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• Muir hoping Paris gold is 'meant to be' after claiming British record

  Laura Muir hopes breaking the British 1,500m record in Paris earlier this month is a sign of things to come as she guns for gold at the Olympic Games.

  Having finished seventh in the final at Rio 2016, Muir took silver at the last edition of the games in Tokyo, finishing behind Kenya's Faith Kipyegon with a time of 3:54.50.

  The 31-year-old Scot has been tipped to go one better this year after running a British record of 3:53:79 at the Diamond League meeting in the French capital on July 7.

  Speaking exclusively to Stat Perform, Muir outlined her hope that the 2024 Games will mark the culmination of her progress over the last few years. 

  "The record I broke was the record that I ran in the Tokyo Olympics, winning silver," she said, reflecting on her record time. 

  "So to break my British record that I ran winning silver, and to do it in the city that the next Olympics is going to be held in… it was just a 'this is meant to be' moment. 

  "It was really special, and to run the fastest I've ever ran just ahead of the Olympics was perfect and such a big confidence boost.

  "I'm just going to go into the Games in the best shape I've ever been in."

  Muir's silver medal in Tokyo came in front of no public spectators, with crowds in the Japanese capital limited to fellow athletes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  She is excited about the chance to share her experience with others this time around, saying: "It was such a shame that nobody could watch the biggest events in Tokyo. 

  "It's just so nice that people can come and spectate now, not just athletics but lots of different sports. 

  "With it being so close to home it'll be really easy for people to travel out there, it's not a big time difference, so it'll be so much easier for people to watch. I'm just really excited that they can soak up that atmosphere."

  Team GB managed five athletics medals in Tokyo (two silver, three bronze), having taken seven in 2016 and six on home soil at London 2016.

  With the likes of Matt Hudson-Smith and Keeley Hodgkinson also tipped to be in medal contention, Muir has high hopes regarding Team GB's overall prospects.

  "I think it's a fantastic team we've got out in Paris, so I'm just really excited to see how everybody gets on," she added.

  "To see Matt get his European record, Keeley get her British record, I got my British record a couple of weeks before that… it's a really, really exciting place to be. 

  "I think we're so strong across so many different events as well, which is so exciting, and the depth of that within some events, especially in endurance running, it's really exciting to see."

• Overcomer: Andrenette Knight takes Olympic Games appearance in stride after personal loss, physical setback

  For Jamaica's Andrenette Knight, the path to the Paris Olympic Games has been a journey marked by both triumph and heartbreak.

  Knight had always envisioned her first Olympic Games appearance contesting an individual event, particularly the 400m hurdles, a race in which she has consistently excelled. However, despite her determination and hard work throughout the season, the JAAA National Senior Championships did not go as planned.

  This, as she placed fourth in the women’s 400m hurdles final in 54.37s, well short of her 53.26s personal best, and her attempt in the 400m also ended in a disappointing sixth-place finish in 51.65s. Still, the 400m run was merely targeted at securing a spot on the country’s 4x400m relay team, which she accomplished.

  “My ultimate goal was to represent my country at the Olympics in my individual event,” Knight admitted.

  

  “But, despite falling short of that target, I am still on a path where I can still call myself an Olympian, and that in itself is a big accomplishment for me, and I’m still very proud of myself,” she told Sportsmax.TV from the team’s base in France.

  Knight finds solace in her selection for the 4x400m Mixed Relays team, an event that combines male and female athletes, as her performance at the National Championships was hampered by two significant challenges –the loss of her grandfather and an injury that took away from her preparation.

  “Honestly, this season has been tough for me. I found myself having more lows than highs. I lost my grandfather a couple weeks before the trials, and I took it very hard. And then, in the days leading up to the trials, my foot was swollen, and I was in a lot of discomfort. I later found out it was a minor stress reaction,” she shared.

  “But regardless of everything, I think I went into the trials with an objective to make the team and I did that so I guess that was the high. I can’t complain too much about the setbacks; life happens and everything doesn’t always go according to plan but I would say this season has taught me to be resilient,” Knight added.

  Though she can manage to put on a brave face now, Knight pointed out that pushing through the pain and adversity was by no means easy, as she harboured thoughts of giving up on herself.

