British number one Cameron Norrie came from a set down to reach the quarter-finals of the cinch Championships.
Norrie, the fifth seed, dropped the opener against Australian Jordan Thompson but then lost just five more games in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 victory at Queen’s Club.
World number 76 Thompson was inspired in the first set, which he sealed with a stunning cross-court backhand winner.
But the 29-year-old’s forehand let him down badly as Norrie broke for 4-2 on his way to levelling the match.
Norrie broke in the first game of the decider, but he had to save three break points as he served for the match before completing the victory in just under two hours to reach a sixth quarter-final this year.
He said: “I think it was the perfect match. Jordan really likes the grass and in the first set he played a couple of good points to beat me.
“I thought I’d played great so I didn’t have to change too much. I came out with a lot of energy in the third set and that’s what got me through.
“It’s really good to be that consistent but you always want more as a tennis player. I want to keep pushing for more, especially in the bigger tournaments.
Norrie was due to play doubles with Andy Murray later on Wednesday evening but the two-time Wimbledon champion, who lost in the singles on Tuesday, withdrew through fatigue.
Mostahdaf produced a career-best to land a red-hot renewal of the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
John and Thady Gosden’s charge was a big-race winner in Saudi Arabia during the winter before running with real credit behind Japanese superstar Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic. But he was somewhat the forgotten horse here as the race was billed as a showdown between former Derby hero Adayar, Sir Michael Stoute’s Champion Stakes winner Bay Bridge and his Curragh conqueror Luxembourg.
However, it was the Shadwell-owned five-year-old who landed the spoils in tremendous fashion, to strike for the first time at the highest level.
Jim Crowley was content to bide his time in the early stages as Luxembourg and American raider Classic Causeway eyeballed each other on the front end, but the jockey found himself in the perfect spot to strike as the runners entered the home straight.
And as push came to shove for the main protagonists, the 10-1 winner cruised to the lead before extending his advantage in the closing stages, registering a deeply impressive four-length success.
The victory gave John Gosden his third victory in the past 10 years in the 10-furlong contest and his fifth overall, but his first in conjunction with son Thady.
Andy Murray’s uncle and brother have questioned why the two-time Wimbledon champion is not on an official poster of past and present greats.
The All England Club posted on its social media channels an image of 15 famous players walking down a staircase.
Under the banner “here’s to the next generation of headline acts”, young duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground.
Behind them are a selection of “epic” rivalries including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Serena and Venus Williams.
But Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion in 2013, is nowhere to be seen.
His uncle, Niall Erskine, tweeted underneath the image: “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
And Jamie Murray, who has been competing along with his brother at the cinch Championships this week, replied to Wimbledon’s Instagram post with “Where’s @andymurray?”
He added: “Didn’t they talk about the big 4 for 10 years until he smashed his hip to pieces when he was world No 1?”
Illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded by saying more paintings are planned.
Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus lost their first-round doubles match at Queen’s Club against Matthew Hebden and Rohan Bopanna in two tie-breaks.
Andy Murray was due to play in the doubles alongside Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday but the Scot, knocked out of the singles on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the event.
Leeds Rhinos head coach Rohan Smith has acknowledged his side face a “mini Grand Final” against fellow strugglers Huddersfield on Friday night amid increasing speculation over the 42-year-old’s future.
Rhinos limp into the Headingley clash sitting outside the play-off zone in eighth place and reeling from back-to-back defeats to Wakefield and Castleford, the Betfred Super League’s bottom two.
Ian Watson’s Giants have also struggled for much of the current campaign and go into the game in 10th place, with both clubs knowing a win is imperative if they are to mount a late push for a play-off place.
“It’s huge – it’s massive for both teams,” said Smith, whose arrival in April last year sparked his side’s rise from 11th to a fifth-placed finish and ultimately a spot in the Grand Final.
“We expect Huddersfield to be very hungry and it’s a mini Grand Final for both of us, coming off a week of reset. It’s a pivotal game for the season.”
The Rhinos’ staggering inconsistency has been laid bare in the last four games, with the dismal Wakefield and Castleford losses following an heroic 12-man win at Wigan and an injury-hit golden-point defeat to St Helens.
