The Guardian

There will be a host of world-class athletes in Birmingham this week but the 800m should shine like a supernova They say betting is a mug’s game. But here are two predictions to take to the bank. The European Athletics Championships this week in Birmingham, with the BBC shoving its considerable heft behind it, will be far bigger than people expect. And the women’s 800m final on Friday night, feat…

Former Wimbledon champion’s suspension comes as Mykhailo Mudryk returns for Chelsea, exposing stark contrast in processes In the months between the first announcement of Marketa Vondrousova’s doping test refusal and the release of the full reasoned decision after her four‑year ban, the 2023 Wimbledon champion did her best to grab hold of the narrative. Between her social media posts and later int…

Record 10-time Super League champions are poised to miss out on playoffs for the first time but their problems run deeper than poor results Perhaps the biggest concern as the full-time hooter sounded on another miserable evening for St Helens on Thursday was that the anger, along with thousands of supporters, had long since disappeared and had been replaced with a sense of apathy. No club have be…

Today’s fluff is counting the pennies A sense of excitement is what Aston Villa need at the moment after selling off key players. What better way to create it than signing a prodigal talent from Real Madrid? The Villans have made an enquiry about Brazilian Endrick , who impressed on loan at Lyon last season, and would make a similar temporary move to the Premier League, all being good and well. M…

Mourinho says he reneged on deal to return to Chelsea Ferguson confirms story in new Netflix documentary José Mourinho has revealed he signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager in 2013 only to tearfully renege on the deal and return to Chelsea. The football world was rocked when the Scottish great announced he was retiring having overseen a 13th Premier League ti…

With most of their rivals changing managers, can the champions go back-to-back for the first time in more than 90 years? Guardian writers’ predicted position: 1st (NB: this is not necessarily Ed Aarons’ prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 1st Continue reading...

The fifth edition of women’s version of the Tour de France featured 147 riders from 21 teams racing 1,175km, broken into three flat stages, three hilly stages, an individual time trial stage and two mountain stages which included a first visit to Mont Ventoux. Here are some of our favourite images from nine exhilarating stages Continue reading...

Northern Ireland’s Shea Charles to sign five-year contract Trevoh Chalobah leaves Chelsea for Como in £25.7m deal Fulham have sought to bolster their midfield by spending £30m on Southampton’s Shea Charles. Charles, a Northern Ireland international and breakout star of the last Championship season, is expected to sign a five-year deal at Craven Cottage once a medical assessment and legal formalit…

Delap scores twice from spot in 3-3 draw with JDT Manager made 11 changes against Malaysian champions Chelsea’s problems mounted as their pre-season tour came to an end in a strangely fiery draw against the Malaysian champions Johor Darul Ta’zim. The omens do not look promising with a bloated choice of forwards, echoes of their inexperience and indiscipline last season, and fewer than two weeks f…

Nelson had second-most coaching wins in NBA history Won five titles with Boston Celtics in 1960s and 70s Helped develop stars Steph Curry and Dirk Nowitzki Don Nelson, the second-winningest coach in NBA history who won five championships as a player with the Boston Celtics, died on Sunday. He was 86. Nelson’s death was announced by the Golden State Warriors, one of the teams he coached. Continue …

Head coach frustrated by ‘tired’ performance Monaco come from two down to win 3-2 at Anfield Andoni Iraola told his Liverpool team they have work to do after squandering a 2-0 lead against Monaco to lose a second successive pre-season friendly. The former Bournemouth coach last managed a game at Anfield almost exactly a year ago in the memorable opener to the 2025-26 Premier League season, a game…

Dutch cyclist crosses finish line clear of Kasia Niewiadoma Vollering adds to her 2023 Tour de France Femmes success The Dutch rider Demi Vollering won the Women’s Tour de France for the second time after riding to victory in Sunday’s ninth and final stage to extend her winning margin. The 2023 champion raised her bike in the air moments after crossing the finish line in Nice well clear of Polish…

Tebas says Swiss is ‘destroying essence of football’ Any reform at highest levels must be ‘genuine’ Javier Tebas says Gianni Infantino’s position as Fifa president is untenable, claiming he is “destroying the very essence of football” while calling for reform at the highest levels of the game. The La Liga president, who is a longstanding and vociferous critic of the current Fifa regime, said “the…

World No 1 out of tournament with knee injury Italian trying to stay fit for US Open which starts 30 August World No 1 Jannik Sinner has pulled out of the Cincinnati Open due to a right knee injury, the Italian announced on Sunday. “After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati,” he said in a statement poste…

From Sir Gordon Richards to Dream Alliance’s Hollywood fairytale the track has witnessed many famous moments Greyhound racing in Wales may be facing a total ban but the equine equivalent is enjoying a boom and the country’s most famous track at Chepstow celebrated its centenary this week. Conca D’Oro won the first race run there on 6 August, 1926, and since then the racecourse has hosted many gre…