Latest news with #Learmonth
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Nigel Farage clashes with Scottish media over Aberdeen protests
Farage, speaking to a Reform UK press conference organised in Aberdeen, said he would be taking a question from our sister paper The Herald last due to unfounded allegations that they had revealed the event's location to Stand Up To Racism campaigners outside. NEW: Nigel Farage's visit to Scotland has been met by a group of protesters brandishing banners and chanting 'refugees are welcome here' — The National (@ScotNational) June 2, 2025 Around 20 demonstrators had turned up to protest the Reform UK leader, holding banners with messages including 'Farage not welcome in Scotland' and chanting slogans such as 'Farage, Farage we know you, you're a racist through and through'. The chants were audible throughout Farage's press conference, which saw him announce the defection of Scottish Tory councillor Duncan Massey to Reform UK. Taking the final question at the press conference, Farage said: 'Now, The Herald. It seems that you're involved with this group of protesters outside.' Responding to a flat denial, Farage went on: 'Well, it's funny isn't it? That you come, and your newspaper also manages to have another one of your correspondents as a protest correspondent. So you knew more about this than we did.' Andrew Learmonth, The Herald's political editor, said: 'That's not true at all Nigel, sorry.' As Farage expressed disbelief, Learmonth went on: 'Absolutely not. We have two reporters in Aberdeen. Come on.' The Reform UK leader continued to express disbelief, adding: 'You must have so many staff and so much money it must be remarkable.' The BBC's James Cook then interrupted, saying that 'to be clear' The Herald were not the only outlet with more than one reporter on site. Farage then said: 'Fair enough, if you say that, I believe you.' Learmonth responded: 'I don't know if you do believe me, but I didn't.' READ MORE: Scottish Tory councillor defects to Reform UK Responding to another member of the media saying the allegations were 'not on', Farage said: 'Well this location was only sent to you guys. 'It wasn't put out on the public wires, we didn't put it out to our membership, and yet they knew. So it came from one of you.' Fraser Adams, a spokesperson for the Stand Up To Racism campaigners, said Farage's suggestion that they had been tipped off by the media was 'absolute nonsense'. Adams went on: 'We are a committed nationwide group of anti-racists. We have our own methods of organising, we have our own system of information. We've got this information on our own. 'We knew they've been coming to Aberdeen for weeks. We didn't find out where they were meeting until this morning. You can't get this many people to Aberdeen without somebody noticing 'Aberdeen's an anti-racist city. There are people who are passionate in making sure that Farage does not come to Scotland un-countered, unprotested. We don't need any tips.'
Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Team GB gold medallist's emotional motivation for San Francisco showdown
Jess Learmonth, 37, made her T100 Triathlon World Tour debut in Singapore in April, returning to competitive action following the birth of her son in 2023, and finished 13th Jess Learmonth is relishing the chance to race in front of her son Fred for the first time on the T100 circuit in San Francisco. The 37-year-old made her T100 Triathlon World Tour debut in Singapore in April, returning to competitive action following the birth of her son in 2023, and finished 13th. Learmonth, who was part of the British team to grab Olympic gold at Tokyo 2020, made an instant impact in the Singaporean heat, leading after both the swim and bike, before a brutal run leg saw her slip out of pole position and to the middle of the field. However, despite battling hot conditions and being forced to stop and walk for long periods of time, Learmonth felt there were still plenty of positives to take from her first outing of the season. "I went in with zero expectation or knowledge of how I will race," she said. "You can train as much as you want but if you've not raced at this level for four years, you have no idea where you'll sit. "I was so happy with the swim and the bike and where I was. "Obviously the run was diabolical but to actually be up there and be involved was a really positive thing for me, and it helped me gain a little bit more confidence with the training I've been doing. "Looking from the outside, it could look pretty disastrous as a race result, but I definitely had positive takeaways from it. I just need to not race in such heat, and which is going to be the complete opposite this weekend." Learmonth now suits up for the second leg of the season in San Francisco, a circuit known for it's cold swim, hilly course and windy conditions. It's an exciting new challenge for the Brit, who usually favours colder conditions and is based in Leeds for her training. And with her husband John and son Fred on the sidelines this time round, Learmonth is equipped with a fresh sense of perspective. "Fred didn't come to Singapore, and although it was easier logistically without him there, you have anxiety because you're not with him," she said. "This time he has come, and it was a bit more stressful with the 12-hour flight with a toddler, but it's lovely having him here. "When I was struggling in Singapore, it was Fred and family and friends in my mind that kept me going, "When I was an athlete before having him, it was all on me, whereas now I have so much more support from people looking after Fred so I can train. They're sacrificing a lot for me to come and race, so there's so much more riding on the races that I do now. For me to not finish just felt like a failure. I just didn't want to let them down in a way. That's basically what kept me going." Preparation for the San Francisco event has been full of ups and downs for Learmonth, who has been rehabbing a calf tear that she picked up just six weeks ago during training. But with so little race experience over the last four years, she is just excited to get back on the start line. "I'm here to gain consistency and get some races under my belt," she said. "Any race I do, because I've not done so many in the last four years, I'm going to gain experience and knowledge and learn from. "I'm hoping to have a similar swim, bike, and then just improve that run, and be a bit more competitive to then build on that during the rest of the season."