But, despite their alarming dip in form, Smith insists he has no fears over his job security and revealed he continues to have almost daily conversations with Rhinos chief executive Gary Hetherington.
“Gary and I talk a lot and are aligned with what we’re trying to create here,” added Smith.
“There’s no issues there. We chat every day about where we’re at – form, performance, recruitment and retention, and how we do things around the place that not dependent on last week’s result.
“Those chats happen every day and those chats will continue to be had.”
Danny Tudhope delivered Rogue Millennium with a perfectly-timed challenge to secure a popular success in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Winner of the Lingfield Oaks Trial last season, Tom Clover’s stable star had since been placed three times at Group-race level, most recently going down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes at York.
Despite having never previously run over a mile, members of The Rogues Gallery syndicate boldly supplemented her for this Group Two last week – as they had the Oaks at Epsom after her Lingfield success – and were handsomely rewarded in the Berkshire sunshine.
Rogue Millennium travelled strongly in midfield for much of the way before being unleashed inside the final furlong, where she picked up well to get up and beat long-time leader Random Harvest by a neck.
Prosperous Voyage and Jumbly finished third and fourth respectively.
Colin Keane got off the mark at Royal Ascot as Villanova Queen swooped to land the Kensington Palace Fillies’ Handicap.
A winner at the big summer showpiece had so far eluded the Classic-winning rider – who is the reigning champion jockey in Ireland. But he was at his very best as he guided Jessica Harrington’s four-year-old to success.
In a typically competitive running of the one-mile handicap, there were plenty in with chances as the 19-strong field rounded the turn for home, with Frankie Dettori’s mount Tamarama looking a real player.
However, the challenge of the Ralph Beckett-trained filly soon petered out and it was left to Villanova Queen to down Daniel and Claire Kubler’s Don’t Tell Claire in the closing stages, with Tarrabb (third) and the Joseph O’Brien-trained pair of Adelaise and Yerwanthere finishing off strongly to finish fourth and fifth.
Pablo Larrazabal insisted the Ryder Cup was not the cause of his current lack of sleep, but was relishing the pressure of playing alongside Europe captain Luke Donald in Munich.
Two wins in the space of three events have lifted Larrazabal to 10th in the European points list, with 10 events remaining in qualifying for this year’s contest in Rome.
And with six wild cards at his disposal, Donald has taken the opportunity to partner Larrazabal and Germany’s Marcel Siem in the first two rounds of the BMW International, an event Larrazabal has won twice before.
“I go week by week,” Larrazabal said after making the long journey from Los Angeles – where he missed the cut in the US Open – to Munich.
“I’m not looking forward to anything, I’m looking forward to the work I’m doing today to prepare for the tournament.
“I know what I’ve done in the last five weeks. I know, for example, Luke Donald is having an eye on me. I know he is going to choose to play with me but I’ve had that pressure all my career.
“I like the pressure, I adjust to the pressure and whatever way it goes, it will go. Ryder Cup doesn’t take a minute of my sleep, probably jet-lag does at the moment.
“It’s in my mind because you guys (the media) remind me every now and then. But the Ryder Cup is a result of the work you do day after day.
“If I was nervous in Korea and Holland the last few holes, I cannot imagine how much pressure I would have in a Ryder Cup, but the Ryder Cup is at the end of September and we are in June. So many things can happen in three months.
“I checked off all my dreams and Ryder Cup has never been my dream because I saw it very far away. I saw all my idols playing Ryder Cup, but I’m not an idol of myself.
“If it happens, it happens, but if not I will pulling for Team Europe anyway. I’m a Ryder Cup fan, it’s one of the tournaments that I watch from the first tee shot to the last.
“I watch all the Ryder Cups on TV, the one in Valderrama I watched on site when I was 14 years old.”
Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick currently occupy five of the automatic qualifying places, with Germany’s Yannik Paul the surprise name rounding out the top six.
Paul’s place is under threat from the likes of Victor Perez, Adrian Meronk, Adrian Otaegui, Jorge Campillo and Larrazabal, all of whom would be making their debuts in the biennial contest.
“I think from the side of trying to fulfil the team and fill those last few spots, we’re looking for some rookies who are really keen to be a part of it,” Donald said.
