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Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Long after Jonathan Edwards lost God, his record leap of faith still stands
God knows how Jonathan Edwards popped up in my Google news feed this week. Especially singing the praises of a round of golf at Royal Portrush. Can your phone, like God, know your thoughts even before you speak? It had crossed my mind at some point that in this summer of fast-tumbling world records, the triple-jump mark set by Edwards 30 years ago next month remains in a realm of its own. Not once but twice inside 20 minutes Edwards made sure of that, leaping out with near-miraculous faith to 18.29 metres – exactly 60 feet – at the 1995 World Championships in Gothenburg. Then just like that, there he was in Google news, in Portrush this week as an ambassador for R&A global development, also helping to keep score at the 153rd Open. Golf being his thing now. God and Edwards were once very close. Long before pushing the world record to where no mortal had the right to expect to go, Edwards had declared that triple jumping was a mere extension of his devout Christianity, a faith fundamental to his identity. It was what drove him to become a full-time athlete back in 1987. READ MORE Then, four years after his retirement in 2003, came his sudden leap away from faith, Edwards losing his religion in 2007. Born in Westminster, the son of a Devon vicar, Edwards soon became Britain's most famous advocate of divine intervention, or at least divine inspiration, on the road to sporting glory. If faith can indeed carry the devout, Edwards always looked to God for the courage and strength to take on the world's best triple jumpers, and to beat them. Such was his devotion, Edwards initially refused to compete on the Sabbath, skipping the 1991 World Championships in Tokyo because his qualifying took place on the first Sunday. He eventually relented on that stance. 'My relationship with Jesus and God is fundamental to everything I do,' Edwards said at the time. 'I have made a commitment and dedication in that relationship to serve God in every area of my life.' After winning a bronze medal at the 1993 World Championships, Edwards went to Gothenburg two years later in the form of his life, his annus mirabilis. In July of 1995, he broke his first world record, his 17.98m surpassing by 1cm the mark which had stood for the previous 10 years to Willie Banks from the US. Edwards also jumped a wind-assisted 18.43m that June. A sign of things to come. British triple-jumper Jonathan Edwards makes his third jump at the World Championships in Athletics in Gothenburg, Sweden, on August 7th, 1995. Edwards' previous jump set a new world record at 18.29m. Photograph:With his first triple jump in Gothenburg, Edwards landed beyond the 18m marker in the sand, clearly a world record even before measured at 18.16m. His second attempt measured 18.29m. The next-best triple jump in history is the 18.21m Christian Taylor from the US landed to win the 2015 World Championships, 20 years after Edwards' record. When winning his Olympic gold in Sydney 2000, Edwards carried a tin of sardines in his kitbag, symbolising the fish Jesus used in the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, and a reminder that the result, win or lose, was in God's hands. At his retirement after the 2003 World Championships, Edwards quoted from the Bible: 'A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his step.' Then he began presenting Songs of Praise on BBC. So it made for shock reading when Edwards told the Times newspaper in 2007 that 'when you think about it rationally, it does seem incredibly improbable that there is a God'. His new revelations were all personal, and begged another profound question: could Edwards have broken that world record without his belief in God? 'I now realise my belief in God was sports psychology in all but name,' he said. 'Believing in something beyond the self can have a hugely beneficial psychological impact, even if the belief is fallacious.' Jonathan Edwards celebrates after winning gold in the Men's Triple Jump final at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Photograph: Stu Forster/Allsport/In another interview in 2014, Edwards said: 'Seven years on I don't feel a gap in my life, and I suppose that's the proof of the pudding, isn't it? Had I suddenly thought that life doesn't quite feel right, maybe I'd re-examine that – re-examine my faith. In fact, more than ever, I feel comfortable with where I am in life.' [ Edwards's loss of faith no godsend Opens in new window ] There was never any doubting the merits of his triple-jump efforts, the speed Edwards carried through to his final jump phase his greatest ally. 'I was very light, very quick across the ground,' he told Eurosport last year. 'And I maintained my speed, and my technique and my rhythm was very good, so my final jump was a long way ... that was the key for it.' Talking to National Club Golfer magazine on Thursday, Edwards still believes faith can play a role in sporting success, especially in a high-pressure game like golf. 'In some ways, it becomes part of your psychology for dealing with the pressure,' he said. 'I think subconsciously, your mind finds ways to just ratchet down the pressure a little bit. 'My faith certainly helped me do that, to deal with the pressure ... It's out of your hands. You do the best with what you've got, and the result is separate from that. Winning wasn't the be-all and end-all of those things, and no matter what happened, my worth as a person wasn't the penalty of the result. There was a whole bunch of stuff that the Christian narrative gave me which made it much easier to go out and compete.' Such words may or may not be a godsend to anyone playing for the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush this weekend, unless of course God has already made plans of his own.
