Khadijah Mellah made history yesterday by becoming the first British Muslim jockey in the UK to win a race when landing the Magnolia Cup charity race on day three of the Qatar Goodwood Festival in dramatic style.

The 18-year-old, from Peckham, remarkably beat a field of 11 other riders in the female only charity race which included Olympian Victoria Pendleton and Vogue Williams.

She first learnt to ride at the charity, Ebony Horse Club in Brixton and her journey from South East London to winning at one of the world’s most famous racecourses will be the subject of a documentary, ‘Riding A Dream’, which will air later this year.

Of her incredible and ground-breaking achievement, Khadijah said, “That was such an unbelievable experience. It is just mind blowing to think that I was even in the same race as Victoria Pendleton, let alone to beat her and the rest of the women. Even in my wildest dreams I never imagined this could happen. I only sat on a racehorse a couple of months ago and I am just never going to forget this day. To be honest, I want to go back and do it all over again – what an incredible feeling!”

ITV Racing presenter, Oli Bell who is producing the film ‘Riding A Dream’ said, “That was completely and utterly amazing, I had my heart in my mouth the whole race. I can’t believe she’s done it and I couldn’t be prouder of Khadijah. We’ve been documenting her journey for the last six months and what she’s accomplished is nothing short of remarkable – it’s hard to overstate the extent of her achievement. She’s been learning to race-ride whilst also having to take her A-levels and a large period of this process was during Ramadan but she has taken it all in her stride, as was the case in front of a massive crowd. I hope that people will see what Khadijah’s achieved and feel inspired. This is a significant moment, not just in racing but in the wider sporting world.”

Charlie Fellowes who trained Khadijah’s horse, Haverland, and with whom she has been based for much of her training said, “Khadijah’s just a legend. I’ve never known anyone with so much focus and determination. I’ll be honest, when she came to the yard probably six – eight weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that she would make it. Racehorses are such highly strung animals and they are completely different to the horses that she will have ridden at Ebony Horse Club. But with every setback she has just worked harder. She’s turned up, put the hard hours in and she has done it. I had a winner here earlier this week but seeing her cross the finishing line in first place is definitely up there with that. I am absolutely thrilled for her.”

David Fleming, Engagement Manager from the charity Ebony Horse Club was on course with a group of ten young riders from the club to watch Khadijah compete. He said, “We all got a real kick out of watching Khadijah do so brilliantly. It takes a special kind of person to do what she has done and that’s why we put her forward to ride in the race and be in the documentary, ‘Riding A Dream’. Ebony Horse Club is a special place and we support 160 children and young people each week with horse related activities. To see one of our riders win at Goodwood is amazing and hopefully more of them will want to get into racing after today.”

‘Riding A Dream’ has been funded by Great British Racing, Goodwood Racecourse and the Racing Foundation as official partners. It is directed by Mattia Reiniger and Tom Bolwell, and produced by Oli Bell and his brother Philip Bell.

Great Britain couldn't sign off their best ever performance at a FIBA Women's EuroBasket with a maiden medal at the event, but leave Belgrade proud of an amazing and historic success.

Missing out on the bronze medal to local favourites Serbia who secured a comfortable 81-55 success, Chema Buceta and his team can reflect not only on their best ever finish by some distance, but a place in next year's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

Temi Fagbenle may also soon have a further reasons to celebrate, since her 23 points solidified her as a leading candidate for the Tournament All-Star Five.

"We were beaten by the better team and they were better in all areas," said Rachael Vanderwal after the contest.

"It's been a long tournament and both emotionally and physically we just weren't there tonight. But the big picture shows how far we have come. From not even qualifying in 2017, to fighting for a medal."

Great Britain head coach, Chema Buceta stated: " Serbia had a great day but we need to look at that big picture which Rachael (Vanderwal) talked about. We are here talking about Olympic Qualifying Tournaments. This is amazing.

"Of course we would liked to have won this game, but we are playing against a great team, like we did in the Semi-Final against France.

"We have to be very happy with what we have done in this tournament. we have raised the level on the court, but now other people involved have to make sure they also do more," added the play-caller."

Statistics gathered by the anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out shows that reports of racism in English football has risen by 43%.

And, according to the charity’s chief, Roisin Wood, the claim is that reported racist abuse in the game can be linked to Brexit.

