England defender Alex Greenwood is confident vital new connections are forming in camp that will see an improved display when the Lionesses take on Denmark in their second World Cup game on Friday.
Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty was enough to secure England a nervy 1-0 victory in their opener against underdogs Haiti, but did little to ease concerns about their attack as it extended the streak without a goal from open play to three matches.
Yet this is a much-changed line-up from last summer’s European Championship triumph, with Sarina Wiegman’s starting line-up in Brisbane showing five changes from the one that lifted that trophy almost a year ago.
Greenwood, who replaced now-forward Rachel Daly at left-back against Haiti, said: “I was prepared. I knew my role in the team and whether that’s centre-back or that’s left-back, we’ve all played in those positions before whether that’s at club or country.
“We might not play together every week at club level, but we’re very familiar with each other.
“And that’s in training, we’ve been in training camp for three weeks together before the tournament started, and that’s enough time to prepare for your partnerships.
“You build up relationships, but as a tournament starts those things develop naturally as well. So for us, again, it’s just about keeping doing that in training, keeping forming those partnerships and eventually it will come together.
“I think it’s a case of coming together and trying different things with different people. Everyone has different strengths, and our wingers are all so gifted in different ways.
“Whoever you play with you try and play to their strengths.”
Greenwood will hope it comes together sooner rather than later as the world number four Lionesses now face much higher-ranked opponents than debutants Haiti, number 53 in FIFA’s global table, in 13th-placed Denmark.
England’s defence face a particularly potent challenge in ex-Chelsea forward Pernille Harder, while Wiegman’s forwards will need to find the finishing touch after squandering numerous chances in their opener.
While she would not speculate over potential changes to the starting line-up, Greenwood added: “I don’t know about changes in personnel, but I think for us coming away from the game, we definitely created chances and had chances to score more goals.
“That’s not a concern. We know we’ve got to put the ball in the back of the net when we have those chances and I think that will come.
“We’ve got enough players, enough quality in this team to create the chances and to put the ball in the back of the net.”
Declan Rice is aiming for Premier League and Champions League glory at Arsenal, insisting he will take his £105million price tag in his stride.
The England midfielder joined from London rivals West Ham earlier this month after the two clubs negotiated how the record payment for a British player in the Premier League would be broken down.
Now Rice is in the United States, having joined his new team-mates to prepare for the upcoming campaign, with the Gunners aiming to go one better than their second-placed finish last season.
Mikel Arteta’s side will also return to the top table of European football for the first time since 2017 and Rice is hungry for success, having lifted the Europa Conference League trophy in his final game as West Ham skipper.
“I think it’s time now. You know Arsenal under Mikel have won Community Shields, FA Cups, but I think now, this is a massive club, it’s constant pressure of delivering titles and it’s been such a long time now since Arsenal won the Premier League,” Rice told Sky Sports News.
“Last year was so close, I feel like we’re better off now this year, learning from that experience. I think that’s definitely a target and of course you’re in the Champions League, you go into the Champions League to win, you don’t go into (it) just to take part.
“There’s always a narrative around Arsenal that they’re not going to win the Premier League or they haven’t been good enough.
“But I didn’t see it in that way at all. I see it in a way that he (Arteta) has improved the squad every year. The players have improved individually. Everyone’s gone up another level and when I spoke to Mikel about the way he wanted me to play, where he sees me playing and the vision he has for Arsenal.
“For me it is really exciting now to be a part of this project that Arsenal can get back to the big time and win some trophies.”
Rice’s arrival at the Emirates Stadium has eclipsed Arsenal’s previous transfer record – the signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille for £72m – and will see West Ham receive a guaranteed £100m, with a potential £5m in add-ons.
The 24-year-old believes it is unfair he will carry increased expectations because of his price tag but insists he will not be weighed down by it.
“I just try to take everything in my stride. I can’t control what I’ve been bought for, that’s obviously been determined on how well I’ve played consistently over the last couple years,” he added.
“West Ham have obviously set that price, I tried to take it all of my stride, I’ve not really thought about the price tag once. I’ve been brought to Arsenal for a reason and that is to perform, to play football. To try and add to the squad, to try and win trophies.
