podcast will deliver a series of in-depth interviews with a host of track and field’s biggest names and much-loved personalities, both past and present, including World Athletics President Sebastian Coe (above, right), global superstar and world 100m and 200m champion Noah Lyles, and many more celebrated personalities from within the sport plus some famous celebrity fans.

With an evolving presenter line-up for each event, the podcast will also be in attendance when the World Athletics Relays once again returns to The Bahamas in May 2024.

Later in the year, an all-star cast will provide reaction to the events at the Olympic Games in Paris.

World Athletics is the latest major rights holder to partner with Voiceworks Sport, which counts ParalympicsGB, Brighton and Hove Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers amongst its base. Having grown significantly within the UK, the organisation is now exploring global expansion. It recently launched its owned and operated business, Sport Social Podcast Network, into Germany and France.

Sophie Hind, managing director of Voiceworks Sport, celebrated the partnership: “Athletics has delivered some breathtaking moments throughout the years so we are delighted to be working with Jamie and the team at World Athletics in such an important year.”

“We’re seeing sport rights holders increasingly recognise the importance of a multichannel approach to engage fans globally and reach new audiences. Inside Track is a great example of this, tapping into the fact that podcasts can offer entertaining and in-depth content immersing them in the sport, the stories and the personalities around it.”

Jamie Fox, director of communications for World Athletics, commented:

“We are keen to take a new approach to excite and engage our followers. The show will immerse our fans in the competitions, no matter where they’re based, and act as a touchpoint for all things athletics throughout the course of the year.”

“We’re also aiming to inspire new audiences to discover and embrace the sport, particularly ahead of Paris. The Voiceworks team, whose expertise has been invaluable in getting Inside Track off the ground, will play a key part in this and I’m thrilled to be working closely with them through our partnership.”