Category Archives: Sport

Peter Bol exonerated six months after ‘false positive’ drug test as anti-doping body closes investigation

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  • Sport Integrity Australia drops investigation into Australian
  • Middle distance runner says news is ‘a dream come true’

Peter Bol has been “exonerated” and can now turn his full focus to the upcoming world athletics championships after Sport Integrity Australia (SIA) dropped its anti-doping investigation into the middle-distance star.

It ends a saga dating back to mid-January when the 29-year-old Australian was provisionally suspended after recording an elevated level of synthetic erythropoietin (EPO).

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Ukraine calls for disqualified fencer to be reinstated after anti-Russia protest

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Olha Kharlan, competing at the world championships in Milan, refused to shake Russian rival’s hand after beating her

Ukraine’s government has called on the International Fencing Federation (FIE) to reverse its decision to disqualify a Ukrainian fencer for refusing to shake hands with her defeated Russian opponent.

The country’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, called for Olha Kharlan to be reinstated in the fencing world championships in Milan, after she was excluded as a result of the aftermath of her victory over Anna Smirnova, a Russian competing as a neutral.

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Revealed: Saudi Arabia’s $6bn spend on ‘sportswashing’

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Exclusive: Billions deployed since early 2021 in a move critics say is an attempt to distract from human rights record

Saudi Arabia has spent at least $6.3bn (£4.9bn) in sports deals since early 2021, more than quadruple the previous amount spent over a six-year period, in what critics have labelled an effort to distract from its human rights record.

Saudi Arabia has deployed billions from its Public Investment Fund over the last two-and-a-half years according to analysis by the Guardian, spending on sports at a scale that has completely changed professional golf and transformed the international transfer market for football.

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‘We’ve come so far from saying women can’t play football’: girls gather to cheer on the Lionesses

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From Suffolk to Sheffield, youngsters inspired by England’s Euros triumph sat down before big screens to enjoy the side’s World Cup campaign

Ninety minutes before the Lionesses took to the pitch for their World Cup opener, the under-11s Hadleigh United girls’ team kicked off their own tournament – a mini World Cup five-a-side organised by coach Matt French. More than two dozen girls, representing global national teams, showed off their skills to cheering families and friends.

After the final whistle, it was time to head to the clubhouse to watch the England women’s team play.

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Josh Hazlewood hoping weather can save Australia after Bairstow’s blast

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  • Fast bowler admits tourists face fight to save Test
  • Bairstow hits out at criticism after unbeaten 99

Josh Hazlewood admitted he was crossing his fingers and hoping for rain at the end of another day of English domination, which ended with Australia 113 for four in their second innings, still 162 away from making England bat again.

The amount of rain likely to fall on Manchester over the weekend varies between forecasts, but all of them suggest Saturday’s play will be significantly affected, with parts of Sunday also in jeopardy. “I’d be very pleased if it rains,” Hazlewood said. “It’s obviously forecast, and forecasts can change all the time, but it would be great to lose a few overs – it would make our job a bit easier.”

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Commonwealth Games: Victoria’s regions ‘shocked and disappointed’ after event cancelled

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The 2026 Games, which Daniel Andrews announced would be cancelled, was set to be held across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton

Regional areas have been left “shocked and disappointed” after the Victorian government decided to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday the government announced it would cancel the 12-day event after the cost blew out from $2.6bn and could have reached $7bn, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying he did not want to take money from other areas of the budget to pay for the Games.

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Betting firm logos shown on TV up to 3,500 times in Premier League matches, study finds

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Average was once every 16 seconds across 10 matches last season, with a total of 3,522 in West Ham v Chelsea

Betting company logos appear as often as 3,500 times during the course of a televised football match, the majority on pitchside hoardings, prompting renewed scepticism about top-flight clubs’ plan to give up front-of-shirt betting ads only.

A study led by psychology experts from four universities measured the volume of gambling adverts during 10 matches that took place last season, featuring every Premier League club.

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New headsets bring Wimbledon to life for visually impaired fans

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Device trialled at tournament captures images with camera and projects them into sight line

Rosie Pybus has been to Wimbledon several times and watched her first tennis match this year, thanks to a headset for visually impaired people. She told of the “exhilarating” moment she tested the innovative device, which allows users to watch live action from the stands.

Visually impaired tennis fans at SW19 have been trialling the headsets, which capture images with a camera and project them into a person’s sight line. Users can adjust the images with a remote control.

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Convicted abuser and ex-gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar stabbed in prison – report

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Nassar reportedly in stable condition after becoming involved in an altercation in Florida prison and being stabbed multiple times

Larry Nassar, the former Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics doctor who was convicted of decades of abuse of women and girls under the guise of medical treatment, was reportedly stabbed at a federal prison in Florida on Sunday.

The Associated Press reported that Nassar was involved in an altercation with another person at United States Penitentiary Coleman in Florida and was stabbed multiple times, including in the chest and back.

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Thunderbirds are go! Adelaide win first Super Netball title in extra-time thriller

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  • Adelaide Thunderbirds 60-59 NSW Swifts
  • Eleanor Cardwell stars in extra-time victory

In the cult TV series Ted Lasso, a football manager some like to mock hangs a simple sign in his new team’s changing room. It says “BELIEVE”.

