Sports News

The 2017 Vitality Superleague season promises to be one of the most exciting yet, with competition increased courtesy of three new franchises, talent spread across the league thanks to smaller playing rosters and new exciting players, plus venues and coaches. The weekly action promises to be fierce and exciting.

British tennis is enjoying its most successful period for 30 years, and the next generation of up-and-coming players can sharpen their technique using the same facilities that have helped inspire the nation's stars at two new junior academies at Spain's La Manga Club this year. The official overseas training base of the Lawn Tennis Association, La Manga Club has hosted the likes of world number one Andy Murray as well as British women's number one Johanna Konta, Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund in recent years, and the resort will be running two extra programmes in 2017 – an 'Advanced Matchplay' academy and 'Junior Elite' academy.

Britain’s 60m hurdles world leader Andrew Pozzi will go head to head with Rio Olympic silver and bronze medallists Orlando Ortega and Dimitri Bascou, as well as rising star David Omoregie, at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham. Ortega of Spain and France’s reigning European champion Bascou, are just two of 39 current global champions and medallists competing at the world’s top indoor athletics meeting at the Barclaycard Arena on 18 February.

Innsbruck has been the starting, staging or finishing point of various major bikes races on more than thirty occasions. With the Tour of the Alps, the Ötztal Bike Marathon, the Crankworx Biking Festival, the Road Race and the Haute Routes Dolomites, this year Innsbruck will be hosting no fewer than five international élite biking events. And these will whet the appetite for the event highlight next year: in September 2018 Innsbruck will be the venue for the UCI – Road World Championships where the best road racers in the world will be gathering. 

Atlanta’s own Orrin ‘Checkmate’ Hudson is using the enthusiasm that is a part of his every day game plan to encourage the NFL to open the Georgia Dome for one last football celebration on Sunday, when the Atlanta Falcons face the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI. Hudson is the founder of Be Someone, Inc., an organization that uses the game of chess to teach young people how to make the right moves in life.

Strathmore water has been announced as the national supplier of bottled water for both the IAAF World Championships London 2017 and the World Para Athletics Championships. Athletes, officials and volunteers at both events next summer will be hydrated by more than one million bottles of water being supplied by the water brand. This year will bring together more than 3000 world-class athletes from more than 200 countries, who will compete in 30 sessions across 20 jam-packed and action-fueled days as both the World Para Athletics Championships (14-23 July) and IAAF World Championships London 2017 (04-13 August) are hosted in London this summer.

The sporting legends pictured above attended the very first Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco in 2000, where former South Africa President Nelson Mandela famously told them: ‘sport has the power to change the world.’ 17 years later, Mandela’s words still ring true and many of these legends will make a special return to Monaco next month to honour the greatest sportsmen and women of the past 12 months. 

9-times Olympic Gold medal-winning legend, Usain Bolt has lost one of his nine due to a doping case involving his teammate Nesta Carter. The IOC stated that Carter tested positive for methylhexaneamine, a banned stimulant, in re-analysis of samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics with the ruling meaning that the entire Jamaican relay team, which included Bolt, can be disqualified and stripped of any medals won if one runner fails a doping test.

Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine have named northern Michigan's Forest Dunes' new innovative 18-hole reversible course – The Loop, designed by Tom Doak, as the Best New Public Course and the Best New U.S. Course You Can Play, respectively. The Loop joins Tiger Woods-designed Bluejack National, as the big winner in the private club category in each publication. They both have something in common according to Ron Whitten, Golf Digest's Architecture Editor: “Fun and playability” and “they represent the trend that many architects are embracing: build for the masses, not the elite players.”

A year on from the publication of ‘A Manifesto for Clean Athletics’ UK Athletics (UKA) has today launched its own ‘Clean Athletics’ brand with the aim of reinforcing UK Athletics’ commitment to athletes competing free from performance-enhancing drugs. ‘Clean Athletics’ will replace the former ‘Anti-Doping’ department. Last year’s manifesto called for a wide-ranging debate about measures that could be introduced to achieve a new era of clean athletics.

Sir Mo Farah and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill lead an impressive shortlist at the 3rd Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, which will be hosted by Sir Lenny Henry at the London Hilton Park Lane Hotel. Sir Mo, the 2-time double Olympic gold medalist for 5000 and 10000 metres, leads an impressive group of sportsmen and women nominated for the third Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs).

It’s going to be a big year for Sandwell’s top young athletes, who are gearing up for a busy year in 2017. Eighteen year old para-swimmer Scott Hadley, from Tipton, is aiming to build on a brilliant performance at the National Para-swimming championships in Manchester last month. Overall Scott achieved four personal best performances from his seven races, including winning gold medals in the mens 100m Backstroke (category S8) and the mens 100m Breaststroke (category SB7) representing the Orion swimming club.

UK Athletics has confirmed Richard Bowker as the Chair-Elect who will succeed Ed Warner as Chair in January 2018. Bowker is currently a non-executive Director of London Marathon Events and is an Independent Director of the EFL (English Football League). A former Group CEO of National Express Group and Chair of the Strategic Rail Authority, he received a CBE for services to the Rail Industry in 2005.

A new nationwide survey has found that over half of Brits admit that they are inactive when it comes to playing sports - the average person only raises their heartbeat through sports for 88 minutes per week! The survey carried out by Ladbrokes has found that only 43% of residents in the West Midlands consider themselves to be active people who regularly play and participate in sports. Among these, 1 in 4 regularly jog to keep fit.

It has been announced today that the mental health charity Mind will sponsor the first ever Wellbeing award at the 2017 Lycamobile British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards (BEDSAs) on March 18th. Sir Lenny Henry will host the awards ceremony at the London Hilton on Park Lane. Mind is the leading mental health charity in the UK. It provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem, as well as campaigning to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding.

Britain’s top female sprinter Dina Asher-Smith will face the best sprinter in the world, double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, over 60m at the Müller Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham on 18 February. Elaine Thompson was the shining star of the Rio Olympic Games winning gold in the 100m and 200m sprints. Dina Asher-Smith is Britain’s fastest ever female sprinter and finished fifth over 200m at the Olympic Games in Rio in August.