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Confirmed: Real Betis secure deal for new defender

Confirmed: Real Betis secure deal for new defender

Yahoo6 days ago
La Liga outfit Real Betis have this weekend tied up a deal for a fresh addition to the club's defensive ranks.
That's according to market insider Fabrizio Romano, who points towards Valentin Gómez as the player primed to link up with Manuel Pellegrini's squad.
Gómez, for his part, is a 22-year-old defender, who generally operates in a central role.
The Argentine, a former youth international with the Albiceleste, has long been held in high regard in his home country.
Gómez has been linked with a number of clubs across Europe over the course of the summer to date, with Dutch giants Feyenoord, for one, understood to boast a strong interest in a deal for the stopper.
As alluded to above, though, if the latest word stemming from the media this weekend is anything to go by, then the Vélez Sarsfield talent looks set to end up in Spain.
As per a report from journalist Fabrizio Romano:
'Valentin Gómez to Real Betis, here we go! Full agreement in place for the Argentine defender. Contract until June 2030 and $6.5m fee confirmed.'
Conor Laird – GSFN
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Where are Liverpool's 2005 Champions League final heroes now?
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Where are Liverpool's 2005 Champions League final heroes now?

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Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport
Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport

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Why we need to talk about periods, breasts and injuries in women's sport

The Euros are reaching their conclusion in a massive summer across women's sport. But away from the drama and excitement on the pitch, there is also a scientific revolution taking place. Teams of scientists are researching the unique ways that elite sport affects the female body – how breasts alter the way you run, but the right sports bra could give you the edge; how the menstrual cycle could impact performance and what role period trackers could play; and why is there a higher risk of some injuries, and what can be done to avoid them? It's a far cry from the era when professional female athletes told me they were thought of simply as "mini-men". Breast biomechanics Cast your mind back to the iconic scene from the final of the last European Championships in 2022. It was extra time at Wembley and Lioness Chloe Kelly scored the winning goal against Germany. In the ensuing euphoria, she whipped off her England shirt showing the world her sports bra. 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Not only is the risk three to eight times greater in women than men, depending on the sport, but they are becoming more common, says Dr Thomas Dos'Santos, a sports biomechanics researcher at Manchester Metropolitan University. However, there is "no simple answer" to explain the greater risk in women, he says. Partly it could be down to differences in anatomy. Bigger hips in women mean the top of the thigh bone starts from a wider position and this changes the angle it connects to the lower leg at the knee, potentially increasing risk. The ACL is also slightly smaller in women "so it's a little bit weaker, potentially", Dr Dos'Santos explains. ACL injuries can happen at all stages of the menstrual cycle, but hormonal changes are also being investigated, including a study sponsored by Fifa, the governing body for world football. 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Inside Health was produced by Gerry Holt More Weekend Picks by James Gallagher I found a bacteria-eating virus in my loo - could it save your life? Vitamin pills and icy swims: Can you really boost your immune system? How our noisy world is seriously damaging our health

Meet Innes FitzGerald, the ‘Greta Thunberg of sport' who is determined to make a difference
Meet Innes FitzGerald, the ‘Greta Thunberg of sport' who is determined to make a difference

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Meet Innes FitzGerald, the ‘Greta Thunberg of sport' who is determined to make a difference

