Latest news with #LondonDiamondLeague
The Courier
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Courier
Eilish McColgan: 11 interesting facts about Dundee runner
Eilish McColgan has become one of Scotland's most successful and best-known athletes. And her latest success, where she broke the Scottish record for completing a marathon when running in London, was the latest in a line of big achievements. The 34-year-old has enjoyed many highs and lows in the public eye – from heartbreaking injuries to global success and meeting the love of her life. The Courier takes a look at 11 interesting facts about the life and career of the Dundee running icon. Eilish was born in November 1990, two years after her mum Liz had won a silver medal for the 10,000 metres at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Her dad, Peter, holds the 3,000 metres indoor record for Northern Ireland. After participating in regional cross-country events, Eilish became a member of Dundee Hawkhill Harriers. Liz saw the Dundee High School pupil's talent in long-distance running and decided to coach her when she hit her teens. Eilish's first televised race, the London Diamond League in 2011, ended in disaster. During the last 500 metres, she heard a 'massive pop' – later realising she had broken her foot. The break ruled Eilish out of her first world championships. In a blog, she wrote: 'Never ever have I been so depressed and down in my entire life. 'One minute I was so excited to be in the best physical shape I've ever been in, then the next split second it's all over.' Eilish was able to recover from her injury to scoop two golds at the 2012 Scottish Universities Indoor Championships. Aged 21, she was called up to the GB steeplechase team for the London Olympics, finishing the British trials in less than 10 minutes. Participating in the 3,000 metre event, Eilish finished in 33rd place, missing out on the final. In 2014, Eilish was rushed for emergency treatment during a trip to see her mum in Qatar. She had suffered heart palpitations, something she had encountered since childhood. Eilish said: 'I struggled to get to sleep one evening with my mind going into overdrive. 'I eventually got to sleep at around 3am but was abruptly awoken by my chest thumping. 'Initially, I thought it was just my normal palpitation but unfortunately, this one was different, it didn't stop. 'I tried to get up from my bed and almost collapsed. My heart felt like it was going 100 miles an hour.' She was still able to participate in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, finishing sixth in the steeplechase. The same year, Eilish became housemates with Michael Rimmer at Loughborough University. Michael, who participated in the 800 metres at the London Olympics, and Eilish were both being trained by Jon Bigg at the time. The pair decided to become a couple and remain together to this day The next few years saw Eilish reach the 5,000m final at the 2016 Olympics, win European bronze in the 3,000m during the 2017 European Indoor Championships and silver in the 5,000m at the 2018 European Championships. She made a third appearance at the Olympics in Tokyo in 2021, but this was eclipsed by a first gold medal at the European 10,000m Cup in Birmingham. Eilish has repeatedly hit back at online trolls who have criticised her weight and body throughout her career. In 2021, she said: 'From a young age, my shape hasn't changed – slim and tall. It's just me. 'I was so unconfident as a kid, having the shape of a bean pole rather than the boobs of all the other girls at school, but over the years I've grown to love my body and genuinely wouldn't change it for the world.' The following year, she shared a video on her Instagram profile after more hateful comments, saying she was 'proud' of her body. And in 2025, she hit out at 'brainless' comments calling her 'anorexic'. After breaking even more records, August 2022 saw the crowning moment of Eilish's career so far in the final of the 10,000 metres at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As she raced neck and neck with Kenyan runner Irene Cheptai in the final 100 metres, Eilish found a second wind and passed her rival to win the race. Eilish set a new games record in the race, breaking the record held by her mum for 32 years. In 2023, Eilish and Michael set up a charity – Giving Back to Track – based at Hawkhill Harriers' base within the city's Regional Performance Centre. The not-for-profit aims to remove financial barriers and support athletes with things like membership fees, training kit and track facilities. The project also covers the costs of five young athletes who attend weekly Hawkhill Harrier track sessions. That same year, the BBC released a documentary based on Eilish's career, titled Running in the Family. The often-emotional programme gave a behind-the-scenes look at Eilish's life and career. Eilish called Liz her 'role model' on the documentary and spoke about her determination not to let her family down. After injury forced her out in 2023, Eilish finally competed in the London Marathon in 2025 – finishing eighth. She completed the course in a time of 2.24.25 – smashing the previous Scottish record of 2.26.40 held by Steph Twell and the winning time posted by Liz in 1996. The effort meant Eilish had now broken all of her mum's records. Straight after the London Marathon, Eilish and Michael travelled to Japan to shoot promotional footage for Asics. It will be a trip the pair will remember for the rest of their lives, after Michael popped the question in front of Mount Fuji. Eilish shared the news with thousands of followers on social media.
