Ed Warner: Fear of losing to the Poms may get Australian sport its extra A$2bn Opinion As an English sports fan it’s always fun when others cite your nation as their greatest rivals when they wouldn’t make your own top three. Cricket aside, such is the case with Australia. Last week a cry from Australia’s sporting hierarchy for more financial backing from politicians caught my eye. The need to beat the [...]
UK culture sec urges Olympic partners like Coca-Cola and Visa to back Russia athlete ban Kremlin under pressure The UK’s culture secretary has written to sponsors of the Olympics including Coca-Cola and Visa urging them to back a ban on Russian and Belorussian athletes. Lucy Frazer addressed the letter to the CEOs of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Worldwide Partners, which include Coca-Cola, Intel, Samsung and Visa. The letter to CEOs comes after [...]
Why Japanese advertising darling Dentsu has been charged with corruption over Tokyo 2020 Olympics contracts Sport business Japanese advertising giant Dentsu is among several companies and individuals charged with corruption over the awarding of contracts for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Dentsu’s competitors Hakuhodo and Tokyu Agency and event production companies Cerespo, Fuji Creative and Same Two have also been charged. Former Tokyo 2020 operations executive Yasuo Mori and former Dentsu executive Koji [...]
British skateboarder Sky Brown, 14, wins world championship gold February 12, 2023 Teenage skateboarder Sky Brown won gold at the World Championships yesterday, with fellow Briton Lola Tambling coming sixth. Fourteen-year-old Brown, who became Britain’s youngest summer Olympian at last year’s Tokyo 2020 Games, laid down a high score of 90.83 in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday to take top spot in the first Paris 2024 [...]
Ed Warner on the sporting year that was December 22, 2022 And so we reach the end of a year of sporting excess, or at least an excess of sport. Sunday’s FIFA World Cup Final was the calorific dessert that may well have caused you to come over all Mr Creosote, exploding under the temptation of just one more dish of must-see sporting competition. While we [...]
Ed Warner: Marathon season revives questions about unequal fight against doping September 22, 2022 The track season is behind us and athletic thoughts now turn to autumn marathons. Berlin, renowned world record course, this Sunday. London and then Chicago within a fortnight. New York at the start of November. That’s four of the six marathon majors in seven weekends, and doubtless plenty of competition among race organisers to secure [...]
Hollie Pearne-Webb: I am still learning how to lead as England hockey captain July 4, 2022 It’s not often you get the chance to reinvent yourself as a captain three years into your tenure, but that’s exactly what England and Great Britain hockey captain Hollie Pearne-Webb is doing as her side begin a World Cup and then head to a home Commonwealth Games. The Pearne-Webb era has been dogged by the [...]
Adam Peaty interview: Swimming should look at example set by Boxing June 16, 2022 He is one of the most recognisable swimmers in British history but Adam Peaty insists that his sport needs to follow the example of boxing. The three-time Olympic champion, currently engaged in his own fight to be fit for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, believes swimming chiefs should do more to heighten the drama of [...]
Emma Raducanu leads British hat-trick at Laureus World Sports Awards April 25, 2022 Emma Raducanu led a British hat-trick at the Laureus World Sports Awards by winning Breakthrough of the Year for her fairytale US Open tennis triumph. Schoolgirl skateboarder Sky Brown, who won Comeback of the Year, and BMX rider Beth Shriever, who won Action Sportsperson of the Year, were the other Brits to be honoured at [...]
Britain’s most successful Olympian Jason Kenny retires February 24, 2022 Britain’s most successful Olympian Jason Kenny has retired from track cycling to become a coach. Kenny, 33, won seven gold medals and two silvers at four Olympic Games during an era of unparalleled dominance for British cyclists. He is taking up the role of national sprint coach as Team GB prepares for the Paris 2024 [...]