And on Saturday at Melbourne’s John Cain Arena, it was old-fashioned belief – instilled by Tania Obst, a coach some have ridiculed, and her assistants Tracey Neville and Cathy Fellows – that was the driving force in the Adelaide Thunderbirds’ first Super Netball premiership win.

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Police using live facial recognition at British Grand Prix

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Northamptonshire force says technology adds ‘extra layer of security’ at Silverstone for F1 race

Police are using live facial recognition (LFR) to scan the faces of people attending the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.

Northamptonshire police were deploying the technology on Saturday and Sunday to provide “an extra layer of security” at the Formula One race, which 450,000 people were expected to attend, the force said.

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No charges to be filed in altercation between Britney Spears and NBA player’s guard

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Pop-star had said she was struck by Victor Wembanyama’s security when she tried to approach the basketball player for a photograph

No charges will be filed following a brief investigation of the altercation involving pop star Britney Spears, San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama and a member of the basketball player’s security team, Las Vegas police said on Friday.

Spears said she was struck by a security guard as she tried to approach Wembanyama on the way into a restaurant in a Las Vegas casino complex on Wednesday night. Wembanyama said a person – he later was told it was Spears – grabbed him from behind.

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Andy Murray suggests loss to Tsitsipas may be his last Wimbledon match

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Emotional two-time champion says he doesn’t know if he will be back and ‘motivation is obviously a big thing’

An emotional Andy Murray hinted that he may have played his last Wimbledon match after his hopes of reaching the third round were dashed on Friday.

The two-time champion spoke of his disappointment after he was defeated by Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, in five sets as the temperature soared to 29C.

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‘Stay in your crease’: Anthony Albanese offers Rishi Sunak advice following controversial Ashes dismissal

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  • Australian PM says he wishes his UK counterpart well
  • Rishi Sunak had claimed Australia contravened ‘the spirit of cricket’

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has offered some advice to his UK counterpart after Rishi Sunak weighed into the controversy over Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal at Lord’s on Sunday.

Mr Albanese said on Tuesday he understood Sunak’s disappointment.

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Saudi leader trying to avoid ‘pariah’ status with LIV-PGA merger, says rights group

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Mohammed bin Salman said to look to repair his reputation after 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul

The proposed merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and the American PGA Tour marks the latest maneuver by Riyadh in its campaign to repair its reputation and head off the sort of blacklisting that occurred after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent advocate for democracy in the Middle East told the Guardian.

“This is a merger in name only. This is really about the Saudi government throwing a premium at PGA Tour that they obviously found too overwhelmingly tempting to resist,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, executive director of Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn).

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US Senate asks governor of Saudi wealth fund to testify over LIV-PGA merger

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Invitation raises possibility Yasir al-Rumayyan could be questioned under oath about execution of Jamal Khashoggi

The powerful governor of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed investment fund has been invited to testify before a Senate committee in the wake of a proposed merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Tour and the PGA, raising the possibility the executive could be questioned under oath about issues ranging from the future of golf to the execution of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Yasir al-Rumayyan, governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, was invited to testify on 11 July by the Senate permanent subcommittee on investigations, whose chairman, the Democratic senator Dick Blumenthal, is one of the toughest critics of Saudi Arabia on Capitol Hill.

This article was amended on 21 June 2023 to clarify that Yasir al-Rumayyan is the governor of Saudi Arabia’s state-backed investment fund, rather than the chairman.

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AFL and NRL teams pay tribute to Hunter Valley bus crash victims as nine people remain in hospital

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Sporting teams, friends and family used weekend to mourn the victims as fundraising effort tops $600,000

Nine passengers remain in hospital almost a week after the horror bus crash in the Hunter Valley as the fundraising effort to support victims and their families tops $600,000.

Sporting teams, friends and family used the weekend to mourn and pay tribute to the victims up and down eastern Australia.

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Indian wrestling federation chief charged with sexual harassment

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Charges follow months of complaints against BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh by country’s top wrestlers

Police in India have filed charges of sexual harassment and criminal intimidation against the chief of the country’s wrestling federation, a member of parliament with Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata party (BJP), following complaints by female wrestlers.

The public prosecutor Atul Srivastav read out the charges against Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh at a court hearing in Delhi. If convicted he faces up to three years in jail.

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Oakland A’s fans stage ‘reverse boycott’ at plans to move team to Vegas

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  • Crowds demand owner sells team rather than relocate
  • Fans chant and throw garbage on to field in protest

Furious Oakland Athletics fans came en masse with a single message to owner John Fisher. “Sell the team!” they chanted thousands of times during the A’s 2-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Friends Brian Guido and Scott Finney of Sacramento left work early on Tuesday because they did not want to miss the festivities a couple of hours away in Oakland.

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Motorcyclist killed and athlete severely injured during Hamburg Ironman

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  • Head-on collision during race leaves 70-year-old rider dead
  • Athlete and camera operator treated after collision

The rider of a motorbike has died following a crash with a competitor in an Ironman European championship race on Sunday, police in the host city of Hamburg said.

Police said there was a head-on crash when a race support motorbike carrying a rider and a passenger collided with a triathlete who was cycling in the opposite direction.

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