The Independent
01-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson to make injury return at London Diamond League this summer
Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will make her return from injury to take part in this summer's London Diamond League meet. Hodgkinson has fond memories at the event, having set an 800m British record of 1:54.61 last year at the London Stadium before she went on to claim gold at the Olympics in Paris. The 23-year-old, who has been recovering from a hamstring tear sustained in February, said in a statement from British Athletics: 'I remember after last year's race thinking 'can we do that all over again?' 'It was such a dream to compete in the (London) Olympic stadium and I'm so excited to get back out there and see what I can do. For me, that race really set me up for what I did in Paris. 'I'm now an Olympic champion which is a pretty amazing thing to say out loud, but I still haven't won world gold, so I have really big goals this summer. 'Having that crowd behind me in London, plus a bunch of super-quick ladies to race against, will be the best possible preparation as I build towards the World Championships in Tokyo.' London's latest Diamond League rendition takes place on July 19, where she will hope to get into good stead ahead of the World Championships, which start on September 13. Hodgkinson, who also took Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020, has two world silver medals to her name and will be eager to top the podium on her return to the Japanese capital.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Keely Hodgkinson to race 800m at London Diamond League
Great Britain's Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will race the 800m at the London Diamond League meeting in July. The 23-year-old went unbeaten over the distance in 2024, winning European and Olympic titles and being crowned Sports Personality of the Year. She was the first Briton to win an Olympic 800m title for 20 years, since Dame Kelly Holmes in Athens, 2004. Advertisement At the London Diamond League last year, which was her final outing before the Paris Games, Hodgkinson ran a 1:54.61 to set a British national record and move up four places to sixth on the all-time list — GB swept the podium that day, as Jemma Reekie and Georgia Bell (the latter is Hodgkinson's training partner at the Manchester-based M11 track club) finished second and third. 'I remember after last year's race thinking, 'Can we do that all over again?',' Hodgkinson said ahead of the July 19 meet. 'It was such a dream to compete in the Olympic stadium and I'm so excited to get back out there and see what I can do'. It starts a big summer for Hodgkinson, who is targeting the World Championships in Tokyo in September. It was on that track in 2021 that she took her first senior global medal (800m Olympic silver) and she has finished second in her two World Championships appearances — behind USA's Athing Mu in Eugene, Oregon in 2022 and Mary Moraa beat her in Budapest, Hungary in 2023. A world title and world record are the only two accolades missing from her trophy cabinet. Jarmila Kratochvilova's 1:53.28 still stands from 1983 and is the oldest track world record among the Olympic distances (for men and women). 'For me, that race (London Diamond League 2024) really set me up for what I did in Paris. I'm now an Olympic champion which is a pretty amazing thing to say out loud, but I still haven't won world gold, so I have really big goals this summer. 'Having that crowd behind me in London, plus a bunch of super-quick ladies to race against, will be the best possible preparation as I build towards the World Championships in Tokyo'. Hodgkinson had targeted the indoor 800m world record and planned to try and break that in Birmingham in February — it was actually set on her birthday in 2002 — but she had to withdraw because of a hamstring injury. She is part of a growing list of British talent set to race in the capital, with 1500m Olympic silver-medalist Josh Kerr lining up against world champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen. (Photo by)
RNZ News
29-04-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
London mayor hopes city will bid for 2040 Olympics as part of ambitious hosting plan