“There have been some great stories and great victories from those guys too, so I’m really happy with where we are.
“I said from the beginning that I’m looking to see the excitement and commitment from these guys to be a part of that. I’m very excited with how it’s going, how these guys are playing over here on the DP World Tour.”
Crimson Advocate and John Velazquez claimed the narrowest of victories in a thrilling climax to the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.
A field of 26 juvenile fillies went to post for the five-furlong opener on day two and the George Weaver-trained Crimson Advocate made a rapid start in the hands of his Hall of Fame pilot.
The 9-1 shot, a winner at Gulfstream Park in Florida last month, led her rivals a merry dance for much of the way and it was just a question of whether she would hold on racing inside the final furlong.
Relief Rally, unbeaten in two previous starts for William Haggas, came at the leader hard as the post loomed and was in front just before and just after the line – but the judge confirmed Crimson Advocate was a nose in front where it mattered. Beautiful Diamond, the 11-4 favourite, finished third.
Kentucky-born Weaver had saddled just one previous runner at the Royal meeting, with the Velazquez-ridden Cyclogenisis finishing down the field in the 2015 Commonwealth Cup.
English challengers Leicester and Sale Sharks have landed a fearsome pool draw in next season’s Heineken Champions Cup.
The pair, who cannot play each other in the group stage, face games against Champions Cup holders La Rochelle, runners-up Leinster, South African heavyweights DHL Stormers and Parisians Stade Francais.
They will play two matches at home and two away in December and January. The top four teams in each group will comprise the round of 16 later next term.
Premiership champions Saracens and Bristol, who replaced London Irish after the Exiles went into administration, will tackle Bordeaux-Begles, Vodacom Bulls, Lyon and Connacht in Pool 1.
Bath, Champions Cup qualifiers following a dramatic last day of the Premiership season, are in Pool 2 alongside Harlequins.
They will take on newly-crowned French champions Toulouse, Racing 92, Ulster and the solitary Welsh representative Cardiff.
Past tournament winners Exeter and Northampton are in Pool 3, where they will face fixtures against United Rugby Championship title holders Munster, Glasgow, Bayonne and Toulon.
Premiership challengers Gloucester have been handed a tough European Challenge Cup draw, being grouped in Pool 3 alongside Clermont Auvergne, Scarlets, Edinburgh, Castres and a yet-to-be-announced invited club.
Newcastle are in Pool 2 with Ospreys, Benetton, Montpellier, Perpignan and Emirates Lions, while Pool 1 comprises another invited club alongside Dragons, Pau, Oyonnax, Zebre Parma and Cell Sharks.
The top four in each group progress to the Challenge Cup round of 16, where they will be joined by the four fifth-placed Champions Cup teams.
The Challenge Cup and Champions Cup finals take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 24 and 25.
Roger Varian feels Eldar Eldarov has not yet reached the ceiling of his ability ahead of his bid for Gold Cup glory at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The four-year-old is a previous winner at the showpiece meeting, having last season claimed the narrowest of victories in the Queen’s Vase.
He went on to secure Classic honours in the St Leger at Doncaster and lost little in defeat when a strong-finishing second to Giavellotto on his reappearance in last month’s Yorkshire Cup.
Varian has been delighted with his star stayer since and while he has trained several Group One winners in recent years, the Newmarket handler admits having a genuine contender for the two-and-a-half-mile feature is a bit special.
“He’s in great form and has done everything right and everything asked of him since his good run at York,” said Varian.
“It’s exciting to get him back out and back to Ascot, he obviously won at the Royal meeting last year and it is very exciting to have such a strong contender for the Gold Cup.
“It promotes that sort of horse, which is great – we all like to have fast horses and milers but to have stayers is great also and I think the staying programme has had a bit of a resurgence over the last few years and I hope it will continue to be the case.
“The Gold Cup is one of those iconic races, it’s got masses of history and there is always something nice about having a good staying horse. A horse like Eldar Eldarov might be in the camp for two or three years to come yet and as we have seen with some of those good staying horses, they can capture the public imagination as well.
