Sports
Saffron Cresswell on life-changing accident and new career in para-canoe
Around a week before she left the spinal unit, Cresswell attended the Spinal Games at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, which is for patients with spinal injuries who are either still in hospital or within a year post-accident, and is an opportunity to try different sports over four days.
You name it, she tried it.
“I got six out of six bull’s eyes and won the archery out of 110 people,” she says.
“It was a great stepping stone to coming home. And I think I kind of held on to that when I came home initially because the first while was really tough at home.”
She left hospital on 8 October and by December had started wheelchair racing, going on to race 10Ks and a half-marathon, also doing wheelchair tennis and basketball.
The trouble was, she didn’t love them.
“I was worried I would never find a sport that I wanted to put my whole energy into,” she says. “I think I knew that horses were my hobby that got to turn into my sport and my career and lifestyle so I didn’t know if that would be possible to find something like that.”
Enter para-canoe.
Cresswell had got chatting to Olympic canoe athlete Deborah Kerr at an event run by the Women’s Sport Trust charity who had told her to “have a go”.
So, on 23 December last year, she did. Winter was “not the time to start a water sport” and she was “not a natural”.
“My coach was too scared to let me off the bank in case I capsized,” she laughs. “And that probably stayed, I don’t think I left the bank for about a month.”
A one-off taster session turned into twice a week and then eventually five times a week on the water. Four-hour training sessions, plus gym work three days a week.
One of the biggest challenges has been staying upright.
“I don’t have any feedback of any part of my body if I am losing balance,” she explains. “So I’m strapped into a seat because I’ve got no core function, but I can’t actually feel that seat. So I basically feel like I’m floating.
“So my only thing I’ve got to know if I’ve lost balance is my head and my eyes. So that took a while to start to hone in and they always say, deaf people hear better than anybody else, don’t they? And I think it’s a bit the same.
“It’s like, I’ve now tuned into how to balance myself without the use of the rest of my body. But I’d say the balance aspect is a big part of it alongside the technical, constant skill-based stuff that needs to be improved.”
It is the technical aspect that she thinks has similarities to equestrian and which is why she thinks she enjoys it so much.
Her progress has been rapid, by anyone’s standards. Not least her own.
“World Championships was definitely not the plan. It was a quiet goal after a while that if I could get the time, I might be able to go,” says Cresswell, who alongside training is also doing media work.
“The time I needed to achieve was, I think, one minute 26 seconds. And anyway, I’m now down to one minute 18. So I’ve kind of over-achieved on that one, which has just been through repetition, practise, finding new ways to do things.”
She has been selected to represent Great Britain at this month’s Canoe Sprint and Para-Canoe World Championships in Poznan, Poland.
Having only ever raced once before in the UK her aims are modest.
“Honestly, stay up and get through the start and finish line,” she says, explaining that she capsized before the start of a race she was due to do in April.
It is more about getting an international classification – which involves a series of medical tests to assess an athlete’s impairment and demonstrating how much of your body you can use when paddling – so that she can be eligible to earn points at events that can lead to qualification for the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles.
Could she have pictured this when she was in hospital?
“I certainly wouldn’t have imagined I was going to do para-canoe – I didn’t even know [that] was a sport when I was in hospital,” says Cresswell, who will compete in the VL1 (a canoe with a support float) and KL1 (kayak).
“But to be honest, I think what actually is more kind of crazy in my head is I couldn’t even imagine January me doing this.”
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Sports
Raheem Sterling charged with dangerous driving after crash on M3 in Hampshire
Raheem Sterling will appear in court next month to face charges of dangerous driving and possessing nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation after crashing his car into motorway barriers in May.
The former England winger, who most recently played for Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie, crashed his Lamborghini into barriers on the M3 in Hampshire on the morning of Thursday, 28 May.
The 31-year-old was arrested and then released on bail pending further enquiries.
A Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary spokesman said: “A driver will appear in court next month to face charges following a collision on the M3.
“Raheem Sterling, 31, from Berkshire, has been charged for the following offences: dangerous driving, possession of nitrous oxide for wrongful inhalation, failing to provide a specimen.
“The charges come following a single vehicle collision, involving a Lamborghini, on the M3 southbound, close to the Minley Interchange [Hampshire], on 28 May, 2026.
“No other vehicles were involved and no injuries were reported. Mr Sterling is due to appear at Basingstoke magistrates court on 15 September.”
Police suspected Sterling of “driving a vehicle whilst unfit through drugs,” but that has not been included in the charges.
