Looking for expert opinion from former athletes and sports coaches?

The Paris Olympics captured the attention of millions of people worldwide, and with the Paralympics set to do the same, we’ve gathered a selection of experts – including former athletes, and commentators for this year’s Games – to provide comment for any sports-related feature or article you’re writing. You can contact them via the Journalist Enquiry Service by filling out our quick and easy form.

Kylie Grimes MBE, Paralympic gold medallist in wheelchair rugby and motivational speaker

Expertise: Kylie Grimes is a triple Paralympian of the London, Rio, and Tokyo games. She started playing for the London Wheelchair Rugby Club in 2009, and for Great Britain in 2011. In 2012 she qualified for her first Paralympics in London, in which the team finished fifth. She switched to athletics and competed in the World Championships in Doha in 2015; the Rio Paralympics in Rio, where she finished fourth; and the London World Championships in 2017 where she came fifth. 

Returning to her team in 2018, she and the British Wheelchair Rugby Team won gold in Denmark to become the European Champions in 2019, also qualifying for Tokyo 2020. The Tokyo Paralympic Games was delayed a year due to COVID-19, but when it finally happened in August 2021, the Great Britain Team became the Paralympic Champions. They were the first European Team to win a medal at the Paralympics in Wheelchair Rugby and the first team sport to win gold for Paralympics GB. Kylie was the first female in the history of the sport to win gold. 

Speak to Kylie about: Track and field athletes in athletics, as well as wheelchair rugby. Kylie will also be commentating at the Paris Paralympics. 

Why are the Games so important? ‘The Olympics and Paralympics always inspire the next generation of athletes because young children/teenagers watch the games and realise they can do it, too. I hear of so many people who started a new disability sport or joined a club straight after the Paralympics because they watched their new hero competing and wanted to give it a go.’

Sophia Warner, Paralympian and founder of the Superhero Series

Expertise: Sophia competed from 1996 as a disabled athlete. Her classification (T35) was first represented in the Paralympics at London 2012, where she achieved her lifetime 200m best. Sophia’s achievements include being double gold medal winner in 100m and 200m at 1998 Para World Championships and multiple European and world representations in between. She retired from elite sport after the World Championships in 2013 and this year will be a trackside co-commentator for Channel 4 at the Paris Paralympics.

The idea of the Superhero Series came to Sophia in 2016 when she was trackside at the Rio Paralympics. Eight years on, the 2024 Superhero Tri on 17 August welcomed over 3,000 participants. Sophia is also the founder of the Superhero Sport Foundation charity, whose mission is: ‘To break down barriers to disability sport participation and to introduce as many people as possible to the life-changing power of sport.’

Speak to Sophia about: Track and field athletes, the triathlon, disability sports, and her charity work.

Leon Taylor, former British competitive diver and executive coach and mentor

Expertise: Leon Taylor has won medals at major international events including a silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. After retiring due to injury in 2008, Leon has since gone on to work as a public speaker, presenter, conference host, BBC commentator, and mentor to members of the British team, most notably Olympic medallist Tom Daley.

Leon has partnered with Active IQ, an organisation for the active leisure, learning, and wellbeing sector, to front a new campaign encouraging athletes to be better prepared for their futures. The Beyond Gold campaign is urging athletes to develop career skills alongside their athletic ambitions. Leon himself completed a Higher National Certificate in Business and Finance during the later stages of his diving career and earned his Active IQ Level 2 Strength Training and Level 3 PT qualification, developing skills that set him up for transitioning to life away from elite competition. 

Speak to Leon about: The achievements of the British diving team at this year’s Olympics, including Tom Daley; mental health struggles and the setbacks of injury; the pressures of elite sports and the Olympic Games in particular; why developing skills alongside training can improve performance; what it’s like when your sporting career ends, or is taken away from you, and the foundations you can put in place for a career after sport.

Leon’s take on this year’s opening ceremony? ‘Although I was in Paris, I watched the opening ceremony on TV. The atmosphere came through loud and clear. The celebration of French culture and the stunning visuals along the Seine were breathtaking. The rain didn’t dampen the spirits and it set the tone for an incredible Games.’