USA Today
12 hours ago
- Politics
- USA Today
Lynch: Normalizing the abnormal is happening on both sides of the gate at the Open
PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — The concept of 'normalization' wasn't invented in Northern Ireland but it was perfected here. From the 1970s, the British government worked tirelessly to present the image of an otherwise ordinary society being wrecked by mindless terrorists, conveniently positioning itself as a defender of norms instead of an active belligerent in a conflict that killed 3,500 people. Almost three decades after the Good Friday accord largely ended the violence, normalizing the abnormal continues, inside and outside the gate of Royal Portrush, where the 153rd Open is taking place. The R&A altered third-round tee times and logistics because the town of Portrush is hosting a band parade by pro-British Protestant loyalists that will begin as spectators are leaving the course Saturday evening. The Open was announced four years ago, so the parade's scheduling isn't accidental. Nor was there a debate about which one would give way when a major sports event with a global audience clashed with a parochial, coat-trailing parade. After all, this is a place where the government census asked those who identified as atheist to declare their family's historic religious affiliation, literally demanding to know if one is a Protestant or Catholic atheist. Loyalist parades are a staple of Northern Irish summers. The intent is to claim ownership of the street. Most are organized by the Orange Order, a fraternal group founded to maintain Protestant supremacy. They're frequently controversial and have often sparked violence when the Order insisted on marching through predominantly Catholic neighborhoods. Enormous bonfires are another feature of the festivities, and last week two drew widespread condemnation. One was built close to an electricity substation that powers Belfast's two main hospitals, another was topped with an effigy of migrants in a raft — a brazen example of the far-right racism that underpins much of loyalist sentiment. Organizers rejected calls to remove either and the government sat idle. Naked bigotry normalized as an expression of culture. The R&A's chief executive, Mark Darbon, was diplomatic when asked about the need to accommodate a loyalist parade during the Open: 'We are a guest in the community in which we operate,' he said, revealing that the R&A contributed to the cost of trying to ensure both events happen seamlessly. 'Security and the safety of your guests and the experience of your guests is always a prime consideration. This is no different,' he added. Lynch: With Open returning to Royal Portrush, tales of redemption sweep aside reality The parade organizers, the Portrush Sons of Ulster, informed followers on social media that 'we don't have as much control of the town as we usually would … We hope everyone understands what we're up against.' Uninitiated visitors in town for the Open — and some unaligned locals — will view the parade as a source of entertainment or amusement, jaunty flute music performed by ruddy-faced men gussied up in sashes and costumes, the entire spectacle suggesting a prank pageant for guys who'd struggle to get a dog to bark at them on dating apps. The Open largely exists outside of this binary guff that defines so much of life in Northern Ireland. It's unifying, a cause for celebration among people who for too long had more cause to commiserate. But even the Open is becoming a platform for normalizing the deplorable. The R&A deals with the Sons of Ulster by necessity. It deals with the Saudis by choice. LIV Golf has a hospitality location directly across the street from the Royal Portrush clubhouse, but then the R&A's writ doesn't extend beyond the perimeter of the course. It does, however, have control over what happens inside. Qiddiah, the entertainment mega project under construction in Saudi Arabia, has a hospitality presence on site and one of its representatives will be playing Royal Portrush on Monday as a guest of the R&A. Qiddiah is bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund and overseen by Yasir Al-Rumayyan, LIV's founding benefactor. Graeme McDowell, a popular native of Portrush, is working here as a commentator on the world feed for Sky Sports while wearing his LIV team apparel and regularly name-checking his employer. He was hired by IMG, which has deep business ties to the R&A. Coincidences? Possibly. Or perhaps the R&A is eager to position itself as more ally than antagonist to the Saudis. The process of normalizing the Kingdom's ambitions in golf began two years ago during the Open at Royal Liverpool, when Darbon's predecessor, Martin Slumbers, lamented the cash arms race in one breath while in the next attempting to cut to the head of the line for handouts. 