‘I held three British records as a track runner before finding fame as TV host’

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    Jo Ankier swapped breaking British track records to become a leading TV presenter – and has covered the biggest sporting events in the world while interviewing famous stars.

    Ankier held three national records as a steeplechase athlete and competed at the World Championships before calling time on her career to focus on becoming a broadcaster across the world of sport.

    Now seen as host of BT Sport Fight Night and interviewing the likes of Tyson and Tommy Fury in front of millions, Ankier is loving every minute having previously spent time with Sky Sports and ESPN.

    Speaking exclusively to Daily Star Sport about the beginnings of her love for sport, Ankier detailed how her track career began by chance.

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    She said: "It started at school when you're forced into running laps, but naturally I turned out to be pretty good at it.

    "When I was in primary school I ran all nine races on sports day – so the following year they made me race in the year above!

    "I got scouted by someone for a local club and it started from there, it was very social but I started doing well and that built up into representing GB.

    "It becomes a case of always chasing more and getting a taste for winning, the thing about running is that you can never beat a clock.

    "I ran in the Commonwealth Games, second in the European Cup and raced around the world, qualified for the Olympics but had a let down from the selection, but I traveled the world and had some amazing experiences.

    "I was so proud to have the British records, steeplechase is a slightly newer event for women but still so competitive, breaking the 3000m record which is the Olympic distance was amazing for me."

    Ankier was still at her running peak when eyeing up a career in the media after retirement, noting Olympic gold medalists turned analysts for sparking her inspiration.

    She continued: "I'm one of these people that gets an idea in my head and has to stick with it! From quite a young age as an athlete I saw some of the generation above me like Paula Radcliffe and Denise Lewis do very well on the track and then go on to be an analyst or a presenter.

    "I thought that it looked like a fun career path, I thought maybe I won't be an Olympic gold medalist but I can do well and enjoy myself and then go into sports broadcasting.

    "What I didn't anticipate was covering all the sports I have done, as opposed to just athletics like others have done. I've ended up becoming a sports broadcaster as a brand new career."

    The seasonal nature of athletics aids itself to broadcasting across other sports in the rest of the year, with Ankier looking back on her initial work with Sky Sports.

    Ankier lived close by to their studios while living in an athlete house alongside long-term pal Mo Farah, where she did work experience and even did some production running on a flexible schedule.

    Practise time with a teleprompter in a spare studio followed, which led to her first role with Chelsea TV.

    Ankier then spent time covering MLS in the United States for ESPN and Fox which gave her the chance to work on NBA, X-Games and more.

    During that time she has covered four Olympic Games with various broadcasters, with a move into boxing following with International Sports Centres.

    She continued: "I did a big interview with Amir Khan and coverage so many fights out there, it was all very glamorous and very fun. Everyone would have these parties in the Hollywood Hills for this big nights.

    "Another reason I knew about boxing was growing up with the Sauerland brothers Nisse and Kalle, when their father was a leading promoter.

    "When I quit athletics they helped me get my first proper job before I joined Chelsea TV, helping to sort the logistics of fights as well as football games.

    "That also again showed me how fun the boxing world is and the huge characters you meet at these sort of events."

    BT Sport boxing, which has partnered with Frank Warren's Matchroom and hosted recent PPV cards of Tyson Fury, also showed Tommy Fury vs Jake Paul.

    Ankier has therefore been the ringside and in-ring presenter for some of the biggest boxing cards in recent memory.

    She added: "It's so exhilarating going into the ring for the winners' interviews, I've interviewed Tyson Fury probably about six times now and you're always in awe of him.

    "He's a very larger than life character but he's very nice and sweet to me, other times he's very very focussed on the fight so you don't know what you're going to get."

    Going forward, Ankier is trying to focus on sports that have a purpose on an environmental level – with a new venture in Extreme E.

    She concluded: "I have a science background and I'm also quote a big environmentalist so I've been trying to go in that direction.

    "I've been trying to get into the more sustainable sports like Formula E, Extreme E and the new electric boat racing E1 Series.

    "I've been trying to do that for a while because it's sport with a message and with awareness and I've booked to do Extreme E at the beginning of July in Sardinia – so I'm very excited for that!"

    You can follow Jo across Instagram and Twitter to keep up to date on her broadcasting career.

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