Amber Hill has admitted she will never get over the moment she discovered her dream of competing at the Tokyo Olympics had been dashed due to a positive test for coronavirus.
The 23-year-old skeet shooter had her bags packed and had bade farewell to her family when she received the news just two days prior to the opening ceremony in the Japanese capital.
All the stars had seemed to align for Hill, who was to have gone into her second Games as the reigning world number one and one of Team GB’s strongest hopes to stand on top of the podium.
Instead, she found herself isolating at home where her mental health deteriorated and she spent sleepless nights seriously considering quitting her sport.
“It was one of the hardest moments of my life and it’s something I don’t feel like I’ll ever get over,” Hill told the PA news agency.
“What I found really hard was that I was at the best point of my career, my training was perfect, and I was genuinely feeling as happy as I ever had.
“The disappointment of not knowing how that Olympic journey was going to end for me was heartbreaking. I had resentment towards the sport, I was bitter towards it all. I’d lie awake at night worrying about everything.
“I didn’t realise at the time, but I was going through a traumatic experience. I got into a very dark place with it all and I was ready to quit.”
Hill, a precocious junior who became her sport’s youngest winner of a World Cup series at the age of 15 in 2013 and had made her debut at the Rio Olympics, soon realised she required more than just the support of her family and friends to help her through.
Working with a psychologist recommended to her by British Shooting, Hill learned to take a step back from the sport to which she had devoted most of her life since the age of eight, and began to prioritise her life away from the range.
She married her long-term partner in February this year – something she admitted she would have previously struggled to schedule – and is also spending more time pursuing business interests that remain, for the time being, under wraps.
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Quietly, Hill’s shooting career began to flourish again. In 2022, she won three medals at the World Championships in Osijek, European gold in Nicosia, World Cup golds in Nicosia and Changwon, and a trio of European golds in Larnaca.
She said: “I began to understand that as much as I believed that I was putting myself first, I really wasn’t. Everything was put on hold because of my shooting schedule. I realised I had to start focusing on the things that make me happy in daily life.
“I wasn’t in a great place with the sport, but I knew I had people who relied on me. I went to competitions with no expectations again, like I had when I first started competing, and that’s where the success really came from.
“It was totally unexpected, but last year was my most successful to date. I’ve had some massive low points and I’m surprised I’ve managed to push through. But I feel like I have a much healthier relationship with my sport.”
Arguably the most significant of Hill’s sporting achievements in 2022 was her European title in September that confirmed a quota place for Paris – meaning she has effectively spared herself the potential insecurity of qualifying going down to the wire for what will be her second Games.
She is likely to go the French capital as a gold medal favourite but confesses to still struggling to come to terms with her gruelling ascent to the summit of her sport – and much better equipped should she come up short against those inevitable external expectations.
“Regardless of what the outcome is, I realise now that there is so much more to my sport than just a medal around my neck,” Hill added.
“It’s got to fit in with what I want to do and what makes me happy. If the day comes when it doesn’t, then it’s clearly not for me any more.”
Jamaica’s Women’s champion Tahlia Richardson, despite not making it past the quarter-finals in any of her events at the recent XXIV Yonex Pan American Individual Championships at the GC Foster College in her home country, remains positive and grateful for the experience.
Richardson, who played in mixed doubles, women's doubles, and singles events, faced tough competition from players around the world. Speaking about her mixed doubles match with partner Samuel Ricketts, where they lost to Canada’s Joshua Hurlburt-Yu and Rachel Honderich, Richardson said, "It was a good match. We don't usually get to play people of that calibre; these people are playing in England and on the other side of the world. There were some things we could have capitalized on more."
While disappointed with not progressing further in the tournament, Richardson remains grateful for the opportunity to compete against top players and is looking forward to continuing to grow as a player. "I am not too disappointed because I see where I have grown, especially from previous games just in this tournament so I am really grateful that we were able to play and get to the quarter-final match where we showed that we were able to play these top countries and in few months’ time we will be able to compete against them better," she added.
