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Wales Online
5 days ago
- Business
- Wales Online
Colin Jackson leads Welsh athletes urging government to back London 2029 World Championships bid
Colin Jackson leads Welsh athletes urging government to back London 2029 World Championships bid Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist Jackson, Iwan Thomas, Jeremiah Azu, Dai Greene, Christian Malcolm and Joe Brier, are among the signatories in a powerful open letter calling on ministers to bring the World Athletics Championships to London in 2029 Colin Jackson of Great Britain in action during the qualifying round of the men's 110 meter hurdles at Olympic Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia (Image: Mike Hewitt /Allsport ) Colin Jackson and several leading Welsh athletes have called on the Prime Minister to back a bid to bring one of the world's biggest sporting events back to the United Kingdom. Olympic 110m hurdles silver medallist Jackson, Iwan Thomas, Jeremiah Azu, Dai Greene, Christian Malcolm and Joe Brier, are among the signatories in a powerful open letter calling on ministers to bring the World Athletics Championships to London in 2029. Also joining the list of more than 100 supporters are Sir Mo Farah, Dame Kelly Holmes, Jonathan Edwards, Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Paula Radcliffe, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Dina Asher-Smith and Daley Thompson — a cross-generational group of sporting legends united in their belief that this is a rare opportunity to inspire the nation, foster unity and create a lasting legacy. The involvement of the athletes lends additional support to the London 2029 campaign, spearheaded by Athletic Ventures — a collaboration between UK Athletics, London Marathon Events and the Great Run Company. (Image: Popperfoto via) The bid outlines plans for a world-class Championships at the London Stadium, calling for just one year of public funding in 2028, estimated at £45million, and projecting a national economic boost of over £400million. Article continues below 'I'm delighted that these athletes have put their support behind this letter," said Jack Buckner, UK Athletics chief executive and co-founder of Athletic Ventures. "It shows that athletes know more than anyone else the value of a major sporting event on home soil and what it means. 'We know what home support can achieve and when our greatest athletes from past and present are unified with one message, their call should not be ignored. This is a bid rooted in credibility and ambition,' 'Bringing the World Athletics Championships to the UK will have a huge impact on an entire sport. Everything from the massive boost in participation for local athletics clubs, to the opportunity for Wales to host teams from across the world as they finalise their preparations in training camps. 'We have the chance to deliver a World Championships that lifts the nation, inspires the next generation, and showcases Britain at its very best. We're ready. Now we need the government to stand with us. The 2029 bid process is due to commence this summer, with organisers urging ministers to commit in the coming weeks to secure the Championships for the UK. Great Britain won ten athletics medals at last year's Paris Olympics, their best return in four decades. London's Diamond League meeting is established as the biggest in the world, selling out in record time last week, while Birmingham will host next year's European Championships. And to underline the sport's grassroots appeal, a record-breaking 1.1 million people have applied to run in next year's London Marathon. 'This is the moment to deliver something extraordinary,' said Hugh Brasher, event director of the London Marathon and co-founder of Athletic Ventures. Article continues below 'London 2029 is not a risk; it's about return on investment for the UK. Generations of athletes know the inspirational power of a home Championships but this is about more than medals. It's a vision for what this country can achieve. 'With government support in 2028, we will deliver the greatest World Championships yet: commercially robust, community powered, and globally resonant. It is set to deliver more than £400 million in economic and community impact across the UK. The time to act is now.'