“He’s got a long way to go before he’s held in any similar regard to any of those top staying horses, but he has won a Queen’s Vase, he’s won a St Leger and his profile is on the rise, I think.
“His best days could very much be ahead of him, so we are very much looking forward to running him in the Gold Cup.”
Eldar Eldarov disputes favouritism with Andrew Balding’s Coltrane, who plundered the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago and doubled his course tally with an impressive display in last month’s Sagaro Stakes.
Three-time champion jockey Oisin Murphy will partner Coltrane and is relishing the opportunity.
“He’s trained well and won the Sagaro in good style,” he said.
“It looks a hot race, as you’d expect. Eldar Eldarov is the St Leger winner and carries 1lb less, you also have to respect whatever Aidan O’Brien has in the race (Emily Dickinson and Broome) and Courage Mon Ami is an improver as well.
“It’s a wonderful chance and I’m looking forward to riding Coltrane. I watched Yeats dominate the race, and Stradivarius, so it’s great to be riding a horse who is probably going to go off favourite.”
Subjectivist was sensational in winning the Gold Cup in 2021, but an injury which initially threatened to end his racing career has restricted him to just two subsequent starts.
Charlie Johnston’s six-year-old was well beaten on his return from almost two years off in Saudi Arabia, but his third to Broome in the Dubai Gold Cup was a step in the right direction.
Courage Mon Ami is unbeaten in three starts for John and Thady Gosden, but faces a big rise in class as he bids to provide Frankie Dettori with a dream Gold Cup success in his final year before retirement.
Willie Mullins is represented by Grade One-winning hurdler Echoes In Rain, as he looks to become the first trainer to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in the same year.
The daughter of Authorized was last seen winning the Mares Champion Hurdle at the Punchestown Festival and carries the colours of Barnane Stud, which is owned by the family of former England international cricketer Craig Kieswetter.
“Her win at Punchestown was really impressive. When she travels well she has an electric turn of foot and she just powers home,” said Kieswetter.
“Hopefully things work out accordingly throughout the race and she settles down nicely and then she can give everyone a crack coming down the straight there.
“Most importantly we’re just looking forward to another big day at the Royal meeting and it would be amazing if the green and red silks can come home first.”
Wesley Ward is confident American Rascal can give hot favourite Elite Status a run for his money in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
The Karl Burke-trained Elite Status has been all the rage for the Group Two contest, having followed up an impressive racecourse debut at Doncaster with a dominant display in the National Stakes at Sandown.
But Ward knows what it takes to win the Norfolk, having previously struck gold with No Nay Never (2013) and Shang Shang Shang (2018), and his latest candidate is certainly bred for the job as a son of the popular American’s dual Royal Ascot heroine Lady Aurelia.
American Rascal looked to have inherited a good portion of his mother’s blistering speed when powering over 10 lengths clear on the dirt at Keeneland in April and he can be expected to blaze a trail from stall one in the day three curtain-raiser.
“Everything is unbelievable with American Rascal, it’s all systems forward. He’s travelled great, been training great. We couldn’t be happier with him,” said Ward.
“American Rascal is the star of the show for us, anyway.”
Elite Status appears to be the top dog in what appears a particularly strong team of juveniles for Burke this season, and the Spigot Lodge expects his star youngster to take some stopping.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “I think and I hope he’s a very talented horse for the future and this track will play to his strengths.
“If he gets luck in running, for me he’s the one they’ve got to beat, but it’s very well me saying it, he’s got to go and do it.
“It was a very impressive performance at Sandown, not just visually but on the clock. The race beforehand was probably the strongest two-year-old race of the season and he annihilated them, so fingers crossed we can do it again.”
American Rascal is joined by compatriot No Nay Mets, who won on his introduction at Gulfstream for trainer George Weaver and will be ridden by Frankie Dettori.
Noche Magica (Paddy Twomey), Devious (Donnacha O’Brien) and His Majesty (Aidan O’Brien) also feature.
The other Group Two on the card is the Ribblesdale Stakes, in which the unbeaten Al Asifah will be widely expected to play a starring role.
John and Thady Gosden’s filly did not make her debut until late May, but was far too good for her rivals on her first start at Haydock and again proved in a different class when stepped up to Listed class at Goodwood.
