Adam Gemili has revealed his battle with depression after turning to comfort eating during the worst year of his life.
The 29-year-old sprinter has shed 10kgs after moving to Italy following controversy and poor performances in 2022.
Gemili lost his lottery funding in December 2021 after staying with ex-coach Rana Reider, who was the subject of an investigation by the US Center for Safe Sport following multiple complaints of sexual misconduct, allegations which he denied.
Reider was given one-year probation earlier this year after he “acknowledged a consensual romantic relationship with an adult athlete, which presented a power imbalance”, according to his lawyer.
Gemili remained in America with Reider until after last year’s World Championships – where he failed to reach the 200m semi-final and only ran the heats as Great Britain won bronze in the 4x100m relay.
At the time Gemili hit out at bad press surrounding Reider for his performance – before apologising and taking the blame.
He also failed to make the 200m final at the Commonwealth Games during a year which left him rock bottom.
“I was alone in Florida, I was eating, I wasn’t doing anything and I found escape in food,” he told the PA news agency, ahead of the start of the World Championships in Budapest on Saturday. “It was the worst year of my life.
“I was severely depressed and food was a big escape. It’s been about getting happy again, getting mentally in a better place and becoming professional again. I started the year at 87 kilos, I’m now 77.
“I’m not like the other sprinters. I look at food and I put on weight. I’m not massively ripped, I don’t have a huge six pack. I’ve never needed that to run fast but I don’t need to be carrying an extra 10 kilos.
“I wasn’t professional last year and it’s made a massive difference. Being happy changes everything, your hormones, you start sleeping better.
“If you don’t sleep well you wake up in the middle of the night, you’re hungry, you go and eat and it’s just a bad cycle.
“It happens to a lot of people and a lot of athletes, especially when they’re not successful and then they find escape through food. I didn’t have people around me to say ‘stop that’.
“It was the worst time of my life and you don’t realise the negative effects it can have mentally.
“I was waking up to negative news, three missed calls from my mum and friends are texting saying ‘have you seen this article that’s come out? Your name and your picture is here’.
“Life in Italy is completely different, you’re waking up every day in the sunshine.
“Jeremiah (Azu) and I have two little electric scooters, we ride those to the track every day, it’s five minutes, train, get your treatment, go home and chill. It’s just good vibes.
“I feel incredibly happy. I’m enjoying every day and training whereas, last year, I was probably training once a week and barely getting through that.
“I was in a terrible place and to go from that to where I am now training with the athletes that I’m training with is great.”
Gemili, now on relay funding, is working with coach Marco Airale in Padua, 40 kilometres outside Venice, in a group which includes Darryl Neita, Reece Prescod and Azu.
He labels Italian Airale a “genius” and “super understanding”, having helped him earn his place in Great Britain’s 4x100m relay squad in Hungary.
While there is no individual slot for Gemili, who came an agonising fourth in the 200m at the Rio Olympics and the 2019 World Championships, he knows what he could still achieve.
Yet the 2014 European 200m champion is starting to think about life after the track and is hopeful of joining the World Athletics Athletes’ Commission, which is being voted for during the Championships in Budapest.
“You want to be an individual athlete but my mindset doesn’t change. I’m still locked in,” he says.
“I’ve been in this position before, at London 2017, and we ended up winning relay gold. Nothing changes for me. I’ve done it before and became world champion.
“Where I am in my career, I’m not that 19, 20-year-old anymore. I’m 30 in October and other things start to take priority in your life.
“I’m going for the World Athletes’ Commission, which is something I’ve always been super passionate about.
“I want to start making meaningful changes. I’m there to actually make a difference.
“I was lucky enough to be there at London 2012 and you would have expected our sport to have come on leaps and bounds and it did at the start but then has regressed back. Anyone who says it hasn’t is kidding themselves.
“We need more participation, we need more sponsorship in the sport, we need to attract more fans to our sport and make it accessible for everyone.”
For now Gemili is determined to enjoy Hungary, after admitting in February he nearly quit athletics and returned to football, having been in Chelsea’s academy as a kid.
