The Sam Oldham Podcast

🇬🇧 At the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Reuben Ward made history for Team Scotland, becoming the first Scottish male gymnast to win the all-around title in men’s artistic gymnastics. He followed that up with a silver medal on the pommel horse.
His performances earned him selection for Great Britain at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam in October. Although the British men’s team narrowly missed out on a podium finish and automatic qualification for the LA 2028 Olympic Games, Reuben impressed on his senior World Championships debut, delivering important routines on the pommel horse and horizontal bar.
But Reuben’s journey hasn’t always been straightforward. During the pandemic, he came close to walking away from gymnastics after losing motivation. Since winning junior European all-around bronze in 2022, however, he has gone from strength to strength.
Now, with his sights firmly set on an Olympic team medal at LA 2028, it’s a privilege to welcome to the podcast, Reuben Ward 🥇

🥇 In 2026, we're launching a brand-new monthly gymnastics show on The Sam Oldham Podcast. Each month, we'll explore the biggest names, emerging storylines, and major championship build-ups in artistic gymnastics, alongside post-competition debriefs with some of the sport's most passionate experts, coaches, and analysts.
In this episode of The Sam Oldham Podcast, I look back at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Sixteen years after representing Great Britain at my first major senior international championships, I returned to the Ahoy Arena, this time as part of the BBC broadcasting team covering the event.
With the LA 2028 Olympics getting closer, these championships marked a key moment in the Olympic qualification process.
Japan claimed the men's team title, with China and the Russian athletes also securing automatic qualification for Los Angeles. Daiki Hashimoto made history with his fourth consecutive men's all-around world title, moving him closer to the legendary Kohei Uchimura's record.
Across the individual apparatus finals, six different gymnasts took home gold medals, delivering some incredible performances along the way.
I'll be sharing my biggest takeaways from Rotterdam, including the standout performances, controversial moments and my predictions as we move closer to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
And don't forget, every episode of the Sam Oldham Podcast is available to watch or listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
 Our mission remains the same: to share the stories behind the finest athletes in gymnastics and celebrate the sport we love.
Thank you to our listeners, sponsors, and supporters for being part of the journey.
Welcome to Episode 10 of The Gymnastics Show! 🎙️

🥇 In 2026, we're launching a brand-new monthly gymnastics show on The Sam Oldham Podcast. Each month, we'll explore the biggest names, emerging storylines, and major championship build-ups in artistic gymnastics, alongside post-competition debriefs with some of the sport's most passionate experts, coaches, and analysts.
In this episode of the Sam Oldham Podcast, I’m joined by Kensley Behel, the talented voice behind Neutral Deductions — a podcast, website and social media platform dedicated to men’s artistic gymnastics.
Today, we're looking ahead to the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, taking place in Rotterdam from Saturday the 17th to Sunday the 25th of October.
With qualification for the LA 2028 Olympic Games on the line, there's plenty to get excited about. The top three men's and women's teams will secure their places at the Olympics, making this a huge competition for the world's best gymnasts.
In today's episode, we'll be focusing on the men's team final, the leading all-around contenders and the individual apparatus specialists.
Some of the biggest names in the sport are set to battle it out for gold, including Daiki Hashimoto, Oka Shinnosuke, Zhang Boheng, Illia Kovtun, Fred Richard and Jake Jarman.
Kensley recently visited the US National Training Centre, where she caught up with the American team and coaching staff ahead of their trip to the Netherlands. We'll be hearing more from those interviews during today's show.
Neutral Deductions will also be bringing you coverage directly from Rotterdam, with Kensley joined by Sam Lindley throughout the championships.
To stay up to date with all the action, make sure you're following Neutral Deductions across social media and subscribe to their YouTube channel.
And don't forget, every episode of the Sam Oldham Podcast is available to watch or listen to on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
 Our mission remains the same: to share the stories behind the finest athletes in gymnastics and celebrate the sport we love.
Thank you to our listeners, sponsors, and supporters for being part of the journey.
Welcome to Episode 9 of The Gymnastics Show! 🎙️

🇬🇷 At the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Eleftherios Petrounias won gold for Greece in the still rings, achieving a dream that had begun twelve years earlier.
As a young boy, Eleftherios was in the arena at the Athens 2004 Olympics when fellow Greek gymnast Dimosthenis Tampakos won gold in front of his home crowd. Watching that moment firsthand showed him what was possible in the sport he loved.
But his own journey was far from straightforward. Eleftherios stepped away from gymnastics for several years before making the decision to return. Since then, he has gone on to become one of the greatest still rings specialists in the history of the sport.
At Paris 2024, he won bronze and became the first gymnast ever to win three individual Olympic medals on the still rings. Across his remarkable career, he has collected Olympic, World and European medals and built a legacy that continues to inspire athletes around the world.
And he’s not finished yet. With his sights now set on Los Angeles 2028, it’s a privilege to welcome to the podcast, Eleftherios Petrounias 🥇

At the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, Naoya Tsukahara helped Japan’s men’s artistic gymnastics team win Olympic gold for the first time since 1976.
It was a victory that continued an extraordinary family legacy. Naoya’s father, Mitsuo Tsukahara, was part of the great Japanese dynasty that dominated men’s gymnastics, winning consecutive Olympic team titles in 1968, 1972 and 1976.
Naoya went on to build an incredible career of his own, winning six World Championship medals. After the disappointment of the Sydney 2000 Olympics, where he had arrived as one of the favourites following his all-around silver medal at the 1999 World Championships, he returned four years later to achieve Olympic glory in Athens. Along the way, he was coached by one of the legends of the sport, 15-time Olympic medallist Nikolai Andrianov.
The final chapter of Naoya’s competitive career took him to Australia, the country he would eventually represent before retiring from gymnastics in 2016.
For this episode, we’re joined by Naoya alongside Hiroaki Sato, his former personal coach during his time in Australia, who will also act as Naoya’s translator throughout our conversation.
Hiroaki has an incredible coaching story of his own, having worked with the legendary Kohei Uchimura and coached Japan’s men’s team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they won team gold.
Together, we’ll look back on Naoya’s remarkable career, his journey to Olympic gold, and the Tsukahara family legacy that continues to inspire generations of gymnasts around the world.
This is the story of Olympic champion Naoya Tsukahara 🥇