Sports News

The sporting legends pictured above attended the very first Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco in 2000, where former South Africa President Nelson Mandela famously told them: ‘sport has the power to change the world.’ 17 years later, Mandela’s words still ring true and many of these legends will make a special return to Monaco next month to honour the greatest sportsmen and women of the past 12 months. 

9-times Olympic Gold medal-winning legend, Usain Bolt has lost one of his nine due to a doping case involving his teammate Nesta Carter. The IOC stated that Carter tested positive for methylhexaneamine, a banned stimulant, in re-analysis of samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the ruling meaning that the entire Jamaican relay team, which included Bolt, can be disqualified and stripped of any medals won if one runner fails a doping test.

Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine have named northern Michigan's Forest Dunes' new innovative 18-hole reversible course – The Loop, designed by Tom Doak, as the Best New Public Course and the Best New U.S. Course You Can Play, respectively. The Loop joins Tiger Woods-designed Bluejack National, as the big winner in the private club category in each publication. They both have something in common according to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest's Architecture Editor: “Fun and playability” and “they represent the trend that many architects are embracing: build for the masses, not the elite players.”

A year on from the publication of ‘A Manifesto for Clean Athletics’ UK Athletics (UKA) has today launched its own ‘Clean Athletics’ brand with the aim of reinforcing UK Athletics’ commitment to athletes competing free from performance-enhancing drugs. ‘Clean Athletics’ will replace the former ‘Anti-Doping’ department. Last year’s manifesto called for a wide-ranging debate about measures that could be introduced to achieve a new era of clean athletics.

Sir Mo Farah and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill lead an impressive shortlist at the 3rd Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, which will be hosted by Sir Lenny Henry at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel. Sir Mo, the 2-time double Olympic gold medalist for 5000 and 10000 metres, leads an impressive group of sportsmen and women nominated for the third Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs).

It’s going to be a big year for Sandwell’s top young athletes, who are gearing up for a busy year in 2017. Eighteen year old para-swimmer Scott Hadley, from Tipton, is aiming to build on a brilliant performance at the National Para-swimming championships in Manchester last month. Overall Scott achieved four personal best performances from his seven races, including winning gold medals in the mens 100m Backstroke (category S8) and the mens 100m Breaststroke (category SB7) representing the Orion swimming club.

UK Athletics has confirmed Richard Bowker as the Chair-Elect who will succeed Ed Warner as Chair in January 2018. Bowker is currently a non-executive Director of London Marathon Events and is an Independent Director of the EFL (English Football League). A former Group CEO of National Express Group and Chair of the Strategic Rail Authority, he received a CBE for services to the Rail Industry in 2005.

A new nationwide survey has found that over half of Brits admit that they are inactive when it comes to playing sports - the average person only raises their heartbeat through sports for 88 minutes per week! The survey carried out by Ladbrokes has found that only 43% of residents in the West Midlands consider themselves to be active people who regularly play and participate in sports. Among these, 1 in 4 regularly jog to keep fit.

It has been announced today that the mental health charity Mind will sponsor the first ever Wellbeing award at the 2017 Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs) on March 18th. Sir Lenny Henry will host the awards ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Mind is the leading mental health charity in the UK. It provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, as well as campaigning to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

Britain’s top female sprinter Dina Asher-Smith will face the best sprinter in the world, double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, over 60m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on 18 February. Elaine Thompson was the shining star of the Rio Olympic Games winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints. Dina Asher-Smith is Britain’s fastest ever female sprinter and finished fifth over 200m at the Olympic Games in Rio in August.

World Rugby’s newly opened Hall of Fame in Rugby is a must-see experience for any sports fans in the Midlands over the festive period. Large touch-screen panels allow visitors to explore the history of the game, scroll through more than 180 of the sport’s most famous video moments (including Jonny Wilkinson’s famous, Rugby World Cup-winning dropped goal in 2003), learn about how the game is played in its various forms in 120 countries around the world and, best of all, 2.7m ‘blade’ screens project larger than life images of your choice of any of the Hall of Famers.

Visitors to the new Barnhurst Lane playing fields can take a walk down memory lane thanks to a colourful mosaic trail. The mosaics were created by members of Pendeford Art Group and are located at regular intervals along a one-kilometre long footpath which forms part of the new sports facilities at Barnhurst Lane. The mosaics explore local history, including Pendeford's 17th century Dovecote, the Autherley canal junction and the aeroplanes that used to be built by Boulton Paul and flown from Pendeford Airfield, such as the Hawker Demon biplane, the famous Second World War Defiant and the Balliol Trainer.

Warwickshire County Cricket Club has appointed its former County Championship-winning Captain Jim Troughton as First Team Coach. Troughton (37) has been an Assistant Coach at the club since retiring from playing in 2014 and will oversee all Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears men's first team matters and will be supported in this new role by Club Captain Ian Bell, Bowling Coach Alan Richardson and Batting & Second Team Coach Tony Frost as part of a new structure for the club.

Nine-time Olympic sprint champion Usain Bolt ended 2016 being named the IAAF's male athlete of the year for a sixth time. The Jamaican took his overall total to nine Olympic gold medals at Rio 2016 with his third 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay hat-trick and was nominated for the award alongside Mo Farah and David Rudisha. Bolt was presented the award – which he had already won more times than anyone else, and claimed on five occasions between 2008 and 2013 – by IAAF president Sebastian Coe in Monaco, while the female athlete of the year gong went to Ethiopia's Almaz Ayana.

Olympic taekwondo gold medallist Jade Jones is BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality 2016 at the Wales Sport Awards in Cardiff where BBC Cymru Wales and Sport Wales celebrated Welsh sporting success. Jones, 23, won a public vote with Wales' footballers voted Team of the Year and boss Chris Coleman taking the Special Recognition Award after their 2016 Euro success. Jones secured the vote ahead of second-placed Wales and Real Madrid footballer Gareth Bale, with Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Elinor Barker in third.

Double double-Olympic and world champion Mo Farah has identified the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham, ranked as the number one indoor grand prix meeting in the world, as a key event in his bid for global championships medals in 2017. It is a huge year for IAAF events in the UK with the World Para Athletics Championships in July and the IAAF World Championships in August, and a host of world-class events being staged in Birmingham over the coming months.