Brian Johns, head of coaching science at FORM

Expertise: Brian represented Canada as a national team swimmer from 1998-2011, during which he competed at three Olympic Games (2000, 2004, 2008) and broke the World Record in the 400 Individual Medley in 2003. 

After competing, Brian was the head assistant coach for the UBC Thunderbirds and the head coach for the Vancouver Pacific Swim Club. During this time, Brian coached several swimmers onto Canadian National teams and BC Provincial teams. 

In addition to earning his Master’s in Coaching Science at UBC, Brian also holds a diploma in Data Science which has allowed him to take an evidence-based, data-driven approach in developing swimmers. 

Speak to Brian about: Competitive swimming, coaching expertise, and how to help swimmers improve in the water through data.

What did Brian think of the opening ceremony? ‘I thought the Opening Ceremonies were very unique this year, especially parading the athletes along the river. While it made for a different TV experience, it was cool to see the athletes presented to the entire city, instead of just those who were in the stadium. You could tell that the athletes were having a great time on the boats and were able to celebrate the start of the Olympics together in a joyous way, befitting the city of Paris.’

Dr David Dunne – co-founder & performance nutritionist at Hexis

Expertise: David works in the world of elite sports – fuelling athletes like Rory McIlroy at The Ryder Cup and cyclist Bradley Wiggins. His expertise extends to Harlequins, British Canoeing, and prominent athletes in the National Basketball Association (NBA), The Premier League, Super League, World Tour Cycling, and Professional Boxing. An alumnus of the International Olympic Committee – IOC, David recently earned his PhD in Behaviour Change, Design Thinking, and Technology Innovation in Sports Nutrition from Liverpool John Moores University.

Speak to David about: The nutritional requirements across those in different Olympic sporting disciplines and how this has developed in recent years. 

David’s take on the opening ceremony? ‘Some athletes love it because it’s a once in a lifetime experience. But for others, it’s a late night, a few hours in the rain and a disrupted sleep pattern prior to one of the biggest events of their life. It’s always very interesting to see who goes, and who doesn’t.’

Steven Dick, director at The Fitness Group

Expertise: Before becoming director of The Fitness Group, a training provider for personal trainers, Steven spent many years working closely with fitness and sports professionals from all backgrounds, having previously operated his own gym chain in his native Glasgow.

Speak to Steven about: Anything to do with the fitness side of sports. He contributes frequently to publications looking for insights that cover exercise, nutrition, healthy lifestyle changes, and athletic performance.

What did Steven think of this year’s opening ceremony? ‘While not the equal of London 2012’s ceremony, I thought the use of the Seine as a landmark of the city was a nice creative touch. Although I was a bit concerned for the safety of the masked parkour runner who was performing in such rainy rooftop conditions!’

Lee Gibbons, managing director of Sport UNLIMITED

Expertise: Lee has nearly 20 years of experience in both the agency, brand, and rights holders sectors, including substantial involvement in some of the largest sporting events during that time. He has worked for Nike, was commercial director for the Northampton Saints, and was senior director sports marketing at Adidas for eight years. He has recently launched the rugby union’s campaign about getting people back into rugby.

Speak to Lee about: Rights negotiation, sponsorship strategy and activation, commercial licensing, digital & social marketing, and all aspects of major event delivery.

Louise Johnson, CEO of Fuse

Expertise: Louise helped start Fuse with its late founder and is the only female CEO in the sports marketing industry. She has over 20 years of experience in the industry. She’s an expert in sport sponsorship strategy, the world of football at club and international level, women’s football, and sports television – be this broadcast or additional content, such as docuseries. 

Speak to Louise about: Advertising strategy for cutting through the noise and getting brands noticed at international tournaments, the benefit of advertising/sponsoring around Olympics and Paralympics, and rights holders capitalising on new audiences in sport.

On the Journalist Enquiry Service, you can reach thousands of expert sources in all sectors – this is just a snapshot of the calibre of experts ready to talk about sport or their specific areas of expertise that you can connect with.

If you want to interview one of these individuals specifically, drop a line to ResponseSource Community Manager Andrew Strutt at andrew.strutt@responsesource.com and we’ll connect you. Otherwise, head to responsesource.com/send to reach these and many more people who can help you with your story.