She turns out just 11 days later after being supplemented for the Ribblesdale by the Shadwell team, with racing manager Angus Gold excited about her prospects.
He said: “She’s come out of Goodwood in really good shape, she didn’t have a hard race. In everyone’s opinion she is a filly of great potential, but it is a big step up and we’ll see where she fits in a bit more after we see her in the Ribblesdale.
“We’ve been playing catch up a bit as she was just a bit immature last year and had a few little niggling problems which held her up.
“It’s all come a bit quick for her, which is normally not our way, but equally because she seems to have taken her Goodwood race well.
“Sheikha Hissa is going to be here, we wanted her to have the chance to see the filly and she was keen to see her, so it just fits in time-wise. We would have another month to wait otherwise and anything can happen in that time.
“Hopefully, while she is in very good form, we thought we would roll the dice.”
Al Asifah may not have things al her own way, with Sir Michael Stoute’s Infinite Cosmos and Bluestocking from Ralph Beckett’s yard the two obvious dangers.
Infinite Cosmos brings strong form claims after finishing third behind subsequent Oaks heroine Soul Sister in the Musidora Stakes at York, while Bluestocking has been kept fresh since being beaten a head by Warm Heart, also in the Ribblesdale field, on her seasonal bow in a Newbury Listed event.
Barry Mahon, racing manager for Bluestocking’s owner-breeders Juddmonte, said: “We’re looking forward to seeing her and hopefully she will have come on for her reappearance. She was so green at Newbury on her second start, you would like to think she is going to improve.
“Ralph is happy with her and she’s been training nicely. She’s a filly we are looking forward to.
“It’s a big jump up, the Gosden filly looked exceptional last week and I know Sir Michael thinks an awful lot of his filly.
“It could be a pretty strong renewal, but we like our filly and I think she is going in the right direction. Whether that is in the Ribblesdale or later in the season, I think she will develop into a top filly.”
Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Tahiyra is the star name among seven fillies declared for the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on Friday.
Dermot Weld’s filly was brilliant in winning each of her two starts as a juvenile last season and was a hot favourite to secure Classic glory in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
She was narrowly beaten by the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Mawj on the Rowley Mile, but went one better in the Irish equivalent and with Mawj not lining up for the rematch due to an unsatisfactory scope, Tahiyra is odds-on to claim a third Group One victory on the penultimate day of the Royal meeting.
Aidan O’Brien’s Irish Guineas runner-up Meditate does take on the Weld runner again, as does Jim Bolger’s Comhra, who finished third as a 150-1 shot in the Curragh Classic.
There was only a short head between Sounds Of Heaven (Jessica Harrington) and Queen For You (John and Thady Gosden) when first and second in a Listed event at York last month and they renew rivalry.
Mammas Girl (Richard Hannon) and Remarquee (Ralph Beckett) complete the septet.
Little Big Bear will be all the rage to see off 13 rivals in the Group One Commonwealth Cup.
Last season’s champion juvenile floundered in a soft ground 2000 Guineas, but showed his true colours when dropped back in trip on a sounder surface in the Sandy Lane at Haydock last month.
Chief among his rivals is Roger Varian’s Sakheer, who also reverts to sprinting after seemingly having his stamina limitations exposed in the Guineas.
It is a similar story for the Beckett-trained filly Lezoo, who won last season’s Cheveley Park Stakes but weakened late on in the 1000 Guineas on her reappearance.
Noble Style (Charlie Appleby) and Shaquille (Julie Camacho) also feature.
Carla’s Way (Simon and Ed Crisford), Soprano (George Boughey) and Jabaara (Varian) are among the leading contenders for the curtain-raising Albany Stakes, while Derby runner-up King Of Steel (Varian) heads a six-strong field for the King Edward VII Stakes.
Arrest, a disappointing Derby favourite for Frankie Dettori, takes him on again.
Five-time Wimbledon singles champion Venus Williams has been awarded a wild card for next month’s championships.
Williams, who played mixed doubles at the All England Club last year, has not played in the singles event since 2021 but rolled back the years on Monday to beat Camila Giorgi at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham days after her 43rd birthday.
