BHA announces delay to Lord Allen's tenureship
The statement read: 'Since Lord Allen was named as the new chair of the BHA last November he has engaged in an extensive round of meetings with stakeholders to develop a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the issues facing the sport.
'The BHA can today confirm that Lord Allen will not now start on June 2 as he wishes to continue meeting stakeholders to better inform his vision for the sport and he looks forward to starting his new role once these have concluded.'
Lord Allen, a former chief executive at ITV who was also on the organising committee of the London 2012 Olympics, was announced as the successor to the late Joe Saumarez Smith in November.
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The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Tom Daley looks back: ‘My management said if I came out, I'd lose sponsorship'
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That is still my mentality today. If I'm going to try something and it doesn't work out perfectly, I don't have tantrums any more, but I do get frustrated. That's the thing about being an athlete: being good is not enough – you have to be the best. It's not something you can teach, but every athlete who gets to an Olympic level has that same drive. We know our flaws before anybody else can point them out. I was seven when I started diving. I loved the water but found swimming up and down a little bit boring – diving was much more fun. I started out jumping off the side of the pool, then tried the one-metre. The first time I tried the 10-metre platform I was eight years old. I remember crawling to the edge because I was too scared to walk – the board seemed to reduce in size with every step and suddenly looked like a tightrope. I was peering off into the water, thinking: 'There's no way I can jump off this.' But once I was in the air, there was no going back. It was a surreal and euphoric moment – freefalling for 1.6 seconds. As soon as it was over, I knew I wanted to do it again. My childhood was brilliant. I was always outdoors, and we used to go for weekends away in our caravan in Newquay. I felt very safe, loved and cared for. Because I was so happy with my family, I used to hate travelling for competitions – I would get so homesick. It was terrifying to be on the other side of the planet from your parents when you're 10 years old – especially when everyone else competing was much older. I can't imagine how painful it was for my parents to hear their son crying on the end of the phone. My dad Rob was my biggest cheerleader. He would work all day, pick me up from school, take me to the pool and stay all evening until I finished training. He would be there for every competition. We were a team, and it was our dream together. He was great at teaching me about perspective: if I bombed out at a competition, he would say: 'You came 30th, but you're still the 30th best in the world.' When dad died [of a brain tumour in 2011], I went to training the next morning. I carried on competing without a proper break. Maybe it's a British thing, but me and my family wouldn't speak about his passing that much. It's as if we didn't want to upset anyone, or make them feel uncomfortable. I also felt that I had to be the strong one – the person who could support my family. It was only when I met my husband Lance, and he would ask why I didn't speak about my dad, that I allowed myself the space to grieve. And it still hits me now, especially when those major milestones happen. He missed me winning my first Olympic medal, my wedding, my first son's birth. Lance and I met at a dinner in 2013. We talked and talked until we both realised how similar our lives were. He had just lost his brother; I'd lost my dad. He had just won his Oscar; I had just won an Olympic medal. It was the first time I could complain about success to somebody who knew I wasn't really complaining about success. I was complaining about how to deal with what happens on the other side – the pressure and expectations. Knowing that nothing would ever compare to that feeling again. I met Lance in March and came out to the media nine months later. I don't think I would ever have said anything about my private life unless I had met someone like Lance. Once we fell in love, I knew I couldn't keep it a secret. It was absolutely terrifying, posting the video on YouTube, because my management at the time had not been encouraging, and told me that I was going to lose my sponsorship. It was a scary thing to do, but once it was out there I was glad. It took all of the pressure off. I could be me for the first time. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion In 2024, I competed at the Paris Olympics, this time with my sons in tow. Being a dad was still my priority, so I had to deal with running on low sleep. I went to bed at 8 o'clock, because I didn't know how many times I'd be up in the night. I'd wake early for training but would make sure I was home to help Lance with bedtime. I always found it incredibly difficult to leave them for competitions, and I carried a sense of guilt with me. My husband is so supportive, and he's sacrificed a lot for me. But now I've retired, it's his moment. He's like: 'It's my turn to get my career back on track!' I have been an athlete for most of my life, so it's taking time to adjust to my new reality. I am so used to being disciplined that even if I'm out for dinner on a Saturday night, and someone asks if I'd like a glass of wine, it takes me a second to realise I am actually allowed to. Food is the same. When I was about to go to the 2012 Olympics, I was told by a coach that I needed to lose weight. After that, I had some issues with eating disorders. At the time it was something that men didn't really speak about, so I kept it to myself and felt very alone. Once I was able to get the proper nutritional support and learned more about what my body needed, and how to fuel it, then my recovery started to unfold. But in truth, that feedback still affects me today. I know how I can look, and how I did feel, at my peak. Now that I'm not training six hours a day, six days a week, I am never going to be in that same form. When I look at this photo, I think about how innocent I look. The boy in the photo has no sense of what society thinks is right or wrong. I could live and be happy and free. I am so glad my parents were the kind of people who celebrated whoever I was; an Olympian diver or a boy who liked to wear tea towels around his waist.