“If I reflect on the place I was last year, I did want to give up; I basically stopped and I had options,” he said.
“I wasn’t enjoying it. It’s been a lot of hard work from a lot of people, not just myself but friends, family, training partners, coaches and support staff have helped me get my confidence back.
“I’m grateful to see where I’ve come from and if I can do it, anyone can. I was someone who never thought I would ever be in that position.
“Everyone has their own battles and demons they’re fighting and there’s always light at the end of the tunnel. Just being here at this Championships, I couldn’t have imagine that 12 months ago.”
Chelsea boss Emma Hayes refused to step on England manager Sarina Wiegman’s toes when asked if Lauren James should return to the Lionesses’ starting line-up for Sunday’s World Cup final against Spain.
The 21-year-old Blues forward scored three goals and picked up the same number of assists before she was sent off in the Lionesses’ last-16 victory over Nigeria and given a two-match ban for stepping on the back of defender Michelle Alozie.
Having served her punishment during the quarter- and semi-finals, James is now available to reclaim her spot in Wiegman’s starting XI – but she remains in competition with replacement Ella Toone, who netted the Lionesses’ opener in their 3-1 last-four victory to eliminate co-hosts Australia.
James’ club boss Hayes said: “I think you know, I’m a manager but picking someone else’s team is not my job. It’s Sarina’s. My job is to enjoy it. Those players are prepared for whatever happens and for whatever team Sarina picks. I’m sure Lauren would be ready.
“Lauren is just very excited to be in a World Cup final as all of the England players are. They are all excited.
“It’s about England as a team and England as a whole and they have all stepped up and filled in, whether that’s Katie Zelem who filled in for Keira Walsh or Ella Toone at least filling in for Lauren James after that quarter-final.
“Lauren is an outstanding player and will go on to contribute many more moments for both club and country. As always she will be reflective and will move forward with that.”
James, who apologised for the red-card incident on social media, came off the bench in England’s 1-0 Haiti opener to kick-start their undefeated path to the final, then scored the winner against Denmark in her first World Cup start.
She bagged a brace in the Lionesses’ thumping 6-1 win over China to conclude the group stage, also assisting three goals in that rout.
James’ stock has risen under the watchful eye of Hayes, who has won the Women’s Super League (WSL) manager of the year award six times, including the past four seasons, and predicted her Chelsea charge would be vital to the European champions’ hopes of lifting a first World Cup.
Hayes was named FIFA’s best manager in the women’s game in 2021, succeeding Wiegman, who has now won the award three times after also receiving the honour following England’s Euro 2022 triumph.
It is no surprise, then, that both women’s names have been floated as potential candidates to take over the US women’s team, a role made vacant on Thursday after US Soccer announced the federation and Vlatko Andonovski had agreed to part ways.
The decision came after the FIFA world number one-ranked Americans not only failed to defend their back-to-back titles, but were knocked out by Sweden in a last-16 penalty shootout for their worst-ever finish.
Hayes, who has managed Chelsea since 2012, said: “I suspected that question would come up.
“I’m very happy at Chelsea, I’ve made that clear. I’ve been there for 11 years, it’s my home. I think the US has wonderful players and perhaps the tournament didn’t go the way they wanted but my focus is on getting home and preparing the team for the start of the season.”
World number one Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul in a three-set thriller to reach the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz outlasted the American 7-6 (6) 6-7(0) 6-3 in a gruelling contest that lasted more than three hours.
The Spaniard suffered a three-set defeat against the American in the quarter-finals at the Toronto Masters last week.
Paul got the first break to lead 4-2, before Alcaraz rallied to bring up the tie-break, which he eventually claimed 8-6.
The second set proved another tight affair, with both players losing three service games at 5-5.
Paul saved three match points in a marathon 12th game which lasted more than 15 minutes to go into another tie-break.
This time, though, the American took control after an early mini-break to race into a 3-0 lead before then sweeping it to love.