Williams competes sparingly these days and only played her first tournament since January at a grass-court event in the Netherlands last week before heading to Birmingham.
Her gutsy 7-6 (5), 4-6 7-6 (6) victory over Giorgi in more than three hours on Monday represented a first win over a top-50 opponent since 2019.
Ten singles wild cards have been handed to British male and female players, including Liam Broady and Katie Boulter, while Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina will be involved in Wimbledon after she missed last year’s tournament due to her pregnancy.
Former world number three Svitolina gave birth in October but made the quarter-finals at Roland Garros last month in her first grand-slam since becoming a mother.
Svitolina made the last four at Wimbledon in 2021 and could encounter more Russian and Belarussian players in SW19.
She was booed at the French Open after not shaking hands with Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka following her quarter-final exit.
British hopefuls Jodie Burrage, Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Heather Watson have also been given wild cards.
In the men’s singles Ryan Peniston has received a wild card, along with fellow Britons Arthur Fery, Jan Choinski and George Loffhagen, with the trio set to make their main draw debuts at Wimbledon.
Belgian David Goffin, the world number 124, has been handed a wild card following his run to the quarter-finals in 2022, where he lost in five sets to British number one Cameron Norrie.
The All England Club has one more women’s singles and two more men’s singles wild cards to hand out.
Frankie Dettori has yet to decide whether he will appeal a nine-day ban he picked up on the first day of Royal Ascot.
The 52-year-old was adjudged by the stewards to have caused interference shortly after the start on Saga in the Wolferton Stakes on Tuesday.
Owned by the King and Queen, Saga went on to finish fifth with the ban compounding a frustrating afternoon for Dettori, who filled the runner-up spot on three occasions.
The suspension is due to run from July 4-12, meaning he will be unable to ride likely favourite Emily Upjohn in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on July 8.
He would, though, be free to ride at Newmarket’s July Festival as he chases one of the few remaining Group One gaps on his CV, the July Cup.
“I’ve got to consult my legal team and we’ll decide whether I’m going to appeal or not,” Dettori told ITV’s The Opening Show.
“I’m glad that nobody got hurt. It’s one of those things, the bend comes very quickly after the start and it can get very congested at that point in the race, but I haven’t had chance to go through it properly yet.
“I’ll talk to my lawyers today.”
Team GB’s first male artistic swimmer is thoroughly satisfied to have earned the respect of friends who once asked why he did not just play football like everyone else.
Ranjuo Tomblin is one of 12 British artistic swimmers hoping to top the podium at the European Games this week in Krakow, but the 17-year-old knows he will be making history no matter what the result.
When he and Beatrice Crass slip into the pool for Thursday’s mixed duet technical event, Tomblin will also be making his milestone senior debut with Team GB.
“Definitely my friends at the start were like, ‘Oh, why are you doing that? Why aren’t you doing football, you know, the generic sports?'” he said.
“But as I’ve grown and developed and I’ve got a few medals in the bank, they definitely more respect what I do, now they’re like, ‘Oh, that’s a really cool thing you do’.”
Tomblin’s ambitions to erase stigma and stereotype around his chosen sport, once known as synchronised swimming, extend well beyond his circle of friends.
Artistic swimming is, like a duck gliding smoothly across a lake, an illusion of effortlessness when in reality it is anything but. Asked about the biggest misconception people hold, Tomblin’s answer comes immediately.
“That it is easy,” he said. “It’s not easy. A lot of people just think it’s having a play about in the water. It’s really not.”
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Training comprises working on everything from strength and conditioning to flexibility, knee extensions, toe points, breath-holding, swimming, stamina and timing.
Consider the feeling of, as American synchro coach Joyce Lindeman once put it, “running a marathon while holding your breath”.
Also it is set to music, and you are judged on how good you look doing it.
Tomblin spent nearly a decade in gymnastics and it was only by fluke that the woman coaching his “normal” swimming lessons at Atlantis Flamingos also happened to be the synchro coach.
Hearing about his gymnastics background, she asked if he wanted to give artistic swimming a go.
“I immediately loved it. It’s really grown from there,” said Tomblin, though he admits there was an adjustment period, adding: “It definitely did feel a bit weird, especially with the first team I joined.
