Charl Du Toit: South African Double Paralympic & World Champion

Charl Du Toit with Planet Sport's Tom Ellis

South African Charl Du Toit  is a reigning double World and Paralympic sprint champion.  Competing in the T37 class for athletes with Cerebral Palsy.

He won gold at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio in the 100m and 400m, before sitting a new world record for the T37 100m of 11.35 seconds at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia!

Planet Sport's Tom Ellis caught up with Charl at the Commonwealth Games in April to find out more about this exceptional athlete and his life, career and faith:

Listen to the full Planet Sport interview with Charl below:

Listen to "21 Jun: Charl du Toit, South Africa's Double Paralympic & World Sprint Champion" on Spreaker.

Golden Aussies: Talking all things Basketball with George & Seekamp

Nicole Seekamp (L) & Cayla George (R)

The Australian women's basketball team, The Opals, took the Commonwealth Games by storm on Gold Coast and cruised through to win outright Gold. Planet Sport caught up with two of their key players, Connecticut Suns' Cayla George & Adelaide Lightning's Nicole Seekamp to talk about their international success, what the secret is and how much it means to compete on home soil:

"Its definitely special and exciting to play on the beautiful Gold Coast. To have an event like this in Australia is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Listen to the full Planet Sport interview below:

Listen to "24 May: Nicole Seekamp & Cayla George, Commonwealth women's basketball champions" on Spreaker.

Akani Simbine- On being the fastest man in the Commonwealth

South Africa's Akani Simbine & Henricho Bruintjies

South Africa's Akani Simbine, is a rising star in world athletics and he took things to a new level with an eye-catching Gold medal run in the Commonwealth Games. In pipping the much-fancied Jamaican, Yohan Blake, he is officially the fastest man in the Commonwealth over 100m.

Planet Sport's Tom Ellis caught up with the Simbine and his fellow countryman, Henricho Bruintjies who clinched Silver on Gold Coast, Australia. 

Here's what they made of their one-two podium finish:

Listen to "26 Apr: Commonwealth 100m Champion Akani Simbini & Silver Medallist Henricho Bruintjies" on Spreaker.

Day 4: Patience is a virtue

Jereem 'The Dream' Richards- Trinidad & Tobago

As we enter Day 4, it seems unbelievable that we are half way through our trip to the Gold Coast. Time has flown and now that the medals are being dished out thick and fast, the battle of Australia vs England to end up on top of the table is hotting up. 

To this point, we've patiently been waiting for the Games to kick off, for interviews to come through and for our work to take shape. We are now building momentum and seeing some great opportunities present themselves, in the shape of great athlete stories, testimonies and networking with other organisations. 

Our preparation which started a week before the Games began is now bearing fruit and we are very encouraged with what we are able to produce, our shows will hopefully be testament to that!

Day 3: Australia start strongly & so do we

By Liam Flint

The last couple of days have seen a sharp rise in activity on the Gold Coast, transport has been maxed out as ticket-holders look to reach venues and the tourist hotspots. Australia's strong start, especially in the pool, has given locals an air of excitement and truly ignited the underlying passion that everyone is feeling towards the Games.

The carnival and festival scene has also really kicked off along the coast, supplying beach-goers on Surfers Paradise with 'voices from the commonwealth' every evening. 

Njiel Amos- Botswana

We have done a lot of travelling, up and down the Gold Coast tram link, in our attempts to be in the best spot at the right time. We have been capturing features for our Planet Sport show, soaking up the atmosphere and busily arranging interviews with athletes from around the Commonwealth.

We spoke to Botswana runner Nijel Amos, the Commonwealth Games reigning champion over 800m. He is always a great character and he has a real zest for life, he is always more than happy to talk about his faith, what it means to him and how much God is his motivation for being the best.

Charl Du Toit- South Africa

The Para events are being run alongside the Commonwealth Games schedule at this Games, which is a big step in the right direction for equal coverage and Games reputation. On this note, we spoke to South African runner in the T37 category, Charl Du Toit about this shift in how things are done. He was excited to be in and around the entire Team South Africa and fancies his chances at a medal. He did stress that he wasn't looking as high as Gold though!