For athletes heading to Tokyo for the Olympic Games, winning medals would rank high on their list of priorities. For every Jamaican athlete who medals at the Tokyo Games, there is now an even greater incentive as anyone who wins a medal will get a bonus of free insurance for one year.
This latest incentive is one of the benefits from a recent partnership inked between the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) and Marathon Insurance Brokers Limited. The partnership is valued at J$12 million and will run for the three-year period leading up to the 2024 Olympic Games.
In reference to the benefits, Ryan Foster, Secretary General/CEO, JOA, gave a broader perspective of the deal that was announced nearly one week ago.
“The JOA/Marathon partnership was centred around expanding our member services to our associations. For far too long we have looked at sport as just attending Games, but have not done enough to tap into the sport as an avenue for social change,” he said.
“One of the benefits of this partnership is for the direct benefit of our athletes for which all medalists at the Olympic Games will receive free insurance for one year. This is in addition to the comprehensive coverage that Marathon will be providing for all members attending the Olympic Games.”
Marathon Insurance has had a long partnership with the JOA, dating back to the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. This time they will be diving further into the deal with the JOA to deliver projects that involve the Athlete’s Commission and female empowerment through the Women’s Commission.
“The partnership has gone even further as Marathon will be partnering with the JOA and the Women’s Commission and Athlete Commission on various social projects geared towards, including, at-risk girls in sport and the expansion of Olympism values in schools,” Foster shared.
“All of these initiatives will be funded under this partnership and will involve the JOA engaging in providing not just mentoring and educational activities, but will involve nutritional support, school fees and school materials for the selected young athletes."
Open champion Collin Morikawa revealed the unexpected and tasty secret to his success after winning the Claret Jug at the first attempt on Sunday.
The 24-year-old produced a blemish-free 66 in a stunning final round at Royal St George's to thwart the charge of Jordan Spieth and eclipse overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen.
Morikawa, who also won the 2020 US PGA Championship on debut, secured his second major win in eight entries after starting the day a shot behind Oosthuizen.
In the end his greatest beef was with 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year Spieth, who recovered from being two over through six holes to sign for a 66 himself, finishing two back.
But Morikawa, who saw playing partner Oosthuizen limp to a closing 71, clearly relished the challenge as he went bogey-free to make mincemeat of the field in sizzling sunshine on the Kent coast.
But, when grilled by the media as to what the key to his triumph was, Morikawa had an answer nobody saw coming.
"The secret? Well, I never do this, but I had a burger for four straight days, so my body is probably feeling it. I know my body's feeling it," he said.
"I think I just enjoy these moments, and I talk about it so much that we love what we do. And you have to embrace it.
"You have to be excited about these opportunities, and that's how I looked at it today, especially coming down the stretch, was I'm excited. To have the Claret Jug right here in my possession for a year, I believe, I'm excited to have it."
Runner-up Spieth lamented his putting as he came up short, but Morikawa was delighted with that side of his own game.
He made a succession of potentially tricky putts, including one for birdie from around 15 feet on the 14th just after Spieth had cut the gap to one.
"Definitely one of the best [putting displays], especially inside 10 feet," he said.
"I felt like it was as solid as it's going to get. I don't think I really missed many from that distance. Especially in a major.
"I think in a major on a Sunday in contention, I wasn't thinking about anything other than making a putt.
"I'm going to tell myself probably tomorrow: 'Why can't I keep doing that all the time?'.
"But you know, I'm going to try to figure out what worked and use that for the future because I know I can putt well. I know I can putt well in these pressure situations. I've just got to keep doing that."
Yulia Putintseva was in devastating form as she crushed Anhelina Kalinina to win the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest, her second career singles title.
She needed just 70 minutes to thrash Kalinina 6-4 6-0 and seal a first WTA Tour triumph since 2019 when she was victorious in Nurnberg.
In fact, her semi-final appearance in Budapest was Putintseva's first since that success in Germany, and she rarely looked like passing up the chance for victory against her Ukrainian opponent.