  In fact, the 27-year-old revealed that it is the strength of her grandfather’s memory and support of other family and friends that have kept her going. But more than that, the United States-based athlete, who boast two NACAC Championships silver medals and made the World Championships final last year, believes she still has so much more to achieve in the sport.

  “My journey getting here wasn’t easy. Being a track and field athlete at the professional level is not easy, and I think just navigating it all by myself away from my family and my support system makes it 10 times harder. I felt like quitting on myself in the moment before but I never thought about giving up because I believe that I have not scratched the surface on what I am truly capable of yet,” Knight declared.

  

  Andrenette Knight (right) in action against compatriot Rushell Clayton and Dutchwoman Femke Bol. 

  “I enjoy what I do; I love to see myself making improvements, and I know that I have so much more in store, so I never really thought about it as difficult or easy. I just know this is what I have to do to get to where I want to.  More importantly, I have a host of people who support me and also believe in me, so whenever things get difficult, I can always rely on them, just knowing that this too shall pass,” the Vere Technical and University of Virginia alumna noted.

  It is the resilience that has brought her to this moment that Knight is hoping to draw on to possibly assist Jamaica into medal contention in the Mixed Relays when track and field takes centre stage at the July 26 to August 11 multi-sport showpiece.

  “The Olympic Games only come around every four years, so I’m definitely living in the moment and continuing to work on my overall well-being. When competition day comes, I can only do what I’m prepared to do and control what I can control. My goal at the end of the day is to get to my fullest potential and accomplish all that God has in store for me,” the Puma athlete ended.

  NB: The Olympic Games will be live on Sportsmax and the Sportsmax App.

• JAAA “deeply saddened” by CAS ruling preventing national champion Nayoka Clunis from competing in Paris Olympics

  Nayoka Clunis will not get her chance to compete at the Paris Olympics as the Court of Arbitration for Sport Ad Hoc Division concluded that it lacks jurisdiction to hear the dispute brought forward by the 28-year-old.

  Clunis, a four-time Jamaican national champion and current national record holder, filed a last-minute appeal to the CAS Ad Hoc Division on Friday after she qualified for and was selected by the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) to represent Jamaica in the hammer throw competition in Paris, but her name was not submitted by the local governing body to World Athletics.

  “The application filed by Ms Nayoka Clunis (JAM), who sought a decision from the CAS ad hoc Division directing that she be included on the appropriate list to participate in the hammer throw competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, could not be entertained as it was filed outside the jurisdiction of the CAS ad hoc Division Paris 2024. As a consequence, the case could not be reviewed on the merits.” the CAS ad hoc division release stated on Monday.

  It continued, “Nayoka Clunis was qualified and selected by the JAAA to represent Jamaica in the hammer throw competition at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, but her name was not submitted by the JAAA to World Athletics (WA) due to an unfortunate omission. The unused quota was reallocated to another athlete, Iryna Klymets (Ukraine).”

  The JAAA expressed that they were “deeply saddened” by the situation in a release of their own on Monday.

  “We note the decision of the ad hoc panel of CAS that they do not have jurisdiction to hear the matter as the dispute arose outside the 10 days window for disputes relating to the Olympic Games,” the release stated.

  It continued: “At all times we (JAAA) have been supportive of the athlete’s participation at the Olympic Games and in fact had petitioned World Athletics to include her in the list of participating athletes even if it meant increasing the number of participants to 33.”

  The Association noted that while World Athletics didn’t alter their position of 32 participants, they maintained that if any vacancy arises, it would be allocated to Clunis.

  The statement continued: “Notwithstanding the above CAS also made note that the respondent (JAAA) would have been unable to provide the relief being sought by the applicant (Clunis) and that World Athletics and the IOC would be the ones that could provide that relief. Again, we are deeply saddened that this situation continues and are making every effort in the hope that World Athletics and the IOC will find a way to enable Ms. Clunis to compete in the Olympics.”

  Clunis set a new national record of 71.83m at the USATF Throws Festival in Tucson, Arizona in May, one of three throws she’s had over 70m this season.

  She represented the country at the World Championships in Budapest last year and this  would’ve been her first appearance at the Olympics.