South Wales Argus
3 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
Jess Learmonth racing for her son at T100 San Francisco
The 37-year-old made her T100 Triathlon World Tour debut in Singapore in April, returning to competitive action following the birth of her son in 2023, and finished 13th. Learmonth made an instant impact in the Singaporean heat, leading after both the swim and bike, before a brutal run leg saw her slip out of pole position and to the middle of the field. However, despite battling hot conditions and being forced to stop and walk for long periods of time, Learmonth felt there were still plenty of positives to take from her first outing of the season. "I went in with zero expectation or knowledge of how I will race," she said. "You can train as much as you want but if you've not raced at this level for four years, you have no idea where you'll sit. "I was so happy with the swim and the bike and where I was. San Francisco T100 race week 🙌 Watch the racing live on PTO+ on 31 May 📺 👉 — T100 Triathlon World Tour (@t100triathlon) May 26, 2025 "Obviously the run was diabolical but to actually be up there and be involved was a really positive thing for me, and it helped me gain a little bit more confidence with the training I've been doing. "Looking from the outside, it could look pretty disastrous as a race result, but I definitely had positive takeaways from it. "I just need to not race in such heat, and which is going to be the complete opposite this weekend." Learmonth now suits up for the second leg of the season in San Francisco, a circuit known for it's cold swim, hilly course and windy conditions. It's an exciting new challenge for the Brit, who usually favours colder conditions and is based in Leeds for her training. And with her husband John and son Fred on the sidelines this time round, Learmonth is equipped with a fresh sense of perspective. "Fred didn't come to Singapore, and although it was easier logistically without him there, you have anxiety because you're not with him," she said. "This time he has come, and it was a bit more stressful with the 12-hour flight with a toddler, but it's lovely having him here. "When I was struggling in Singapore, it was Fred and family and friends in my mind that kept me going, "When I was an athlete before having him, it was all on me, whereas now I have so much more support from people looking after Fred so I can train. They're sacrificing a lot for me to come and race, so there's so much more riding on the races that I do now. "For me to not finish just felt like a failure. I just didn't want to let them down in a way. That's basically what kept me going." Preparation for the San Francisco event has been full of ups and downs for Learmonth, who has been rehabbing a calf tear that she picked up just six weeks ago during training. But with so little race experience over the last four years, she is just excited to get back on the start line. "I'm here to gain consistency and get some races under my belt," she said. "Any race I do, because I've not done so many in the last four years, I'm going to gain experience and knowledge and learn from. "I'm hoping to have a similar swim, bike, and then just improve that run, and be a bit more competitive to then build on that during the rest of the season." Watch the world's top 20 female and top 20 male triathletes race live in the San Francisco T100 over the legendary Escape From Alcatraz course on Saturday 31 May. The broadcast starts at 0545 local time, 1345 in the UK, with the races starting 15 minutes later. You can tune in live for free globally on PTO+ or watch on partners channels such as TNT Sports 2 in the UK, Max or Discovery+ in Europe, or beIN in North America. For more details visit
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Jess Learmonth racing for her son at T100 San Francisco
Jess Learmonth is relishing the chance to race in front of her son Fred for the first time on the T100 circuit in San Francisco. The 37-year-old made her T100 Triathlon World Tour debut in Singapore in April, returning to competitive action following the birth of her son in 2023, and finished 13th. Advertisement Learmonth made an instant impact in the Singaporean heat, leading after both the swim and bike, before a brutal run leg saw her slip out of pole position and to the middle of the field. However, despite battling hot conditions and being forced to stop and walk for long periods of time, Learmonth felt there were still plenty of positives to take from her first outing of the season. "I went in with zero expectation or knowledge of how I will race," she said. "You can train as much as you want but if you've not raced at this level for four years, you have no idea where you'll sit. Advertisement "I was so happy with the swim and the bike and where I was. "Obviously the run was diabolical but to actually be up there and be involved was a really positive thing for me, and it helped me gain a little bit more confidence with the training I've been doing. "Looking from the outside, it could look pretty disastrous as a race result, but I definitely had positive takeaways from it. "I just need to not race in such heat, and which is going to be the complete opposite this weekend." Learmonth now suits up for the second leg of the season in San Francisco, a circuit known for it's cold swim, hilly course and windy conditions. Advertisement It's an exciting new challenge for the Brit, who usually favours colder conditions and is based in Leeds for her training. And with her husband John and son Fred on the sidelines this time round, Learmonth is equipped with a fresh sense of perspective. "Fred didn't come to Singapore, and although it was easier logistically without him there, you have anxiety because you're not with him," she said. "This time he has come, and it was a bit more stressful with the 12-hour flight with a toddler, but it's lovely having him here. "When I was struggling in Singapore, it was Fred and family and friends in my mind that kept me going, Advertisement "When I was an athlete before having him, it was all on me, whereas now I have so much more support from people looking after Fred so I can train. They're sacrificing a lot for me to come and race, so there's so much more riding on the races that I do now. "For me to not finish just felt like a failure. I just didn't want to let them down in a way. That's basically what kept me going." Preparation for the San Francisco event has been full of ups and downs for Learmonth, who has been rehabbing a calf tear that she picked up just six weeks ago during training. But with so little race experience over the last four years, she is just excited to get back on the start line. Advertisement "I'm here to gain consistency and get some races under my belt," she said. "Any race I do, because I've not done so many in the last four years, I'm going to gain experience and knowledge and learn from. "I'm hoping to have a similar swim, bike, and then just improve that run, and be a bit more competitive to then build on that during the rest of the season."