Alcaraz broke in the first game of the deciding set, which he was leading 4-3 when rain forced play to be suspended after three hours and two minutes of a pulsating contest.
Following a delay of around an hour, the players headed out on court – but the match was soon paused again as the drizzle returned along with strong winds before the pair went off back inside.
When they were finally able to return to the court, Alcaraz picked up where he left off, clinching the next two games and sealing a trip to the quarter-finals.
Earlier on Thursday, Alexander Zverev battled past world number three Daniil Medvedev 6-4 5-7 6-4 to end a four-match losing streak against the Russian.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fourth seed, is out after he was beaten 6-3 6-4 by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who recorded a first win over a top-10 ranked player in six matches.
Hurkacz goes on to play lucky loser Alexei Popyrin after the Australian earlier defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 1-6 6-3 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Zverev will face Adrian Mannarino in the last eight. The Frenchman progressed after American wildcard Mackenzie McDonald retired during the second set of their third-round match, with Mannarino ahead 6-4 3-0.
The run of veteran Swiss Stan Wawrinka – who had been given a wildcard entry and knocked out 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in the last round – was ended with a 6-4 6-2 defeat by qualifier Max Purcell.
The Australian, who upset world number seven Casper Ruud on Wednesday, will next face Alcaraz.
Tyson Fury defeated Francesco Pianeta to secure a bout with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, on this day in 2018.
It was Fury’s second fight following a self-inflicted absence in the 10-round contest against the German opponent, while Wilder was sat ringside at Belfast’s Windsor Park to watch the then 30-year-old ease to victory.
Time in the ring was important for Fury as ring-rust was to blame for a few momentary lapses in concentration. He sealed his 27th success from 27 bouts, winning 100-90 on the scorecard of all three judges.
Fury had already secured a fourth-round TKO win over Sefer Seferi in his first fight in nearly three years in June 2018, but he needed more rounds in the ring before agreeing to risky contest with Wilder.
Despite winning both bouts, those were the only fights Fury had with inexperienced trainer Ben Davison before his preparation for the world’s most dangerous heavyweight at the time.
In the first round, Fury showed his skills after being hit by a combination while trapped in the corner, but he remarkably manoeuvred his way out of it before finishing that particular exchange on top.
Fury promised to take Pianeta more seriously than his bout with Seferi, but that still contributed to him switching off and occasionally getting caught by the German.
In the fourth round, Pianeta connected with a left hook which Fury acknowledged with a nod of the head before he was again caught in the sixth with a right uppercut and further left hooks.
Fury continued to break Pianeta down, but he never really looked in danger of being knocked down in the bout. His lack of power was visible in the eighth round when a left hook, his best punch of the fight, did not trouble Pianeta.
The 25,000-strong crowd recognised the lack of drama by booing at the final bell, but their boos then turned to cheers when Wilder joined Fury in the ring to confirm their future fight.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino feels equal pay at the Men’s and Women’s World Cups would only be a “symbol” that would not “solve anything” if additional development targets for the women’s game are not achieved.
On Sunday, England will play Spain in the final for their share of an increased prize pot of 110 million US dollars (£86.1m) for this tournament, more than three times than what was on offer for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France, but still significantly less than the 440 million USD (£346m) awarded at the 2022 men’s competition in Qatar.
Infantino has previously outlined ambitions for prize parity by the 2026 and 2027 World Cups but two days before the conclusion of the ninth edition of the women’s showpiece, challenged stakeholders to do more.
Infantino said: “Let’s really go for a full equality. Not just equal pay in the World Cup, which is a slogan that comes up every now and then. Equal pay in the World Cup, we are going in that direction already.
“But that would not solve anything. It might be a symbol but it would not solve anything, because it’s one month every four years and it’s a few players out of the thousands and thousands of players. We need to keep the momentum. We need to push it. We need to go for equality but we have to do it for real.”
Two months before the tournament, Infantino threatened that he may be “forced not to broadcast” the World Cup in Europe’s ‘big five’ countries following what he felt were “very disappointing and simply not acceptable” offers from broadcasters, though deals were eventually done.
