Mike Henson (@MikeHensonBBC) header
Mike Henson (@MikeHensonBBC) profile picture

Mike Henson

@MikeHensonBBC

@bbcsport journalist, also @thesetpieces @VICE @FourFourTwo @guardian_sport @AthleticsWeekly @F365. Previously @sportcal & @skynews

news.bbc.co.uk/sport
Joined April 2011
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Ahead of @SaintsRugby @ChampionsCup final we go BTS with their academy. An academy which has built today's team and its stars: Freeman, Furbank, Sleightholme, Dingwall, Mitchell, Hendy, Pollock. 4 months of filming. 1 special documentary @BBCiPlayer bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0…
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Enjoyed chatting to England Under-20s hooker Kepu Tuipulotu on why his rugby family and upbringing means he is "not a typical standard hooker". bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/…
Under-20 Six Nations: England star Kepu Tuipulotu on grubber kicks and famous rugby family

Under-20 Six Nations: England star Kepu Tuipulotu on grubber kicks and famous rugby family

Highly rated England Under-20s hooker Kepu Tuipulotu explains why his rugby family and upbringing means he is "not a typical standard hooker".

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Jamie George: 100-cap hero who never forgot kid on other side of the fence 🫡 to English rugby’s great bloke 🥀 How he shone in grief 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Airbrushed losing the captaincy 💪🏻 & showed world class resilience Tales from Owen Farrell & family @TimesSport thetimes.com/article/97942c1…
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Part two of this year’s Premiership squad spending strategies. I think this is a fun half. 🐯 Another new regime, lots of renewals 🦅 Diamond ready to scrap 😇 Won with 7th/8th biggest budget 🦈 Nice balance, faith in youth 💫 Huge revamp, unknown factors telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/…
Premiership salary cap special report, part two: Your club’s spending strategy revealed

Premiership salary cap special report, part two: Your club’s spending strategy revealed

We look at spending and squad-building strategies across the Premiership before the new season begins later this month

telegraph.co.uk
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We go again. Part one of this year’s Premiership squad spend run-down. 🛁 Big retention + academy investment 🐻 Slimmer group, still bargains/big earners ⚔️ Slade, Sio, Baxter’s eye 🍒 New half-backs, balance curious 🃏 Important year for youngsters telegraph.co.uk/rugby-union/…
Premiership salary cap special report, part one: Your club’s spending strategy revealed

Premiership salary cap special report, part one: Your club’s spending strategy revealed

We look at spending and squad-building strategies across the Premiership before the new season begins later this month

telegraph.co.uk
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In October 2019, Tracy Otto was shot and paralysed in a home invasion attack by her ex-boyfriend In August 2024, she becomes a Paralympian, having taken up archery on a whim during her recovery Her story is remarkable, & I'm proud to be able to tell it bbc.com/sport/archery/articl…
Tracy Otto: Paralysed by her ex-boyfriend, now a Paralympian

Tracy Otto: Paralysed by her ex-boyfriend, now a Paralympian

Tracy Otto's ex-boyfriend thought he had killed her. Instead, Otto used his attack as the launchpad for an extraordinary second act in her life.

bbc.com
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Mike Henson retweeted
Mani Djazmi (@BBC_Mani) profile picture
Mani Djazmi@BBC_Mani15 Aug 2024
In 1993 the hopes of a nation, already struggling to cope with a recession and political instability, died with most of its national team. This is a story of disaster, revival, dreams not coming true and, finally, triumph. bbc.co.uk/sport/football/art…
Zambia: The 1993 air crash and the 2012 Afcon underdogs

Zambia: The 1993 air crash and the 2012 Afcon underdogs

Nineteen years and 10 miles separated Zambia's football team from a lost, golden generation on a fateful night in Libreville.

bbc.co.uk
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Every so often I take a step back to appreciate the privileged position I am in. Writing for the BBC gave me the opportunity speak with the grandchildren of two genuine sporting icons - Jesse Owens and Luz Long. I hope I did their amazing story justice - bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/ar…
Olympics: Jesse Owens and Luz Long and a message of hope

Olympics: Jesse Owens and Luz Long and a message of hope

Jesse Owens and Luz Long's embrace has become a defining image of Olympic sportsmanship, but it came with consequences.

bbc.co.uk
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Ben Bloom (@benbloomsport) profile picture
Ben Bloom@benbloomsport2 Jul 2024
What do cyclists eat during the Tour de France? Does it change for a flat/mountain stage? And how do chefs deliver the goods while travelling more than 2,000 miles in three weeks? Fuelling the Tour de France: Secrets of the team kitchens, for @BBCSport bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/arti…

Tour de France: How professional cycling teams eat and cook on the road

Replacing the 6,000 calories burned daily by a Tour de France rider, while negotiating the vaguaries and motorways of a 21-stage, 2,100 mile race is a formidable challenge.

bbc.co.uk
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No white man has won an Olympic or world 100m medal since 1980. Why is that? Can skin colour really determine sprint speed? Or are appearances deceiving? A detailed look at a very thorny subject, for @BBCSport bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/ar…
Race and sprinting: What is behind Olympic podium race divide?