“I’m not going to get involved in price tags. Of course people have always got opinions, you can’t please everybody. Someone’s always got something to say, but what’s important is that the manager, you know you’ve got his support, you’ve got family support, people that are close to you, that’s all that matters.
“I won’t try to think about that too much and to be honest with you, I haven’t. It’s football. A lot of players have been bought for £80, £90, £100million. It’s our profession. It’s just down to us to perform. So over the six years (of his contract), hopefully I can repay that price tag.”
Charlie Fellowes is thrilled to have secured the services of Frankie Dettori to ride both of his two runners on the opening night of the 2023 Racing League at Yarmouth.
Having played a key role in Wales and The West’s victory last year, Dettori has switched sides for the third instalment of the team competition to become player-manager for the East.
Among the trainers able to call upon the Italian is Newmarket-based Fellowes, who is keen to make the most of a rare opportunity.
He said: “Frankie doesn’t ride for me very much, not through choice because I’m a huge fan.
“I think he’ll really suit both horses. They’re two nice, kind individuals who are not going to give Frankie a heart attack in his old age!”
The trainer and rider first team up on Thursday with Shahbaz, who is fitted with a visor for the first time in race three over a mile.
“Shahbaz, I felt, ran very lethargically when third at Ayr last time. He was slow out of the gates and I just didn’t like the way he raced,” Fellowes added.
“A few people commented that he wants further, but I really don’t believe he does. Every time we’ve tried him over 10 furlongs, in my opinion, he’s not got home.
“I really wanted to give him another try over a mile on a straight track, which is why we’ve gone to Yarmouth and any rain is a plus.
“I’ve put a set of visors on him, just to sharpen him up and hopefully help him travel a little bit kinder.
“I’m sure he’s ahead of his mark of 87 and I would just like to see a little more enthusiasm than we saw last time.”
The Bedford House handler has high hopes for Cumulonimbus, who bids to continue his profitable campaign in the seventh and most valuable race on the card, with a total prize fund of £100,000 up for grabs.
The four-year-old has already won at Newmarket and Haydock this season and was last seen finishing third in the Old Newton Cup at the latter venue just under three weeks ago.
Fellowes said: “The other horse is having a fantastic year and is a real pleasure to train.
“He enjoys his racing and I have no problem with a drop to 10 furlongs on a big, galloping track like Yarmouth and with him I don’t really mind what happens weather-wise as he goes on any ground.
“I suppose a bit of rain would make it more of a stamina test, but he’s very versatile, he’s got a fantastic way of going and I think he’ll run a big race on a track where he’s won before.
“It’s an unbelievable pot and I hope he can go and put in a big performance.”
James Anderson insists that “the hunger is still there” to keep playing as he prepares for the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval.
England have named an unchanged squad for the Test, where they are aiming to level the series against Australia, but veteran seamer Anderson has been under the microscope.
The 40-year-old has taken just four wickets at an average of 76.75 across the series, including one at his home ground Old Trafford last week, but he is still determined to keep giving his best for England.
Writing in his column for the Daily Telegraph, Anderson said: “I have certainly not had the returns I would have liked in this series. Everyone goes through a lean patch, but you just do not want it to be in the most high-profile series we play.
“I keep talking to the coach and captain. They want me around, so as long as I am still hungry, want to put in the work, I will keep trying to give my best for the team.
“That is exactly where I am at the minute. I love playing Test cricket as much as I ever have and this is my favourite period as an England cricketer.
“If I was bowling horrendously, with my pace down and hobbling around in the field, I might be thinking differently. But the hunger is still there. I feel like I am bowling well, that I can still offer something to the team.”
Chelsea and Arsenal were the leading producers of Premier League players in the 2022-23 season, research by the PA news agency has found.
The two clubs’ academy products each racked up just over 21,000 minutes of playing time but remarkably were separated by just 37 seconds, with Chelsea edging top spot.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the main stories to come out of the data.
Small margins
On August 6, 2022, Chelsea sent on Conor Gallagher to replace Jorginho in the ninth added minute of their season-opening 1-0 win over Everton.
