Nicole Sapstead promises Ukad ‘is moving into the 21st century’ – greater powers of detection and punishment would helpReaders of this column are among the smartest, most brilliant and most knowledgeable sports fans in the country. But here is a question that may fox some of you: name a sports star who has been banned recently in Britain for doping? Go on, have a think. And no, Tyson Fury doesn’t count given his ended in 2017.Does London City Royals’ US-born basketball guard AJ Roberts, who received a two-year punishment for cannabis, ring a bell? Or Henry Hadfield, a League 2 North rugby union player who also got two years for a prohibited stimulant he insists was in a pre-workout drink?...
This week’s roundup also features shrill commentary, Peter Wright highlights and a spectacular NBA comeback1) Let’s start with a bang, as Leo Carter slams six sixes in an over for Canterbury Kings against Northern Knights in the T20 Super Smash, on his way to an unbeaten 70 from 29 balls. Carter is only the seventh cricketer, and the first Kiwi, to achieve the feat – others include Yuvraj Singh’s brutal dismantling of Stuart Broad at the 2007 T20 World Cup and Hazratullah Zazai picking off Abdullah Mazari in the 2018 Afghanistan Premier League.2) The last great heist of the 2010s – Ugandan teenager Jacob Kiplimo is breezing to victory and a new course record at the 15km San Silvestre de...
Ben Stokes produced two match-winning innings but Dina Asher-Smith made history and Lewis Hamilton got title No 6Stride by stride, second by second, Dina Asher-Smith had a 2019 for the ages. To win one world athletics medal would have been staggering enough. To become the first Briton to leave with three from the same championships was a monumental statement of intent. Best of all was her 200m gold in 21.88sec, a time so fast it smashed her national record and made her the first British woman to win a global sprint title. Further silvers in the 100m and 4x100m highlighted the potential for more glory at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. No wonder Sebastian Coe has predicted she will be the...
Few sporting nations are qualified to talk with certainty about the failings of others and, with London 2012 the most dope-ridden Olympics ever staged, Britain is not one of themAnd what a time it was, and what a time. Here’s a festive quiz question. What do you get if you cross Vladimir Putin, Victor Orban, Ali Bongo, Boris Johnson and Robert Mugabe? Answer: a VIP guest box at the London 2012 opening ceremony!A time of innocence. A time of confidence. A time of mob-handed despots on a summer junket, so many in fact that those Games are still ranked as the second-largest gathering of world leaders ever assembled – discounting UN summits, none of which have been able to boast...
Anthony Joshua’s fight in Saudi Arabia this week once more raises questions about the choice of venue for big eventsTwo scenes. Two British sporting icons. Variations on a theme. Scene one: a supremely jet-lagged Anthony Joshua in a Heathrow hotel in September. After several softballs about his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr, the question finally comes. Why fight in Saudi Arabia when Amnesty International says the regime is using you to sportswash its “abysmal” human rights record that includes using public beheadings as a weapon to crush dissent?“I appreciate them voicing an opinion,” replies Joshua, before stressing he is not a superhero who can zap away the world’s problems by donning a cape. When pressed, he mumbles something about “reforms”...