Ultra-endurance athlete Mark Beaumont has set off on his record breaking attempt to cycle around the world in just 80 days. In 2008 Mark successfully cycled around the world in 194 days, this time he will attempt to do it in less than half the time.

Inspired by Jules Verne's classic adventure novel Around the World in Eighty days published in 1873, Mark will attempt to circumnavigate the globe over 144 years later by bicycle rather than balloon as he embarks on the Artemis World Cycle.

Mark departed from Paris at 04:00 this morning, making his way towards Poland en route to Beijing through Lithuania, Russia, and Mongolia before cycling between Perth and Brisbane in Australia.

In New Zealand Mark will head for Invercargill and Auckland with the fourth leg of his challenge taking him between Anchorage in the United States and Halifax in Canada. He will attempt to complete his journey by cycling from Lisbon back to Paris with the aim of arriving by Thursday 21st September.

Mark comments: “This is my chance to shoot for the stars and take on the ultimate endurance cycling challenge. Since I last pedalled around the world nearly ten years ago, there has been a growing desire in me to push the boundaries of what is possible and to retake the circumnavigation World Record at a whole new level. I know what I'm getting myself in to, this will be the toughest challenge of my life and will be an immense physical, mental and logistical battle before I reach the finish line.

“I have spent the last three years creating an amazing support team, who are in charge of my nutrition, logistics, navigation and safety, allowing me to purely focus on my performance and being an athlete. I don't think anyone has ever tried to go this fast and this far before and I have been building on my experience as an endurance rider over two decades to prepare for this journey”.

Wolverhampton’s WV Active leisure centres will be throwing open their doors for a day of free fitness activities this Super Saturday, 1 July.

Visitors are invited to drop into WV Active Aldersley, WV Active Bilston-Bert Williams and WV Active Central to take part in a packed schedule of fitness classes, swimming sessions and sports activities.

The free family event will see the official launch of a series of new High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) fitness classes including HIIT Blitz, HIIT Abs and HIIT Pulse at each of the City of Wolverhampton Council-run leisure centres.

WV Active Aldersley will be offering tennis, netball, athletics and cycling sessions, while Central and Bilston–Bert Williams will be holding swimming sessions.

Free mini health checks, including weight, height and blood pressure, will also be available at WV Active Aldersley and WV Active Bilston–Bert Williams on Super Saturday.

The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for City Environment, Councillor Steve Evans, said: “Super Saturday is a great opportunity for residents to see the leisure facilities that we have on offer, including the recently refurbished WV Active Central.

“I’d encourage people to make the most of this free event and try out some of the many activities available at our WV Active centres.”

72 young athletes, aged between 14-18, have been selected to represent Team England at this year’s Commonwealth Youth Games in The Bahamas.

The 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games will provide young athletes with a fantastic opportunity to gain valuable experience of a multi-sport competition to support their development.

A host of future stars will be heading to the Caribbean from 19-23 July 2017 competing in athletics, swimming, rugby 7s, beach volleyball, judo, boxing and tennis.

Notable young athletes in the squad include two-time national junior boxing champion Ivan Price, 2016 European Youth Championships Long Jump gold medallist Holly Mills and Beach Volleyball U20 British Champions Joaquin and Javier Bello, who will all have the opportunity to represent Team England for the first time.

They will follow in the footsteps of Team England and Olympic heroes Jessica Ennis-Hill, Beth Tweddle, James de Gale and Danny Care in representing England at the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The 2017 Bahamas Games will feature up to 1300 athletes who will compete across nine sports for 94 medals including Judo and Beach Volleyball for the first time.

Sarah Winckless, Chef de Mission for Commonwealth Games England said:

“I’m delighted that we will be taking such a talented group of young athletes to the Commonwealth Youth Games. For many this will be their first experience of a multi-sport Games environment and a key milestone on their pathway.

“These young athletes represent the pride of England and I know everyone back home will be wishing them all the best for the competition.

“This is the largest team we’ve sent overseas to a Commonwealth Youth Games and for the team behind the team the Commonwealth Youth Games represents an important staging post on the road to the Gold Coast next year.”

The first Commonwealth Youth Games was held in Edinburgh in 2000 and Team England has taken part in all editions since. Bahamas 2017 will be the largest international sporting event ever hosted in The Bahamas, and the largest-ever edition of the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The most recent Commonwealth Youth Games were in Samoa in 2015, when England came third in the medal table behind South Africa and Australia.

Young swimming sensation Layla Black, who claimed two gold medals at Samoa 2015 will get the chance to experience her second Commonwealth Youth Games, having been selected to represent Team England at this year’s edition.

Swimmer, Layla Black said:

“It feels great to have been selected for my second Commonwealth Youth Games. It fills me with a great sense of pride to have been chosen to represent my country again.

“I am looking forward to swimming fast, meeting new people and experiencing a new culture in the Bahamas.”

Britain’s biggest stars of track and field will receive a huge send-off to the IAAF World Championships at the Müller Anniversary Games on 9 July.