“There were no boys, it was full of girls and it was a bit awkward and it was hard to make friends, but I feel like after I joined the national squad everyone’s really lovely. We’re all good friends.”
A landmark December 2022 World Aquatics decision paved the way for male artistic swimmers to compete at next summer’s Paris Olympics, which will now allow up to two men in the eight-athlete team event.
Tomblin won silver at the inaugural male free solo event at the 2022 LEN European Junior Championships as well as bronze alongside Cass and, while he is certainly open to the possibility of the team event, mixed duet – appearing for the first time at a European Games – is Tomblin’s speciality.
Mixed duet is not on the programme for Paris, but December’s announcement allowed Tomblin to be cautiously optimistic that his event could feature at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
“When I first heard that, I felt really excited and hopeful,” he said. “Because now they’re like, ‘Oh there’s loads of boys so let’s let them in the Olympics’… then hopefully that will lead towards the mixed duet going into the Olympic Games.”
While records will fall and champions change, there can only ever be one person who does something first, and Tomblin is delighted by the role he could play in ensuring he will not be the last.
“It would mean so much to me,” he added. “I’m working so hard because I’ve seen males older than me, like (Team USA’s) Bill May. I look up to him and he inspires me so much. I’d like to inspire someone – that would feel really nice for me.”
Miami Dolphins star wide receiver Tyreek Hill is being investigated on allegations of assault and battery after an incident at a Miami Beach marina, the Miami-Dade Police Department confirmed Tuesday.
Hill allegedly hit a marina employee on the back of the head during an altercation Sunday, according to multiple media outlets in South Florida. No charges have been filed.
The Dolphins released a brief statement Tuesday in acknowledgement of the investigation.
“We are aware of the situation and have been in contact with Tyreek, his representatives and the NFL,” the Dolphins said in the statement. “We will reserve further comment at this time.”
Acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs in March of 2022, Hill signed a four-year, $120million contract extension with the Dolphins.
In his first season in Miami, Hill was selected to his seventh career Pro Bowl after accumulating 119 catches for 1,710 yards and seven touchdowns.
As long as the Los Angeles Angels are in contention for a playoff spot, the team’s front office has no intention of trading two-way star Shohei Ohtani in the final year of his contract.
Angels general manager Perry Minasian fielded questions Tuesday about whether the club would consider trading Ohtani this summer for a hefty return to avoid watching the 2021 American League MVP walk away in free agency in the offseason.
“I think anybody who has watched us play or looked where we’re at in the standings, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we like him and we hope he’s here a long time,” Minasian said. “It’s pretty self-explanatory with where we’re at.”
The Angels opened play Tuesday with a 41-33 record and in second place in the AL West. The club is looking to end an eight-year playoff drought.
Ohtani is in his sixth season with the Angels and will make $30million this year, his last before having the chance to be a free agent.
While Ohtani could eventually sign a new contract to stay in Anaheim, his agent Naz Balelo indicated in February that Ohtani will not sign an extension during the season, allowing him to hear offers from other teams this winter.
If Ohtani chooses to sign with another team, the Angels would receive only compensatory draft picks in return for his departure.
Ohtani leads the major leagues with 24 home runs this season while batting .300 in 323 plate appearances.
On the mound, the Japan-born superstar has a 6-2 record with a 3.29 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 14 starts.
Jordan Spieth won his second consecutive major with victory in the 115th US Open at Chambers Bay, on this day in 2015.
The American world number two carded a closing 69 to finish five under par, one shot ahead of Louis Oosthuizen and Dustin Johnson, with the latter having three-putted from 12 feet when faced with an eagle putt to win on the final hole.
Spieth became just the sixth man after Craig Wood, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to win the Masters and US Open in the same year, as well as the first player since Gene Sarazen in 1922 to win multiple majors aged 21 or younger.
After three-putting the opening hole, Spieth recovered with birdies at the eighth and 12th and, with Johnson losing a two-shot lead with three bogeys in four holes from the 10th, shared the lead with playing partner Branden Grace.
That all changed on the 16th, where Grace drove out of bounds to card a double bogey and Spieth holed from 25 feet for birdie – only for Spieth to double bogey the 17th after compounding a wild tee shot by three putting from 40 feet.