Race and sprinting: What is behind Olympic podium race divide?

Elite sprinting is dominated by black athletes. Theories as to why span painful history and cutting-edge science - and many are unproven.

bbc.co.uk
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An article I've written about The Knockout for @BBCSport My book, The Knockout - Sport's Most Decisive Moment, comes out on May 31st, available via Amazon pre-order now bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/artic…
Knockout: Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Tony Bellew and more talk KOs

Knockout: Ricky Hatton, David Haye, Tony Bellew and more talk KOs

It is sport's most decisive and divisive moment - but what is it like to deliver a knockout punch, and to take one?

bbc.co.uk
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In 2011, #Schalke04 faced #MUFC in #UCL semis. Now they’re battling relegation from Bundesliga 2, riddled with debt as a result of mismanagement, Covid & war in Ukraine & could cease to exist in this form. My @BBCSport report from Gelsenkirchen. bbc.co.uk/sport/football/art…
Champions League: Schalke, relegation and oblivion

Champions League: Schalke, relegation and oblivion

Despite recent assurances that Schalke’s finances are holding up, the viability of the debt-saddled club as a genuine power is in doubt.

bbc.co.uk
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✍️ My piece for BBC Insight looking at whether Hong Kong has a future as an independent football entity bbc.co.uk/sport/football/art…

Hong Kong, China and a footballing dilemma

Beijing's increasing influence has led to speculation that Hong Kong's days of an independent football scene are numbered.

bbc.co.uk
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‘The controversial dress code ban at sport’s biggest party’ I wrote a long-form piece for @BBCSport that looked at facilitating the conversation around Muslim women in football and sports, particularly in France in relation to the Paris Olympic Games. bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/687…
Paris Olympics 2024: The controversial hijab ban at sport's biggest party

Paris Olympics 2024: The controversial hijab ban at sport's biggest party

Paris will welcome the world this summer, but France's distinctive relationship with religion means its own Olympic athletes will have a different dress code.

bbc.co.uk
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‘More than a fighter’ - how Ronda Rousey finally found peace: bbc.co.uk/sport/mixed-martia…
Ronda Rousey: How former UFC fighter found solace and inner peace

Ronda Rousey: How former UFC fighter found solace and inner peace

Ronda Rousey - judoka, mixed martial artist, wrestler - tells BBC Sport how she has found inner peace after coming back from the lowest point of her career.

bbc.co.uk
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The role of a caddie is a sporting role like no other. Masters-winning caddie @tblittle99 and @TanekaSandiford took me inside the ropes of life as a caddie. Always a pleasure contributing to Insight @MikeHensonBBC 👇✍️⛳️ www-bbc-co-uk.cdn.ampproject…
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Inaki the pioneer, Nico a star with no ceiling. The Williams brothers’ story is one of family, perseverance & identity. They could help ⁦@Athletic_en⁩ win a first major trophy in 40 years on Saturday but their legacy will reach far beyond that 🔴⚪️ bbc.co.uk/sport/football/687…
Inaki and Nico Williams: Two brothers, one club and a 40-year wait

Inaki and Nico Williams: Two brothers, one club and a 40-year wait

Inaki and Nico Williams' parents travelled to Bilbao from Ghana hoping the city would change their sons' lives. Their sons, in turn, have changed the city.

bbc.co.uk
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Mike Henson retweeted
Emma Sanders (@em_sandy) profile picture
Emma Sanders@em_sandy3 Apr 2024
⭐️ Insight feature: Motherhood in the WSL #bbcfootball We spoke exclusively to Villa’s Carla Ward & her daughter Hartley, West Ham’s Katrina Gorry & her daughter Harper, as well as Chelsea’s Melanie Leupolz to discuss the challenges of being a mum. ✍🏻👇🏻 bbc.co.uk/sport/football/685…
Image from Emma Sanders (@em_sandy)
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The relationship between an F1 driver and race engineer is one of the most intimate in elite sport. How they do build trust? How do they deal with life-and-death pressure? What happens when they fall out? I met the experts for this @BBCSport long read. bbc.co.uk/sport/formula1/685…

Fear, faith, friendship: Inside F1’s most precious relationship

When the lights go out, a Formula 1 driver is alone - apart from one connection. Their race engineer is their guide, strategist and psychologist.

bbc.co.uk
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Paul Pogba cost the earth and conquered the globe; then he fell off the map. His last 2 years have been a black hole of injuries, a doping suspension & dark suspicions. I wrote about how his fabulous destiny became a modern tragedy of frailty and distrust: thetimes.co.uk/article/e2231…
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