In May a source close to Sterling told BBC Sport there was “no proof” of drugs in his system.
The source added the player had faced “an extremely tough couple of years” and had been made to “feel worthless” and “forgotten about”.
Sterling has been without a club since leaving Dutch side Feyenoord at the end of last season.
He joined Feyenoord in February on a short-term contract after leaving Chelsea by mutual consent.
Chelsea paid £47.5m to sign Sterling from Manchester City in 2022, where he had won four Premier League titles, five League Cups and one FA Cup in seven years.
In 2024 the former Liverpool winger joined Arsenal on loan, but upon returning to Chelsea in 2025 was exiled from the first-team squad and made to train separately.
Sterling earned 82 England caps between 2012 and 2022, and appeared at three World Cups and two European Championships.
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Sports
Plymouth 2 – 4 Coventry
Premier League new boys Coventry survived an EFL Cup second-round scare at League One Plymouth before easing through 4-2 at Home Park.
City had showed their class by racing into a 2-0 lead within five minutes courtesy of goals from Taiwo Awoniyi and Jack Rudoni but Argyle fought back to level nine minutes into the second half thanks to debutant Danny Irow and Xavier Amaechi.
Second-half substitute Ephron Mason-Clark scored City’s third goal within five minutes of his 62nd-minute introduction before Victor Torp wrapped things up with a 78th-minute penalty.
Awoniyi fired City ahead on three minutes, picking his spot after a brilliant flick-on by Caleb Yirenkyi.
Yirenkyi’s sublime pass on the spin from skipper Liam Kitching’s through ball set striker Awoniyi on his way to goal and he had time to pick his spot to beat home goalkeeper James Storer with a side foot finish.
Within two minutes City increased their lead following a lightning break down the right. Awoniyi set Rudoni racing on his way to goal and he made no mistake, again beating Storer with a clinical finish, this time from the edge of the box.
Jake Bidwell came close to making it 3-0 on the 18th minute, heading just past the post from Joel Latibeaudiere’s pinpoint cross to the far post.
Argyle responded in the 21st minute through Irow, who cut in from the left and beat Latibeaudiere, before sending a low shot past City keeper Daniel Bentley into the far corner.
Midfielder Harvey White had sent Irow – who has just joined Plymouth on loan from Tottenham – away down the left with a superb pass from his own half after spotting the winger out wide.
The unmarked Awoniyi could have doubled his tally on 27 minutes but headed wide from six yards from Latibeaudiere’s deep cross.
Striker Will Evans’ effort flew off the foot of Bentley and on to a post in the 31st minute after the keeper had failed to hold White’s long-range effort.
Argyle restored parity on 54 minutes when half-time sub Amaechi won the ball from City defender Kitching and raced into the box before beating Bentley with a thumping low drive into the corner.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto volleyed just over from Mason-Clark’s cross in the 65th minute before the latter restored City’s lead in the 67th minute from close range, turning in Torp’s thumping cross.
Torp gave Coventry some breathing space by converting a penalty following a foul by sub Joe Edwards on Brandon Thomas-Asante, who could have increased City’s lead in stoppage time but hammered his volley over from the edge of the six-yard box.
The managers…
Plymouth’s Tom Cleverley:
“It was an entertaining cup tie. It was never in our plan to conceded two goals in the first four minutes.
“We showed a lot of resilience in pre-season, defensive records are what you can build results on so we need to be strong defensively.
“The reaction to that, losing two goals so early, was excellent. I couldn’t be happier with the players.
“I thought all four debutants were good. Oli Irow gives us something different. He wants to take players on, good pace and he’s direct.
“I thought Tyreeq Bakinson look assured and Joe Mwaro was excellent on his debut. It’s a night he will never forget against top opposition and James Storer in goal.
“Then you bring on Xavier Amaechi and he looked sharp, motivated. There were a lot of good performances out there.
“This is what you want from cup ties, I have got a healthy headache ahead of Saturday’s league game against Bradford.
“We have lost a game which I never want to do but we are in a healthier place. I thought as a team we showed more personality. We took the hand brake off.”
Coventry’s Frank Lampard:
“You have always got to enjoy a win but at this point it is also looking at performance and individual and collective performances.
“We made a lot of changes and so for me it’s good to have a look at players that we didn’t start at the weekend (Friday) and are pushing for places.
“I expected it to be difficult, it’s not an easy place to come. It was a great start to the game, two really good goals, high quality goals.
