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BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Seagrave targets elusive world title
Tahnee Seagrave has set her sights on winning the Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup series as well as the World Championships this new season gets under way on 16-18 May with the opening round of the World Cup in Bielsko-Biala, 2024 the 29-year-old had to settle for second at the World Cup and third at the World Llanfyllin-based rider, who has been racing at the top level for the past decade, has agonisingly missed out on securing gold, but hopes that will change this season."I'd love to win a World Champs, an elite World Champs title, I've never had that in my career," she said."I've been so close to the overall title so many times and just missed out, so I'd love to be a little bit more consistent."I'm really excited to kick things off. I'm just itching to get going, but just like I've said before, I'll always just give 110% and see where that takes me." Seagrave came back to form last season, winning the World Cup round in Val di Sole, Italy, following a difficult few seasons after a serious concussion suffered in April 2022."Last year was a really good season for me. I didn't really expect anything but I had this just low-level confidence that I knew that I could perform at my best," Seagrave told BBC Sport clinching junior World Championship gold in 2013, she was tipped to dominate at the very top level, but one injury followed another, from broken bones and muscular tears to slipped discs in her neck, before concussion left her wondering whether she would ever race again."When I had my head trauma, it took a lot of mental work to come back to racing and I think that kind of changed my perspective on life and on racing," she said."I really had to build a self-confidence and that just kept growing every day and the more I rode the more I gained confidence, I just shut all distractions out and I learnt a lot mentally."Seagrave also turned to sports psychologists and psychiatrists as "she did a lot of work to be able to feel confident".She has recently been busy testing a new bike at her mid-Wales base during the off-season after parting ways with her five-year association with bike brand Canyon and switching to Orbea."We're just trying to create a fast bike and one that works really well and that can take us to the top step," Seagrave said.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Premier League glory & chips - Price's 10-year plan
With a Premier League play-off spot already secured prior to his contest with Stephen Bunting in Aberdeen on Thursday night, Gerwyn Price is a man content with the state of his game at present. The Welshman sits third in the table - behind world champion Luke Littler and world number one Luke Humphries - having shone so far in a campaign that includes nightly wins in Dublin, Nottingham and Liverpool. The 40-year-old is now in his seventh Premier League campaign and Price is targeting glory for the first time, having come closest in 2023 when he was edged out by Michael van Gerwen at London's O2 Arena. "It's all on the night, everybody knows that. One minute you can play brilliantly and the next it's not there," he told BBC Sport Wales. "There'll be a lot of practice leading up to The O2 and fingers crossed I can bring some form." Form has been key for ex-world champion Price, who struggled to hit peak levels in 2024 and sought the help of a sports psychologist before the World Championship. The former rugby player feels he has benefited greatly, having won three Players Championship titles already this year in addition to his trio of night victories in the Premier League. "I think it definitely helped, just before the World Championship having a chat to a sports psychologist for a couple of weeks and during the World Championship," he explained. "I haven't spoken to him since. But my mind and the way I think now having had a lot of help from him, it's definitely helped me out. "I think a lot better, I'm a lot more positive, not just in darts but in life in general." Such has been the transformation in the three-time Grand Slam champion's mindset, Price no longer sticks to some of his previously preferred pre-match rituals. "Even those little things where I'd put my case and the bottle top in the centre of the table, everything had to be the same, I've gone away from that," he explained. "Being too precise can put you under a bit of pressure, thinking that everything has to fall perfect, but it doesn't. "Every leg isn't going to be perfect, nothing has to be perfect, you just have to do the right things at the right time. "I don't know if anybody's noticed lately but I don't put the cap in the middle of the table, I just leave my darts case all wonky. "I used to have to have the case zip on the left-hand side, sometimes I leave it open now just because, if I come through that game, it's nothing to do with that, it's just psychological." It all helps to explain why Price has been more of a force again of late, and even his life away from the oche is contributing at present. Price opened up his own takeaway, named Chippy 501, in his hometown of Markham last year and regularly gets behind the counter to serve customers in his local community. "It's literally right next door to the house," he said. "When I'm sat in and bored, I'll just get in there and get cooking to help out. "I just love it in there. It's good to get my mind off everything else as well." Price wins while Littler booed in Liverpool loss Premier League Darts schedule, results, prize money The identical twins inspired by darts star Littler Having won 12 televised PDC titles, including the 2021 World Championship, the calendar's showpiece event, and a further 26 non-televised events, Price has already cemented his place among the sport's greats. Significant financial rewards have come with that success, some of which Price invested into his own business to provide further future stability for his wife and two daughters. And while he knows he could already walk away from the game, Price still believes he can compete with the likes of Littler and Humphries for another decade yet. "I could probably finish [playing darts] now but that's not what I want to do. I've got another 10 years in me I think," he explained. "By the time I'm 50, I'll probably look to wind down. "I'll go hard for the next five to 10 years and then start to chill out." And on his ambitions for the remainder of his career, however long it may be, Price responded: "To win as much money as I can and win as many tournaments as I can so I can retire nice and early."
