
Briton Matt Richardson takes flying start world record one year on from Australia defection
Richardson, who won three medals for Australia at the Paris Olympics, recorded a time of 8.941 seconds at the Konya Velodrome in Turkey on Thursday.
The time shaved more than a tenth of a second off the previous mark of 9.088 set by Dutch Olympic champion Harrie Lavreysen at the Paris Games last year.
"It's cool to be able to call myself the fastest cyclist of all-time," Richardson said in a British Cycling statement.
"It was a lot faster than I've previously ridden. I was basically just a passenger. I gave the bike a bit of direction and it was just steering itself almost."
Richardson's change of allegiance straight after the Olympics took Australia by surprise and generated some criticism from elite former cyclists.
Richardson brushed off the criticism, saying he made a "good return" on the investment Australia's elite cycling programme had put into him.
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BBC News
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Telegraph
22 minutes ago
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Moses Itauma can be Britain's youngest world champion if he follows this blueprint
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Frank Warren promotes him, while his son, Francis Warren, has managed Itauma from the start. The Warrens are adept at bringing fighters through. Itauma has the potential to become as big a star as Fury or Joshua in this country. Outside the challenges with Whyte, Parker and Usyk, there are several other dance partners in the next few years. Agit Kabayel, the WBC interim champion, Daniel Dubois, Lawrence Okolie, Martin Bakole and perhaps even Joshua. Time will tell. Family left Slovakia over 'race issues' Itauma moved to the UK from Slovakia when he was eight as the son of two immigrants; his father Charles is Nigerian, his mother Martina is Slovakian. He lives in Bromley with his mum and recalls little of his early life but has said 'there were some race issues' in Slovakia and his parents moved for 'greater opportunities'. He is 6ft 4in, weighs 17 and a half stone, has a reach of 79in, bringing a combination of technical excellence, skill, power, composure and self-belief. Even a tinge of arrogance. He had 20 amateur fights, with 10 knockouts. He claimed gold at the European and World Youth Championships before turning professional in 2023. He had seven fights that year, four last year, and has one victory in 2025. So far, Itauma has boxed just 25 rounds in 12 fights. Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte showing each other respect backstage at the open workout 🤝 Esports World Cup Fight Week 25 | Aug 16th | LIVE on DAZN 📺 — Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) August 13, 2025 Is youngster over-hyped? From the outside, it appears he is being fast-tracked too quickly, but he has been sparring formidable heavyweights Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce – famously when Itauma was 15, straight from school, removing his blazer to step into the ring – Fury and Lawrence Okolie for years. Itauma claimed this week that he contacted Whyte for sparring six years ago – that would have made him 14. Yet his inexperience is a grave concern. 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Over the next nine fights (including victories over Larry Holmes and Frank Bruno) Tyson dominated the sport yet his reign came to a shuddering halt when defeated by long-odds underdog James 'Buster' Douglas in Tokyo in 1990, Tyson's 38th contest. His record as the youngest ever is unlikely to be broken. Itauma will turn 21 on December 28. If he claims a world title by November 2026, he will become the second-youngest heavyweight in history. Patterson is second youngest at 21 years, 10 months. Muhammad Ali is third youngest at 22 years, eight days; George Foreman is fifth at 24 years and 12 days; of the modern heavyweights, Wladimir Klitschko is 10th, at 24 years, six months and 19 days. What happens on Saturday night? The bookmakers have Itauma as the odds-on favourite to win. They think the two fighters are crossing on escalators going in different directions. But there are risks for Itauma. I'm choosing him to triumph by stoppage in the first half of the fight, with fast feet and fast hands winning the exchanges. That said, Whyte cannot be ruled out. There might be a few moments of drama early on, but if Itauma wins spectacularly, the hype train will grow. Lose, and it will be back to the drawing board.


BBC News
an hour ago
- BBC News
'Charisma seen from space' - Britain's Davis stuns Rabadanov
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