Sports
Paris 2024: Olympic and Paralympic athletes line up post-Games community ChangeMakers projects
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Olympic weightlifting silver medallist Emily Campbell says it is “so important to be more than just an athlete – to remember where you came from, and to give back”.
The 29-year-old is part of a new initiative that will help members of Team GB and Para GB to support good causes in their local communities once they return from this summer’s Paris Games.
The ChangeMakers programme will match athletes to social impact projects in a two-week window immediately after the Olympics and Paralympics.
And Campbell – the first British woman to win an Olympic weightlifting medal – says she wants to encourage her team-mates to use the platform of the Games “to talk about the topics that mean a lot to them”.
“As a nation we focus so much on the winning and medals, but there’s actually a big, holistic message around the Olympics,” she told BBC Sport.
“It’s about unity and the whole world coming together and if we can take that message into our communities, that two weeks after is the perfect window.”
The ChangeMakers initiative is a partnership between Team GB, ParalympicsGB and Allwyn, the new operator of the National Lottery, which since 1997 has funded elite performance agency UK Sport.
Athletes can choose the project they wish to support, from grassroots sport and mental health initiatives, to environmental programmes.
UK Sport says 86% of funded athletes want to use their platform “to make a difference to society” while they are still competing, and that 66% of UK adults believe athletes have a role to play in championing causes they believe in.
“This is something really close to my heart, and will be a really nice way to finish what’s hopefully going to be a fantastic Games”, said Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Campbell, who is close to qualifying for her second Olympics in Paris.
“We will be able to give back to the communities that we are from, like mine in Nottingham.
“As athletes we put our heart and soul into representing our nation to make everyone proud, but we’re people too, each with our own passions outside of sport. I know most athletes don’t want people to think we’re just machines that just turn out medals. We are humans that grew up in a community.
“I want to use my voice to empower more children and young females specifically, to be strong, healthy and confident by having positive conversations about body image and tackling outdated opinions around female appearance and health.
“With social media there’s an underlying pressure for people to look a certain way and we’re all unique for a reason. And that comes in all different shapes and sizes, and ethnicities, and that should be celebrated. People that don’t want to do that should be challenged, and that’s what I’m on the road to do.”
Campbell – who won gold at the Commonwealth Games in 2022 – says to top the podium in Paris would be “incredible”.
“Everyone wants to upgrade, but it’s a tough field,” she said.
“I’ve just got to work and get myself in the best possible shape I can, and if I get rewarded with a bit of bling I’ll be over the moon.”
Sports
US Open women’s final 2024: Aryna Sabalenka holds off Jessica Pegula to win third Grand Slam title
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After losing to Gauff in last year’s final, a tearful Sabalenka admitted she had struggled to deal with the crowd, later saying the noise was so loud it “blocked my ears”.
The atmosphere was no different this time around, with Pegula receiving the majority of the support from the packed 23,000-seater stadium.
There were times when Sabalenka looked like the occasion would again get the better of her as she hit 34 unforced errors and five double faults.
Once the type of player who failed to keep her emotions in check, she has taken active steps to strengthen her mentality, including working with a psychologist, to become one of the most consistent competitors on the WTA Tour.
With injuries disrupting her season – she struggled with a stomach problem at the French Open before a shoulder issue ruled her out of Wimbledon – Sabalenka has got back on track with successive titles after beating Pegula in the final of last month’s Cincinnati Open.
“I wish she would have at least let me get one set. We had a tough match in Cincinnati a few weeks ago and she’s one of the best in the world,” Pegula said.
“She’s super powerful and isn’t going to give you anything, she can take the racquet out of your hand.”
Sabalenka’s victory in New York sees her become the first player to win both hard-court Slams in the same year since Angelique Kerber in 2016.
Sports
Republic of Ireland 0-2 England: What BBC Radio 5 Live saw in Lee Carsley’s first game
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Ian Dennis
Even before we had gone live on air for 5 Live, it was noticeable how involved Lee Carsley was with the warm-up.
The interim head coach even placed the red and white cones out in the England half of the field.
He was waiting on the pitch as a solitary figure before the players came out to warm up.
Carsley was actively involved along with his assistants Ashley Cole and Joleon Lescott. It’s a significant change in approach to that of Gareth Southgate or previous managers.
I even remember Fabio Capello, when he was England head coach, watching intently from the sidelines along with his assistant Franco Baldini – but they would study and monitor the opposition.
Carsley was purely focused on his England players and looked comfortable as a tracksuit manager.
John Murray
If you were looking for a different approach from Lee Carsley, it was there right from the start. There was an initial mis-step when he turned right to the home dugout when he first walked down the tunnel, but it was a tracksuited Carsley who laid out the balls and the cones and oversaw the whole of the warm-up.
It served to underline how he wishes to be seen very much as the head coach. And if England replicate the first-half performance, he will not be interim for too much longer.
Sports
Paris 2024 Paralympics: Finlay Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw win trio of golds for GB
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Finlay Graham, Emma Wiggs and Charlotte Henshaw won gold medals on Saturday morning at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, taking Great Britain’s tally to 45.
Graham, 24, won the men’s C1-3 road race, while Wiggs, 44, was victorious in the women’s VL2 200m Va’a Single final.
Henshaw, 37, continued GB’s Para-canoe success, winning the women’s VL3 Single final, where there was also a silver medal for Hope Gordon. David Phillipson took silver in the men’s KL2 Single final.
Daniel Powell has guaranteed himself at least a silver medal in the men’s -90kg men’s J1 judo.
In Para-equestrian, Sophie Wells won the bronze medal in the Grade V individual freestyle event.
Great Britain now have a total of 106 medals at the Paralympics, including those 45 golds. Only China, with 85 golds and 195 total medals, have more.
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