Sports News

The Tokyo Paralympics get underway today with Covid-19 cases rising in Japan and all parties acknowledging that there is still a challenge ahead.

Delayed by a year because of the pandemic and with supporters unable to attend apart from a small number of schoolchildren, these will be a different Paralympic Games to any previous edition. But not only do organisers want top-level competition, they also want the Games to play a big part in making Japanese society more inclusive.

With the first season of The Hundred over, the focus switches away from newly formed teams in gold, vivid red or bright blue, and back to the men's Tests, England's women and the county game.

Cricket’s ‘The Hundred’ finale at Lord’s, saw Oval Invincibles crowned the first women's champions with Southern Brave winning the first men's title, in front of a crowd of nearly 25,000. With children and families sitting side-by-side among groups of ‘hard-core,’ cricket stalwarts, some 20% of the spectators across the tournament were children, a big jump on the Twenty20 Blast in recent years, with a total of 21% of tickets sold being bought by women.

Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah ran the second fastest women's 100m of all time at the Eugene Diamond League. The Jamaican, who retained her 100m-200m title double in Tokyo, clocked a new world lead of 10.54 seconds.

Only American Florence Griffith-Joyner has run faster, when she set her world record of 10.49 secs in 1988.

Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker said it had been "a dream come true" after spending the day as mayor of Wolverhampton.

The 24-year-old said in a post-bout interview in Tokyo he wanted the honour when he returned to the UK. The city council granted his wish on Sunday and organised a list of official engagements for him.

Oval Invincibles stormed to an emphatic 48-run victory over favourites Southern Brave to become the first women's Hundred champions on a historic afternoon at Lord's. After setting a target of 122, the Invincibles bowled out the Brave for just 73 in a perfect bowling performance.

Marizanne Kapp took three wickets in the first 10 balls - the Brave's top three batters all out without scoring. And with a 17,116-strong crowd watching on - a record for a women's domestic match anywhere in the world - the frantic start continued when Fran Wilson's brilliant throw ran out Maia Bouchier.

Ground-breaking research study conducted over thousands of ridden miles reveals untapped potential for pre-emptive identification of collision risk areas for cyclists.
 
As the number of road users taking to two wheels continues to grow exponentially, RoSPA and See.Sense have conducted pioneering new research which could prove invaluable in greatly enhancing cyclist safety by more effectively pinpointing potential collision blackspots.

Southern Brave were crowned the first men's Hundred champions after they beat Birmingham Phoenix by 32 runs in an action-packed Lord's final.

Chasing 169, Phoenix's Liam Livingstone thrashed 46 from 19 balls, animating a raucous Lord's crowd with an effortless flow of boundaries, before the game swung in dramatic and unlikely fashion. Tim David, only brought into the Brave's squad earlier this week, ran out Livingstone with a 60m direct hit from the deep - the in-form Livingstone agonisingly inches short.

Local teenager and second black-belt UK karate champion Chloe Barnes is getting set to kick the competition with a renewed boost from local car dealership Lookers Vauxhall Birmingham for a third year running.

The Streetly Shukokai Karate Club pupil has taken the martial arts world by storm over the last number of years, reaching new highs and adding coveted sports titles to her impressive list of accolades. The World Karate Championship title holder has collected an outstanding 70 gold, silver and bronze medals, four trophies and was named 2020 GB Karate Sportsperson of the Year.

Nico Ali Walsh paid tribute to his grandfather Muhammad Ali as he won his debut professional bout wearing a pair of shorts he had given him.

The 21-year-old made easy work of the fight, knocking down Jordan Weeks after 70 seconds.

Olympic silver medallist CJ Ujah has denied wrongdoing and said that he is shocked and devastated after a positive drugs test.

Ujah, 27, ran the first leg as Great Britain's 4x100m men's relay team narrowly missed out on gold in Tokyo. He has been provisionally suspended after a test showed the presence and/or use of two prohibited substances.

Troicki this half term to host an exclusive two-week tennis residency on island. The Davis Cup winner, who achieved a career high world ranking of No.12, will offer Amilla guests top-class tailored coaching, practice workshops and pro tips from 26 October to 6 November 2021.

Troicki became the first tennis player in the Open era to win all three major team competitions, with the World Team Cup in 2009, Davis Cup in 2010 and partnering with Novak Djokovic to win the inaugural ATP Cup in 2020. 

Birmingham and West Midlands based artists can now submit proposals for commissions of up to £25,000 to create new public space works in any art form that creatively respond to sports that will be competed at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Birmingham 2022 culture programme is offering four artists the chance to create work based on four sporting events at the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games; Aquatics – Swimming and Para Swimming, Athletics and Para Athletics, Basketball 3x3 and Wheelchair Basketball 3x3 and Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls.

To bring over 10,000 athletes - from 206 nations – together, during a pandemic, as, seemingly the most impossible of impossible tasks, but, in the end turned out to be impossible to forget. Despite being bereft of fans, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will, for many, go down as one of the best ever.

For a relieved Thomas Bach, president of the IOC (International Olympic Committee), he declared: “We did it.

The eSkootr Championship (eSC) is pleased to announce that Sharon Fuller has been appointed as Chief Content Officer. Fuller brings a wealth of experience to the world’s first racing series for electric scooters, moving from her position as Global Head of Central Content Creation at Red Bull. In her new role, Fuller will oversee all content creation, distribution, media partnerships and manage and work with influencers and production partners.

Emmy nominated and multiple award-winning Fuller has over 20 years’ experience in Sports Broadcasting, beginning in radio in her home town of Norwich and progressing through roles to work in a management position in a small Production Company on projects such as Moto GP and International football.

English Premier League side Aston Villa have announced the signing of winger Leon Bailey for £25m from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

The 23-year-old Jamaica international, who has scored 28 goals in 119 appearances for Leverkusen, has signed a deal until 2025. On completing his signature Villa boss Dean Smith said: "Leon is a hugely exciting young striker with great pace and creativity.

Work has begun to remove the large Ricoh signs from the roof of Coventry Building Society Arena. A huge 32 metre boom lift is being used to reach the four-metre-tall roof signs which can be seen clearly from miles around and on major roads near the Arena.

The signs, which have been in place for over ten years, are made of a canvas-type material stretched over metal frames and will have to be dismantled before they can be removed. Coventry Building Society Arena signs will take their place in a few months’ time and an indication of what they will look like was given last week when the new logo for the Arena was revealed.