It may have been a mere game management move by then-manager Thomas Tuchel but Gallagher’s two-and-a-half-minute appearance – Chelsea’s shortest all season – ended up deciding top spot in the academy study.
PA’s data includes minutes and seconds played by each player in every match, including stoppage time, and the total of 21,031 minutes and 44 seconds for Chelsea graduates put them fractionally ahead of their Arsenal counterparts’ 21,031 minutes, seven seconds.
The other headline news is that Manchester United – leaders in every previous edition of the academy study, most recently after the 2018-19 season – drop to fourth place and have been overtaken by rivals Manchester City, whose total of almost 19,458 minutes is over 1,500 behind the leading pair.
United graduates managed just under 18,533 minutes and they gave playing time to five products of their own academy – Marcus Rashford, Scott McTominay, Alejandro Garnacho, Anthony Elanga and Kobbie Mainoo.
Relegated Southampton completed the top five with almost 16,570 minutes.
What they said
Former AFC Wimbledon manager Mark Robinson is now Chelsea’s development squad head coach.
He recently told The Athletic: “If the (youth-team) trophies come, that’s great. But it’s more about ‘who is the next one we can produce for the first team?’.
“It’s also given the other lads an incentive — the ones who have trained with the first team but haven’t played yet, plus the ones who haven’t had the opportunity. It drives them on, thinking ‘am I going to be next?’.”
Arsenal’s habit of handing key roles to their recent players, with manager Mikel Arteta working alongside technical director Edu, extends to the youth set-up with Per Mertesacker and Jack Wilshere as academy manager and under-18 coach respectively.
Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah lead the homegrown contingent in the first team and Mertesacker told the club’s website: “It feels really positive. It sends a message that we need to be developing strong, young individuals who can cope with pressure. I like that, setting standards at the highest level.
“We have always been at the forefront of giving young players a chance. This is something that has been part of Arsenal DNA forever.
“You have to look at a 10-year cycle in the academy. I’m looking at the next three years thinking ‘this is when the real work starts’.”
Global giants
It is not just Premier League clubs represented in the study, with many players’ English Football League beginnings and the top flight’s global reach also captured.
In fact Dutch club Ajax rank sixth, just ahead of domestic heavyweights Liverpool and Tottenham.
Sven Botman, Kenny Tete, Pascal Struijk, Joel Veltman and Christian Eriksen each played over 2,000 minutes as Donny van de Beek and Jairo Riedewald rounded out a group of seven Ajax graduates.
Benfica were 10th behind Nottingham Forest and produced as many players in Manchester City’s treble-winning squad – four – as City’s own academy.
Fellow Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon are 11th with Anderlecht, Genk, Nice and St Etienne also in the top 20.
Sheffield United were the top EFL side in 17th as they secured their return to the Premier League, while League One Charlton were 20th.
Far and wide
There were 277 academies represented in the study, with playing time ranging from Chelsea and Arsenal’s totals all the way down to Lagans AIK’s three minutes and 22 seconds in a solitary appearance for Newcastle full-back Emil Krafth.
Lagan were one of 190 academies represented by just a single player each, Blackburn ranking highest among them thanks to David Raya’s 3,765 minutes for Brentford.
The Bees themselves produced only Bournemouth defender Chris Mepham, whose 2,408 minutes placed them 132nd in the rankings and last among the 20 top-flight clubs.
Only seven clubs hit double figures for players – Chelsea in front again with 16, one more than Manchester United. City produced 14, Arsenal and Southampton 13 apiece, Liverpool 11 and Tottenham 10.
Mark Cavendish has revealed the depths of the despair he faced before his comeback at the 2021 Tour de France in a new documentary.
In ‘Mark Cavendish: Never Enough’, launching on Netflix on August 2, the Manxman and wife Peta Todd open up about the toll his battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and clinical depression took, and about his fall-out with former team boss Doug Ryder.
Cavendish won four stages of the 2021 Tour to match Eddy Merckx on a record 34, but it came after several seasons wrecked by illness and injury – told in Alex Kiehl’s documentary using new interviews and contemporaneous behind-the-scenes footage.
