Sports News

Paralympic champions Sophie Hahn (coach: Leon Baptiste, club: Charnwood) and Thomas Young (Joe McDonnell, Loughborough Students) headline the mixed class Para 60m sprint events at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham at the Utilita Arena on 19 February.

Hahn, the T38 world record holder in the 100m (12.38) and 200m (25.92), won Tokyo gold in an exceptionally high standard 100m where she equalled her own world record in qualifying.

West Bromwich Albion Women will make history in March when they play their first official match at The Hawthorns, the home of their male counterparts since 1900.

Albion Women, who regularly play their Women’s National League games at Sutton Coldfield Town’s Coles Lane ground, host high flying Derby County on Sunday, March 6, 2022 (ko 2pm).

Olympic and world champion Mariya Lasitskene (ANA) and current world leader Emily Borthwick (GBR) will go head-to-head in the women’s high jump at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham – a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting – at the Utilita Arena on 19 February.

Lasitskene, the reigning world indoor champion, has an indoor best of 2.05m.

The inaugural Commonwealth Esports Championships and Commonwealth Esports Forum will be staged in Birmingham, England this summer. The Championships is a tangible result of the Strategic Partnership between the Global Esports Federation and the Commonwealth Games Federation, announced in May 2020.

The new competition in Birmingham will be supported by the British Esports Association, the not-for-profit national body established in 2016 to promote esports in the UK, increase its level of awareness, improve standards and inspire future talent.

World champion skier Eileen Gu made her Olympic debut in the women's big air qualification round. But even before that, Ms Gu - also known as China's ‘Snow Princess’ - was already known to millions.

Teenage US-born athlete, Ms Gu is indisputably a gifted skier. At 18, she has already won eight international skiing events, claiming gold for the big air event in the 2020 Winter Youth Olympics in Lausanne and medalling three times at the Winter X Games in Aspen, Colorado, last year.

UK Athletics has today announced the five-strong team which will head to Muscat, Oman next month for the World Athletics Race Walking Team Championships. British record holder in the 20km race walk Tom Bosworth (Andi Drake, Tonbridge), and Cameron Corbishley (Andi Drake, Medway and Maidstone) will contest the distance at the event.

Double world champion Noah Lyles (USA) headlines the men’s 60m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Birmingham – a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting – at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on 19 February. The 24-year-old Olympic 200m bronze medallist, the fastest man in the world over the distance in 2021 (19.52), is ranked fourth on the global all-time list (19.50).

Senegal's football team was given a hero's welcome on their return home after winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) for the first time.

Tens of thousands of people, some sitting on top of cars and waving flags, gathered to welcome the players landing in Dakar with the trophy. President Macky Sall was amongst those greeting them.

Following a sixteen-year battle to stay in the UK, as well as enduring slavery as a victim of human trafficking, homelessness and an eventual meteoric rise to represent England in the ring, Boxing star, Bilal Fawaz, is taking the next step with his first professional fight against Vladimir Fleischhauer at Bethnal Green’s York Hall, February 11th, 2022.

Sadio Mane netted the winning spot-kick as Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties to clinch their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations after a 0-0 draw. The Liverpool forward had seen a seventh-minute penalty saved by Egypt keeper Gabaski but Mane held his nerve when he returned in the shootout.

Chelsea's Edouard Mendy denied Mohanad Lasheen to give Mane the chance to win it in Yaounde's Olembe Stadium. Gabaski had made three good saves from Senegal's Bamba Dieng in extra time.

Aldersley Leisure Village in Wolverhampton will host one of snooker’s biggest tournaments next week when the sport’s leading stars contest the Cazoo Players Championship.

The world ranking event will run from February 7 to 13 when Aldersley Leisure Village stages a major snooker event for the first time. The tournament will be televised by ITV4 and a range of other broadcasters worldwide.

An Oscar-directed masterpiece was expected as the Winter Olympics Games opening ceremony kicked off in China's capital Beijing – although, technically, the Games already started with the mixed doubles in the curling already underway. The true start of the Winter Olympics, however, began with the Opening Ceremony, directed by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Zhang Yimou.

Circuit of The Americas, North America’s premier motorsports and entertainment venue, has hired global sports industry leader Mark Pannes as its new President for Strategy and Corporate Growth.

Panne, who joins Circuit of the Americas (COTA) from Inner Market Media, will oversee the Circuit’s portfolio of new business properties which are in various stages of development and are poised to reach across its 1,500-acre campus.

”It’s an honor to welcome Mark to our team,” said COTA Chairman Bobby Epstein. “His business background and approach is a perfect fit with our community-oriented, fan-centric culture. “I look forward to Mark helping guide our growth and further our success.”

Pannes’ executive roles across international sports, entertainment, and finance markets include CEO of AS Roma (Serie A) and the MLS team the Vancouver Whitecaps, Chief Marketing Officer for the NBA team the New York Knicks (NBA), and the Founding Director of HSBC Private Bank’s Global Sports Group in London. Pannes’ international experience and local market knowledge make him ideally suited for the blend of global and domestic sports and entertainment growth initiatives that COTA is undertaking.

“This is such an exciting opportunity,” Pannes said. “After hosting the highest attendance Formula One Grand Prix weekend of all time, MotoGP, the Rolling Stones, and the Peppermint Parkway Holiday Festival all within the last few months, the Circuit of The Americas is poised for tremendous growth. Our chairman’s vision for adding sports and entertainment properties and attractions in rapid fashion over the coming years positions COTA to be North America’s premier destination for marquee events.”

Pannes is a University of Texas at Austin graduate and currently serves as chair for UT’s Center for Sports Communication and Media board. He is also a graduate of Fordham Law School and is a member of the State Bar of New York.

Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, is the only purpose-built Grand Prix facility in the United States designed for all classes of racing. The 3.4-mile racetrack hosts the world’s most prestigious sporting events, including Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, the MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of The Americas and NASCAR at COTA as well as world-renowned concerts, music festivals, and opportunities for track rentals.

The 1,500-acre campus is also home to the award-winning Germania Insurance Amphitheater and driving experiences such as COTA Karting as well as expansive meeting and hospitality spaces and an iconic 25-story observation tower that offers 360-degree views of the circuit, the amphitheater and downtown Austin.

Olympic finalist Jake Wightman leads a strong British contingent in the men’s 1500m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix – a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting – at the Utilita Arena in Birmingham on 19 February.

The European and Commonwealth bronze medallist was 10th in Tokyo and is the Scottish indoor 1500m record-holder (3:34.48).

A glittering collection of the world’s greatest sportsmen, sportswomen and teams have been nominated for the 2022 Laureus World Sports Awards, following a ballot by global sports media. Despite continuing disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the return of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, football’s European Championship and other major tournaments and events in 2021 provided unforgettable drama and these Laureus World Sports Nominees were cast in starring roles.

UK Athletics has confirmed that Paula Dunn will assume the role of Team Leader across three major athletics championships in 2022. Dunn, who has now moved into a part time role in the Para world class programme as she transitions out of the Head Coach role, will use her vast championship experience to support the Olympic programme activity in what is set to be a busy year at major championships.