Wiffen departs Loughborough swim programme
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BBC News
4 hours ago
- BBC News
Wiffen departs Loughborough swim programme
Olympic gold medallist Daniel Wiffen has confirmed his departure from the prestigious Loughborough University swim programme. The 24-year-old took to social media to confirm the move, which ends a five-year spell that saw him rise to become one of the sport's biggest stars."The day has finally come - I have decided that I am moving away from the Loughborough University swim programme," Wiffen posted on Instagram."A place I called home for five years. A place where I grew from a swimmer that would never make it, to an Olympic champion."When I joined Loughborough, I went in with personal bests of 8:13 and 15:39 and now I'm leaving with personal bests of 7:38 and 14:34," he continued."I just wanted to show this as this programme made me the athlete I am today and I'm sure it will continue to make new Olympic champions long after I'm gone."The County Armagh man went on to praise his coach Andi Manley, who led his rise to Olympic champion as he captured gold for Ireland in the men's 800m freestyle at Paris 2024. Wiffen also revealed that he would return to his native Magheralin to recover from the appendicitis issues that hindered his recent failed attempt at retaining his World Championship titles. He also confirmed he plans to spend time training in the United States with his twin brother Nathan, who is currently studying and swimming in California. "Now this chapter has come to a close I will be moving back to Ireland while I rehab from my appendicitis surgery and then will be hopefully joining Nathan in California for periods until LA28. Thank you, Loughborough," Wiffen added.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
Abraham nets first-half hat-trick as Besiktas beat St Pat's
Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham netted a first-half hat-trick as Besiktas beat St Patrick's Athletic 4-1 in their Uefa Conference League third qualifying round first leg tie in Gunnar Solskjaer's side were rampant in the first half with Joao Mario opening the scoring after eight minutes. Abraham, who has 11 England caps then scored a 29-minute hat-trick to give the Turkish side a commanding 4-0 lead at the break. Simon Power pulled one back for the League of Ireland side early in the second half, but they have a real mountain to climb ahead of the second leg in Istanbul in seven days' time. The winner of the tie will advance to meet the winners of the tie between Lausanne and Astana in the play-off round, with the Swiss club ahead after the first leg. Abraham steals the headlines in Dublin drubbing Any local optimism in Dublin was quashed after just eight minutes as former Portuguese international Mario's effort from just outside the area was deflected past Joseph Anang in the Pats goal. The visitors doubled the lead six minutes later as Jonas Svensson's cross from the left was bundled home by Abraham. The27-year-old was causing the Irish side real problems across the first half and he grabbed his second of the night on 23 minutes, Mario turned provider threading the Englishman through before he dinked over Anang to extend their lead. The former Chelsea and Roma striker completed his hat-trick two minutes before the break from the penalty spot to complete the first-half rout. St Pat's, managed by former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, refused to throw in the towel and pulled a goal back three minutes into the second half as Power beat Mert Gunok at his near post. The Dublin club could have got a second minutes later as Tottenham-bound striker Mason Melia showed quick feet to work the space but had his effort saved by Gunok. Despite a stronger second half showing, the Saints could not add a second goal, leaving them needing a minor miracle to progress beyond next week's second leg in Istanbul.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- Reuters
FanDuel owner raises profit forecast as gamblers' winning streak ends
DUBLIN, Aug 7 (Reuters) - FanDuel-owner Flutter raised its forecast for full-year profit growth on Thursday after a six-month-long winning streak for U.S. gamblers swung sharply back in the favour of bookmakers during a better-than-expected second quarter. Bookmakers tend to suffer when favourites win and Flutter, the world's largest online betting company, cut its U.S. core profit guidance by $180 million in May following a series of unlikely customer-friendly sports results. Less favorable outcomes for punters in the second quarter allowed it to claw $100 million of that back and increase its group-wide profit forecast to $3.3 billion from $3.18 billion in May, which would represent 40% year-on-year growth. Flutter's second-quarter adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $919 million, up 25% year-on-year, were above the $816 million expected by an average of eight analysts with LSEG SmartEstimate. Core profit at FanDuel, which had market-leading 41% and 27% shares of the U.S. sports betting and iGaming markets, jumped 54% to $400 million during the quarter. Flutter's international division, which includes the Paddy Power, Betfair and Sisal brands, grew its profits by 13% to $591 million, with more than two-thirds of revenue growth attributed to recently completed acquisitions in Italy and Brazil. Flutter said it is closely monitoring U.S. regulatory developments in the event contracts market and assessing the potential participation strategies this may present. Event contracts, which allow traders to bet on specific outcomes and profit from predictions on everything from sports and entertainment to politics and the economy, have exploded in popularity in the U.S. since last year's presidential election. "There are often times when it's good to be early, but I think there's often times when you've got to make sure you see how regulatory considerations pan out before you leap in and potentially cause yourself challenges with stakeholders," Flutter CEO Peter Jackson told Reuters. Flutter operates a similar business in Betfair, the world's largest betting exchange. The head of U.S. rival DraftKings (DKNG.O), opens new tab said on Thursday that it was in "monitor mode" while it actively explores event contract opportunities.