Cavendish was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr – which can cause chronic fatigue – in April 2017. He was cleared to start that summer’s Tour only for a stage four crash with Peter Sagan to end it.
But the virus had not gone away and his struggles only intensified, putting a strain on Cavendish and those around him.
“You don’t go from being the best in the world to not being even capable,” Cavendish says in the film. “How has it happened? It turned into stress at home. I was a nightmare to live with.”
His wife Peta says Cavendish was “not really him at that moment”, putting pressure on their marriage. “We argued about nothing. He was so lost in everything that was going on.”
Later in the film, Peta adds: “I didn’t know this version of him, but I was sleeping in the same bed… I was scared that I would go past my limit and not be able to come back again.”
The tension was not limited to Cavendish’s private life. Team Dimension Data signed him in 2016 to elevate them to the WorldTour level and he delivered four Tour stage wins in his first season.
But once his illness began, the dynamic changed. Things came to a head during the 2018 Tour, where Cavendish’s best result was eighth before he missed the time cut on stage 11 to La Rosiere.
Days before, Ryder had called Dimension Data “a sinking ship” and called a team meeting. It was to prove a pivotal moment in the relationship between Cavendish and Ryder, who would leave his star rider out of the Tour the following summer against the advice of sports director Rolf Aldag.
Recalling the exchange, Cavendish says: “Doug starts off, ‘I’m getting it in the neck from the sponsors, we’re not anywhere near it. This isn’t good enough’.
“I’m like, ‘Doug, all the stuff you’re saying. You’re the one that signed the contracts. Don’t put that on us. We’re doing our best’. And he didn’t like me saying that. And he stormed off the bus.”
Ryder declined to be interviewed for the film, but Kiehl used behind-the-scenes footage gathered by his team with their blessing.
After the Tour Cavendish visited his former team doctor Helge Riepenhof. Tests found Epstein-Barr was still present and Cavendish should not have been racing. He was also diagnosed with clinical depression and almost admitted to hospital.
“I wasn’t sure if he would get out of the depression without quitting cycling,” Riepenhof says. “(Whether) to recommend he stop cycling and leave all the pressure and start a different life.”
Dimension Data then brought in psychologist David Spindler at a time when, according to Aldag, Cavendish was telling people his career was over.
Recalling the place Cavendish was in, Spindler says: “I think there’s a high risk that you harm yourself or even that you commit suicide. Mark and I made a deal. I said, ‘Before you do something to yourself, call me’.”
The latter part of the film is more uplifting. After a pandemic-disrupted season with Bahrain-McLaren, Cavendish was offered a career lifeline by his old boss Patrick Lefevere going into 2021, and that remarkable summer followed.
Cavendish was hoping for a record-breaking 35th stage win and a fairytale ending this July after announcing his plans to retire this winter, but a broken collarbone on stage eight scuppered that dream a day after he came so close in Bordeaux.
Astana-Qazaqstan boss Alexander Vinokourov still hopes to convince him to race on, and may take note of Cavendish’s closing comment: “I will continue trying to win for as long as I believe I can win.”
J.P. France pitched seven strong innings, Kyle Tucker and Martin Maldonado hit solo home runs and the Houston Astros held off the Texas Rangers for a 4-3 win Tuesday, pulling to within a game of the AL West lead.
France gave up five hits and one unearned run while getting through seven innings in just 84 pitches. The 28-year-old rookie improved to 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last five starts.
The Astros, who won Monday’s series opener 10-9, led 4-1 heading into the ninth inning, but closer Ryan Pressly gave up a two-run homer to Mitch Garver with two outs before recording his 24th save.
Houston has won four straight and improved to 6-3 this season against its in-state rival, and the Rangers now lead the AL West by just one game.
Texas has lost four of its last five games and – after a torrid opening to expectation-filled season – has gone 19-23 since June 7.
Abbott sharp as Reds hold off Brewers
Rookie Andrew Abbott scattered seven hits over six scoreless innings and the Cincinnati Reds withstood a frantic ninth-inning comeback attempt to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3.