The Müller Anniversary Games will also be the last chance for many of the world’s best athletes to compete ahead of this summer’s global athletics event in London from 4-13 August.

Eleven reigning Olympic champions including Sir Mo Farah, 24 Olympic silver and bronze medallists from Rio, and ten current world champions will take part in this year’s star-studded meet.

Former World and double European indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty, European 100m champion James Dasaolu and fellow sub-10 man Chijindu Ujah, will lead the charge for Britain in the men’s 100m.

While former European 200m champion Adam Gemili, who finished fourth in Rio last year, and Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake, the only two British men to have run sub-10 for 100m and sub-20 for 200m, will battle it out against a strong 200m field which also includes Britain’s Zharnel Hughes.

European indoor champion Andrew Pozzi has enjoyed a fantastic 2017 so far and will face a world class 110m hurdles field that includes world record holder Aries Merritt and the silver and bronze medallists from the Rio Olympics, Orlando Ortega and Dimitri Bascou.

Andrew Pozzi said: “We’re incredibly lucky. We have a home World Championships first and foremost, but to have the Müller Anniversary Games, it really is the biggest meet on the circuit.

“You look at the start list and every event is always absolutely packed, so it’s really good to have that in the calendar as the last major meet, because it gets everyone focused and ready and almost a taste of the home support before coming back to the World Championships.”

Double European 400m champion Martyn Rooney (Graham Hedman) and 2014 European silver medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith (Tony Hadley) will also go head-to-head in the men’s 400m.

The four members of the Olympic bronze medal winning 4x100m women’s relay team, Dina Asher-Smith (John Blackie), Asha Philip (Steve Fudge), Daryll Neita (Jonas Dodoo) and Desiree Henry (Rana Reider), will line up against each other and the world’s best sprinters in the 100m.

2014 European 400m hurdles champion and Rio Olympic 4x400m relay bronze medallist Eilidh Doyle (Brian Doyle), will face a tough international field in the 400m hurdles, which includes the Rio Olympic silver medallist Sara Slott Petersen

Four British long jumpers, world silver medallist Shara Proctor (Rana Reider), European indoor silver medallist Lorraine Ugen (Shawn Jackson), European silver medallist Jazmin Sawyers (Kelly Sotherton) and 2014 world indoor long jump silver medallist Katarina Johnson-Thompson, will face both the Olympic champion and silver medallist from Rio, Tianna Bartoletta and Brittney Reese.

Shara Proctor said: “I can’t wait for the Müller Anniversary Games. The best athletes in the world always want to compete there, and the stakes are even higher this year because the World Championships is on the same track just a few weeks later.

“The crowd in the London Stadium is always fantastic and I’m sure the send-off for the British athletes will be an amazing spectacle and really loud.”

British Athletics is encouraging fans to turn out in red, white and blue for the Müller Anniversary Games and cheer on the Brits as they prepare for one of the biggest sporting events in the world.

A fat-fighting football weight-loss scheme for men is appealing for new players.

The MAN V FAT scheme, funded by Sandwell Council’s public health team, is starting a new league at Hadley Stadium in Smethwick next month (July). The sessions will be on Monday nights, 7-9pm.

Every week men weigh in, play football in an organised team tournament and earn bonus goals if players in their team lose weight, rewarding them for scoring both footie and weight goals.

To date, 83 men taking part in the scheme at Portway Lifestyle Centre in Oldbury have lost 80 stone - the equivalent in weight of 80 FA cups - in just 12 weeks.

Men can also get nutrition advice as part of the scheme. After 14 weeks men can choose to stay on the league to continue to play football and keep the weight off.

Sandwell Council’s cabinet member for public health and protection Councillor Elaine Costigan said: "This is a really fun, successful, appealing project to help men get fitter and shed the pounds.

“The results they’ve had so far are just incredible – I hope more men sign up for the new sessions and that they see the same great results.”

With summer just around the corner, thoughts are turning to BBQs, the beach, and bikini shopping.

But if you’re like a third of young women who are too self-conscious to go swimming, instead of looking forward to stripping down to a bikini on the beach, you might find yourself missing out through body anxiety.

Swim England recently launched its plan to get the nation swimming:

“Our aim is to encourage everyone to take part in swimming in the way that suits them. Whether that is for fitness, to be the best they can, or as a volunteer teaching people to swim. Together we will reach our goal of a happier, healthier and more successful nation through swimming.”

If you can muster up the confidence to go swimming, it has amazing health and fitness benefits, as Carly Yue, personal trainer at DW Fitness Clubs explains:

‘Swimming is an amazing all round body workout, it has minimal impact on your joints so is a great option for injury rehabilitation.

You can get a workout from simply walking up and down in the pool as the water resistance means you need to put in more effort (and burn more calories) than simply walking on a treadmill.’

Longer working hours and the rise of obesity has been cited as the reason less of us are swimming, but other answers to the survey included poor health and not having enough time with children.