I woke up to the headline ‘Greg Marches on’
By JAMES ROBERTS – Squash Mad Roving Reporter

With five days of clothing, toiletries, playing gear, rackets, shoes, numerous World Squash Day shirts, several bottles of craft beer and two giant bars of Cadbury’s chocolate (gifts for French friends), I never thought you could pack so much into a single racket bag!

Off to Oakham station for the train ride to Stansted Airport I go, not yet realising just how heavy this will prove to be.

Once relieved of this heavy weight on my shoulders, I sail through Stansted security but have to put a bit of a rush on to get to the gate to board. Funny how it is gate 44 for Nantes – anyone who knows this area will realise the significance of that number.

The flight is uneventful and I am rewarded with extra legroom seats for free – on a Ryanair flight too! This is only because the two seats next to me are vacant. A welcome bonus for someone 1m 90cm (6ft 2in) tall.

Baggage retrieval is quick and easy and I am reunited with the ton weight of a racket bag. It is then a quick bus and tram ride into the city centre, followed by a 700m walk to the Chateau, which felt like seven miles with that racket bag!

I catch a first glimpse of the Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne, which looked stunning with a lovely blue sky backdrop. I am greeted there by Matt Coles, the main PSA guy for this tournament. I am there to deliver a few World Squash Day shirts that will be used to help promote the event.

We are then let into the specially constructed arena in the courtyard, which is rather warm from the heat of the day. Once again, the Nantes team have done a fantastic job, with the court end made clear so you can see the backdrop of the chateau.

I am greeted there by Romain Suire, a key member of the organising team and of course the tournament MC. It is great to finally meet him at last, having hooked up on Facebook and exchanged numerous messages.

On the all- court, two of the main pretenders to the French Open Crown are undertaking a drop drive practice session – The Marksman, James Willstop and Superman, Paul Coll, so I stop briefly to admire and take a few photos.

After taking a few external shots of the venue, I am picked up outside the Chateau by Gilles, one of my French friends who I have not seen in 32 years since we were at Angers University together during my year out in France. A rather scenic drive along the banks of the River Loire ensues to La Varenne, where Gilles lives.

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It is an all too short catch-up but after a few beers and a nice omelette made from the vegetables Gilles grows in his garden, I then catch the last train from nearby Ancenis to the lovely city of Angers, where my other friends live. I have to say, French trains make me realise how poor our rail system in the UK truly is.

They have constructed a rather nice log cabin in their garden since my last visit, just for visitors, so I now have this to myself for the next two nights. My head hits the pillow and I am out light a light.

I woke to the news that “Gregoire Marches on” (I bet that headline has never been used before!) at the expense of top seed Simon Rösner. I have no doubt that the amazing crowd at Nantes had something to do with that victory. Can the French Warrior feed off the crowd in the same way in his quarter-final clash today with Superman I wonder?

Today, I am returning once again to Squash du Lac de Maine (pictured), where I played squash during my year out in the mid-80s and am looking forward to meeting Florian and Philippe Pouffer again, the father and son management team.

Tomorrow it will be back to Nantes to first take in some of the action at the inaugural French Amateur Open at La Maison du Squash, before hooking up with the crew from Lings Squash Club who will have arrived by then. We are having a hit at D’Sport and Co in Nantes, before then heading to the Chateau for the French Open Semi-finals.

A bientôt!
 

Bristol Bears number eight and four-time Premiership winner Jordan Crane is to retire at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old - who won the last of three England caps in 2009 - will play alongside a new academy transition coach role for the 2019-20 campaign.

Crane joined Bristol from Leicester in 2016, leading them to promotion and a ninth-placed finish last term.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to begin my coaching journey in a world-class coaching set up," he said.

"When I reflect back on the last 16 years, I've been so fortunate to meet many great friends and share the field with some of the most talented players to play the game."

Crane started his 16-year professional career with Yorkshire Carnegie before being part of a dominant Leicester side, helping them to four league titles between 2006 and 2016.

Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said: "Jordan has enjoyed a fantastic career at the very top of the game and it's a testament to his dedication and professionalism that he has been a key player for so many years.

"Jordan has all the ingredients to be a world class English coach and we are excited about the value he will add to our under-18s and academy programme."

PLACERVILLE, Calif. — Doubt has filled Shane Golobic’s mind for the last six years.

His first and only World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series win came in 2013. Since then he’s questioned if he would win one again.

There was a clear answer Wednesday night during the 49er Gold Rush Classic presented by Riebes NAPA Auto Parts at Placerville Speedway.