Kalinina was as much her own worst enemy at times, with 34 unforced errors continuously handing the initiative to the ruthless Putintseva, who converted five of eight break points.
Two of those breaks came in the first three games of the match, and although Kalinina hit back initially, she could not sustain that form as Putintseva closed out the set.
The second set was far more one-sided, as Kalinina took just seven points across the six games, which were all won by Putintseva.
The Kazakh now turns her attention towards the Olympics.
Jordan Spieth was left to lament a slack finish to his third round after he came up just short at The Open on Sunday.
The 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year recovered from two over through six to sign for a final-round 66, which left him two shots shy of winner Collin Morikawa.
But it was Saturday's round at Royal St George's that bothered the three-time major winner, who dropped shots at each of the last two holes.
Reflecting on a close call with what would have been a first major triumph since that success at Royal Birkdale four years ago, Spieth was quick to point out where it went wrong.
"It's hard to be upset when I was a couple over through six," he said. "I couldn't have really done much more after that point.
"But the finish yesterday was about as upset as I've taken a finish of a round to the house. I walked in and I said: 'Is there something that I can break?'.
"I knew that was so important because I would have been in the final group."
Spieth is usually a safe bet with the putter in his hand, but the 27-year-old felt that side of his game was lacking in Kent.
He took 1.58 putts per greens in regulation, which was better than the field average of 1.68, but Spieth felt he was well short of his own high standard.
"My putting is not where I want to be at all," conceded. "I say at all; It's progressing the right direction, but it's not where it has been.
"I know what needs to do to get there, and it's just very difficult to do. But it's rounds like today or this week, major championship rounds, where you have to obviously test not only your touch out here, but also a lot of knobs and breaking putts and trust lines. It's a good test for it.
"I just wasn't extremely sharp with the putter this week. I was sharper than I was at Augusta, and it's been a little bit kind of here and there this year.
"My bad weeks have been okay and my good weeks are really good, but I needed to put in a little bit of work."
Paying tribute to champion Morikawa, who has two major wins from eight starts, Spieth added: "He swings the club beautifully, gets it in positions that make it very, very difficult to not start the ball online, so therefore, he's going to be very consistent tee to green.
"At 24, obviously there's a bright future ahead."
Lewis Hamilton refused to accept responsibility for the sensational first-lap crash that sent title rival Max Verstappen out of the British Grand Prix and into the Silverstone barriers.
Red Bull boss Christian Horner said Hamilton was guilty of "dirty driving" and questioned how he would sleep after the incident at Copse Corner that caused Verstappen to need hospital checks.
After the race was red-flagged and once Hamilton served a 10-second time penalty, the British driver went on to win his home grand prix and in doing so cut Verstappen's championship lead to only eight points.
"I've been giving my all this past week," Hamilton said afterwards. "Of course I always try to be measured in how I approach, particularly in battling with Max, he's very aggressive, and today I was fully alongside him and he didn't let me into space.
"Regardless of whether I agree with the penalty, I take it on the chin and I just kept working."
Verstappen was initially treated by medics at Silverstone but then needed to be taken to hospital.
"He's bruised, he's battered, but no broken bones. It was by far the biggest accident of his career," Horner said on Channel 4.
The Red Bull boss made his "dirty driving" claim just minutes after the crash, which saw Hamilton come up on the inside of the pole-sitter, only for their wheels to touch and Verstappen to suffer a crash that left his car a wreck.
"The penalty doesn't fit the crime," Horner said. "He's had no penalty because he's gone on to win the grand prix. It's a desperate move that you wouldn't expect from a seven-time world champion.
"It's just irresponsible and a sign of desperation and it's completely destroyed the car."
Horner said Red Bull would "consider our options" over a possible post-race protest, after Hamilton celebrated a record eighth victory in the British race.
"I don't think Lewis can take any satisfaction from a victory like that because we were lucky today that a driver wasn't badly hurt," Horner said.