Irish Times
26-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Recalling Catherina McKiernan's once-in-a-lifetime London Marathon victory
The plan was to sneak in with my dad and act like one of the proper running journos. It might have worked too, if only there weren't so many other chancers like me trying to spoof their way into the elite finish area of the London Marathon . Accreditation please! Can it really be 27 years ago this Sunday? Because there is still so much clear recall of my part-fluke and part-fate experience of witnessing Catherina McKiernan winning the 1998 women's race by almost half a minute. If her London Marathon victory proved a once-in-a-lifetime moment for McKiernan, it still feels the same for most of us also there on the day. As a fledgling freelancer with a bank account to match, getting to London made little sense financially, but perfect sense spiritually. McKiernan had won the Berlin Marathon the previous September in 2:23:44, the then fastest debut in women's marathon history. And her very appearance in London marked an unprecedented moment in Irish athletics history: a Cavan woman among the leading favourites to win. Nothing could beat being there, especially not a cheap last-minute flight. READ MORE As it turned out, no one could come near to beating McKiernan, who finished 28 seconds ahead of two previous winners in London – Scotland's Liz McColgan, and Kenya's Joyce Chepchumba – in a race that prided itself on bringing together the best marathon runners in the world. The way the so-called marathon majors are going now, it's becoming increasingly difficult to imagine how any other Irish athlete will ever repeat this feat. Never say never, but who knows? There's been a lot of talk and debate lately about who Ireland's greatest sports person of all time is. We ran our little poll on this fanciful subject last week, and it was no surprise Rory McIlroy got 23 per cent of the responses, still fresh off his Masters win, completing a career Grand Slam earlier this month. Catherina McKiernan on her way to winning the London Marathon in April 1998. Photograph: Inpho/Allsport This is a little different from debating the greatest Irish sporting moments, or indeed sporting achievements. Which is where McKiernan's victory in London in 1998 will always rank so highly in the Irish stakes for me. Not just because of the esteem around the event, and the great modern tradition of the Sunday morning coverage on the BBC. But also because it came at a time when Irish women were still only beginning to scratch the surface of the upper echelons of world sport. The night before Paula Radcliffe won the 2002 London Marathon, she had a dream about McKiernan, as if some unconscious reminder of how that 1998 victory had made such a critical impression on her. Radcliffe explains this in her foreword to McKiernan's 2005 autobiography, Running for My Life. Normally, Radcliffe would sleep soundly before any race, yet somehow McKiernan came to mind, whom she'd known since the World Cross Country was staged in Boston in 1992. That was the day McKiernan made her global breakthrough to finish second in the women's race, while Radcliffe won the junior women's title. 'In many ways it inspired me even more to see the way she ran, how close Catherina came to winning the gold medal,' Radcliffe writes. 'Even winning the silver medal was really impressive. She was young and yet determined and able to run with the best of them.' Later in Running for My Life, McKiernan's writes about her own influences and motivations ahead of her London Marathon. After going on to win four successive silver medals in the World Cross Country, and helping Ireland to team bronze in 1997, she skipped the event for the first time in 10 years in March of 1998, despite showing excellent form. So while the event was staged in Morocco, McKiernan was away at altitude training in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was not an easy decision, especially as McKiernan was preselected for Marrakesh, but London had to take priority. Sonia O'Sullivan after winning the 8,000m event of the Cross Country World Championship in Marrakesh. Second placed was Britain's Paula Radcliffe. Photograph: Getty Images On the first Saturday morning in Albuquerque, which coincided with the first day of the World Cross Country, McKiernan called home to her mother Kathleen, who gently informed her that Sonia O'Sullivan had just won the gold medal in Marrakesh. That was also the first year of the new long-course and short-course races, and O'Sullivan also came out on the Sunday and won the short-course gold. 'I am not an envious person and I always loved to see Sonia and other Irish athletes win wearing the green, white and gold,' wrote McKiernan. 'I'd run the World Cross Country nine times and finished second four times. The first year I decide not to run, Sonia wins ... A part of me was delighted for Sonia, but I knew I had made a huge effort to win that title over the years and had just come up short. I think it was only natural to feel a little upset.' It was a stunning comeback for O'Sullivan, whose unbeatable form had deserted her in the previous two years. It also reinforced McKiernan's mindset going into London: 'If there was one race in my whole career where I went to the starting line knowing I would win, it was the London Marathon in 1998.' Despite experiencing an upset stomach at about 15 miles, everything else went perfectly to plan. Unlike my plan to spoof my way into the finish area. Later that evening, at the Tower Hotel where the elite athletes stayed, one of the first people to drop in to congratulate her was O'Sullivan, and straight away McKiernan congratulated her back. Before the year was out, O'Sullivan won a European Championship 5,000m-10,000m double in Budapest, and McKiernan would also win the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:22:23, which still stands as the Irish record, on the day missing the world record by just 96 seconds. Which, together, unquestionably, make up some of the greatest Irish sporting achievements, not just in a once-in-lifetime sense, but unlikely to be repeated.