“I feel like two gives you a little more credibility than one,” said Golobic, who runs a part-time schedule with the series. “I got the first one at a little short track, Antioch (Speedway). It was a non-stop feature, it counts as an Outlaws win one hundred percent, but there’s always that little bit of doubt. I’m not so much worried about other people, what they think, but just in me. You know, it’s been a few years since we done it. You just wonder if it is ever going to happen again. Tonight, we had the race car to do it.”

The Fremont, Calif., native started the night by qualifying fifth. He then went on to fight his way to a second-place finish in heat and then to a fourth-place finish in the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash.

The night was mostly ruled by Californians, winning everything but one heat race which was won by Daryn Pittman, who drivers for the California-based Roth Motorsports team. Brad Sweet was the top Golden State driver for most of the night by winning his Drydene Heat race and winning the DIRTVision Fast Pass Dash. He also pulled double duty as promoter and driver for the race.

When the 40-lap feature went green at the quarter-mile track in El Dorado County, Sweet jumped to the lead, leaving outside polesitter, and fellow California-native, Carson Macedo to battle with Kraig Kinser for second. Golobic ran fourth.

The field got five laps into the race before the first caution came out for Kyle Larson spinning in turn four. When the race resumed, Sweet marched back to the lead. Macedo stayed close by, though. Behind the front two, Golobic found his rhythm around the high side of the track and worked his way around Kinser to take third-place. He tried to contend with Macedo by sneaking to his outside, but the Kyle Larson Racing driver closed the door and focused on his trek to Sweet’s bumper.

Less than a car length’s distance separated Sweet and Macedo for the next 10 laps. Sweet ran the low line. Macedo hammered the outside of the speedway. The two Californians ran their lines with precision, neither gaining nor losing ground on the other.

However, on lap 14 Sweet sailed his NAPA Auto Parts No. 49 car to the high side in turn three. The precision was lost. He bounced off the cushion, hindering his speed. Macedo had already reacted to Sweet’s lane change by diving to the bottom. Once Sweet bobbled, Macedo powered by him for the lead. Sweet charged back underneath him the next circuit around and nosed the rookie to the line to reclaim the lead on lap 16.

Macedo was too strong up high, though. He easily worked his way back around the outside of Sweet for the lead. While the “Big Cat” kept Macedo in striking distance for the next eight laps, Golobic continued to run third.

The third caution of the night came out on lap 24 for Jessie Attard coming to a stop in turn four. On the restart, Golobic and Sweet raced side by side down the front stretch and into the first corner. Sweet lost grip on the exit of turn two and entered the backstretch at a 45-degree angle. With a clean exit by Golobic, he hammered the throttle and cleared Sweet for second before turn three.

Sweet tried to fight back but couldn’t. The handling went away on his car and he faded through the field.

With 10 laps to go, Golobic was about a second behind Macedo. He could still see the white No. 2 car in front of him, though. He could see a potential second World of Outlaws win still within reach. To get to it meant making more aggressive moves and using his knowledge as a local racer of the track to his advantage.

“With 26 to go, or whatever it was, on that restart I knew I needed to get a good drive down the straightaway and get to the top and click laps away and be there right behind Carson as close as I could when he did catch traffic,” Golobic said. “Took a peek at the board each time I went down the back straightaway. That’s probably something I have an advantage of over other guys who don’t race here every week. They don’t have that in the back of their mind during the race. Saw thirty-seven laps were down and started turning it on.”

With three laps to go Macedo bounced off the cushion in turn three, allowing Golobic to close to his bumper and stay on him like a magnet the next lap. In their return to turn three, Golobic shot underneath Macedo and slid up in front of him on the exit of turn four to take the lead.

Macedo threw two unsuccessful slide jobs at Golobic the next two corners. When the checkered flag hung over the track, Golobic was the first to see it – his first World of Outlaws win at Placerville Speedway and second career series win.

“It’s my favorite race track in the world and now it’s even more of my favorite race track with this memory,” said Golobic.

Macedo had to settle for second, while Justin Sanders worked his way to his first World of Outlaws podium finish of the year.

“I feel pretty bad for my team,” Macedo said. “I feel like I let that one go. I knew it was getting super technical up there (on the high side). I could catch lap traffic and they were kind of making the racetrack dirty under the cushion. I was struggling to get through there. Shane just did a really good job.”

Sweet fell to sixth-place but still took home a victory, reclaiming the point lead over 10-time series champion Donny Schatz, who finished 10th – now leading him by two points. And as a promoter, he saw a sellout crowd.

To see full results, turn to the next page.

GLENEAGLES, Scotland – Gleneagles’ PGA Centenary Course is a beautiful layout that cuts its way through the Perthshire countryside, the Grampian Mountains offering picturesque views in the distance.

