Sports News

British world heptathlon champions Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Nafi Thiam of Belgium have been added to the women’s long jump field for the London Athletics Meet on Sunday 23 July. Two of the all-time greats in the combined events will add further star power to the long jump competition as they join European Indoor champion Jazmin Sawyers at the London Stadium later this month. 

Edgbaston is set for another stunning summer of men’s and women’s international cricket after the ECB announced Pakistan and West Indies are heading to Birmingham in 2024.

Following on from Saturday’s record-breaking Women’s Ashes IT20, England Women return next summer for an IT20 versus Pakistan, before the Men compete in the same fixture two weeks later. Edgbaston will also host a five-day Test Match against West Indies for the first time since 2017, while Vitality Blast Finals Day returns to the venue for a 12th year in a row.

Sam Hain and Craig Miles took time to visit youngsters at Acorns Children’s Hospice – and handed over a cheque for almost £6,000 thanks to the generosity of Bears’ lead Vitality Blast sponsor Talbots Law. The Midlands-based law firm nominated Acorns as its charity partner for the Blast derby against Worcestershire Rapids to help raise funds for its three regional hospices.

Dan Greaves and Sammi Kinghorn will co-captain the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, France which take place between 8-17 July.

Greaves competed at his first World Para Athletics Championships in 2002, also in France. 21 years later and after winning medals at six consecutive Paralympic Games, the 40-year-old will bring all his experience to the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team at the 2023 edition. He has won three world discus titles in 2002, 2006 and 2011. He will be targeting his first world championship podium in 10 years at the Stadium Charlety when he competes on the 15 July.

Seat Unique, the premium ticketing marketplace for live events, has today announced that the iconic Carnegie Pavilion and Media Centre will now be known as the Seat Unique Pavilion, reflecting a new era of exceptional fan experiences at the Headingley Stadium.

This marks a significant milestone in Seat Unique's partnership with Yorkshire County Cricket Club, which began in 2022 when Seat Unique signed an exclusive 4 year partnership to become the club's Official Online Premium Ticketing and Hospitality Sales Platform. This extended agreement will see the further expansion of the premium ticketing category inside Headingley Stadium, solidifying Seat Unique's commitment to increasing access to even more premium experiences for fans.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup is less than three weeks away and interest in the tournament is increasing around the world. By using data from Nielsen and Instagram, Seat Compare have researched the competing players at this year’s tournament and their respective Instagram statistics. 

The Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC) has today signed an agreement confirming that it will host the closing round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for the 2024 and 2025 seasons.

Moreover, the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club will also join as the main support event. The record-breaking Jeddah Corniche Circuit, located on the shores of the Red Sea, will host both championships on 21st –23rd November next year, with both series set to race on the world’s fastest and longest street track.

Following his record-breaking 100m performance in New York last weekend, British sprinter, Zharnel Hughes, will face the 200m at the London Athletics Meet on Sunday 23 July. The 2022 European 200m champion revised the history books at the USATF NYC Grand Prix last week where he broke Linford Christie’s near 30-year-old record with a stunning time of 9.83 which moved him to second on the European all-time list.

VELO have just released the findings of its global motorsport fan survey, revealing that only a quarter (25 per cent) of fans think motorsport teams do enough for their supporters. In true Love The Unexpected style, VELO, through its partnership with the McLaren F1 Team, is getting to the heart of fan opinion to find out what they really want. What better way to put fans at the centre than by asking them to buckle up and take pole position, with an exclusive reveal on the MCL60 car at Zandvoort.

Young aspiring cricketers are being encouraged to try out for Warwickshire CCC as the Club relaunches its innovative Open Trials scheme to find stars of the future.

The Club revolutionised its youth selection last year by introducing an Open Trials system that allowed any boy aged 13-18 to submit video footage of them batting, bowling and / or wicket keeping for assessment by coaches. It resulted in 60 boys being invited in for a series of five coaching sessions – where coaches get to know the youngsters – with 10 making it into the pathway age structure.

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles is set to make her return to competitive gymnastics at the 2023 US Classic in August. The 26-year-old, who has not competed since the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, took a break from the sport to work on her mental health.

The American withdrew from five of her six finals in Tokyo over mental health and safety concerns. It is not yet known if she will compete at next year's Olympics in Paris.

University of Gloucestershire is collaborating with Basketball England to conduct the first research of its kind investigating injuries sustained by basketball players, with the aim of making the sport safer. 

Despite being the second-most played team sport in England, behind only football, with more than 230,000 people aged over 16 playing basketball at least twice a month, little is still known about the types of injuries that occur in basketball games and training sessions. But the limited evidence suggests the injury risk in basketball could be as high as it is in rugby. 

Holders, the United States, will again be the team to beat as the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in Australia and New Zealand later this month, as Euros champions, England, will be another of the favourites to lift the coveted trophy. And, Africa's most successful national side, Nigeria will also be ones to watch as the global celebration draws ever closer.

Won by four different national teams, the USA already hold claim 4 times, whilst Germany have won it twice, with Norway and Japan winning it once each.

Jamaica Rugby Sevens male team came out with a silver medal at the Central America and Caribbean Games in El Salvador, after a 28-7 defeat by Colombia in the final.

This was the second medal for the team, which is otherwise known as the ‘Crocs’, in the championships - Ashley McKenzie won silver in the men’s Judo competition. The Colombians did, however, outplay the Jamaicans in the final quarter to win the match quite comfortably.

Men’s 400m world record holder Wayde van Niekerk (RSA) will return to the London Stadium for the first time since his world title triumph in 2017 to compete at the London Athletics Meet on Sunday 23 July.

The South African claimed world gold at the London 2017 World Athletics Championships to retain the title he won in 2015. He also won 200m silver at those Championships, so he has a history of producing his best performances in London.

In 2016 the South African rewrote the history books of the one-lap event when he set an astonishing world record of 43.03 to win the Olympic gold medal, taking Michael Johnson’s long-standing record.

Auchterarder Golf Club’s Rory Franssen proved his readiness to take on some of the world’s best after a five-under par round of 66 at Close House saw him secure qualification in the no.1 position for The International Series England.

Franssen will now compete alongside the likes of Ryder Cup heroes Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter when the main event returns to the North East between August 17-20th, and will be hoping for a repeat performance with a US$2m prize purse to play for.