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I wanted to show that I cared, and if I'd gone there and said, 'I didn't want to have to fly, it wasn't a good thing to have to do', people wouldn't have looked at it in the same way as not going at all. 'Although I'm having to fly to championships (these days) despite not wanting to, people now know that. Sometimes I just don't share the same excitement as other people because I just feel a weight on my shoulders that I'm harming the environment and ultimately affecting other people.' FitzGerald has frequently attended protests by environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion, was part of a 60,000-strong crowd in Westminster's Parliament Square for a four-day demonstration referred to as 'the Big One' in April 2023, and also hopes to persuade athletics governing bodies to make changes. She speaks about 'dreading' flying and of her 'immense guilt when on the plane'. Advertisement Perhaps that is no surprise, given she grew up in the Devon countryside, living with her family on a farm near Exeter in the south-west of England. 'That connection with nature has always been there,' she says. These deeply-held beliefs around the climate crisis stem from that rural upbringing, but also a fascination with the scientific facts related to it. 'I'm really interested in learning about science,' she says. 'That motivation to learn about things has helped grow my knowledge and to realise the impacts of our human actions on the environment.' FitzGerald is studying for an undergraduate degree in exercise and sports science, which, she says, has helped with her burgeoning athletics career. Yet, while many start at an early age, she is a late bloomer, only taking up the sport in secondary school at age 16. 'That was good for me. If I pushed it at a young age, I don't think I'd have the same love for the sport as I do now,' she says. 'I started doing schools' cross-country and running a bit during Covid because I was bored.' She eventually made her way to the Exeter Harriers athletics club, where her potential has been keenly nurtured by coach Gavin Pavey and his wife, Jo, a five-time Olympic athlete who won European Championship gold at 10,000m in 2014. Yet FitzGerald laughs at how her parents almost discouraged her initially from taking up running, as they would have preferred her to do something closer to home. 'They're very uncompetitive people, which is kind of crazy considering I'm so competitive,' she says. 'But it's good that they've never pushed me at all. The drive to do something has always come from within.' It wasn't until after the race in London that FitzGerald became aware that her 5,000m time of 14:39:56 had eclipsed Budd's time of 14:48:07 from 1985, or that she had beaten Pavey's personal best of 14:39:96, set in 2006. Yet she has stayed humble, pointing out her time was achieved wearing the 'super shoes' which have helped shred the record books in recent years. 'I've got to get a little bit quicker for it (Pavey's PB) to be properly beaten,' she adds. Advertisement Those personal milestones do not seem to motivate her anyway — FitzGerald insists she isn't going to 'chase times', despite being four seconds off Budd's 'insane' British under-20 record for 3,000m of 8:28:83. Instead, she wants to work on the tactical side of racing, describing her previous 'naivety' in terms of starting races too quickly. FitzGerald now often gradually makes her way up from a position towards the back of the pack. Despite saying she 'quite often lacks a bit of confidence', FitzGerald has lofty ambitions while insisting her priority will always remain about enjoying her sport. 'Hopefully, I will go to more major championships and fight for medals. I want a global medal, whether that be at the Olympics or the World Championships. Even when I get there, I'm not going to stop. I feel like some people can be like, 'OK, I've been, that was fine'. I want to continue this career as long as I can.' Her environmental awareness perhaps helps keep athletics in perspective. Despite feeling 'hopeless' about the former at times, she presents a message of optimism based on the collective public action that sport can galvanise. 'Everyone's ingrained into flying everywhere,' she says. 'They don't really consider other options. I'd like the governing bodies and decision-makers to think more broadly. We don't have to fly everywhere, there are other options, and sometimes they are easier. When we went out to Brussels (in Belgium) for the European Cross-Country Championships, everyone flew. We could have taken the Eurostar (train from London) — it takes about the same amount of time, if not less. 'I have a platform for people who want to follow along with the sport. So if I can talk a bit about the climate crisis and my concerns there, it helps remind people that as sportspeople we do care as well and we're not just going along with this system as it is or that we're happy with it.' FitzGerald begrudgingly accepts the unwelcome trade-off with her chosen career, but views it also as an opportunity to enact change. The more success she has on the track and the cross-country trails, the greater the chance of being able to influence others to join her cause. 'We have big platforms, and it's really important to talk about the things we care about,' she says. 'I don't want to shy away from talking and, ultimately, it (the climate crisis) shouldn't be a controversial topic. Advertisement 'If high-profile athletes come together and say, 'This is what we want to happen', then, as long as it's realistic, I don't see why we can't make a change in the sport.' For more track and field, follow Global Sports on The Athletic app via the Discover tab

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