“I hit rock bottom, 500 feet below… I just didn’t feel like a human being,”she said.
After recovering from her injuries, which included damage to her knee ligaments and meniscus, Lazarus completed a half marathon in two hours and four minutes, well below her target of two and a half hours.
She now presents football, Formula One, NFL and darts programmes on TV and hosts a podcast called I Got Back Up, where she speaks to people who have recovered from terrible injuries and experiences.
When asked about who their own mentors were, the panellists were all in agreement that there was not necessarily just the one person. “It’s a build-up of different people who you meet, who support you, who help you, who guide you, who motivate you – and you can take little nuggets from everyone that you meet,” said Lazarus, who described one podcast interview with former Formula One driver Derek Daly, where he explained his motto “What we do is we don’t focus on the rear-view mirror”. Lazarus said: “[He meant] that we glance in the rear-view mirror, but we can’t focus on what’s behind us. So, when you relate that to life, obviously, you can glance back to the past, but that’s not the direction in which you’re going.”
Reporter Ahron Asher Moss (centre) with (l-r) Joe Jacobson, Daniel Geey, Talia Lazarus and Leon Angel at the ORT UK Business Breakfast (Photo: C.K. Morrison)[Missing Credit]
Speaking to the JC after the panel, Jacobson touched on the issue of antisemitism in sports, saying that despite witnessing an increase in Jew-hate in football, “I’ve always been proud of being Jewish. I was the first British Jewish player in 25 years when I played.”
He said that if he was a young player in today’s current climate “I would probably get involved more in [Jewish] community work from the start”.
Earlier, the former Wycombe Wanderers captain told guests that building resilience in footballers was crucial.
"Without the experience gained from scrubbing boots and sweeping football fields, Premier League players have come on loan, but can’t quite grasp the absence of home comforts that they’re used to. [These players] fall out of the game very, very quickly.”
Another focus was the rapid changes shaping the future of the industry. Angel said: “[Data] has changed dramatically. It’s one of the biggest growth areas,” adding that CAA Base was “at the cutting edge of developments in data and technology, trying to ensure a total service for its clients”.
Kurer summed up the event afterwards by saying: “The most important thing is that people have heard amazing speakers talk about their different journeys, the ups [and] the downs.
"ORT UK is mentoring and delivering skills training programmes to schools but are always reaching out to a wider target audience.”
ORT UK aims to bridge the gap between school and the workplace through its ORT JUMP programme, which it runs in 14 secondary schools, pairing participants with mentors. Participants gain awareness of the key skills required by their future employers, which prepares them for their future working lives.
Panel host Geey said after the breakfast: "It was a privilege to host such an accomplished and inspiring panel from the sporting world. The stories they shared with us demonstrated what can be achieved with hard work, determination and self-belief.
"These key attributes are central to ORT UK's ORT JUMP programmes, which help young people develop the skills and confidence to take the next steps on their career path. The event was full of positivity for the future, reflecting ORT UK’s vital work supporting the next generation."
ORT UK was founded in 1921 as a subsidiary of World ORT, while upholding Jewish values of resourcefulness, respect, and responsibility.