Abbott struck out nine and walked one to outduel Corbin Burnes and avenge a pair of losses earlier this month to the Brewers.
Ian Gibault and Lucas Sims each worked one scoreless inning before Daniel Duarte surrendered a walk, a single and Christian Yelich’s opposite-field three-run homer in the ninth to get Milwaukee within 4-3.
Alexis Diaz gave up an infield single to William Contreras and hit Willy Adames in the helmet with a pitch before retiring Andruw Monasterio on a flyout for his 30th save.
Jonathan India and Joey Votto had RBI singles in the fourth inning and Will Benson provided some needed insurance in the ninth with a two-run homer.
The win moved the Reds within one-half game of the NL Central-leading Brewers.
Mariners score 7 runs late to rally past Twins
Julio Rodriguez’s second home run of the game came in a four-run eighth and helped the Seattle Mariners rally for a 9-7 victory over the Minnesota Twins.
Seattle trailed 4-0 after the first inning and 6-2 entering eighth before score four in the eighth and two more in the ninth.
Cal Raleigh doubled home a run and Teoscar Hernandez had a run-scoring groundout before Rodriguez’s two-run shot – his 16th of the season - made it 6-6.
Rookie Cade Marlowe, who hit his first major league homer in the fifth, opened the ninth with a walk, stole second, moved to third on an infield single and scored with Kolten Wong on Eugenio Suarez’s double.
Minnesota began the day with an MLB-best nine wins since the All-Star break but had a four-game winning streak snapped.
Adam Peaty made history on this day in 2021 by becoming the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.
Peaty, then 26, maintained his world dominance in the 100 metre breaststroke as he powered his way to Britain’s first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.
He had not been beaten in the event for more than seven years – he celebrated gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics – and had broken the world record five times.
At the Tokyo Games, which was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Peaty once again left his rivals trailing as he finished in 57.37 seconds, six tenths clear of second-placed Arno Kamminga from the Netherlands.
Peaty told BBC Sport following his triumph: “It means the world to me. It is not about who is the best all year round, it is who is the best on the day.
“It is about who is adaptable and who wants it more. When it comes down to it, I am not racing for a time, I am racing myself.”
Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kamminga and China’s Qin Haiyang remain the only other men to have swum the event in under 58 seconds.
Peaty’s current world record stands at 56.88 and when he won gold in Tokyo, he had recorded the 20 fastest times.
He went on to win a second gold medal in Tokyo, in the mixed 100m medley relay, helping to set a world record time of 3mins 37.58secs together with Kathleen Dawson, James Guy and Anna Hopkin.
Peaty, who missed the 2022 world championships in Budapest due to a foot injury, withdrew from the British Championships in April this year and revealed he was struggling with his mental health.
The eight-time world champion has since confirmed his intention to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
While admitting to some disappointment that she was sent off in their opening Fifa Women's World Cup game against France, Reggae Girlz captain Khadija "Bunny" Shaw says she has nothing to be ashamed of, as she did what was required to assure her team the best possible result.
In fact, Shaw's general mindset and outlook is one of utmost positivity, especially given the fact that the Girlz remained composed and resolute to earn their first ever World Cup point, following her ejection at Sydney Football Stadium.
The towering striker, who is rated among the best in the world at present, was sent off in time added in the goalless stalemate with fifth-ranked France, after she was shown a second yellow card for an unnecessary sliding challenge on Wendie Renard. She had early picked up a 37th-minute caution.
Though video replay showed that there was minimal contact, the rules of the game are such that VAR could not have intervened unless it was a straight red card. Still, it mattered little as an appeal by Head coach Lorne Donaldson was dismissed by Fifa and her suspension stands.
"Every time I go out on the pitch, I always give my 100 percent and try to help the team and be the leader that I know I can be. So, at the end of the day, my ultimate goal is more than just to score goals, I always aim to help the team defensively as well and stuff like that.
"So, it's a bit difficult for me, my first red card but looking back at the game, I am taking the positives from it which is my overall performance and of course, our first point at the World Cup," Shaw said.