“Exactly what we want running through back lines and just showing good capacity to run and good combination stuff as well.
“Maybe we relaxed or something but we didn’t put our foot down. When you get teams in that situation you should go and put your foot properly down and we didn’t.
“In an early round in the cup it can happen. Big mistakes for the goals, we must be honest about that, and then a good reaction to win the game pretty well.
“Ephron is a big player for us so it was good to see him looking strong. He wants to get better all the time.
“But of course a win is a big deal because it’s a nice feeling to take back on the bus for four hours.”
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Sports
Stoke 1 – 1 Hull City
Premier League new boys Hull followed up their 2-0 win over Manchester United on Saturday by knocking Stoke out of the Carabao Cup on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the bet365 Stadium.
Robert Bozenik opened the scoring for the hosts before the Tigers equalised through Kieran Dowell on the stroke of half time.
With neither side able to force a winner, Hull ran out 5-4 winners on penalties.
Sergej Jakirovic made 11 changes to the side that stunned Manchester United at the weekend, handing full debuts to Lucas Herrington and Matt Targett, as well as midfield pair Jens Hjerto-Dahl and Lucas Gourna-Douath.
It was a bright start from Hull, and Hjerto-Dahl in particular, who opened his body up and curled an effort towards the far post which was pushed wide by Josh Griffiths.
Paddy McNair then headed Liam Millar’s corner wide at the back post as the visitors enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges.
After losing their opening two Championship games of the season, including a 2-1 defeat to Swansea at the bet365 Stadium on the opening day, Mark Robins made seven changes as Bozenik, Luke Graham, Ben Pearson, Tomas Rigo, Million Manhoef and Laurence Giani were all handed starts.
Stoke had reportedly turned down a bid from the Tigers for star winger Sorba Thomas, and it was the Wales international who created the opener when he cut in from the left and whipped a cross in that was met by Bozenik.
The Slovakian scored the only goal when the pair last met on New Year’s Day, and the forward brushed aside McNair to head Stoke in front.
Griffiths had been given the nod in goal as Viktor Johansson was given the night off and the former West Brom stopper beat away Dowell’s first effort from distance as half-time loomed.
But the former Rangers man wasn’t to be denied a second time as he lashed home after he was picked out by Millar.
David Akintola was making his first appearance for Hull since January and spurred two golden chances to put them ahead after the break.
The Nigerian firstly steered Targett’s cross wide of the right-hand post before rounding Griffiths and firing into the side-netting after he was played in by Millar.
The forward then saw his next sight of goal comfortably saved by Griffiths.
With nothing to separate the sides at the end of 90 minutes, it was to be a penalty shootout that decided the tie.
New Stoke signing George Hirst saw his tame penalty kept out by Dillon Phillips, while Hull converted all five of their spot kicks as Mohamed Belloumi sent the Tigers into round three for the first time in six years.
The managers…
Stoke’s Mark Robins:
“I thought we played alright. There were hardly any clear-cut openings in the game other than one or two mistakes, they’d had a bit of a sight of the goal, we’d had a bit of a sight of the goal.
“Our goal was really good. The movement was brilliant in the box and the cross was really good, the cross finds him and he [Bozenik] scores again against Hull.
“I want to see us grow in real confidence and then try and boss games, and I thought we bossed the game. We were pretty good.
“We gave a goal away that was just typical of us really. It was a poor goal. We don’t win the first one, don’t win the second one, gets played wide, ball gets played in, we’re too deep and we miss tackles.
“I thought we were the better of the two teams, I thought we were good. There’s some young players in there making their debuts.
“To lose on penalties is no disgrace, the penalties were generally pretty good apart from the one you miss, which is never great.
“We’ve got to take out what we can, which is some decent performances, some good minutes into legs and the fact we’ve come through unscathed.”
Hull’s Sergej Jakirovic:
“We broke one more record, so now I have two penalty shootouts in a row!
“It was an opportunity for other players to play, and after Manchester United there was a lot of excitement, a lot of stress, a few problems with some players so I will use this competition to give other players a chance because you never know when we will need them.
“We used this game for [Hidemasa] Morita, for [Lucas] Gourna-Douath, for Jens [Hjerto-Dahl], also Abdulkadir [Omur], [David] Akintola, also Cody [Drameh]. For young [Lucas] Herrington it was great for adaptation to English football – intensity, dynamic, everything we need for the future.
“Akintola could have had a hat-trick but he showed a lot of effort, energy, he tried to press with Dowell and just missed at least one goal.”
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