Connect with us

Sports

European Athletics Championships 2026: Matthew Hudson-Smith wins historic 400m gold

Published

on

Great Britain’s Matthew Hudson-Smith wrote his name in history as the joint-most decorated man of all-time at European Championships by claiming a dominant 400m gold on his childhood track in Birmingham.

Storming down the home straight to rapturous cheers inside the stadium where he trained as a junior, and which now has a stand bearing his name, Hudson-Smith raced clear to complete a golden treble in the event following success in 2018 and 2022.

Crossing the line in 44.17 seconds, the 31-year-old secured his eighth podium at the championships to equal French sprinter Christophe Lemaitre’s men’s record medal tally.

Handling the weight of expectation on his shoulders, the local lad-turned-global star walked up into the north stand to place a hand on the banner displaying his name after delivering for his home crowd – two decades after he joined local club Birchfield Harriers at the age of 10.

It is 12 years since Hudson-Smith won the first of his European Championship medals, claiming 400m silver on his debut in 2014.

Since then he has dealt only in golds in his individual event at this level, alongside two 4x400m relay titles.

With this latest triumph, Hudson-Smith joined British greats Mo Farah and Roger Black on five golds, while matching Dina Asher-Smith as the most decorated British athlete in the history of the championships.

It was Great Britain’s third gold of the championships, while Emily Newnham added the hosts’ sixth medal overall with silver in the women’s 400m hurdles final shortly after Hudson-Smith’s victory.

>

Continue Reading

Sports

Eddie Jones says he shows videos of geese flying in formation to coach his Japan side

Published

on

Eddie Jones has revealed an interesting method he uses to coach his Japan side – watching videos of geese fly in formation.

Japan are facing Australia in a two-Test, home and away series this month, and Jones’ side were beaten 35-32 by the Wallabies in Osaka last weekend.

The former England coach has made five changes for the second Test in Townsville, Australia on Saturday, including picking university student Yoshitaka Yazaki on the wing and giving Shunsuke Uenobo his first start at centre.

Jones said Japan’s support play “wasn’t as sharp as we would have liked” in the opening game, so he has turned to nature to get his point across.

“The reason we watch videos of geese is that the head of the flock is like the ball-carrier,” the Australian said.

“The ball carrier is king, and then everyone else has got to follow after that.

“The geese fly hundreds, thousands of miles in formation and they follow the one goose in front, and it’s the responsibility of the support players to respond to what the ball-carrier does.”

Australia overcame an early red card for Miles Amatosero to defeat home side Japan and seal their first win under new head coach Les Kiss, who succeeded Joe Schmidt earlier this year.

With his geese videos in hand, Jones said Japan have “set ourselves the task of really taking it to Australia this week”.

He added: “We’re very disappointed to lose the last game, so the most important thing now is how we take on this game.”

>

Continue Reading

Sports

Ruby Evans: British gymnast on coping with fame and followers

Published

on

For someone who routinely sails through the air, her feet are firmly on the ground.

She says she is not driven by medals. Improving as a gymnast is her biggest motivation.

But asked if she’s targeting gold at the LA 2028 Olympics, she smiles.

“Maybe,” she adds. “If I’m good.”

For individual success at an Olympics, she will need to showcase two vaults with different entries on to the vault.

So that is her current focus in training.

“Maybe if I get a second vault, I’d have quite a good chance,” she added.

“But it’s in gear two. It needs to get to gear five.”

At the Europeans, Evans and her team are focusing on a strong performance in Sunday’s women’s team final as that will set them up for October’s World Championships – and with it a chance of Olympic qualification.

As ever, there’s likely to be a lot of attention on Evans – she’s been showing she is someone worth keeping an eye on.

>

Continue Reading

Sports

Fulham fans: How are you feeling about the 2026-27 season?

Published

on

A headshot of Alvaro Arbeloa

Head coach Alvaro Arbeloa joined Fulham this summer Denis Doyle/Getty Images

The new Premier League season is almost upon us and we want to gauge the mood among fans of every club going into the 2026-27 campaign.

It is the time of year when a new signing can mean optimism abounds. Alternatively, a less-than-impressive pre-season and a lack of transfer activity can leave supporters fearing the worst.

Let us know how you feel about your club’s prospects this season via our simple poll below and, as has become tradition, George Caulkin will analyse the results and report back with The Athletic’s hope-o-meter, a not particularly scientific reflection of fans’ hopes and fears for the coming season.

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition Logo

Connections: Sports Edition

Spot the pattern. Connect the terms

Find the hidden link between sports terms

>

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2017 Zox News Theme. Theme by MVP Themes, powered by WordPress.