"Physically I am pretty banged up, it was a very physical game and I strive off that so I know that my overall effort is something that I can feel proud of, and I walked off the pitch, not in the best way, but I walked off knowing that I did my best. So yes, I've looked back at it but only taking positives from it," she added.
Reflecting on the performance, Shaw pointed out that the well-experienced French outfit, a quarterfinalist from 2019 and one of the favourites for this ongoing showpiece, was always expected to prove a handful. On that note, she credits her teammates for their grit and determination in executing the game plan.
"As a team, we spoke about the game, we had a while to prepare for the game and we knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. We knew defensively we had to be solid and attacking wise, we had to make the right decisions when we are on the ball, so I think overall our performance was good.
"We dug deep as a team, we had some difficult moments when France had a lot of corners and transitional moments, but we fed off each other in different aspects and actions of the game and I think ultimately the result speak for itself,” the Manchester City stalwart noted.
Despite her suspension from the upcoming game against 52nd-ranked Panama, a team she has always had success against dating back to the historic qualification in 2018, Shaw, 26, has every confidence in her team to once again deliver accordingly.
"Outsiders looking in can see our team, we are always together, we are one family and like I said, we feed of each other’s energy. So, when you have that chemistry and that sort of relationship with your teammates, it means if one of the ladies are out of position and another cover for her, they are going to do that and we have always been that way," Shaw reasoned.
"We have always believed in ourselves and our capabilities and preparation wise, it wasn't the best, but we have to focus on what we can control and that is to give of our best on the pitch and hopefully it will always be good enough," the Spanish Town native said.
The 43rd-ranked Girlz are currently third in Group F on a point, same as France, both behind leaders Brazil on three points, while Panama is pointless.
A win, particularly by a handsome scoreline in Saturday's encounter at Perth Rectangular Stadium, would put the Girlz in a good position to achieve their main objective –to progress beyond the group stages.
They are scheduled to close group play against Brazil on August 2.
"I think that (upcoming game) is going to be a big challenge for us, we have played Panama multiple times before, so we know what they have to offer. But I think ultimately, we have to focus on ourselves go out there build from the result that we got against France, keep our confidence high and hopefully at the end of the day we can get the job done," Shaw ended.
The Dallas Cowboys checked off one major task on their offseason to-do list, while another looms large as the team opens training camp.
The Cowboys signed star cornerback Trevon Diggs to a five-year, $97million contract extension Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported, while six-time All-Pro guard Zack Martin officially began his holdout for a new deal.
Diggs, who led the NFL and tied a franchise record with 11 interceptions in 2021, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is now signed through the 2028 season.
Martin has been one of the league’s top offensive linemen since the Cowboys drafted him in the first round in 2014 but was absent when players reported for training camp Tuesday.
Martin, 32, has two seasons remaining on a six-year, $84million deal that represents the ninth-highest average annual value among interior offensive linemen in the NFL.
Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones declined to give much detail about Martin’s contract situation.
“I don’t want to get into what we are doing here or not doing,” Jones told reporters Tuesday. “I just want to say that he is in our plans.”
Diggs was a second-round draft pick in 2020 and has 17 interceptions in 45 career games.
Diggs, who said in May that he “loves” Dallas and hoped to remain with the Cowboys long-term, will reportedly receive half of the deal’s $42.3million in guaranteed money up-front as a signing bonus.
The contract extension reportedly contains an additional $7million in incentives, pushing its maximum possible value to $104million.
With Diggs’ money on the books, the Cowboys could struggle to reach a new long-term deal with Martin, especially with massive extensions for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and pass-rusher Micah Parsons looming in the coming years.
“We've got everything, as we start camp today where we are, there [is] nothing to concern me about anything to do with what we're doing with contractual situations,” Jones said.
Martin will be fined $50,000 for each day of training camp missed.
Star quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have reached agreement on a massive five-year, $262.5 million contract extension, according to multiple sources.
The deal makes Herbert the highest paid quarterback in the league by average salary per year and total money, just slightly surpassing the extension Lamar Jackson signed with the Baltimore Ravens in April.