Viewing figures have broken records in Australia, where a peak 11.5 million people – about 46 per cent of the population – tuned in to watch the Matildas play England in their semi-final, the country’s most-watched television programme of any kind since 2001 when the existing rating system was established.
Back at home, the 7.3 million people who viewed the same contest on BBC One comprised the biggest UK audience of the World Cup so far, and on Friday Infantino reiterated his view that broadcasters have a part to play in the prize parity target.
The 2023 tournament was expanded to 32 teams, and is also the first time the competition has been hosted by more than one country.
Infantino said: “Some voices were raised, where it cost too much, we don’t make enough revenues, we will have to subsidise.
“And our opinion was, well if we have to subsidise, we will subsidise, because we have to do that.
“But actually, this World Cup generated over 570 million US dollars in revenues, and so we broke even. We didn’t lose any money and we generated the second highest income of any sport, besides of course the men’s World Cup, at a global stage. More than half a billion (in revenues).”
The decision to include more teams initially drew scepticism that it would only highlight the disparity between lower-ranked teams and heavily-resourced nations at the top of the table.
Instead, this has been one of the most competitive finals on record, guaranteed a new champion after 2011 champions Japan were eliminated at the quarter-final stage, one round after double-defending title holders the United States were sent packing in the last-16.
World number four England managed just one goal against tournament debutants Haiti, 49 places below them in FIFA’s world rankings, while fellow debutants Morocco advanced to the last-16 alongside Jamaica, who were knocked out in the group stage in their only other appearance in a final.
Three top-10 sides in Germany, Canada and Brazil were eliminated in the group stage, while England’s quarter-final opponents Colombia advanced to the last eight for the first time.
And while breakout performances at this World Cup could lead some players to more lucrative contracts in places like Europe and the United States, FIFA’s most recent benchmarking report revealed the average league and club salaries for women worldwide was just 14,000 dollars (£11,000).
Infantino demanded: “Football in general, in all the leagues and all the competitions, pay a fair price. Show that you respect women and women’s sport. You will see the feedback that will be absolutely fantastic.
“We need to have more local competitions, more continental competitions, more international competitions because when you see some of the beautiful, stories that were written at this World Cup.
“We need to create the conditions in the next four years for them to able to play at professional level at home. This is the biggest challenge we have to take onboard.”
Austin Barnes provided the game’s only run with an eighth-inning home run and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Milwaukee Brewers 1-0 for their 11th straight win on Thursday.
After Corbin Burnes and counterpart Lance Lynn each put up zeroes for seven innings, Barnes lined an 0-1 pitch from Joel Payamps into the lower seats in left for his first home run of the season with one out in the eighth.
The Dodgers improved to 15-1 in August, outscoring opponents 93-38.
Lynn allowed four hits with one walk and three strikeouts in his fourth start since joining the Dodgers in a trade with the White Sox.
Caleb Ferguson worked the eighth and Evan Phillips pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 opportunities.
Burnes limited the red-hot Dodgers to two hits while walking two and striking out nine but remained winless in his last five starts.
Milwaukee totalled just three runs in the series and had its NL Central lead trimmed to two games over the Cubs and Cincinnati.
Rodriguez leads Mariners past Royals
Julio Rodriguez capped his first career five-hit game with a two-run homer and the Seattle Mariners continued their playoff push with a 6-4 win over the Kansas City Royals.
Rodriguez went 5 for 5 with a career high-tying five RBIs and finished the four-game series with 12 hits, setting a franchise record for any series.
He is the fourth Mariners player with at least four hits in consecutive games, the fifth player in team history with a five-hit, five-RBI game, and the first Seattle player with at least 20 homers in each of his first two seasons.
Cal Raleigh also homered as the Mariners pulled within one-half game of idle Toronto for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
Gallen shuts down Padres as Diamondbacks win
Zach Gallen pitched six strong innings and was backed by home runs from Tommy Pham and Gabriel Moreno in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 3-1 win over the San Diego Padres in the opener of a four-game series.
