World Athletics president Lord Coe has said that the sport "may have to think out of the box" if the Olympic Games do not go ahead in 2021.

The Tokyo Games have been pushed back a year because of coronavirus and Coe says there are "no certainties" they will happen on the new date.

He suggested that other events could be organised to replace those cancelled.
"I really hope we are in a position to deliver the Tokyo Games," he said.

Coe said: "We also may have to think slightly out of the box about how we might have to create other types of events if - I hope not - but if we have a very badly disrupted season generally."

The president of the London 2012 organising committee added that should the Games have to take place without fans, it would still be worth doing but that the idea did not fill him "with unalloyed joy".

In response to the finding of 19 allegations of emotional abuse or neglect of British world-class programme athletes by coaches since 2017, Coe said those involved in sport cannot be "remotely complacent".

He continued: "The most important thing that sports bodies need to do, whether they're national or global, is to investigate reports of harassment and abuse, and take it very seriously and with rigour. And it's got to be a system that the athletes absolutely trust in.

"But what sports do need to be doing is talking more about where these vulnerabilities lie and actually speaking to themselves as well. We should have that conversation among sports generally."

Earlier in August, the Russian Athletic Federation (Rusaf) paid World Athletics a £4.8m fine relating to the country's state-sponsored doping scandal to avoid expulsion by the governing body.

Coe said Rusaf must now present a reinstatement programme to World Athletics before the process of giving Russian athletes permission to compete as authorised neutral athletes could begin.

He added: "I'm hoping that we really can resume the reinstatement path, but it will only be achieved when I'm absolutely certain that we're not putting in jeopardy the careers of clean athletes for those that have chosen to cheat."

As the redevelopment of the Alexander Stadium continues, Birmingham City Council and Birchfield Harriers can confirm alternative provision of a track and field facility has been secured for club members.

Wyndley Leisure Centre in Sutton Coldfield will be the training venue for Birchfield athletes while the Alexander Stadium undergoes major construction work to make the venue the largest dedicated athletics facility in the UK.

Equipment from the stadium including hurdles, high jump and pole vault beds and the throws cage will be relocated to the eight lane 400m track at Wyndley, operated on behalf of the council by Birmingham Community Leisure Trust. Birchfield Harriers will have use of the track twice per week (the same frequency as at the Alexander Stadium) on Monday and Wednesday evenings at the Sutton venue.

Following the completion of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the Alexander Stadium and its facilities will become a long-term focal point for sport, leisure, health and well-being activities in Perry Barr and provide Birchfield Harriers with the best permanent facility of its type for athletics use in the country.

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “We understand the inconvenience the construction work has caused and the disappointment for those that had hope to use the facilities until later this year.

“The work programme meant no other option than to close the athletics track because the health and safety of all site visitors, including athletes, is of paramount importance.

“I’m delighted we have been able to work with trustees and officials to secure an excellent alternative training venue for Birchfield Harriers at Wyndley Leisure Centre.

“This is only a temporary measure before the club will go ‘home’ to a world-class facility at the Alexander Stadium once it is ready for re-occupation.”

Ainsley Bennett, Chair of Birchfield Harriers Trustees, added: “As Birchfield Harriers Trustees we have been working closely with the city council in what are very difficult and trying times for all.

“We are pleased with all the cooperation and consideration that has been extended to us in providing alternative training arrangements, whilst we all await the world-class facilities being built for the Commonwealth Games and the legacy this will give to athletics in the city and Birchfield Harriers for many years to come.”

The new arrangement commenced earlier this week on 10 August 2020.

Singer Jorja Smith has used her new music video to amplify British open water swimmer Alice Dearing's work around diversity.

The powerful video for ‘By Any Means’ dropped earlier this month. It features Smith's friends and family, as well as 23-year-old Dearing, who has competed at three World Championships and is on course to become the first Black woman to represent Great Britain in swimming at the delayed Tokyo Olympics next year.

Last year, Dearing became the lead ambassador for the Black Swimming Association, a charity launched to encourage more Black people to swim. And Smith, who was named best British female solo artist at the 2019 Brit Awards, has spoken publicly to champion Dearing's work to "increase diversity in aquatic areas and break down the barriers"...

According to governing body Swim England, 95% of Black adults and 80% of Black children in England do not swim, while the last recorded data from 2018 shows that less than 1% of registered competitive swimmers with Swim England identify as Black or Mixed Race.

Dearing previously said: "I am a big believer in representation. I don't think you can be something that you can't see. People won't naturally take up swimming if they can't see someone who naturally looks like them - especially for little Black girls and boys." She describes not seeing other people of colour at open swimming meets and even having to deal with racism - overhearing, as a 17-year-old, one coach using racist language about her.

Alice is just the second Black swimmer to represent Britain at international level, after Achieng Ajulu-Bushell.

The By Any Means video also features members of Football Beyond Borders, an organisation aimed at helping youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds who are disengaged at school.