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Scottish distance runner Stewart dies aged 81
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Scottish Sun
3 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
AB Hernandez grins on podium as trans athlete wins state championship despite ‘violent' protests over competition
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) TRANS athlete AB Hernandez was seen grinning and flaunting medals after defeating female rivals at the California state track championship. Hernandez claimed gold in the high jump and triple jump at the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) state finals - defying Donald Trump's executive order that bans trans athletes from women's sports. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 9 AB Hernandez, center left, shares the first-place spot on the podium with Kira Gant Hatcher during a medal ceremony for the triple jump Credit: AP 9 AB Hernandez, center, flashes a victory sign as sharing the first-place spot on the podium with Jillene Wetteland, left, and Lelani Laruelle during a medal ceremony Credit: AP 9 Hernandez was seen grinning and flaunting medals Credit: AP 9 Hernandez of Jurupa Valley competes in the girls' long jump during the CIF State Track and Field Championships Credit: Getty 9 Demonstrators hold signs outside the Veteran's Memorial Stadium during the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, California Credit: AP Violent protests erupted yesterday as the trans pupil, 16, sparked a heated row after competing in women's sports. Trump had said on social media that he was 'ordering local authorities, if necessary, to not allow' Hernandez to compete. But the CIF this week introduced a new policy that allowed an additional student to compete and win medals in the events where Hernandez qualified. This is why the trans athlete shared winning spots with at least one female rival. Hernandez claimed tied-first place in the varsity high jump final alongside Lelani Laruelle and Jillene Wetteland - both females. The trans athlete later won another first-place in the triple jump, sharing the top spot with Kira Gant Hatcher - who trailed by just over a half-meter. But the sports row surrounding Hernandez took a dramatic turn yesterday after furious protesters gathered around the stadium to denounce the trans teen. They were seen carrying placards and boards outside the Veterans' Memorial Stadium, where the sporting event took place. A banner reading "NO BOYS IN GIRLS' SPORTS!" was flown above the sporting venue during the high school track-and-field championships. Trump rips into boxer Imane Khelif about controversial Olympics win against Angela Carini The protests quickly turned violent after one person was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Clovis police Sgt. Chris Hutchison told the Chronicle. He said the person - understood to be an LGBTQ activist - allegedly used a Pride flag to smash a car window, leaving a person injured. During the heats, furious high school parents berated Hernandez's mother for the trans athlete's dominant victory. The video, which has now gone viral on TikTok, shows the parents hounding Hernandez's mother for allowing the teen to compete. One of the parents can be heard yelling at the mother: "What a coward of a woman you are allowing that." Hernandez's story previously made headlines after another teenage girl, who the athlete beat to first place in a separate contest, waited for Hernandez to descend from the podium before moving to pose in the top spot. In the TikTok, the parent can also be heard shouting: "Your mental illness is on your son, coward." 9 Transgender athlete AB Hernandez of Jurupa Valley leaves the track during the CIF State Track and Field Championships Credit: Getty 9 Hernandez competes in the high jump Credit: AP 9 A banner reading 'no boys in girls' sports!' is flown above Veterans' Memorial Stadium during the California high school track-and-field championships Credit: AP More than half of the US states have implemented bans on trans youth athletes participating since 2020. But California state law allows the participation of trans women and girls in women's sports. Trump posted on Truth Social: "Please be hereby advised that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently, if the Executive Order on this subject matter is not adhered to." His message refers to an Executive Order from February titled "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports". In an interview with Capital & Main, Hernandez, from Jurupa Valley, California, said: "There's nothing I can do about people's actions, just focus on my own." The trans pupil faced heckling and protesters in the crowd at a track meet earlier this month and was accompanied by campus security and Sheriff's Department deputies, CNN has reported.