Figures released have marked an increase last season; from 192 to 274, with the charity’s director declaring, "I think you can't not link them together.

"We're seeing a lot of reports of 'go back to where you came from' which we haven't seen for a while which seems to be on the back of Brexit."

Reports of abuse in professional and grassroots football have increased by 32% to 422, up from 319 during 2017-18. A further 159 reports were received via social media, with faith-based discrimination - including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism - rose by 75% from 36 to 63, a higher percentage than any other form of abuse during the period.

“It is the seventh consecutive year reported incidents of discrimination within football have increased, with the 581 total reports is more than double the figure from five years ago”, Wood said.

"If we're seeing a rise in hate crime, the Home Office, and other bodies, are seeing a rise in hate crime.

“And it's linked because that's what is going on in society at the moment.

"Some of the social media reports we've seen you wouldn't want anyone to see.

“Education is key to combating racism”, said England manager, Gareth Southgate:– which must mean ‘in all aspects’ of the game – from boardroom to grassroots!

Leading middle-distance running stars have today been confirmed for the Emsley Carr Mile race which will take place at this year’s Müller Anniversary Games.

The competitive field will not only include nine British runners for the London Stadium crowd to get behind but will also feature 1500m indoor world record holder Samuel Tefera (ETH), London 2017 bronze medallist Filip Ingebrigsten (NOR), double Olympic medallist Nick Willis (NZL) and European and Commonwealth bronze medallist Jake Wightman (GBR).

Founded in 1953, The Emsley Carr Mile is one of the most famous races in the history of athletics with some of the world’s leading runners claiming the title including Lord Sebastian Coe (GBR), Steve Ovett (GBR), Haile Gebrselassie (ETH), Hicham El Guerrouj (MAR) and Bernard Lagat (USA).

The iconic race, which was inaugurated in the memory of former News of the World editor Sir Emsley Carr, was last won by a British athlete in 2017 when Jake Wightman claimed the title with a time of 3:54.92.

Wightman, 24, who won both European and Commonwealth 1500m bronze last year, has been confirmed as one of the leading Brits in the field for the Emsley Carr Mile at this year’s Müller Anniversary Games.

One of the highlights of the distance running calendar also takes place tonight in Highgate at the Night of the 10,000m PBS event, where Wightman will be supporting the event by taking over British Athletics’ social media channels.

Edinburgh AC athlete Wightman said: "This is a really special night in the calendar at the Night of the 10,000m and I’m excited to be there in person to be able to take over British Athletics’ social media to help be a part of this great event.

“There will be a massive crowd at Parliament Hill tonight for the Night of the 10,000m for real quality athletics in London, and for me I know that my big night in London comes in a couple of weeks’ time when I’ll race in at the Müller Anniversary Games in The Emsley Carr Mile.

I was buzzing to win the event in 2017 and it had real significance in my confidence and development the following year. On top of that, I know from experience that the support I will receive at the London Stadium is like nothing else, so I’m sure it make all the difference as I take on a world class field."

IAAF President and previous winner of the Emsley Carr Mile, Lord Coe said: “I have fond memories of running in and watching The Emsley Carr Mile. In fact winning it in 1977, beating Filbert Bayi of Tanzania put me on the back pages of the UK national newspapers for the first time. It is one of the must-not-miss running events that attracts audiences from across the world.

“Previous editions of the Emsley Carr Mile have seen some of the biggest names in global athletics compete – and claim the title – and this year looks set to continue that trend as the world’s most iconic middle-distance race comes to the London Stadium.”

The Müller Anniversary Games takes place just ten weeks before the IAAF World Championships in Doha.

The two-day Diamond League event has seen history made on numerous occasions in recent years, with some memorable performances from British names such as Sir Mo Farah, Laura Muir and Dina Asher-Smith, while para athletics stars Kare Adenegan and Sophie Hahn both broke world records at the 2018 edition of the event.

Some of football’s leading figures descended onto West Bromwich Albion’s The Hawthorns to join members of the late Cyrille Regis and to play their part in the official launch of the Cyrille Regis Legacy Trust and to unveil the flagship ‘Strike a Change’ mentoring programme launched in the name of the late former England international.