"I hope he can sleep well tonight because that's not good driving."
Horner suggested the crash could ramp up the excitement for the rest of the season, backing his young driver to come back strongly.
"He's fit, he'll recover quickly and he's mentally very, very strong," Horner said. "If anything it'll just make him more determined.
"It just raises the stakes. It didn't need to be like that because it could have been a great race between the two drivers today."
Tadej Pogacar clinched a second successive Tour de France general classification title as Mark Cavendish narrowly missed out on a record-breaking 35th stage win.
It was a racing certainty that Pogacar would be crowned on the Champs Elysees on Sunday after dominating the 21-stage tour, having secured top spot on Saturday ahead of the largely processional finale in Paris.
Cavendish made sure of the green jersey as the tour's top sprinter, but hopes of a 35th stage win were dashed when Wout van Aert snatched glory in the French capital.
Cavendish had powered from 30 stage wins at the start of the 2021 Tour to 34 during the course of the past three weeks, matching Eddie Merckx's long-standing record, but the Manxman could not nose ahead of Van Aert in a frantic finish.
Van Aert's success means his Belgian compatriot Merckx continues to hold a share of that stage-win record, and it raises the question of whether Cavendish will return in 2022 in an effort to take sole ownership.
The sprint was suitably phenomenal, with Jumbo-Visma's Van Aert keeping enough in reserve to get ahead of countryman Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Fenix), who took second, and third-placed Cavendish (Deceuninck-QuickStep).
It means Van Aert became the first Tour rider since 1979 to win a sprint, a mountain stage and an individual time trial in the same edition of the race.
The time-trial success came on Saturday, and it was remarkable he had so much left in the tank 24 hours later.
Van Aert said on Eurosport: "This tour has just been amazing. It's been such a roller coaster, but to finish with a weekend like this is beyond expectations."
His next target will be an Olympic gold, with Van Aert revealing he was due to travel from Paris to Tokyo later on Sunday.
He realised after sealing victory that he would be a man in demand over the coming hours.
"I guess I put myself in trouble because I have to take a flight tonight," Van Aert added. "We'll see if I can get there.
"It's definitely not a pity. I went for it today because a victory like this is priceless."
Collin Morikawa produced a stunning final round to win The Open by two strokes from Jordan Spieth at Royal St George's.
The 2020 US PGA Championship winner added a second major to his list of honours in only his eighth appearance in such tournaments, with this his debut at the oldest of golf's four headline events.
His blemish-free 66 on Sunday ensured he overturned the one-stroke overnight lead that Louis Oosthuizen had held, while Spieth closed with the same score as he came up just short.
Morikawa nailed a lengthy birdie putt on the 14th, just after Spieth's run of four gains in four holes around the turn had cut the gap to one, and the 24-year-old never looked back as he sealed the prize on 15 under.
Spieth, the 2017 champion at Royal Birkdale, and Oosthuizen, who triumphed at St Andrews in 2010, had each been chasing a second Claret Jug.
But Morikawa showed nerves of steel as he refused to wilt in the sunshine on the Kent coast, the American averaging 1.5 putts per greens in regulation.
He needed to hit such a high level to keep Spieth at bay, his compatriot rallying from two over for the day after six holes to close at 13 under.
Oosthuizen endured the frustration of finishing as runner-up at the US PGA Championship and the U.S. Open this year and he suffered more disappointment following a closing 71.
Pre-tournament favourite Jon Rahm wrapped things up in style with a 66 and he will return to the world number one spot next week, displacing Dustin Johnson.
Reigning champion Shane Lowry finished at six under, while Rory McIlroy closed with a 71 to wrap up a low-key outing at even par.
SHOT OF THE DAY
Morikawa's approach shot on the 14th was short and left him with a long uphill putt for birdie on a par five that was playing at a generous average of 4.6.
Spieth was on the charge and momentum looked to shift in the three-time major winner's favour, but Morikawa turned a potential negative into an overwhelming positive with one decisive swipe of the putting blade.