In the opening round of mixed doubles, Richardson and Ricketts beat the third seed, Johnathan Solis and Diana Corleto Soto, in a closely contested match. Richardson said, "For Mixed Doubles we drew the third seed that was a pretty tough match that went to three sets but it showed what we were capable of doing. Our second round against Mexico was easier than the third seed that we had played, so we were pretty confident going into play the quarter-finals. Sometimes players are better and they were better than us."
In singles, Richardson made it to the second round before losing to Mexico's Vanessa Maricela Garcia Contreras. Despite the loss, she remains pleased with her game play and sees areas for improvement. "I have seen my growth but my legs need to get stronger so I need to work on that. I am not disappointed in my game play because based on what my coaches were telling me tactically I was playing well so I am pleased with that I am able to absorb the information that my coaches give me," she explained.
In women's doubles, Richardson and partner Kathryn Wynter lost to Fatima Beatriz Centeno Fuentes and Daniela Hernandez in a closely contested match. Reflecting on the game, Richardson said, "For the Women’s doubles, it was a winnable match but I didn’t step into the role that I need to play and I didn’t realize that until I reflected on the match and seeing that where my strength is and where my partner Kathryn Wynter’s strengths are."
Overall, Richardson remains optimistic about her future as a badminton player and is looking forward to continuing to work on her weaknesses to improve her game.
Defending NCAA 100m champion Julien Alfred stormed to victory in the 100m at the Texas Invitational at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas on Saturday when O’Brien Wasome produced a dominant performance to win the triple jump.
Alfred, the University of Texas senior, who dominated the NCAA Indoor season and was named USTFCCA Indoor Athlete of the Year, has taken her outstanding form outdoors, running 10.95 to win the blue-ribbon dash over Texas teammate Kevona Davis who edged Ashanti Moore by 0.004 to take second. Both women were credited with 11.14.
American Gabby Thomas, the Tokyo Olympics 200m bronze medallist demonstrated her strength in the 400m which she won in a personal best 49.68.
Lynna Irby-Jackson finished second in 50.40 while first-year pro Charokee Young was third in 50.64.
Commonwealth Games 400m hurdles silver medallist Shiann Salmon was fifth in 51.99.
Texas senior Johnathan Jones was third in the 400m clocking 46.50 while finishing behind Texas State’s Dominic Yancy who ran 46.39 and winner Brian Herron of Texas, who crossed the line in 46.14.
Wasome, meanwhile, was winning the triple jump with a jump of 16.80m.
Jeremiah Davies of Florida State University’s 16.01m gave him second while Jemuel Allen of the University of Texas at San Antonio jumped 15.50m for third.
Andre Russell has thrown Cricket West Indies under the buss in a recent interview claiming his Indian Premier League franchise Kolkata Knight Riders treats him better.
The 35-year-old all-rounder has played for KKR since 2014, when he helped them win the IPL title.
Since that time, Russell, who last played for the West Indies during the ICC T20 World Cup in 2021, has declined several opportunities to represent the regional team often citing health issues relating to long-term knee injuries.
During a recent interview on Star Sports in India, Russell said KKR makes him feel special for everything that Kolkata-based franchise did for him to get treatment done on his knees.
"Where I was, a few years ago, KKR actually make things happen for me where they send me to get proper treatments on my knees,” Russell said.
“That's something special to me to be honest. No other franchise or even my country never really invest that much on me."
Russell added that he feels at home at KKR.
"I'm happy here. I don't see any other franchise I would love to be a part of in this tournament because I've been here for about nine years now. Been here for so many years, I meet these guys, get closer to them every year," he said.
Roja Stona and Akera Nugent each produced impressive wins at the LSU Invitational on Saturday. Meanwhile, Omar McLeod, who is attempting a comeback after missing out on the last two major championships, finished second in the 110m hurdles won by fellow Jamaican Phillip Lemonious.
Stona, who transferred from Clemson to Arkansas during the summer, threw a massive 67.02m to win the discus over compatriot and teammate Ralford Mullings, who hit a mark of 62.16m for second place.
Claudio Romero of LSU was a distance third with his best throw of 50.69m.
Stona’s previous best was 65.11m set in May 2022.