Herbert, 25, will be entering his fourth NFL season since the Chargers selected him sixth overall in the 2020 draft out of Oregon. He had two years remaining on his rookie contract, which was to pay him roughly $8.5 million this season and $29.5 million on his fifth-year option contract in 2024.
The new deal locks Herbert in with the Chargers through the 2029 season.
He passed for 4,739 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season while helping Los Angeles to a 10-7 record and their first playoff appearance since 2018.
Herbert had his best season in 2021, when he threw for 5,014 yards with 38 touchdowns and 15 picks.
His 1,316 completions are the most through a player’s first three seasons and his 64 Total QBR is ranked fourth best in the NFL since his 2020 rookie season.
The prospect of pulling off “mission impossible” and becoming the first taekwondo athlete in history to win three Olympic gold medals has spurred Jade Jones to shrug off the painful memories of Tokyo and plot another ascent to the top of her sport.
Right back to the aftermath of her improbable first Olympic title as a teenager at London 2012, Jones has always been honest about her struggle to find the motivation to submit to the gruelling process of repeating her success through another Olympic cycle.
But one year from the opening of the Paris Olympics finds the 30-year-old Jones full of reasons to breathe new life into her taekwondo career, from making history to erasing an uncomfortable chapter in the Japanese capital that saw her surrender her title at the last-16 stage.
“The hunger is fully back with me,” Jones told the PA news agency. “Tokyo didn’t go well and I’ve since realised that my mind just wasn’t right but I quickly realised I didn’t want to leave my career like that – I wanted another shot at making sporting history.”
Jones’ shock loss to Refugee Team competitor Kimia Alizadeh left the Flint athlete close to tears and threatened to prove her swansong on the Olympic stage, as she openly admitted to experiencing anxiety and not enjoying a Games sanitised by small crowds and lingering lockdown regulations.
“There was so much expectation on me in the build-up to Tokyo because everyone expected me to go out there and get the third gold, and I went to Tokyo feeling that I had everything to lose,” added Jones.
“Everything was pressure. There was pressure on me as the athlete and there was all the pandemic stuff that meant I didn’t enjoy it.
“I’d grown so used to being cheered on in my big competitions by friends and family, and to have no spectators there just made it a really strange experience. The whole thing just made it feel like it wasn’t happening for me out there, and it wasn’t meant to be.”
Jones returned home to inevitable questions about her future and took an extended break from competition, returning to take bronze at the 2022 World Championships in Guadalajara.
After falling in the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Championships to Taipei’s Lo Chia-ling in Baku in May, Jones rebounded the following month, underscoring her commitment to the Paris process by winning her second European Games gold medal in Krakow.
It was a timely triumph for Jones, who must see off her domestic rival, the three-time world bronze medallist Aaliyah Powell, to secure the solitary -57kg squad on Great Britain’s Olympic team, before she can even think about overcoming the weight of her sport’s history.
A number of athletes have won two Olympic gold medals, but even the seemingly invincible American Steven Lopez fell short of an historic third in Beijing in 2008, when he had to settle for bronze after a controversial judging call in his semi-final against Italy’s Mauro Sarmiento.
“No-one has won three Olympic gold medals in taekwondo,” added Jones. “It’s been mission impossible so far, and that’s why no-one has managed to do it.
“But I believe I can be the person to do it and I will leave everything out there. Now that I’m older and after what happened in Tokyo, it’s not expected of me so much. People are starting to write me off. Deep down that gives me more hunger because I feel like I have something to prove again.”
Two-time Olympic champion Helen Glover says coming out of retirement after the Tokyo Games felt like more of “a natural decision” as she targets further success.
The 37-year-old made her comeback to compete at Tokyo just one year after giving birth to twins and narrowly missed out on a podium spot with a fourth-placed finish.
However, Glover has come out of retirement for a second time to target a potential fourth Olympics in Paris next year and says the decision is “working well” so far.
“I think this time actually felt like a more natural decision,” she told PA news agency.
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“When I started to come back for Tokyo, that was way more left field, didn’t see it coming, it was purely from circumstance.
