Johannes Vetter is the latest global track and field star to sign up to the Müller British Grand Prix and all eyes will be on whether he can break Jan Zelezny’s world javelin record at the Wanda Diamond League event in Gateshead on Tuesday July 13.

Zelezny’s mark of 98.48m was set 25 years ago in Jena, but Vetter came close to surpassing it last year with 97.76m in Poland – the longest throw in the world for more than two decades.

The 28-year-old from Germany looks in world record-breaking form this year, too, as he threw 96.29m to win his event by 11 metres at the European Team Championships last month. The omens are good as well when it comes to Vetter attacking Zelezny’s record at Gateshead.

The last time he competed in Britain he won the world title in London in 2017. It is also not unusual to see javelin world records set in England. Czech legend Zelezny threw a world record of 95.66m in Sheffield in 1993, whereas Britain’s Steve Backley broke the world record with 90.98m at Crystal Palace in London in 1990.

Vetter said: “I have been really pleased with my form so far this year and am hoping for another good performance at the Müller British Grand Prix in Gateshead next month. It will be an important test ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and I look forward to throwing well there.

“I have good memories of competing in England. My world title in 2017 was won in the Olympic Stadium in London and there is always good support at British meetings from their knowledgeable crowd.” On attacking the world record, the German said earlier this year: 

“The conditions have to be right and in the javelin you need your whole body. You need the right speed, a good plant foot, the right release point, trajectory and transfer of weight. Trying to throw long is like going into a casino and playing roulette – the odds are against you.”

The news of Vetter’s participation follows the announcement of a world-class women’s pole vault line up that sees British record-holder Holly Bradshaw taking on Olympic champion Katerina Stefanidi, world outdoor champion Anzhelika Sidorova, world indoor gold medallist Sandi Morris and world leader in 2021 Katie Nageotte. In addition, British star Dina Asher-Smith will be racing over 200m and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands will compete in the women’s mile, with further announcements to follow in coming days.

Gateshead staged the first Wanda Diamond League event of 2021 in May after it was moved from Rabat in Morocco to the North East of England and now, on July 13, the same venue will host the seventh Diamond League of the season after it was moved from its original home of London. The Müller British Grand Prix will be broadcast internationally from 7-9pm with BBC showing the action live for domestic viewers.

Up to 10,000 Japanese fans will be permitted at Tokyo 2020 Olympic venues, despite warnings from health bosses. Overseas spectators are already banned but organisers said domestic fans could attend providing crowds did not exceed 50% of a venue's capacity.

Fans will not be allowed to shout or speak loudly, and must wear face masks at all times while in venues. The Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 23, while the Paralympics follow a month later, from August 24.

Spectator numbers for the Paralympics will be confirmed by July 16, said a joint statement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the Tokyo 2020 organising committee, the Tokyo metropolitan government and the government of Japan. The decision to allow spectators comes despite the release of a report last week by Japanese medical experts that said holding the Games without spectators was the least risky and most desirable option.

Tokyo 2020 organising committee president Seiko Hashimoto said: "There are so many cases, domestically and internationally of sports events with spectators."

"By exercising thorough measures and based on the government criteria, we believe we can hold the Games with spectators. The entire world is facing the same issues and we have to work together to overcome them."

Should there be a rapid increase in Covid-19 infections and impact on Japan's healthcare systems, the five parties will consider further restrictions. This could include further reducing spectator numbers at venues.

There are fears that the Games may trigger a surge in coronavirus infections in Japan. As a result, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last week encouraged the Japanese public to watch the Games on television, rather than attending events in person.

A state of emergency in Tokyo has been lifted, five weeks before the start of the Olympics with emergency Covid-19 restrictions having been in place in Japan's capital and other prefectures since late April amid a surge in infections. However, some quasi-emergency measures will remain in some areas, including Tokyo, until July 11.

Birmingham Phoenix have finalised their coaching teams ahead of the start of The Hundred.

Andrew McDonald is unable to travel over to England this summer due to scheduling issues caused by the pandemic. Former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori will step up from his Assistant Coach role to the role of Men’s Interim Head Coach this summer while McDonald will continue to support the side in an advisory role before his planned return as Men’s Head Coach in 2022, subject to international commitments.