In the Women’s shot put, Lloydricia Cameron finished fourth with a season-best 16.90m, well below her lifetime best of 18.33m set in May 2021.
Georgia’s Anna da Silva won the event with a throw of 17.62m with Ole Miss’ Jalaan Davies the runner up with 17.51m.
Florida’s Alida Van Daalen was third with 17.45m.
Arkansas freshman Jaydon Hibbert was a winner once again in the triple with yet another effort over 17m. The NCAA and World U20 record holder, jumped 17.17m for an easy victory over the rest of the field that included his Arkansas teammates Carey McLeod and Wayne Pinnock who finished third and fourth with marks of 15.67m and 15.65m, respectively.
Alabama’s Christian Edwards was the closest to Hibbert, taking second place with 16.12m.
World championship silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts has been trying to find her best form this season. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion was well off her lifetime best of 14.98m but she didn’t need to be, winning in a season’s best of 14.06m.
No other competitor managed to soar beyond 14m as Tennessee’s Charisma Taylor’s 13.82m landed her second place while Florida’s Jasmine Moore took third with 13.77m.
On the track, Ackera Nugent celebrated her 21st birthday with confidence-boosting win over the talented American Alia Armstrong.
Nugent, the World U20 60m record holder and 2023 NCAA Indoor 60m champion, clocked a season-best 12.52 to hold off Armstrong who ran 12.59 for second place.
Michelle Harrison of Athletics Canada was third in 12.93.
Arkansas’ Lemonious won a close race with McLeod, running 13.63 to edge the 2017 World Champion, who was timed in 13.67.
Pierre Lepage of Athletics Canada took third in 13.82.
The second match of the new CWI Headley-Weekes Tri-Series between the West Indies Academy and Team Weekes ended in a draw at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua on Saturday.
The Academy entered the fourth and final day on 378-4, replying to Team Weekes’ 401 all out in their first innings.
Kirk McKenzie, carrying on from his overnight 209* was eventually dismissed for 221 while Kevin Wickham, who entered day four on 104*, made 121 as the Academy were eventually bowled out for 435 in 142.5 overs, leading by 34 runs.
Jair McAllister took 4-84 and Veerasammy Permaul 3-106 for Team Weekes.
In reply, Team Weekes reached 107-3 in 41 overs before proceedings came to an end on another rain-affected day.
Opener Tagenarine Chanderpaul managed to carve out a composed 53 off 118 balls while his opening partner, Zachary McCaskie who made 93 in the first innings, contributed 31. Joshua Bishop finished with impressive figures of 2-1 from four overs for the Academy.
The third and final match of the Tr-Series starts on Wednesday when Team Headley battles Team Weekes.
Hydel High had an excellent final day at the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field on Saturday.
First, they comfortably won the High School Girls 4x100m title.
National Under 20 100m record holder Alana Reid, Oneika McAnuff, Shemonique Hazle and Alliah Baker combined to run 44.16, more than a second faster than runners up Bullis School (45.59). St. Jago ran 45.98 for third.
The rest of the field was rounded out by McDonogh School (46.57), St. Augustine’s (46.61), Heritage (46.75), South County (46.80) and Wolmer’s Girls (52.32). Defending champions Edwin Allen failed to finish.
Hydel also took top spot in the 4x400m final.
Aaliyah Mullings, Oneika McAnuff, Jody-Ann Daley and Danielle King combined to run 3:15.63 to win ahead of Edwin Allen (3:16.20) and Bullis School (3:36.25). Holmwood Technical (3:43.13) and St. Catherine High (3:45.03) were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Edwin Allen, the region’s lone representative in the 4x800m final, finished second in a time of 8:58.83. New Jersey’s Union Catholic dominated the race to win in 8:44.98 while North Carolina’s Mount Tabor was third in 9:04.88.
Kingston College successfully defended their Championship of America High School Boys 4x400m title on day two of the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field.
The team of Amal Glasgow, Marcinho Rose, Raheem Richards and Emmanuel Rwotomiya combined to run 3:15.62 to take the title ahead of New Jersey’s Seton Hall Prep (3:16.06) and Calabar (3:16.54).