BBC News
05-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Glamorgan and Derbyshire draw in Cardiff thriller
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff (day four)Glamorgan 431 & 256-7 dec: Kellaway 74, Ingram 64; Tickner 3-44Derbyshire 350 & 308-9: Andersson 78; Kellaway 5-101, Leonard 3-66Glamorgan (14 pts) drew with Derbyshire (13 pts) Match scorecard A brilliant all-round contribution from Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway was not quite enough to earn victory as Derbyshire held out for a draw at 308-9 in a pulsating contest which swung one way then the had a serious crack at 338 in 65 overs, which would have been their third highest Championship fine aggressive batting, led by Martin Andersson with 78, put the visitors in line for an unlikely victory before Kellaway (5-101) and Ned Leonard (3-66) pegged them back. Glamorgan declared at lunch on 256-7, with Kellaway striking 74 and Chris Cooke an unbeaten 49 in a stand of 110. Glamorgan were 213 ahead at the start of play and lost night-watchman Andy Gorvin for six, lobbing a catch to short-leg off the ferocious Blair survived an extraordinary near play-on to Zak Chappell on 19 as he and Cooke defended assiduously to ensure some degree of safety for Glamorgan, who took the first 22 overs of the day to accumulate 53 a rapid change of gear saw both men opening their shoulders effectively for the final half-hour of the morning session, 71 coming off nine overs as Derbyshire posted virtually all their fielders on the boundary and Kellaway swung his way to a career-best. A required run-rate of 5.2 looked demanding, given the relatively slow scoring for most of the match, but former Glamorgan captain David Lloyd set off at a fair lick with 42 off 46 balls in a stand of 67 with Caleb Jewell before Ned Leonard trapped him lbw. Harry Came went without scoring, caught at short-leg off Kellaway, who also ended a brief flurry from Jewell and Wayne Madsen when Jewell was lbw, sweeping, for 44. Madsen was well caught for 22 at fine leg by Andy Gorvin, pulling at Leonard, and Brooke Guest and Andersson settled in before moving up the gears and forcing Glamorgan onto the defensive. Guest fell to Fernando for 48 but with Anuj Dal starting strongly, 98 were needed in the last hour at little more than a run a was down to 60 when Kellaway had Andersson caught behind off a reverse-sweep which lobbed up, and bowled Zak Chappell first Thomson drove Leonard to mid-on and when Dal (34) bizarrely walked past one from Kellaway and got himself stumped, there were 28 balls left for the last wicket to survive. The fielders, who had been scattered round the boundary, gathered round the bat but injured Luis Reece and last man Tickner survived. Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway told BBC Sport Wales:"A pretty special day, a first-class best with the bat and the ball. It was nice to get us in that position with the bat and although we didn't start the way we wanted to with the ball, we worked hard and for us to turn it round and potentially almost win at the end was special,"I'm starting to find my feet (in the team), it's quite a clear role they've set out for me. To be the first spinner now we've lost Shoaib Bashir, it came with that bit of added pressure but I'm ready for it and the ball came out nicely today."Coach Richard Dawson added:"The game was in the balance overnight so we had to play sensibly and then put the pressure back on Derbyshire. The fourth innings was a topsy-turvy affair, it was great to see Ben Kellaway take a five-for on a spinning wicket and get runs."I thought Derbyshire were going to go for it, they put us under pressure after tea. There were great opportunities for Ben and Ned to learn, taking the ball in positions in the game of massive influence, so hopefully they'll be better for this experience."Derbyshire captain Wayne Madsen told BBC Radio Derby:"It was a great game of cricket, the message was 'we are out to win the game', so the belief we played with stood us in good stead."I'm really proud, we gave it a go all the way through and only with the last two wickets did we decide we needed to close up shop."Guesty and Martin played fantastic knocks to get us in a position where we had a really good chance of winning the game, at a run a ball, and Anuj kept the momentum up."There were some big performances from everyone through the game, that's the pleasing thing after this first batch of five games."