After a hugely successful playing career that sees him remembered as one of New Zealand’s greatest ever cricketers, Vettori has gained extensive coaching experience having had spells in charge of Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash, Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and Middlesex in the Vitality Blast. He will be supported by two Assistant Coaches - Alex Gidman & James Franklin who have extensive experience in England, both on and off the field, and are currently Head Coaches at Worcestershire & Durham respectively.

Ben Sawyer remains as Head Coach of the Women’s side with some exciting additions to his backroom staff. Former England cricketer Caroline Foster (nee Atkins) is one of three Assistant Coaches alongside Dominic Ostler and Gareth Davies who currently coach the Warwickshire and Worcestershire Women’s sides.

Foster is a former World Cup and Ashes winner and coached Western Storm to the final of the Kia Super League in its inaugural season in 2016.

Daniel Vettori said: “I feel really honoured to be asked to step up and take the reigns from Andrew this year. Andrew has helped build a very strong squad we’ll continue to communicate regularly, and Andrew’s advice and support will be vital to hopefully bring The Hundred trophy to Birmingham.”

Andrew McDonald commented: “Unfortunately I am no longer able to travel to the UK this summer and coach the team, which is disappointing; but I will be doing everything I can in my revised role to support Dan, his coaching team and the playing group. Dan has been an integral part of the planning and I’m confident we can achieve success in The Hundred this year.”

Caroline Foster said: “I feel thrilled to be working with Birmingham Phoenix this summer. Ben is a fantastic coach who has experience around the world and I can’t wait to work with him and the players ahead of what is an incredibly exciting moment not just for Birmingham Phoenix but for women’s cricket as a whole.”

One of India's greatest athletes, Milkha Singh, has died from Covid-related complications.

Popularly known as "the Flying Sikh", Singh won four Asian gold medals and finished fourth in the 400m final at the 1960 Rome Olympics.

In 2013, his story was turned into the Bollywood film Bhaag Milkha Bhaag - Run Milkha Run.

Singh's wife, Nirmal Kaur, a former volleyball captain, also died with Covid earlier this week, aged 85.

Singh had contracted Covid-19 last month and died of complications from the disease in a hospital in the northern city of Chandigarh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the tributes to the athlete, who has been described as independent India's first sporting superstar.

Singh's exploits on the track and field are legendary in India.

He won five golds in international athletic championships and was awarded the Helms World Trophy in 1959 for winning 77 of his 80 international races. He also won India's first

Commonwealth gold in 1958.

Singh grew up in a small village in what, during his childhood, was still British India. As a young boy who lived in a remote village in Multan province, he saw his parents and seven siblings murdered during the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947.

As his father fell, his last words were "Bhaag Milkha Bhaag", exhorting his son to run for his life. The boy ran - first to save his life, and then to win medals.

Arriving in India as an orphan in 1947, he took to petty crime and did odd jobs for survival until he found a place in the army. It was there that he discovered his athletic abilities.

Singh won Gold at the 1958 Commonwealth Games in Cardiff and went on to finish fourth in the 400 metres at the Rome Olympics, missing out on a bronze medal by a whisker. In 1960, he was invited to take part in the 200m event at an International Athletic competition in Lahore, Pakistan. He hadn't been back to Pakistan since fleeing in 1947 and initially refused to go.

Singh eventually did go to Pakistan. Despite the huge support for his main rival, Pakistan's Abdul Khaliq, in the stadium, Singh went on to win that race, while Khaliq took the bronze medal. As Gen Ayub Khan, Pakistan's second president, awarded the competitors their medals, Singh received the nickname that would stick with him for the rest of his life.

He said: "Gen Ayub said to me, 'Milkha, you came to Pakistan and did not run. You actually flew in Pakistan. Pakistan bestows upon you the title of the Flying Sikh.' If Milkha Singh is known as the Flying Sikh in the whole world today, the credit goes to General Ayub and to Pakistan.”

Even though he never won an Olympic medal, his only wish was that someone else should win that medal for India. When the biographic film was released in 2013, Singh told the BBC that it would inspire the next generation.

"We had nothing in our times,” he said. “The athletes and sportsmen in those days didn't earn much money. We worked for the applause, people's appreciation inspired and motivated us, we ran for the country." He was 91.