Gallen limited the Padres to one run and three hits with one walk and three strikeouts to beat the Padres for the second straight start. He became the fourth 13-game winner in the majors.
Kyle Nelson fanned three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings and rookie Justin Martinez got the final four outs for his first career save.
Pham followed Corbin Carroll’s one-out walk in the fourth inning with his 12th home run and Moreno added his fourth of the season an inning later.
Arizona has won five of six following a nine-game losing streak to get within one game of the third and final NL wild-card spot.
Rory McIlroy carded a flawless 65 to share a one-stroke lead with American Brian Harman after the first round of the BMW Championship in Chicago.
The Northern Irishman picked up five birdies without dropping a shot, while Harman split six birdies with a bogey on the par four 12th.
The pair lead by one from a six-strong chasing pack which includes England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
The 28-year-old dropped shots at the start and end of his opening round, but birdied six of nine holes around the turn.
Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay has some improving to do if he is to be successful in his bid for a third-straight victory in the BMW Championship.
The American carded a two under 68 on Thursday to sit equal-12th.
Chicago Blackhawks center and longtime captain Jonathan Toews will take next season off for health reasons but is not ready to retire from the NHL.
The three-time Stanley Cup champion announced his future plans on social media Thursday.
Toews, a free agent after spending 16 years with the Blackhawks, missed the entire 2020-21 season with long COVID symptoms and chronic immune response syndrome.
“I’d like to announce that I am not fully retiring, but I am taking time away from the game again this season,” Toews posted on Instagram. “I cannot deny my love for the game of hockey and still feel the passion for competing at my highest level.
“However, these last few seasons have been very difficult considering my health challenges. My focus is to give myself the time and space to fully heal and enjoy life to the fullest once again.”
Toews played 53 games last season, totaling 15 goals and 16 assists, but has largely kept his medical struggles out of the public eye.
“Along the way I have met several people who have struggled with health issues pertaining to long COVID, chronic immune response syndrome, and other similar cases that are quite complex,” Toews’ post read. “I now recognize the importance of one day sharing the details of my health journey with you all.
“Thank you to all of you who have supported me and respected my privacy in the process.”
Toews captained Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks teams in 2010, 2013 and 2015, winning the Conn Smyth trophy as the playoffs MVP in 2010.
In 1,067 career games, all with Chicago, Toews has tallied 372 goals and 511 assists, in addition to 119 points (45 goals, 74 assists) in 137 career playoff games.
Toews won the Selke Trophy in 2013 as league’s best defensive forward and was twice given the Messier Leadership Award.
Toews is a free agent after completing an eight-year, $84million contract but has previously expressed a desire to play his entire career with the Blackhawks.
“The thought of playing for another team right now is so far in the back of my mind right now, especially after that moment,” Toews said after receiving an emotional ovation from the team’s fans after the season finale. “I always thought I’d retire a Blackhawk and part of me still believes in that, so we’ll see.”
After months of hard work and training, a number of the Caribbean’s young swimming sensations will put their preparation to the test when they dive into action at the 27th staging of the much-anticipated Goodwill Swimming Championships, which gets under way on Friday.
In fact, Jamaica’s Head coach Gillian Millwood believes the highly competitive three-day meet represents an opportunity for swimmers to not only improve, but also to learn valuable lessons to take with them as they prepare to transition to next level competition.
Over 200 swimmers from Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, St Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks and Caicos are expected to join their Jamaican counterparts in action at the National Aquatic Centre.
“I’m excited for our athletes and I anticipate that they will go into each race with enthusiasm and more importantly, purpose. They are filled with incredible abilities and have worked extremely hard to get where they are today and we expect to see that on display across the three days,” Millwood told Sportsmax.tv.
“Goodwill this weekend provides an opportunity for them to rise to the occasion and put forward their best race together and also to make memories with their teammates and the new friends they’ll make from the other countries, as they prepare to move to a next level,” she added.
