Ed Warner: English cricket has picked the right man to solve its problems – at last August 11, 2022 It’s only taken the best part of 10 months and two attempts, but the England and Wales Cricket Board’s search for a new chair has at last come up with the outcome that the counties identified for it from the off. Richard Thompson, until now chair at Surrey, is clearly the best person for the [...]
European Championships: Six athletes to watch in Munich August 10, 2022 This has already been one of the most congested track and field seasons in recent history – and now it’s about to get even busier. On the back of an impressive World Championships and a superbly attended Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the athletics circus is rolling into Munich for the European Championships, which officially start [...]
Toni Minichiello: Jess Ennis-Hill’s coach banned for sexually inappropriate behaviour August 9, 2022 The British athletics coach credited with guiding Jessica Ennis-Hill to the top of the sport, Toni Minichiello, has been banned for life after being found guilty of sexually inappropriate behaviour. Minichiello “dry humped” athletes, touched and made comments about their breasts and told one female athlete she could “suck my ****”, a UK Athletics investigation [...]
Track and Field at Commonwealths shows British Athletics there’s no more excuses August 8, 2022 At the weekend 30,000 fans crammed into Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium for a Saturday evening session of athletics. On show were British superstars Keely Hodgkinson, Laura Muir and Zharnel Hughes. But the loudest cheer of the night was for Rosefelo Siosi from the Solomon Islands. The 25-year-old long-distance runner came last in the 5,000m – by [...]
Advantage or hindrance? Why home comforts can be a burden August 4, 2022 England’s Lionesses surfed a tidal wave of expectation to win the Women’s Euros – a wave that would have engulfed athletes with lesser mental resilience, however great their physical and technical qualities. Who knows whether they would have triumphed had the tournament been overseas? And who cares? It was on English soil with all the [...]
Sir Craig Reedie interview: Inside London 2012 and why Olympics was value for money July 25, 2022 If you lived through the London 2012 Olympics then you will probably remember where you were for its most spectacular or poignant moments – Super Saturday, Danny Boyle’s vivid opening ceremony, Andy Murray winning tennis gold – and Sir Craig Reedie is no different. But while the former chairman of the British Olympic Association, one [...]
The Commonwealths are the ‘Local Global Games’ July 24, 2022 The Commonwealth Games begin in Birmingham this week. It’s the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, so where better than England’s second city? They should, however, be taking place in Durban, which would have become the first African city to host the Games. The opening day would have been last week – on 18 July, Nelson Mandela’s birthday [...]
Owning it: Why triathlon’s new PTO Tour is giving equity to athletes like Alistair Brownlee July 20, 2022 Athletes including Britain’s Alistair Brownlee taking part in this weekend’s Canadian Open, the first event proper on triathlon’s new PTO Tour, will have an extra incentive to perform. Because as well as earning prize money they are also part-owners of the body running the tour, the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO). It means they stand to [...]
777 Partners vice president: ‘We want BBL to be next best rival to NBA’ July 13, 2022 Investment firm 777 Partners is determined to make the British Basketball League (BBL) the second biggest domestic league in the sport, behind the NBA. Since the US company’s acquisition of 45 per cent in the BBL last year, the league has seen record crowds and will have its first team – the London Lions, who [...]
BBL ready to slam dunk its rival basketball competitions July 13, 2022 British basketball has only ever featured at the Olympics when the team has participated as the host nation and has never qualified for the Fiba World Cup. A Sport England survey estimates the number of those participating in the sport in England has dropped by 100,000 since 2016. In spite of this, however, the British [...]