It was the point at which the engravers may as well have started putting his name on the silverware.
CHIPPING IN
Shane Lowry: "I really enjoyed the whole week. It was an amazing experience. Walking down the last hole today was one of the coolest things you'll ever get to do, and I got to do it."
Rory McIlroy: "For me at the minute it's just the process of trying to work my way back to the sort of form and the sort of the level that I know I can play at."
Brooks Koepka: "I like coming over here and playing links golf. It's always a bunch of fun, and I've always said that it's the one tournament a year where the fans actually know what a good shot is."
A LITTLE BIRDIE TOLD ME
- Louis Oosthuizen's last three major results are now tied second (US PGA Championship), second (U.S. Open), and tied third (The Open).
- Shane Lowry's failure to retain the Claret Jug means no player has successfully defended the honour at Royal St George's since Harry Vardon in 1899.
- Germany's Matthias Schmid won the silver medal for low amateur after finishing two over par.
England's three-pronged spin attack proved to be the difference as the hosts squared the T20I series against Pakistan at Headingley with a 45-run win.
Jos Buttler returned to skipper England as captain Eoin Morgan sat out and he top scored with a stunning 59 from 39 deliveries at the top of the order.
Moeen Ali (36) and Liam Livingstone (38) supplied explosive middle-order contributions, but England lost wickets frequently and there was a suspicion their 200 all out in 19.5 was a touch shy of what was required in perfect batting conditions in a sweltering Leeds.
But a Pakistan batting line-up that posted 232-6 in a 31-run win at Trent Bridge on Friday were effectively shackled by leg-spinners Adil Rashid (2-30) and Matt Parkinson (1-25) and Moeen's off-spin (2-32), with paceman Saqib Mahmood the pick of the attack thanks to 3-33 that began with the vital wicket of visiting captain Babar Azam (22).
Jason Roy set the tone for England's innings with a huge six and a four off slow left-armer Imad Wasim (2-37) before holing out within the first over.
Dawid Malan scratched around for one off five deliveries – top-edging a sweep off Imad to be caught by Azam Khan – although there were no such problems for Moeen in his blistering 16-ball stay, nor Livingstone, who followed up his incredible century in Nottingham by bludgeoning two fours and three sixes. One of those remarkably cleared the grandstand at the Football Ground End.
Buttler was in typically sublime touch through extra cover and only fell to Mohammad Hasnain (3-51) with a thunderous hit straight to Babar at mid-off.
Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran and Chris Jordan came and went without being able to produce anything of similar substance and the sense England had been slightly wasteful was heightened as Babar and Mohammad Rizwan (37) added 50 for the first wicket.
Babar skewed a cross-seam delivery from Mahmood to a diving Malan and, as Rashid and Parkinson got into their work, Pakistan were unable to regain their momentum.
A fine return catch from Rashid accounted for Rizwan, while Moeen had Mohammad Hafeez caught behind for 10 and bowled Fakhar Zaman with a beauty to scoop the player of the match award.
Italy's Matteo Berrettini has become the latest high-profile tennis player to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics after injuring his thigh.
The world number eight, who had a bandaged leg in last week's Wimbledon final loss to Novak Djokovic, joins Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in withdrawing from the men's event.
Serena Williams, Simona Halep, Victoria Azarenka, Johanna Konta, Bianca Andreescu and Angelique Kerber are among those to have already announced their decision to skip the women's tournament in Tokyo.
Berrettini, the first Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final, announced his decision in an Instagram post on Sunday.
The 25-year-old's announcement comes a day after compatriot Francesco Molinari revealed he will not be taking part in the golf event at the Olympics.
"I am extremely disappointed to announce my withdrawal from the Tokyo Olympic Games," Berrettini said.
"I had an MRI scan yesterday on the thigh injury I sustained during Wimbledon and was informed I will not be able to compete for a couple of weeks."
The Olympic tennis events begin on July 24 and run through to August 1.