BBC News
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Welsh golfer Harry aiming to reach LPGA in style
Darcey Harry is a rising Welsh star aiming to prove golf can be cool en route to the LPGA has made an impressive to start to her rookie season on the Ladies European Tour (LET) having come through qualifying school in the 21-year-old's ultimate target is to compete with female golf's biggest names on the USA-based LPGA Tour – and to emulate Michelle Wie and Charley Hull by doing it in style."They show the world that golf can be a fashionable sport, that you can make it look cool and it's fun," Harry says."I am quite big into my fashion and they incorporate golf and fashion really well, so they are definitely my favourites."I think in women's golf especially, we've got to modernise and show little girls that it is a cool sport to be in and you don't have to wear your high socks and baggy trousers. Girls can look cool doing it and that's something that I hope to inspire as well."Harry, from Dinas Powys, took up golf by chance, first swinging a club as a toddler at the Vale Resort in Hensol because that was where she went to creche."I have probably always been able to really hit driver, even when I was a little girl," she tells BBC Sport Wales. By her mid-teens, Harry was playing for Wales and had become a member at the prestigious Royal has experience of playing in America, having been partly educated in the Bahamas to aid her golfing development."I lived in Albany. That's where Tiger Woods is part-time based so I got to see him a few times out on the golf course," Harry explains."Justin Rose was based there for a long time too. We had the same coach and that was pretty cool."Harry's "side passion" is horses, and she graduated last year in equine sciences at the Royal Agricultural University in has a horse, Larry, who she rides whenever golf allows – and insists that is not about to change despite the risk of an injury which could affect the day job."He's a very lovely horse," Harry says. "He always looks after me so as long as I do things sensibly, I should be fine."Larry has been a little lonely of late, however, with Harry travelling the globe on the back of her success in qualifying school, where the top 20 players landed LET came second, shooting eight under par on the final day in Morocco having turned professional to take her tour chance. Harry's first LET event, in Morocco in February, saw her miss the her second start, at the Australian Women's Classic last month, began with a round of 64 and ended with a sixth-placed finish, with Harry in the final group on Sunday."I don't think I've ever played in front of such big crowds before," she says."But I loved every moment of it. I played with some players who have been on tour for over 10 years. It was great to watch them, to see how they do it and learn from them."There was more good news the following week at the Women's NSW Open, also in Australia, where Harry finished a week back home in Wales - which included a ride on Larry - Harry returns to action at the South African Women's Open on comes a trip to South Korea before a string of summer events in biggest of those is in her own backyard, with Porthcawl hosting the Women's Open – the largest female sporting event ever to be staged in Wales - from 31 set up what would be a major debut, Harry will probably need to come through qualifying."Fingers crossed," she adds."I know the course inside out. I know every patch of rough, that's for sure!"There are going to be huge crowds. I think my golf thrives from crowds and it would be amazing having lots of friends and family coming out to watch if I did qualify." Harry's other target for her maiden LET season is to gain enough ranking points to ensure she secures a tour card for next early successes in Australia have taken some pressure off – and also fuelled belief that she can compete at this is conscious that as one of only three Welsh players on the LET – alongside Chloe Williams and Lydia Hall – she is flying the flag for her homeland."We are a really small country so it is a big struggle," she says."I think the next generation do need some people who are on tour and doing well, hopefully to inspire the young girls coming up especially."Harry's ability to influence potential golfers of the future will only increase should she follow in the footsteps of Wie and Hull by achieving her LPGA dream."Whether it happens next year, whether it happens in five years, you can't ever put a time on anything," she says."But that is my ultimate goal, to be playing in the States."
BBC News
01-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Four golds and a baby boy - but what's next for Jeremiah Azu?
Jeremiah Azu said he wanted 2025 to be the best year of his has certainly got off to a good the indoor 60m track, he became Welsh champion, British champion, European champion and world also welcomed his son into the world to become a father for the first his statement win at the World Indoor Championships in China, he had some much-needed time off with his a week later he is back training in the Cardiff sunshine - and dreaming of more success as the outdoor season begins."Even sometimes now it doesn't feel real," he tells BBC Sport Wales. "It's the moment when you say it out loud, that's when you really realise what you've done." Azu is revelling in the moment."I've loved every moment since being home. My family were there cheering me on when I walked into the house, just picking me up, throwing me around. It was just a big celebration."I want to go to the top. I want to win global titles. It just adds to that motivation."Before it was for my family. But now it's really for my own son and my wife and I think you can't really beat those motivations." 'I'm just Jeremiah' The 23-year-old has never lacked confidence. He puts it down to his family's support and unshakeable belief in there is a humility to him that perhaps does not show in his customary startline dances for the days after becoming European indoor champion over 60m last month, he was part of an event in Wales to mark Commonwealth Day. Long after the guests had gone, he remained behind to help tidy away the the track, the results are starting to justify that confidence in won Olympic bronze in the men's 4x100m relay in Paris last summer and his world indoor title last month has further elevated his rising status in the sport."It's easy to be confident," he continues. "You can fake it."I've never been a fake confident person. I'm just Jeremiah. Some people think I am confident, over-confident, under-confident, whatever it is. But for me it's knowing that I'm able to do what I've always believed I can do. "I've learnt how to win and I think that's important in athletics. Because in the final everyone's fast, everyone's talented, but it's who actually believes it."Who's got that ability to not panic? Who's got that ability to time their dip right? It's all these little things that just allow you to have that confidence to walk in with the trust in the training you've done and in the team around you and your coach."His new coach is now his old coach. He first worked with Helen James as a 17-year-old and, after a two-year spell under Marco Airale in Italy, Azu is back with James in Cardiff."The world's his oyster," she tells us. "He's going to go a long way further than this." So what next for Azu? His focus shifts to the upcoming outdoor season and a return to China for the start of the Diamond League and World Athletics Relays event in he returns to the UK again, he will add more 200m events to his 100m programme in the hope of broadening his future medal prospects and helping increase his top-end he has more than one eye already on September's World Championships in Tokyo."Coming in as world indoor champion, now there's a bit more expectation," Azu admits."But for me I'm not really doing this for anyone. I don't want to prove myself to anyone. I do this because I know I can do this. Because my ability shows me that I was born to do this."There is not a thing that I'm not going to do, there's not an exercise that I'm going to leave."I go into everything wanting to be the best. So I just continue with that mindset towards everything."