Jessica McCaskill handed Cecilia Braekhus her first professional defeat in a huge upset to become the undisputed world welterweight champion.

American McCaskill, 35, won by majority decision in Tulsa to take Braekhus' WBA, WBC, IBF, IBO and WBO belts.

Victory would have seen Norway's Braekhus, 38, beat Joe Louis' streak of 25 straight title defences in an 11-year reign.

"This is for the fourth-grade-year-old homeless Jessica," said McCaskill.

"This is for the little girl that just didn't care what people thought about her and learned to love herself even though she was really weird."

Braekhus, who became welterweight world champion in 2009, said: "If this is my last fight, I could leave women's boxing and just say, 'I was a part of this. I was a part of taking women's boxing to this level.'"

McCaskill, also the unified world light-welterweight champion, is now expected to face the winner of the rematch between Katie Taylor and Delfine Persoon on 22 August.

Ireland's Taylor beat McCaskill by unanimous decision in December 2017 to retain her WBA world lightweight title.

When the Chinese Women's Super League resumes this weekend it will feature Malawian sisters Tabitha and Temwa Chawinga. It will be the first time the sisters have played against each other competitively having appeared together for the national team, Malawian club DD Sunshine and Swedish side Kvarnsveden.

Temwa, 21, will be playing for Wuhan FC and hoping to follow in her big sister's footsteps after Tabitha, 24, was recently voted the league's Player of the Year for a second year in a row.

"She's a very good player, and the thing is everyone will be working hard to make her team and fans happy," Tabitha said. Temwa admits there will be some sibling rivalry: "Both of us will do our best to see who the best player is. Back home the family are very happy about us.

“My parents never thought their children would one day play football outside of the country, but now it's happening." But she is also thankful to Tabitha for her help in getting her career started.

Tabitha's journey began when someone spotted her talent as she played in her village with the boys and helped her move to the capital Lilongwe to join DD Sunshine, one of the very few serious women football teams in the country. She said: "Growing up, I never saw myself as different from boys - whatever they did, I believed I could, and went for it."

Her next bit of good fortune was when a young American lady working for a local NGO was persuaded to join DD Sunshine, by two colleagues who were players at the club. She was later transferred to Sweden by the NGO, where she decided that apart from working she would continue to pursue her newly-found passion of football.

When she approached Krokom Dvarsatts, who were in the Swedish third Division at the time, the club was meticulous in enquiring of where she had played before to make sure they did not violate any transfer rules. The club contacted DD Sunshine owner David Dube to discuss terms of transfer for the American and he said they could take her without paying on condition they would try out another of his players whom he believed was more talented.

"When Krokom Dvarsatts hesitated, Mr Dube offered to pay visa and flight costs for me to travel to Sweden for trials," says Tabitha. "I joined the team for training on the same day I arrived and they were immediately impressed with my strength, dribbling, shooting from far and scoring skills."

The pair are helping to improve the fortunes of the national team as they led the team to the second round of Tokyo Olympic qualifiers with 14-1 aggregate win over neighbours Mozambique. They won the home leg 11-1 with Temwa scoring five times to outshine her big sister, who 'only' managed a hat-trick. In the second round they beat Kenya 3-2 in Malawi, with two goals from Tabitha, but then lost 3-0 in the return leg.

The sisters' achievements have not gone unnoticed back in Malawi with Tabitha not only being named captain of her national team but also being named Malawi Sports Personality of the Year and Sports Woman of the Year in 2019.

British Athletics has today announced that it has accepted a request from World Championship finalist Sophie McKinna to take up the original offer of membership to the Olympic World Class Programme (WCP) for 2020.

Shot putter McKinna enjoyed a memorable 2019 reaching her maiden World Championship final in Doha with a personal best of 18.61m, rounding a progression of 85 centimetres from 2018, and winning the first British titles of her career indoors and outdoors.

She was given the chance to join the WCP at the start of December however athletes can use their discretion should they not wish to accept membership. Following a request to British Athletics, McKinna will now take up her membership, which remains open to all athletes offered it for any given year.

McKinna will be welcomed at Podium Potential level. The British Athletics WCP is UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded initiative to support the delivery of success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Membership onto the WCP for 2020 is based upon an athletes’ potential to win a medal at Tokyo 2020 or Paris 2024.

Sophie said: “I am very pleased to be accepted into the WCP, during the season British Athletics have supported me through injury and allowed me to get back to full fitness quickly. I am very much looking forward to pushing on with the remainder of the 2020 season and onward to 2021.”

Head of Field & Combined Events at British Athletics, Peter Stanley, said: “We are delighted to welcome Sophie onto the World Class Programme. She enjoyed a fantastic 2019, proving herself among the best shot putters in the world delivering an outstanding performance and great personal best when it mattered in Doha.

“Sophie is a brilliant young athlete who we believe will benefit greatly from being on the World Class Programme and we look forward to working closely with her as she continues her development guided by her coach, Mike Winch.”