However, the deadline to name new athletes passed on Friday, so the Italian National Olympic Committee will not be able to name a replacement to join Fabio Fognini, Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti.
"Representing Italy is the biggest honour for me so it is devastating to miss the Olympics," Berrettini added.
"I wish the entire Italian team the best of luck in Tokyo. I will be supporting you all the way."
Despite the flurry of withdrawals, world number one Djokovic confirmed this week that he will enter the Olympic Games.
Djokovic travels to Japan in pursuit of a ground-breaking achievement, the Serbian just two titles – the Olympics and US Open – away from a first men's Golden Slam after triumphing at the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon in 2021
The first two athletes to test positive for coronavirus in Tokyo's Olympic Village have been confirmed as members of South Africa's men's football team.
Games organisers announced in their daily update on Sunday that there had been 10 positive cases in the latest round of testing, taking the overall total this month to 55.
That includes three individuals based in the athletes' village, with an event official previously testing positive on Saturday.
The South African Football Association released a statement later on Sunday confirming Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi were the pair to return positive tests.
Orlando Pirates right-back Monyane and Moroka Swallows attacking midfielder Mahlatsi, plus video analyst Mario Masha, will now isolate in a hotel room for 14 days.
A fourth South African participant, rugby sevens coach Neil Powell, also produced a positive result. All four individuals tested negative before flying to Japan this week.
Team South Africa chief medical officer Dr Phatho Zondi said in a statement: "Every member of Team South Africa required full medical clearance as an eligibility criteria.
"In addition, they were encouraged to isolate for two weeks pre-departure, monitor health daily, report any symptoms, and produce two negative nasopharyngeal PCR tests taken within 96 hours of departure, as per Tokyo 2020 requirements.
"The timing of the positive results suggests that the PCR test in these individuals was done during the incubation period of the infection, which is how they could be negative in South Africa and then positive in Japan.
"They are now in isolation where they will continue to be monitored and will not be allowed to train or have any physical contact with the rest of the squad."
South Africa are scheduled to face tournament hosts Japan in their opening Group A game next Thursday, before taking on France and Mexico on July 25 and July 28 respectively.
Sunday's news of two athletes testing positive for COVID-19 inside the athletes' village will raise further concerns over the Olympics going ahead as planned.
The 2020 Games, already delayed by a year due to the global health pandemic, officially begins on Friday and will be held mostly without spectators due to a state of emergency being declared in Tokyo.
Infection rates in the Japanese capital have topped 1,000 for four days running.
Around 11,000 athletes from 205 national Olympic committees are expected to stay at the village over the next three weeks.
International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach reiterated on Saturday that the first positive case posed no risk to the Japanese population.
"We are well aware of the scepticism a number of people have here in Japan," he added at a news conference. "My appeal to the Japanese people is to welcome the athletes for their competitions."
Collin Morikawa held the lead after nine holes of the final round at The Open as Louis Oosthuizen slipped back on Sunday.
Morikawa, the 2020 US PGA Championship winner, reached the turn 14 under overall as the American moved four strokes clear of overnight leader Oosthuizen, with Jordan Spieth now his closest rival.
South African Oosthuizen is eyeing a wire-to-wire triumph at Royal St George's, where he and Spieth are each looking to lift the Claret Jug for a second time.
Oosthuizen won it in 2010 at St Andrews, while Spieth – who was 11 under through 10 – triumphed at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
It would be a bitter pill to swallow for Oosthuizen should he miss out in Kent, as he has already endured two runner-up finishes in majors this year and six in his career.
Jon Rahm got himself into the mix at eight under through six before giving a stroke back, with Corey Conners, and Dylan Frittelli on the fringes.
Four-time major winner Brooks Koepka carded a final-round 65 to close on eight under, leaving him to lament Saturday's 72.
"It's definitely a missed opportunity," he said. "I didn't play good enough on Saturday. Doesn't really matter what I finished today. I didn't have a chance to win. That's disappointing."