Friday’s schedule will be highlighted by the 100m freestyle, 50m breaststroke, 100m backstroke, 4x50m mixed freestyle relay and 4x100m freestyle relay, all after an opening ceremony at 4:30pm.
Action for Saturday and Sunday is scheduled to begin at 9:00am and end at 1:00pm.
The Jamaicans will be seeking to surpass last year’s massive haul of 92 medals (33 gold, 37 silver, 22 bronze), which bettered their previous best tally of 65 medals from the 2019 staging in Suriname.
Meanwhile, Trinidad and Tobago, though missing some of their better swimmers to CCCAN duties in El Salvador, are favoured to once again top the points standing, as they topped last year’s event with 1,442 points. Jamaica (1,002 points), with Barbados (723 points), third.
Each National Federation has a maximum of 40 swimmers - four boys and four girls in the age groups eight and under, 9 to 10, 11 to 12, 13 to 14 and 15 to 17.
The member countries of the Goodwill Swimming Championship host the meet on an annual rotation basis. Trinidad and Tobago were last year’s hosts.
Tobi Amusan, the reigning World 100m hurdles champion and record holder, has been given the green light to compete at the upcoming World Athletics Championships set to begin this Saturday in Budapest, Hungary.
In July, the 26-year-old athlete faced charges of three whereabouts failures, which constitutes an anti-doping rule violation for missing three out-of-competition tests within a 12-month period. Amusan had contested this charge.
The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) said in a statement issued on Thursday, “A panel of the Disciplinary Tribunal, by majority decision, has found today that Tobi Amusan has not committed any Anti-Doping Rule Violation of three Whereabouts Failures within a 12-month period.”
““AIU Head Brett Clothier has indicated the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) is disappointed by this decision and will review the reasoning in detail before deciding whether to exercise its right of appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) within the applicable deadline. The decision is currently confidential but will be published in due course,” the release continued.
The statement went on to outline that her provisional suspension has now been lifted, clearing the way for her to defend her title in Budapest.
“This morning I found out that the Independent Tribunal that heard my case has ruled that I did not violate the whereabouts rules and as a result, I will not be sanctioned and none of my results will be precluded,” Amusan said in a statement on her Instagram page on Thursday.
“I am thrilled to put this behind me and I look forward to defending my title at next week’s World Championships. I generally have been and consistently be an ally of CLEAN SPORT,” she added.
Amusan famously set a World Record (12.12) in the semi-finals of the sprint hurdles at last year’s World Championships in Eugene before running a wind-aided 12.06 to win gold.
This season, Amusan has a season’s best of 12.34 done at the Silesia Diamond League in July.
World number one Iga Swiatek fought back from a set down to beat Qinwen Zheng 3-6 6-1 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals of the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, where she will face Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.
Zheng, who beat Venus Williams in the last round, threatened an upset as she opened up a 3-0 lead before taking the first set as Swiatek paid the price for 23 unforced errors.
After taking a bathroom break between sets, during which she also changed her match kit, the French Open champion rallied to force two early breaks against the Chinese 20-year-old and then again in the fifth game.
Although Zheng did finally get a game on the board with a break of her own, it was only delaying the inevitable as Swiatek closed out the set with yet another break.
The decider swiftly went the way of the Pole as she moved 3-0 up before serving out for what was – in the end – a comfortable victory.
“My coach had said to me, ‘if you lose the set it might be a good idea to change your outfit, so you can kind of reset and go in the second set with a different vibe’ – I tried this time and it worked,” Swiatek said during her courtside interview, broadcast by Amazon Prime Video.
Vondrousova, the 10th seed, had earlier coasted past American Sloane Stephens 7-5 6-3 to reach the last eight and a showdown with the world number one.
Fourth seed Elena Rybakina, though, retired through injury during the second set of her third-round match against Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini, who progressed with the score at 4-6 5-2.