Oosthuizen had set the clubhouse target on four under after a remarkable six birdies in the last seven holes for a record-equalling back nine of 29, before Johnson then made birdie on the 17th to tie the lead.
After two brilliant shots onto the 18th green, Spieth two-putted for birdie to finish five under and Johnson initially responded superbly with an even better approach to 12 feet, but saw his eagle attempt drift four feet past and miss the return to force a play-off.
Spieth went on to finish second at the 2015 US PGA Championship in August, and has since secured a third major title at the 2017 Open.
Starting a race weekend as championship-leading driver is never a bad thing, but doing so carries extra weight. However, there is also added pressure when a driver, who holds himself to high regard, has to make up grounds to deliver a championship win.
That's the situation Jamaica's karting sensation Alex Powell is in, as he heads into the business end of the season in pole position in the five-race Champions of the Future (COTF) series, but at the same time, is someway off the lead in the more illustrious four-round FIA Karting European Championship.
Still, Powell welcomes the challenge that both events present as part of his growth process in a budding career that could see him transition to the Formula 4 ranks next year.
"I want to win both the Champions of the Future and the European Championships, so I will do everything I possibly can to achieve that feat. I have been a little lacking in some cases, particularly where race pace is concerned, but I am confident with the direction that we are working in and we will be working very hard over these next few weeks," Powell told SportsMax.tv from his base in Italy.
The American-born driver's declaration came while he reflected on the second and third place finishes in the third round of both events, in the OK category, on separate weekends in Rodby, Denmark.
In the COTF series, Powell was beaten by Italian Gabriel Gomez, with Great Britain's Kean Nakamura-Berta in third. Despite placing second, Powell moved to the top of the series standings 24 points ahead of rivals with two more rounds to come at Cremona and Franciacorta, both in Italy on July 12-15 and September 13-16, respectively.
"Champions of the Future was quite a successful event in terms of consistency, as I was in the top five from the qualifying heats all the way through to the final. Unfortunately, in the final, we missed out as we were lacking a bit in pace.
"But it is good to be atop the overall standings with a fairly good lead and so the aim is to maintain that over the next two rounds. It comes with some amount of pressure because you have to ensure that you drive the best race possible for those two rounds," Powell said.
Just this past weekend, the 15-year-old Mercedes-Benz AMG F1 protégé, again showed good speed through the rounds, but faltered at the backend of the 21-lap final in European Championship action. He placed behind Dutchman Rene Lammers and Gomez.
"The weekend started off poorly as qualifying didn't go to plan so we had to completely change the kart and it did work for us to an extent because I won all three of my heats, but that race speed was missing in the latter stages of the final. It was a bit frustrating, but we did the best we could, and we just have to try to improve going forward," the Prema Racing representative shared.
Though he is 43 points off Lammers, who heads the European Championships on 208 points, Powell on 165 points, admits overhauling the leader will be tough but is by no means impossible. Gomez (202 points) currently occupies second position.
"I'm not saying that it is over but I'm going to need a really big points haul or some mishap for the first two for me to win the overall championship. But it is important that we stay positive, there are 81 points available and I'm 43 behind so with a perfect weekend we can overturn it," Powell, a cousin to former 100m World record holder Asafa Powell, said.
"We were in a similar position last year and just missed out on it so I'm not giving up and I will be giving it my all. All or nothing for the last round," he added.
With that last round of the European Championship scheduled July 27-30 in Italy, Powell pointed out that he will be putting in the necessary work, physically, mentally and otherwise in an attempt to once again prove his class.
In last year's championships, Powell won the last round but just missed out on being crowned European champion by a mere two points.
"We basically have a month to prepare, I'm actually off to Sarno, Italy for a race in Kz2 (shifter karts) in preparation for the last round of the European champions for that category which is the first week of July. So though its two different categories, it will serve as a preparation race and could be a good indicator of what I need to work on in terms of race strategy," he explained.
"Because we are going to need a very good last round but until then, we will have to focus on ourselves and do the best that we can and then hopefully we will be in the best possible position to challenge," Powell ended.
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