Casper Ruud won his third ATP Tour title on Sunday thanks to a straightforward win over Federico Coria in the Nordea Open final.
The Norwegian needed just under 90 minutes to see off Coria, who was competing in his maiden tour-level final, getting the job done to win 6-3 6-3.
Ruud's electric start set the tone for the contest, as he raced into a 4-0 lead thanks to successive breaks – although Coria broke back to make it 4-1, his opponent's wobble was only brief.
Coria ensured the match was a little tighter initially in the second set, but Ruud's class showed as he rattled off three breaks on the trot and eventually converted his fifth match point in front of a joyous support.
"It was an incredible week, maybe the best week of my life," Ruud said after sealing the title without losing a single set.
"It's an incredible feeling playing here in Bastad with the Swedish, Norwegian and Danish support. There is nothing like that home crowd feeling.
"To win here means a lot. You get a little extra nervous as the No. 1 seed. Me and my father [former player Christian Ruud] have been joking about when I am going to beat him at this and this, and now I think I have beaten him in everything!
"The Ruud family can finally bring the trophy home to Norway. It is a special feeling having him here with me."
Tamara Zidansek recovered from a set and early break down to beat Clara Burel and win her first WTA singles title at the Ladies Open Lausanne.
The Slovenian had lost her previous two finals, including at the Copa Colsanitas in April, but she lived up to her top-seed billing on Sunday by beating Burel 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
Burel had eliminated second and fifth seeds Fiona Ferro and Caroline Garcia en route to her first final and made a fast start by breaking Zidansek twice in the first three games.
Former junior world number one Burel was in control at 4-0 up and saw the job through in the first set, despite Zidansek pulling it back to 5-4 at one point, with a backhand winner.
Zidansek was a break down in the second set when beginning her impressive comeback, which saw the French Open semi-finalist take four of the next five games.
But Burel continued to match her opponent as the second set went to a tie-break, with Zidansek recovering from 4-2 down to take it 7-5 and level up the contest.
World number 50 Zidansek took control from that point and eased to victory in the third set with three breaks, clinching her maiden title when Burel miscued a backhand.
Lewis Hamilton was accused of "dirty driving" by Red Bull boss Christian Horner after a first-lap collision put Max Verstappen out of the British Grand Prix.
A breathtaking start to the race culminated in title rivals Hamilton and Verstappen making contact at Copse Corner.
Verstappen was sent spinning off the track and into the barriers, with his car left in a crumpled heap.
The championship leader was able to walk away from the wreckage but was left "massively winded", according to team principal Horner.
It was the most sensational moment of the season, reflective of the intensity of the rivalry between reigning champion Hamilton and this year's leader in the standings.
Hamilton was looking to get ahead of his rival on the inside when wheels touched and Verstappen was sent spinning off the track, Horner denouncing what he considered "a desperate move".
Horner was furious with Hamilton, whose driving was scrutinised by the stewards as the race was red-flagged, with the cars returning to the pit lane while the barrier was repaired.
Verstappen was said to have come out largely unscathed, while Hamilton received a 10-second time penalty when the race eventually resumed.
"He's gone to the medical centre for a check-up. But that's a hell of a relief to see him get out because that corner's one of the fastest on the calendar," Horner told Channel 4.
"[It was] completely out of order [for Hamilton] to stick out a wheel on the inside there. It was way too far. Every driver that's driven this circuit knows you don't stick up the inside at Copse.
"He's done it and obviously his front left has made contact with Max's right rear, on one of the fastest corners in the championship and he's put him in the fence. Thank god he's not been hurt. As you can imagine, we're pretty annoyed about things.
"I think it was a desperate move. He failed to make the move in the first part of the lap which he was obviously geared to do.
"Then it was a desperate move sticking a wheel up the inside. Copse is one of the fastest corners in the world, you don't stick a wheel up the inside, that's just dirty driving.
"That's just not on and I'm just relieved to see our driver's walked away because that could have been a very, very nasty accident."
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