Karolina Muchova also made it through to the quarter-finals with a hard-fought 6-3 2-6 6-3 victory over number eight seed Maria Sakkari.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is ready to return to her best and believes the world heptathlon title is up for grabs.
The 2019 champion is eyeing the podium at the World Championships after last year’s winner Nafi Thiam pulled out.
Belgium’s Thiam, the double Olympic champion, is sidelined with an Achilles issue as she targets the treble at next year’s Games in Paris.
The USA’s Anna Hall, third in Eugene last year, is favourite for the crown in Hungary but Johnson-Thompson feels the competition is wide open.
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“Before Thiam dropped out, I felt like it was very much like a head-to-head between Thiam and Anna Hall and now I don’t know what it’s going to take to win a medal,” she said, ahead of the start of the heptathlon in Budapest on Saturday.
“I don’t know what it’s going to take to win. So that’s why I feel like it’s open. I could name five people who could finish between first, second and third.
“Sometimes the heptathlon can be a two-person race and then everyone else is fighting for the bronze, I feel like this year is quite open and I don’t know where it’s going to go.
“You never know. I’ve always been worried that 2019 was my peak, because then Covid happened and I had my Achilles rupture and the momentum I was building towards my peak got short changed and cut off.
“I feel like anybody who’s won a major championship has the ability to say ‘I’ve done it before therefore, it can be done again’. I feel like that, even though I can’t remember it.
“Whenever I look back at videos, or see images of Doha, it just takes me back to that place in time and the frame of mind I was in.
“So it’s always a positive thing to look back. What has been done before can be done again. That’s the type of frame of mind I get myself into when I see those images.
“I just like to prove myself right. I feel like if I let other people’s opinions in, I wouldn’t be sitting here saying that I’m in good shape and excited about the outcome, because I would have instead believed that I might as well give up or my body isn’t right for it.
“My goal is a medal and I think I can score what it takes to get on the rostrum but you never know whether the event is going to go off or if it’s going to be quite subdued.
“I’m trying to predict the future but I can’t. I feel like that’s why I’m just chilled because you’re just never going to know.”
Johnson-Thompson beat Thiam to win world gold in Doha four years ago before her Achilles rupture in late 2020.
She recovered to make the Tokyo Olympics only to suffer a calf injury in the 200m and withdraw. She finished eighth at last year’s World Championships – having split with coach Petros Kyprianou weeks before after only five months in Florida.
A successful defence of her Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham put her back on the podium and she is now content in Hungary.
“This one feels different in the way that I feel like I’m the calmest I’ve ever been going into it,” said the 30-year-old, now based in the UK under Aston Moore.
“In Doha it was exciting and I had a big battle but with this one I feel completely calm and full of experience.
“I’ve done it so many times now and it never gets any easier but you can approach it in a different manner. I feel like this one, I’m just going to put all my experience into it and see where it gets me.
“It’s always a stepping stone to next year, because ultimately the main goal of my career is to get an Olympic medal.
“This is maybe my last heptathlon before Paris – I don’t know if I’m going to do another one. So it’s like a full on dress rehearsal.”
Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets will receive their championship rings and raise their title banner when the NBA tips off the regular season on October 24.
One night later, No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama will introduce himself to the league.
The NBA revealed an 80-game schedule for the 2023-24 season on Thursday. The final two games will be determined later based on how teams fare in the new In-Season Tournament.
The season begins with a doubleheader, with the Nuggets opening things up against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch from last season's Western Conference finals.
Opening night's second game features the Phoenix Suns visiting Golden State, a matchup that pits new Warrior Chris Paul against his former team.
The NBA debut of Wembanyama comes one night later, with the San Antonio Spurs hosting the Dallas Mavericks.
The NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament begins on November 3, and concludes with the final four teams playing the semifinals and championship games in Las Vegas on December 7 and 9, respectively.
The traditional Christmas quintupleheader begins with the New York Knicks playing on December 25 for the 56th time, and they'll host the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Warriors then visit the Nuggets, followed by the Boston Celtics visiting the Lakers, the Philadelphia 76ers visiting the Miami Heat and concluding with the Mavericks at Phoenix.
