‘She’s an inspiration to the youngsters’: the rapid rise of Michelle Agyemang

Lioness has gone from prospect to superstar at Euro 2025 – and she’s got more than just football in her locker

Four years ago, Michelle Agyemang was a ballgirl at Wembley stadium, witnessing the Lionesses’ rule the pitch in a 4-0 victory against Northern Ireland. Now, at just 19 years old, she no longer finds herself retrieving balls that have veered out of play, but is an integral part of the team she once admired from the sidelines.

The forward, who football fans hope will be showing off her on-pitch magic on Sunday as the Lionesses’ face off against Spain in the Euros 2025 final, began her journey to the top of the sport in her Essex home town of South Ockendon.

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Graham Thorpe’s care had ’failings’ in last months of his life, says coroner

An inquest into the former England cricketer’s death last year has recorded a conclusion of suicide

There were “failings” in the provision of former England cricketer Graham Thorpe’s care in the months before he died, a coroner has said, as a conclusion of suicide was recorded at an inquest.

Thorpe, 55, died on 4 August 2024 after being struck by a train at a railway station in Surrey.

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US Olympics officials quietly bar trans women from competing in women’s sports

Olympic and Paralympic committee tells federations it has ‘obligation to comply’ with executive order issued by Trump

The US Olympic and Paralympic committee has in effect barred transgender women from competing in women’s sports, telling the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an “obligation to comply” with an executive order issued by Donald Trump.

The new policy, announced on Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC’s website and confirmed in a letter sent to national sport governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year.

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Ibiza venue cancels music events after deaths of two British men in two weeks

Ice hockey player Gary Kelly died at Ibiza Rocks Hotel as did fellow Scot Evan Thomson, who fell to his death on 7 July

An Ibiza hotel and music venue has cancelled a number of music events after the deaths of two British men on its premises in the space of two weeks.

Gary Kelly, 19, who was a professional ice hockey player for the Dundee Stars, died at the Ibiza Rocks hotel on Monday. His club paid tribute to the “hugely talented and charismatic individual” who “had a great future ahead of him”.

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World Athletics Championships: London’s 2029 bid gets Starmer backing

  • UK government will give £35m to help push for event

  • Previous successes leave city in strong position for bid

London is in prime position to stage the 2029 World Athletics Championships after finally securing a substantial government funding commitment for the bid.

It is understood the UK government has agreed to give £35m to help bid for the championships, which would be the first to be staged in London since 2017, with the mayor’s office expected to commit about £10m.

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