Irish Times
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Without the personalities, rivalries and characters tennis is just another game
The queues at Adidas were the longest of any stall at Roland Garros in 1999. The Los Angeles Times reported that Anna Kournikova, the most glamorous player in women's tennis, had one of her dresses cut up and made into keyrings that her sponsors were giving away for free. Then ranked 20th in the world, everyone knew who Kournikova was, especially teenage boys, who were drooling over the pieces of fabric. Creepy as the stunt was even by last century standards, the Russian star was a household name. At the time Adidas didn't know how many dresses they were going to have to destroy to satisfy an expected distribution of 150,000 keyrings. The current world number 20 is Liudmila Samsonova. Great athlete, ever heard of her? As much as Kournikova was being adored, that same year Martina Hingis was finding out how hateful and lonely the centre court could be in the city of love. Facing an ageing Steffi Graf in the final, the then 18-year-old served for the title leading 6-4, 5-4. READ MORE But the German player, inspired by the French crowd chanting 'Steffi! Steffi!' broke the Swiss Miss serve to win eight of the next 10 games and take the third set and Grand Slam title number 22. Hingis crossed the net to dispute a line call, took an extended bathroom break at the end of the second set, was issued with two penalties, docked a point and served underhanded on Graf's first championship point. At the end of the match, Hingis left the court, and, in tears, returned in the arms of her mother for the trophy presentation. Drama. Anna Kournikova of Russia in May, 1999, serves during the French Open at Roland Garros. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Allsport The year after that a young kid no more than 14 years old walked in through the gates of the Parisian club at Boulevard d'Auteuil and turned left to walk up towards Court Suzanne Lenglen. A British colleague turned and said: 'That Spanish kid is beating senior players.' The Spanish kid wore a sleeveless top and had ripped arms. Rafa Nadal, at 14, had begun his professional career and was already winning against adults. Five years later, on his 19th birthday, he defeated Roger Federer in the semi-final before winning the first of his 14 French Open tiles on his first attempt. This week the headlines were about Carlos Alcaraz saying he doesn't want to be labelled Nadal's successor. The current tennis sensation has been promoting his three-part docu-series on Netflix, Carlos Alcaraz: My Way, where the big reveal appears to be that he went to Ibiza and partied before winning his first Wimbledon title in 2023. The problem for Alcaraz is that he is in an era where Novak Djokovic, who will be 38 years old next month, is, with Alcaraz, the most recognisable player in the sport and we're not far away from saying perhaps the only recognisable faces in the sport. The current world number one player, Jannik Sinner, has yet to return from his three-month doping ban. The sport tried to save the Italian when the International Tennis Integrity Agency ruled that he wasn't at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray. The World Anti-Doping Agency then stepped in and lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, leading to Sinner accepting a suspension that will end on May 4th. The likelihood is that Sinner couldn't be picked out of a line-up of tennis players except by the most devoted fans. Neither could they identify Alex de Minaur, the world number seven or Holger Rune, who is ranked ninth in the world. Italy's Jannik Sinner (left) greets Australia's Alex de Minaur after his victory in their men's singles quarter-final match on day 11 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 22nd, 2025. Photograph: Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP via Getty Images The sixth-ranked woman in the world is an Italian player, Jasmine Paolini, while the world number eight is Qinwen Zheng from China. There is a strong chance sponsors won't be cutting up their dresses to make 150,000 keyrings. Rivalry, personalities and X factor have long been the mainstay of tennis. The lack of that is not a new phenomenon, it just seems to have become worse. Ten years ago, before he served eight months of a 2½ year prison sentence for hiding millions of euros in a fraud case, Boris Becker argued that the game was in danger of lacking real characters because of the intense scrutiny on them. The three-time Wimbledon champion said the rise of microscopic social media and news coverage had sterilised players' personalities. 'Nowadays everything is so supervised and so observed and everybody is very judgmental,' said Becker, who claimed players were more emotional on and off court when he competed. And so, he proved in a brief broom cupboard encounter with a model in Mayfair's Nobu restaurant during which his daughter was conceived. It's easy to see the past with rose-tinted specs and say how it was more interesting and colourful with greater rivalries and more daring personalities. Sure, players probably reach many more people now because of social media, but if the current world number one woman player, Aryna Sabalenka, was dressed in her civvies, could most people pick her out of a crowd? The sport can do without cutting up teenage players' dresses and handing the bits out to infatuated adolescents. Alcaraz and Djokovic aside, a Roland Garros without Federer, Nadal or Andy Murray coming up in a matter of weeks seems much more difficult to get excited about.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former NFL RB LeShon Johnson indicted on federal dogfighting charges
LeShon Johnson faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, as well as a $250,000 fine for each count. (Credit: Stephen Dunn/Allsport) (Stephen Dunn via Getty Images) Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson has been charged in a federal dogfighting case after 190 dogs were seized from him in October under the Animal Welfare Act. Johnson appeared in court last week and is charged with "possessing 190 pit bull-type dogs for use in an animal fighting venture and for selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture," according to the Justice Department. Advertisement 'Animal abuse is cruel, depraved, and deserves severe punishment,' said U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. 'The Department of Justice will prosecute this case to the fullest extent of the law and will remain committed to protecting innocent animals from those who would do them harm.' Johnson ran the dog fighting operation, known as "Mal Kant Kennels," out of Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. According to court documents, he bred 'champion' and 'grand champion' fighting dogs to produce offspring with abilities that would allow them to take part in dog fights. "Johnson marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels 'bloodline' into their own dog fighting operations. His trafficking of fighting dogs to other dog fighters across the country contributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry and allowed Johnson to profit financially." Johnson, who was arrested on March 20 and released on bail, is facing 21 counts and a maximum penalty of five years in prison if convicted, as well as a $250,000 fine for each count. This is the second time Johnson has faced these types of charges. In 2004, he pleaded guilty to state animal fighting charges after running 'Krazyside Kennels." Johnson, 54, played five seasons in the NFL with the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants. His career spanned from 1994-1999 after being a third-round draft pick out of Northern Illinois.