“I spent that whole year going up to Tokyo thinking ‘can it be done?’ and having done it, it made me think – I spent so much time thinking you’re trying to change things, push barriers and move things around to make it work to be a mum coming back into sport.
“Now I know it can be done – how well can it be done? I think there were so many unanswered questions, now they’ve been answered it’s like ‘we can get to work now’.
“It really excites me and I think that after Tokyo, coming back and spending some time with family, there was no real reason for me to retire.
“It’s working well with family life, my body still is in good enough condition to do it.
“I think until the day that something slips, either my body can’t do it anymore or the kids don’t become a priority, that’s the day that I will stop doing it.”
Glover’s return has already seen her earn two silvers this year rowing in the women’s four at the World Rowing Cup II and the European Rowing Championship.
An Olympic spot is up for grabs at the World Championships in September and, although her Olympic medals were won in the pair, Glover insists competing in a four has not changed her preparations.
“It’s not been too different from the pair,” she said.
“I think essentially if you’re in a boat with somebody else, you’re turning up for them, you’re being at training on time, you’re having to tow the line along with the rest of the team.
Glover has three children with her husband, the television presenter and naturalist Steve Backshall, and became the first mother to row for GB at the Tokyo Olympics.
However, she admits the unpredictability of balancing parenthood alongside being an athlete is something that she has had to relax with.
“I think it’s definitely less kind of predictable than I expected, once you have a family, you just don’t know what you’re going to be doing in two weeks’ time,” Glover said.
“I can have a run of a good few weeks of training and think ‘yeah, I’ve got it nailed, everything’s fine’ then suddenly someone will get chicken pox and everything changes.
“I think that unpredictability is something I’m having to relax a little bit with, it goes a little bit against the elite athlete mindset of everything having to be perfect.”
Glover was speaking ahead of the launch of Team GB’s Mini Mascot campaign, where five children will get an extraordinary opportunity to be part of Team GB as the official mascots to the team.
Once selected the five Mini Mascots will experience extraordinary moments on the journey to Paris 2024, from meeting the athletes, to sending Team GB on their way to the Games.
For Glover, reaching a potential fourth Games would be “even more special” with her children able to watch on in Paris.
She said: “I think I’ll be in great shape to go to the Games, but I never want to say I’m there because I know a lot can happen!
“I think reaching a fourth Olympics Games would be something I wouldn’t have believed in my wildest dreams; it’ll be even more special because my kids can be there watching from the finish line.”
Parents or guardians can nominate their child to become a mascot by entering their details at www.teamgb.com/mascot
Stars from both ends of the experience spectrum are among those boasting gold medal hopes for Great Britain at next year’s Paris Olympics.
With one year to go to the Games, the PA news agency picks out five of the potentially biggest headline-grabbers.
Sky Brown
Aged just 13 when she won skateboard bronze in Tokyo in 2021, Brown is back and looking better than ever ahead of Paris, having scooped X Games and Dew Tour titles in 2022 and followed them up by being crowned women’s park world champion in Sharjah in February.
Jessica Gadirova
The precociously talented 18-year-old gymnast won world all-around gold in Liverpool last year and followed it up by winning this year’s European crown. Having been part of GB’s stunning bronze medal team triumph in Tokyo, Gadirova is well equipped to target her sport’s ultimate individual prize.
Keely Hodgkinson
Silver linings are no longer enough for the 800-metre star who was pipped by American rival Athing Mu at both the Tokyo Olympics and the subsequent World Championship. Gold at this year’s European Indoors in Istanbul will have whetted her appetite to go one better when her rivalry with Mu resumes in the French capital.
Carl Hester
After three straight Olympic medals in team dressage – including gold at London 2012 – 56-year-old Hester is targeting a fourth in what will be his final Games. Having missed last year’s team world silver in Denmark due to an injury to his horse, Hester will be determined to go out on a high.
Tom Dean
While Adam Peaty takes a well-deserved back seat, Dean has splashed into focus as he bids to better his historic haul from Tokyo 2020, at which he became the first British swimmer to claim more than one gold medal at a single Games in 113 years.
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