KC also found themselves on the podium in the 4x800 where they finished second in 7:47.68, narrowly being beaten by New Jersey’s Chatham (7:47.66) while St. Elizabeth Technical were third in 7:49.45.
Kirk McKenzie and Kevin Wickham both hit their maiden First-Class hundreds as the West Indies Academy ended day three of their Headley-Weekes Tri-Series match against Team Weekes trailing by only 23 runs at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua.
McKenzie, the 22-year-old Jamaican opening batsman, ended the day on a magnificent 209* while Wickham, the 20-year-old Bajan, ended 104* as the Academy, replying to Team Weekes’ 401 all out, ended day three 378-4 off 121 overs.
McKenzie’s knock has, so far, come off 365 deliveries and included 25 fours and a six while Wickham has faced 223 balls, hitting eight fours and a six.
Earlier, Ackeem Auguste made 21 and Kevlon Anderson, who got 153 in their first game against Team Headley, made 26.
Jair McAllister and Kevin Sinclair have both taken a pair of wickets, each, for Team Weekes.
Jamaica College won the Championship of America High School Boys 4x100m title at the 127th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field on Friday.
Their quartet of Daniel Beckford, Hector Benjamin, Jaiden Reid and Malique Smith-Band combined to run 40.97 to win ahead of STETHS (41.19) and Archbishop John Carroll (41.19).
The field was rounded out by Camperdown (41.34), Kingston College (41.59), Wolmer’s Boys (41.71), Mallard Creek (42.72).
IMG Academy, who were expected to challenge for top spot, had issues with their baton passes and never recovered, eventually crossing the line in 49.56 in eighth while St. Jago failed to finish.
The High School Boys International title was won by Excelsior in 41.04 over Calabar (41.12) and Herbert Morrison (41.87).
Trinidad & Tobago’s Queen’s Royal College were fourth in 41.94 while Jamaica’s St. Catherine High and Edwin Allen were fifth and sixth in 42.49 and 42.73, respectively.
The Bahamas’ St. Augustine’s were seventh in 42.78 ahead of Jamaica’s William Knibb (43.48). St. George’s College failed to finish.
Hydel High will enter Saturday’s High School Girls Championship of America 4x100m as clear favourites after advancing fastest from Friday’s heats at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field.
Hydel produced a sizzling 44.96 to win heat 14 and advance fastest ahead of heat 17 winners Bullis School (46.05) and heat six winners, Edwin Allen (46.64).
Nassau’s St. Augustine’s finished second in heat 17 in 46.80 to advance while St. Jago ran the same time to win heat five. Wolmer’s Girls advanced eighth fastest with 47.35 to finish second in heat 15, won by McDonough School (46.95).
The field is completed by Heritage (47.23) and South County (47.37).
The race is set for Saturday.
The qualifiers for the High School Girls International final, also set for Saturday, are Jamaica’s St. Catherine High (47.53), Holmwood Technical (47.61), St. Mary High (47.78), Manchester High (47.82), Excelsior High (48.00), Mount Alvernia (48.83) and Holy Childhood (49.00) as well as the Bahamas’ Queens College (48.32) and Puerto Rico’s Academia Interamericana (48.76).
Edwin Allen will be the Caribbean’s lone representative in the High School Girls Championship of America 4x800m final after running 9:17.28 to win their heat.
In the field, Jamaica secured the top three spots in the High School Girls discus. Holmwood’s Cedricka Williams took first with 57.32m ahead of St. Jago’s Abigail Martin (54.54m) and Camperdown’s Britannie Johnson (47.33).
Camperdown’s Britannia Johnson, twin sister of Britannie, took the shot put in 14.04m. Livingston’s Jessica Oji was second with 13.86m while Edwin Allen’s Rochele Solomon was third with 13.57m.
Mount Alvernia’s Aaliyah Foster jumped 5.78m for third in the long jump behind James River’s Lilly Ver Beek (5.92m) and Friend’s Central’s Avery Lewis (6.21m).
St. Jago’s Jade-Ann Dawkins produced 13.02m for victory in the triple jump ahead of Ocean City’s Sophia Curtis (12.45m) and Western Branch’s Llyric Driscoll (12.38m).