'We have a number of large corporate partners that help us make this thing happen,' he said when asked if the R&A would accept a Saudi partnership in some form. 'The world of sport has changed dramatically in the last 12 months, and it is not feasible for the R&A or golf to just ignore what is a societal change on a global basis. We will be considering within all the parameters that we look at all the options that we have.' As of now, there exists no formal commercial relationship between the R&A and the Saudis, but if we're debating which parties on the board of the Official World Golf Ranking are compromised when it comes to deciding on LIV's application for recognition, there's circumstantial reason for concern about the R&A as much as the PGA Tour. The R&A is trying to be subtle, but that seldom works with the Saudis, and never in Northern Ireland.
Irish Independent
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
‘I've been there' - Jon Rahm expresses sympathy for Shane Lowry after two-stoke penalty
The Offaly man didn't notice his practice swing had caused his ball to move in the rough at the 12th on Friday and so wasn't aware it had to be replaced in its original spot, turning a one-shot penalty into two shots as he also played from the wrong place. Not seeing the ball move was no excuse under the rules, as the R&A explained that after reviewing the video, 'the naked eye test is satisfied whether or not the player was looking at the ball when it moved'. Lowry did not argue with the decision and Rahm understood his frustration, having suffered under the Rules in the past. He was slapped with two-stroke penalty during the Memorial Tournament in 2020 when a video replay showed his ball moved while addressing it, even though he didn't feel it move. Another instance involved a one-shot penalty at the 2018 PGA Championship after his foot accidentally touched the ball while searching for it in the rough. He played with Lowry yesterday and shot a two-under 69 to move to two-under and while he didn't see footage of the Offaly man's rules incident on Friday, he had sympathy, 'I tried to throw up and I couldn't' – Shane Lowry struck down by a virus as his nightmare week at Portrush continues 'The movement of the ball was discernible to the naked eye' – R&A explain Shane Lowry's two-shot penalty 'Well, I can relate because I've been there,' Rahm said. 'They've done exactly the same thing to me where they give you the iPad, and look what happened. 'Yeah, you're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, therefore I don't think it should be a penalty, even though the rule says it should be visible to the naked eye, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. And if you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty.' Lowry would have entered the third round eight shots off the lead rather than ten and Rahm was sympathetic. ADVERTISEMENT 'If he starts at two-under today, you have a good Saturday, you can put yourself in contention,' he stated. 'When you get 10 shots back, it's a little bit harder. 'It's a tough spot to be in. From what I understand from the whole thing, and I haven't seen the images, this is just from what I heard, it needs to be visible without a camera. "If the rule says visible to the naked eye, we need to uphold that more than anything else.' Asked if the rule need to be changed, Rahm added: 'I don't know. It's always going to be based on the situation, and when you get in the rough, it's tricky. 'But if he didn't see it, I just don't know -- there's enough people, I'm assuming if he was in the rough on 12, right or left, there's enough people around you that if they see it, they're going to say so. "Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it.'