With former players, who were inspired by him, there to support the legend’s widow, Julia and brother, Dave, community trusts and foundations from all six West Midlands clubs (Albion, Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Coventry City, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Walsall) came together for a series of workshops, with local heroes sharing their knowledge and wisdom with more than 100 young people.

A two-year programme supporting 14 and 15-year-old disengaged students with a passion for football the scheme presents a unique opportunity to work across geographical boundaries and club rivalries.

“I didn’t realise I could have a career in football until I saw Cyrille,” said former England international Les Ferdinand – who is now director of football at QPR, the. “With that kind of impact he made on me, to see this programme coming to fruition is exactly what modern football needs.

“I hope they listen and be prepared to learn”, said former Wolves player Gavin Mahon.

James and Adam Chambers became the first twins to play for England and both recalled the impact Regis had on them as they made their way through the Albion ranks shortly during his time there: “Don’t worry about what you CAN’T do”, James said. “Concentrate on what you CAN do”!

Cyrille’s former teammate at Vila, Tony Daley, added: “His presence and integrity made a huge impact on me – during my playing career and my life in general, with his calmness making me feel relaxed through some of my dark days”.

“Think big and listen - especially to your parents” brother, Dave said. “Not every young person has a parent or family member to guide them through times of hardship.

“I’d like to express huge gratitude to all six clubs for coming together in Cyrille’s name for a programme of real meaning. It’s humbling. We’re truly honoured”.

“Mentoring was a passion for Cyrille”, Julia said. "It was the part of his job as an agent that he loved the most.

"So we thought what better way than to start the charity and a mentoring scheme."

"I would like to see all these young boys and girls dream big to believe in themselves and understand that they can achieve what they put their mind to achieve. I would like to see them inspired and to grow as individuals."

The ‘Strike a Change’ mentoring scheme provides a unique opportunity to work with young people across geographical boundaries and club rivalries, exploring major issues such as Equality, Mental Health and Social Responsibility.

The charity is focused on three areas Julia discussed with Cyrille before his sudden passing last year – grassroots football, breaking down barriers, and mentoring.

British Athletics has announced it has started a ground-breaking new partnership with industry experts PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to improve how the Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programmes work with performance data and analytics.

One of the world’s largest professional service firms, PwC will work with British Athletics’ Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programmes as the Official Data Intelligence Partner to improve the support and value delivered to coaches and athletes through the provision of enhanced information and insights.

PwC will provide a range of services from data acquisition and modelling to reporting, visualisation and advanced analytics, generating insights not previously possible from the full range of data sources available to the Programmes.

The British Athletics World Class Programme is UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded initiative to support the delivery of success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The partnership with PwC aligns and supports the strategic aim to win more medals in more events at Tokyo 2020 and beyond.

British Athletics Performance Director Neil Black said: “This is an absolutely ground-breaking partnership for British Athletics to work with PwC and I am thrilled to welcome them into the sport.

“The sport of athletics is statistically and data rich, but there are limitations as to how successful it is if it is not recorded and interpreted correctly, and then provided to coaches and athletes in a way that they can make use of it – whether it is in planning a year or altering the focus of their day-to-day training.

“We truly believe that by more effectively and efficiently using data and analytics, British athletes across the Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programmes can be the best prepared in the world.

With the help and support of PwC and their services, our athletes and coaches will have fast and effective access to data and analytics, all in one place, which is something we have up until now not been able to provide.

“The improvements will be gradual but continuous as new capabilities are developed and there is a learning of what can actually be valuable to ultimately help athletes achieve their goals. It is a very exciting time for our sport to have this input.”

Alex Cooke, Data Intelligence Partner at PwC, said: “Our Data Analytics team support many organisations to get more value from their data and gain competitive advantage or disrupt their industries by optimising their insights operating models. Over the years athletics has brought the country many memorable moments and we are delighted to be partnering with British Athletics to ensure, through the use of data insights, we bring more success in the future.”

Jon Andrews, Head of Technology and Investments at PwC, said: “We’re really excited to partner with British Athletics in this initiative. Working with them, we hope to collectively combine the power of technology with human insight to help them and their athletes achieve superior performance. Speed is of the essence to stay ahead and we aim to bring our experience of mining data to give athletes and coaches more objective information to help them make better decisions.”