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Is AI the future of sports commentary?

Is a new era of sports commentary being ushered in as AI is used for rolling updates at the European Team Athletics Championship.

On this week鈥檚 Sportshour, former British athlete Hannah England joins us after having her voice cloned by artificial intelligence. You can hear 鈥淗annah-bot鈥 delivering updates from the European Team Athletics Championships in Poland on YouTube, with tennis鈥 Wimbledon set to follow suit over the next few weeks. Is a new era of sports commentary being ushered in?

This week is World Refugee Week and to mark the occasion we鈥檙e joined by 20-year-old Benham, who has been living in the United Kingdom since fleeing Iran in 2019. After the trauma of having to leave his home, family, friends and education, Benham has suffered from anxiety and depression. He tells Caroline Barker that playing sport has been the key to rediscovering happiness, sharing details of his recent trip to Wimbledon where he received tennis coaching and got a glimpse of Centre Court.

We鈥檙e joined by two of the Woolf Women 鈥 an all-female group of downhill skateboarders who, following the sudden death of one of the group鈥檚 father, decided to embark on a 3500 mile trip across Europe. A film is being released documenting their journey, with Anna Pixner and Alejandra Cardenas stopping by to tell us all about the sport and their hopes of getting it into the Olympic Games.

Plus, after teaching her how to play rugby league over Zoom during the covid-19 pandemic, York Valkyrie鈥檚 Lindsay Anfield went to visit her close friend Fortunate Irankunda in Uganda, as the former rugby union player tries to develop the sport in her country. She took half a dozen of her team out with her to run training sessions, school mini-tournaments, referee workshops and provide equipment. We鈥檒l hear how it went.

Photo: European Athletics Commentator, Hannah England at work during day two of the European Games 2023 at Silesian Stadium on June 21, 2023 in Silesia, Poland. (Credit: Getty Images)

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32 minutes

Last on

Sat 24 Jun 2023 09:06GMT

Broadcast

  • Sat 24 Jun 2023 09:06GMT

Podcast