Three girls cleared 1.70m in the high jump with Howell’s Samantha Strydesky winning ahead of Shanniqua Williams of Wolmer’s Girls and Edwin Allen’s Deijanae Bruce.
Jamaica’s top mixed-doubles pair of Samuel Ricketts and Tahlia Richardson bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the XXVI Yonex Pan Am Individual Championships which in its penultimate day at the GC Foster College in Spanish Town, St Catherine on Friday.
The Jamaican pair lost 21-11, 21-15 to Canadian pair of Joshua Hulburt-Yu and Rachel Honderich in a match that lasted 26 minutes.
Ricketts and Richardson were the second Jamaican pair the Canadians have beaten in the tournament having eliminated Bradley Evans and Rihanna Rust 21-2, 21-4 during the round of 32 on Wednesday.
The Canadians will face the Brazilian duo of Davi Silva and Sania Lima who defeated the USA’s Vinson Chiu and Jennie Gai 21-16, 26-24 in their quarter-final match up.
Another Canadian pair, Alexander Lindeman and Josephine Wu also advanced to the Mixed Doubles semi-finals after they defeated Mexico’s Luis Armando Montoya Navarro and Miriam Jacqueline Rodriquez Perez 21-12, 21-19.
It will be a Canada vs Brazil semi-final after Fabricio Farias and Jacqueline Lima bested Perus’ Jose Guevara and Ines Lucia Castillo Salazar 21-14, 21-10 in their quarter-final encounter.
New York City FC centre-back Thiago Martins accepts his side must improve their away form, starting with this weekend's trip to Eastern Conference rivals Toronto FC.
City enter Saturday's contest at BMO Field sitting fourth in the East following back-to-back home victories against Nashville SC and FC Dallas.
Nick Cushing's side are unbeaten in nine home league games stretching back into last season, but they have taken just two points from a possible 12 on their travels this term.
With a run of four successive road games to come, Martins is eager for NYCFC to get off the mark with their first away victory.
"It's not easy, but we need to impose ourselves away from home," he said. "We know away from home they press higher, they have the atmosphere, the stadium, the fans.
"We need to be brave and play the same way we play when we play with our fans in our stadium.
"We played very well last week, but if you want to be a good team, a top team, we need to play like last week away from home. It's difficult, but we need to impose ourselves."
Toronto are six points worse off than NYCFC after winning just one of their opening nine matches, with a league-high six of those games finishing all square.
The Canadian club's seven-game unbeaten run was ended by the Philadelphia Union last week, but midfielder Jonathan Osorio hopes the visit of NYCFC can prove a turning point.
"We're trying to figure it out," he said. "This season has been a weird one to really put your finger on. We're just trying to figure out how we can take the next step.
"The guys are together, speaking, letting their opinions out and seeing where we can move forward and get better. The guys in the locker room care.
"We'll be working really hard this week to figure it out and put it all together to put in a much better performance on Saturday in front of our home crowd."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Toronto FC – Jonathan Osorio
Osorio assisted both of Toronto's goals in last week's loss in Philadelphia, though those goals from Lorenzo Insigne and Richie Laryea came after the Reds had fallen 4-0 behind.
He completed 105 passes in that match, making him the only player since such data was first recorded in 2010 to complete at least 100 passes and assist multiple goals in an MLS game.
New York City FC – Santiago Rodriguez
Rodriguez notched his second and third MLS goals of the season in last week's victory against FC Dallas to move within one goal of his career-best tally from 2022.
It marked the first time the 23-year-old had scored more than once in a single MLS match, having netted just twice in his past 17 games in the competition (including playoffs).
MATCH PREDICTION – NYCFC WIN
NYCFC have won just two of their past 10 away matches, compared to eight victories in their past 10 at home.
Toronto are unbeaten in four successive games at BMO Field, meanwhile, and have lost there just twice in their past 11 outings.
But City have lost just five of their 18 regular-season games against Toronto, including only one of the past five, and will see this as a good chance to pick up a rare road win.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Toronto FC – 31.5 per cent
New York City FC – 39.9 per cent
Draw – 28.6 per cent
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