Ollie Cook spent nine years training full-time to reach the Olympics. When Tokyo ended in a heartbreaking fourth-place finish, he faced a difficult decision: return for another Games or build a different future.

In this episode, host Anne-Marie Kruk talks with Ollie about his journey into rowing, spending three years as a reserve, and discovering that working harder wasn’t the same as having the tools to improve.

They explore how studying the physical, psychological and philosophical sides of performance changed his approach, and how mentoring through the True Athlete Project helped him navigate uncertainty. Ollie also speaks openly about Olympic disappointment, the difficulty of leaving sport, and finding new opportunities at Oxford.

That next chapter included helping create a programme bringing local schoolchildren into the university through sport and learning. He shares how it grew, why removing financial barriers matters, and his belief that we have a responsibility to leave things better for future generations.

In this conversation, you’ll hear:

• How Ollie found his way into rowing and the British national team

• What changed after three years as a reserve, injury and setbacks

• Why performance involves more than physical training

• How mentoring and a sense of purpose helped him through uncertainty

• What it meant to leave rowing without the Olympic ending he wanted

• How sport can open doors to education and opportunity

New episodes every Tuesday.

Episode Resources: The Greaterverse

Instagram → @thegreaterverse

TikTok → https://www.tiktok.com/@thegreaterverse

YouTube → https://www.youtube.com/@thegreaterverse

Amazon Music → https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d352edc3-c3c1-4680-af9d-787a5c9b7b16/the-greaterverse

What’s it like to put your arm inside a shark’s mouth or swim beside a rare white whale?

In this ocean special, Anne-Marie brings together highlights and previously unheard footage from three extraordinary guests:

🦈 Cristina Zenato shares how she began removing fishing hooks from sharks, the personalities she’s come to know, and why some sharks settle into her lap.

🐋 Pip Jacobs from ORRCA reveals why leopard seals sometimes require police assistance and how a remarkable white-whale sighting became an international detective story.

🌊 Tris Sheen takes us into the water with the albino humpback calf Siale, before sharing unexpected encounters with swimming pigs and squid.

With her own love of the ocean and six years as a volunteer surf lifesaver on Bondi Beach, Anne-Marie explores the curiosity, compassion and joy these encounters inspire.

🎧 Find the full conversations with each of these guests on The Greaterverse.

💫 Follow or subscribe for more incredible people doing incredible things.

New episodes every Tuesday.

Episode Resources: The Greaterverse

Instagram → @thegreaterverse

TikTok → ⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@greaterversepod⁠

YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@thegreaterverse⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Amazon Music → ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d352edc3-c3c1-4680-af9d-787a5c9b7b16/the-greaterverse⁠⁠⁠⁠

Episode Resources: Cristina Zenato

Instagram → @cristinazenato

Episode Resources: ORRCA

Instagram → @orrcaaustralia

Website → https://www.orrca.org.au/

Episode Resources: Tris Sheen/ Tribe Wildlife

Instagram → @tris_sheenie / @tribe_wildlife

Website → https://www.tribewildlife.com/

What if a small, hand-sewn heart helped save someone’s life?

In this special episode for World Mental Health Day, I bring together conversations about happiness, connection and the small things that can make a profound difference, with moments from four incredible guests, most of which have never been shared before.

I also share a little of my own story: how living with PTSD led me to create The Greaterverse podcast, and how these conversations have helped me find joy again.

Joining me are Joshua Coombes, Toby Maguire, Shreeya Giri and Sarah De Jonge. Together, we explore facing discomfort, meditation, changing priorities, making time for fun and the comfort of knowing someone cares.

There’s laughter, there are emotional moments, and there are ideas you might want to take into your own life.

Each guest’s full conversation is available on The Greaterverse, wherever you get your podcasts.

Follow for new episodes every Tuesday.

Content note: This episode includes discussion of PTSD and suicide. If you’re struggling with your mental health, please reach out to your GP or a mental health support service where you live.

Episode Resources: The Greaterverse

Instagram → @thegreaterverse

TikTok → ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/@thegreaterverse⁠⁠⁠⁠

YouTube → ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/@thegreaterverse⁠⁠⁠⁠

Amazon Music → ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/d352edc3-c3c1-4680-af9d-787a5c9b7b16/the-greaterverse⁠⁠⁠

Episode Resources: Joshua Coombes

Instagram → @joshuacoombes

Website → https://www.joshuacoombes.com/

Episode Resources: Toby Maguire

LinkedIn → https://www.linkedin.com/in/toby-maguire-coaching/

Website → https://www.tobymaguire.com/

Episode Resources: Shreeya Giri

Instagram → happyminds.health

Episode Resources: Sarah De Jonge

Instagram → @1000_hearts

Website → https://www.1000hearts.com.au/