In an effort to maximise player rest and have the league's brightest stars play in high-profile games, teams will not play back-to-backs on Christmas or during the In-Season Tournament.
While teams play on consecutive nights slightly more this season - up to 14.0 such instances from last year's rate of 13.3 per team - back-to-backs involving travel are down to 9.0 on average after being at 9.6 per team last season.
The league takes a break from February 16-21, except for the All-Star Game and its festivities, which will take place in Indianapolis.
All 30 teams will play on April 12 and again two days later on the final day of the regular season.
The play-in tournament is then set to start April 16, with the 2024 NBA playoffs beginning April 20.
Steve Borthwick believes Owen Farrell has been the target of “personal attacks” as England’s captain once again confronts the possibility of missing the start of the World Cup.
Borthwick has joined Andy Farrell in defending the 31-year-old, who must face rugby’s judiciary for the second time in a week after World Rugby appealed against the decision to rescind his red card for a dangerous tackle on Wales’ Taine Basham.
Andy Farrell, the head coach of Saturday’s opponents Ireland, offered impassioned support of his son by declaring that “the circus that’s gone on in and around all of this is absolutely disgusting”.
Borthwick had intended to select Farrell for the Dublin clash but revised that plan amid the furious outcry over the original disciplinary hearing’s failure to impose a suspension.
Instead, George Ford lines-up as chief playmaker against the sport’s number-one ranked side with Marcus Smith providing cover off the bench.
Farrell has travelled to Ireland with the squad but will be a spectator only as Borthwick anticipates the additional turmoil that will now affect England’s World Cup preparations when the saga enters a second week.
“Unfortunately, given the disruption to his week and the intrusion in terms of his preparation, I made the decision to pull him out of the team that he would otherwise have led this weekend,” Borthwick said.
“The situation is one I find really disappointing. We thought we had reached a conclusion in this matter on Tuesday.
“It had an impact in terms of the disruption for this week and now it’s going to be ongoing into the next Test week.
“The situation with the England team – and Owen in particular – seems to be amplified.
“The commentary around it seems to move from issues around the tackle to personal attacks on the character of the man, which I think is just wrong.
“We all feel for him and we all feel it when one of our group is on the receiving end of such personal attacks – we all feel it.
“Owen has handled himself through this process in a really respectful manner. We will continue to respect the process and the decision that is reached.
“One of the most experienced and senior panels that deal with these matters dealt with it on Tuesday. We thought it was the conclusion.
“Now, another panel is being convened to try and find some holes in what was done on Tuesday. Again, we will conduct ourselves in a manner that respects the process.
“The final two weeks of our World Cup preparation are going to be disrupted by this matter.”
Farrell is in fresh danger of missing the pivotal World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9 with the potential for a six-week ban – the mid-range sanction for dangerous tackle offences – back on the horizon.
The Saracens fly-half received a yellow card in the 63rd minute of Saturday’s 19-17 victory over Wales but this was upgraded to red by the bunker review system, which is being trialled in the Summer Nations Series.
At Tuesday’s hearing the Saracens fly-half accepted that he had made contact with Basham’s head, that it was a dangerous tackle and that the degree of danger involved warranted a red card.
However, he successfully argued there was mitigation that made the offence worthy of a sin-binning only when Jamie’s George’s attempted tackle on Basham caused the Wales flanker into a sudden change in movement and drop in head height.
The PA news agency understands that World Rugby will look to prove that on the balance of probabilities the tackle was never legal and therefore no mitigation should have applied.
It is stated in World Rugby’s guidelines state mitigation does not apply for “always-illegal acts of foul play”.
Farrell’s absence means that Courtney Lawes leads a starting XV that is close to full strength, bolstered by the presence of wing Anthony Watson and centre Manu Tuilagi, who are making their first appearances of the warm-up fixtures.
Second row Ollie Chessum will make his comeback from the serious ankle injury sustained during the Six Nations when he appears off the bench.
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