General view of the Olympic stadium, 2018 Diamond League meeting. Photo: PHOTOSPORT London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants the city to bid to host the 2040 Olympics as part of an ambitious plan to make London the world's foremost sporting capital. The mayor's office was publishing a report that says the staging of six events last year, including the Champions League final at Wembley and the London Diamond League meet, generated 230 million pounds (NZ$517 million) and attracted almost 500,000 sports fans to the city. "I'm somebody who loves sport, and I see the benefit of watching it," Khan told The Times newspaper. "But what I thought we'd do is commission a report to work out the economic impact sport has. "My ambition has always been for London to be the sporting capital of the world, and then to consolidate our position. Whether it's boxing, the NFL, Major League Baseball; we're talking to the NBA about bringing basketball to London. I think it's so important. But what this report does is quantify the economic dividend we receive." The mayor has already joined forces with UK Sport and Athletic Ventures (a joint venture between UK Athletics, Great Run Company and London Marathon Events) announced on Sunday they hoped to bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships. A formal expression of interest will be submitted to World Athletics in September, contingent on securing 45 million pounds (NZ$101 million) in government support. London will host the Women's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham this year. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are co-hosting soccer's Euro 2028 and are bidding to host the 2035 Women's World Cup. London has proven successful in staging lucrative American sports as well, generating "estimated spectator spend of over 600 million (pounds)", according to the 2024 Major Sports Events Impact Report for London created by Think Beyond, with more than three million fans attending since the first NFL London games in 2007. If successful in securing the 2040 Olympics, London would become the first city to host the summer Games four times, having previously hosted in 1908, 1948 and 2012. "I would like to see London become the first city to host the Games four times," Khan said. "And if we have the World Championships in 2029, it means in the lead-up there's energy, enthusiasm and investment in track and field, which means you will have the future Mo Farahs, the future Paula Radcliffes. "Globally, everyone loves coming to London. And we've managed to stage a good event every year in the London Diamond League." -Reuters
Business Recorder
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
London mayor hopes city will bid for 2040 Olympics as part of ambitious hosting plan
LONDON: London Mayor Sadiq Khan wants the city to bid to host the 2040 Olympics as part of an ambitious plan to make London the world's foremost sporting capital. The mayor's office was publishing a report on Monday that says the staging of six events last year, including the Champions League final at Wembley and the London Diamond League meet, generated 230 million pounds ($306.84 million) and attracted almost 500,000 sports fans to the city. 'I'm somebody who loves sport, and I see the benefit of watching it,' Khan told The Times newspaper. 'But what I thought we'd do is commission a report to work out the economic impact sport has. 'My ambition has always been for London to be the sporting capital of the world, and then to consolidate our position. Whether it's boxing, the NFL, Major League Baseball; we're talking to the NBA about bringing basketball to London. I think it's so important. But what this report does is quantify the economic dividend we receive.' The mayor has already joined forces with UK Sport and Athletic Ventures (a joint venture between UK Athletics, Great Run Company and London Marathon Events) announced on Sunday they hoped to bid to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships. South Korea lays out 'strong will' to host 2036 Olympics A formal expression of interest will be submitted to World Athletics in September, contingent on securing 45 million pounds ($59.91 million) in government support. London will host the Women's Rugby World Cup final at Twickenham this year. England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales are co-hosting soccer's Euro 2028 and are bidding to host the 2035 Women's World Cup. London has proven successful in staging lucrative American sports as well, generating 'estimated spectator spend of over £600 million', according to the 2024 Major Sports Events Impact Report for London created by Think Beyond, with more than three million fans attending since the first NFL London games in 2007. If successful in securing the 2040 Olympics, London would become the first city to host the summer Games four times, having previously hosted in 1908, 1948 and 2012. 'I would like to see London become the first city to host the Games four times,' Khan said. 'And if we have the World Championships in 2029, it means in the lead-up there's energy, enthusiasm and investment in track and field, which means you will have the future Mo Farahs, the future Paula Radcliffes. 'Globally, everyone loves coming to London. And we've managed to stage a good event every year in the London Diamond League.'