The Irish Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Shane Lowry ‘felt like throwing up all over the place' after family hit by sickness bug amid The Open ball controversy
SHANE LOWRY felt sick after accepting a brutal two-stroke penalty - then wanted to throw up for his entire third round. Lowry, 38, was docked two shots on Friday night when TV footage appeared to show his ball move fractionally after a practice swing from the 12th hole rough. 3 Shane Lowry felt sick throughout his round on Saturday Credit: Sportsfile 3 He admitted his whole family had come down with the bug Credit: Getty He was called in by R&A officials and It meant Lowry signed for a round of one-over 72 instead of one-under 70 and started his Saturday round at even par. The 2019 Open champion at Portrush carded a three-over 74 to take himself out of contention for today's final round. But then he revealed he had been feeling unwell after a bug hit his wife and daughters. READ MORE ON THE OPEN Lowry said: 'I haven't eaten today yet. I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place. It's been a tough day and I had a bad finish. 'It was hard to take. Then I woke up at 2.30am with cramps in my stomach. I know we have it in the house. "Ivy had a couple of days ago. Wendy had it yesterday. Me and Iris have it today. It will be gone by the holidays next week so at least that's a plus. 'Honestly, every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, I couldn't. It's just such a bad feeling. It's just really bad timing obviously.' Most read in Golf CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS Lowry initially admitted on Friday night he was He added: 'Quite supportive, I would say, from the other players. They all feel bad for me that two shots is a lot to give up. I don't really have much else to say.' Shane Lowry in rules breach controversy at The Open as balls appears to move on practice swing Playing partner Rahm was one of those to publicly voice his support for Lowry - and called for a change in the strict golf laws and severe penalty. The Spaniard added: "You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. "If you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. It's a tough spot to be in. It's tricky. "Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it." 3 The moving ball was barely visible on TV Credit: USA Network The Open 2025 ONE of the most anticipated Opens in years is finally here. Can THE OPEN 2025 LIVE - Follow all the latest updates from Royal Portrush TIPS AND FREE BETS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW... The Open 2025 schedule and tee times The Open prize money 2025 TOP STORIES...
The Sun
14 hours ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Shane Lowry ‘felt like throwing up all over the place' after family hit by sickness bug amid The Open ball controversy
SHANE LOWRY felt sick after accepting a brutal two-stroke penalty - then wanted to throw up for his entire third round. Lowry, 38, was docked two shots on Friday night when TV footage appeared to show his ball move fractionally after a practice swing from the 12th hole rough. 3 He was called in by R&A officials and accepted his painful punishment to avoid being branded a cheat - despite having no idea of the possible breach of the rules until the 15th. It meant Lowry signed for a round of one-over 72 instead of one-under 70 and started his Saturday round at even par. The 2019 Open champion at Portrush carded a three-over 74 to take himself out of contention for today's final round. But then he revealed he had been feeling unwell after a bug hit his wife and daughters. Lowry said: 'I haven't eaten today yet. I tried to get a protein drink down me after eight holes, and I felt like throwing up all over the place. It's been a tough day and I had a bad finish. 'It was hard to take. Then I woke up at 2.30am with cramps in my stomach. I know we have it in the house. "Ivy had a couple of days ago. Wendy had it yesterday. Me and Iris have it today. It will be gone by the holidays next week so at least that's a plus. 'Honestly, every bathroom I went in and tried to throw up, I couldn't. It's just such a bad feeling. It's just really bad timing obviously.' Lowry initially admitted on Friday night he was 'very disappointed' by the harsh ruling but refused to talk more about it yesterday, except to say he had been backed by his fellow pros. He added: 'Quite supportive, I would say, from the other players. They all feel bad for me that two shots is a lot to give up. I don't really have much else to say.' Shane Lowry in rules breach controversy at The Open as balls appears to move on practice swing Playing partner Rahm was one of those to publicly voice his support for Lowry - and called for a change in the strict golf laws and severe penalty. The Spaniard added: "You're in a no-win situation because if you say I didn't see it, you always run the risk of being called something you don't want to be called. "If you take it on the safe side, you're taking a two-shot penalty. It's a tough spot to be in. It's tricky. "Something needs to be changed for sure, I just don't know exactly how they could change it." 3