Sprinter Usain Bolt has had twin boys, named Thunder Bolt and Saint Leo Bolt. Bolt, 34, announced the news on Instagram on Father's Day, with a lightning bolt emoji next to each of his children's names. The Olympic champion posted a photo of him and partner Kasi Bennett, with their twin boys and one-year-old daughter Olympia Lightning. The couple did not say when exactly the twins were born.

Bennett also posted a photo with the babies, saying that Bolt was the rock of this family and the greatest daddy to our little ones. Olympia Lightning was born in May 2020, and her name was announced publicly two months later. Before her birth, Bolt had kept followers updated of Bennett's pregnancy on his social media. However, neither he nor Bennett had posted about her pregnancy with the twins. Bolt, a Jamaican sprinting icon, retired from athletics in 2017 and still holds the 100m and 200m world records, making him the fastest man in history. He is also the only man to have won three 100m Olympic titles and 23 major gold medals during his career.

After leaving athletics he tried to play professional football, but then announced he was leaving sports entirely in 2019. Bolt is not the first celebrity to use a play on words when naming children. In 2013 Kanye West and his wife Kim Kardashian West, who are currently separated, made headlines when they named their child North West. Musician Jermaine Jackson named his son, who is now 20 years old, Jermajesty.

And television actor Rob Morrow from 1990s series Northern Exposure named his daughter, who is now also an actor, Tu Morrow.

Holly Bradshaw faces a big test on the eve of the Tokyo Olympics when she takes on the world’s leading female pole vaulters at the Müller British Grand Prix in Gateshead International Stadium on Tuesday July 13.

The 28-year-old, who competes for Blackburn Harriers and is coached by Scott Simpson, cleared a British outdoor best with 4.82m at a meeting in Huelva, Spain, this month, whereas earlier this year indoors she cleared 4.85m, a mark which is close to her outright British record of 4.87m, which was also set indoors. The Müller British Grand Prix next month is part of the Wanda Diamond League series and Bradshaw’s competition includes:

Katie Nageotte – the world No.1 this year after clearing 4.94m at a meeting in the United States this month where the pole vault was moved indoors due to bad weather. However, the 30-year-old American also jumped 4.93m outdoors last month in the States and she produced the best jump in the world last year too with 4.92m.

Anzhelika Sidorova – the reigning world champion has a best of 4.95m, which was set when winning that title in Doha in 2019. The 29-year-old is one of a small number of Russian athletes who have been allowed to compete as Authorised Neutral Athletes.

Katerina Stefanidi – the Greek pole vaulter is the reigning Olympic champion and her national record of 4.91m was set in the UK when she won the world title at the London Stadium in 2017.

Sandi Morris – the reigning world indoor champion also has silver medals from the 2016 Olympics and 2019 World Championships and holds the No.2 outdoor mark in history with 5.00m. The American has a good record in Britain, too, as she won her world indoor title in Birmingham and was runner-up at the 2017 World Championships in London.

Bradshaw said: “After opening my season well in Doha last month, things have gone even better since with my best-ever outdoor height of 4.82m in Spain. My event is really competitive at the moment and in Gateshead I’ll be due to face most of the top pole vaulters in what promises to be a really good competition. With the meet falling so close to the Olympics as well it will be a great final test before heading out to Tokyo.”

Such is the quality of the competition, in good conditions the athletes could get close to the world record of 5.06m set by Yelena Isinbayeva in 2009. Several women’s pole vault world records have been set at Gateshead International Stadium in the past. Daniela Bartova of the Czech Republic, for example, set a world record of 4.14m at the venue in 1995 while Isinbayeva of Russia set world marks of 4.82m in 2003 and 4.87m in 2004 at the same track.

The pole vault line-up is the latest event to be announced for the Müller British Grand Prix following the news that British star Dina Asher-Smith will be racing over 200m and Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands will compete in the women’s mile. Gateshead staged the first Wanda Diamond League event of 2021 in May after it was moved from Rabat in Morocco to the North East of England and now, on July 13, the same venue will host the seventh Diamond League of the season after it was moved from its original home of London.

The Müller British Grand Prix will be broadcast internationally from 7-9pm with BBC showing the action live for domestic viewers.