But one thing it isn’t: links.

“It's kind of American-style golf course,” said Europe’s Charley Hull, “but then you look around you're in Scotland.”

The Centenary was designed by Jack Nicklaus in 1993 and hosted the 2014 Ryder Cup. While the course provides plenty of challenges, especially with its undulation (variety of lies, sloping greens, etc.), those problems aren’t what players are faced with on some of the classic seaside links venues in the U.K.

And with soft conditions this week, the ground game will be negated even more at Gleneagles, as players won’t have to worry about where their shots will bounce and roll like they do in firm and fast conditions.

“The golf course is definitely not links-style,” said American Danielle Kang, “and personally I'm happy about it.”

The Centenary will play long and should favor the longer hitters, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see lots of birdies (especially on gettable holes around the turn) with receptive and slower greens.

“I think you'll be very impressed with both sides of golf,” said U.S. captain Juli Inkster.

The wind will be an issue, though it has been consistent all week and on some holes trees and dunes block the gusts early in shots, which is a big transition for many American players. Friday’s forecast calls for 23-mph winds while Saturday and Sunday will see 27- and 25-mph winds, respectively.

The high temperatures will be in the mid-50s each day, so coupled with the wind and light rain that’s expected (40 percent on Friday and Sunday, 30 on Saturday), the Europeans should have a slight advantage with the conditions.

Europe assistant Laura Davies, however, would rather concede that advantage for another.

“The weather is good for the week, the galleries will be really noisy, and that's what we need,” Davies said. “Everyone says we want a bit of rain for the Americans. No, we want beautiful weather so the galleries can get out there and enjoy themselves and just cheer us on and be the 13th man out there, because that's what the home-soil advantage gives you.”

Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti said he is "shocked" his club's dressing room at San Paolo remains an unfinished construction site days before their first home matches of the season against Sampdoria and Liverpool.

Napoli posted a video of the changing room on their Twitter feed on Thursday, which showed unfinished walls and floors plus missing sinks and electrical outlets.

- Champions League group stage: All you need to know

Sources close to the club assured ESPN FC the home dressing room will be ready for Saturday's match against Sampdoria and the issues do not affect the visiting changing room.

Queste le condizioni degli spogliatoi del Napoli dello stadio San Paolo, a 70 ore da #NapoliSampdoria, che hanno scatenato la reazione di @MrAncelotti contro Regione, Comune e Commissari. pic.twitter.com/YAROtscwIh

— Official SSC Napoli (@sscnapoli) September 12, 2019

The city-run stadium underwent renovation recently to host the Summer Universiade, with seats replaced, a scoreboard implemented, and new lighting.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been at odds with the city's mayor Mayor Luigi de Magistris over the state of the stadium.

"I accepted the club's request to play the first two games away from home to allow the work to be finished, as was promised," Ancelotti said in a club statement. "You can build a house in two months, but they weren't capable of renovating the dressing rooms!

"Where are we supposed to get changed for the games against Sampdoria and Liverpool? I am shocked at the incompetence of the people in charge of the work."

Napoli host Sampdoria on Saturday in Serie A -- having played their first two matches away from home -- then open their Champions League campaign against holders Liverpool on Tuesday.

Information from ESPN FC's Andrew Cesare Richardson was used in this report

Shubman Gill has won his first Test call up on Thursday as India announced their squad for the home series against South Africa. The former Under-19 World Cup winner replaced KL Rahul from the team that went to the Caribbean recently, which means India will be trialing a new opening combination when the series starts on October 2.

Mayank Agarwal kept his spot at the top of the order but there has been a lot of speculation on who will partner him. Rohit Sharma's name had done the rounds in the lead-up to the squad being named - with pundits such as former captain Sourav Ganguly and one-time IPL team-mate Adam Gilchrist supporting his promotion up the Indian batting order. Then the man himself expressed his desire to do the job and chief selector MSK Prasad was happy to give Rohit all three Tests against South Africa to make his case.

"Yes, we are definitely looking at him [as an opener], and we want to give him an opportunity," Prasad said. "He [himself] is keen, and all of us in the selection committee are keen [as well]. We want to push him, and give him some opportunities up the order, and see where does he stand, and then we will take a call.

"He has opening in white-ball cricket for more than a decade [since 2013]. We feel he has the capability to bat up the order, and we have seen that in white-ball cricket, and if he can do that in red-ball cricket, then nothing like it. We have a lot of practice matches coming up, which will be a boost to this side."

This continues a lengthy second-coming for Rohit, who last year said he had made peace with the start-stop nature of his Test career. It was 2010 when he was supposed to don the India whites for the first time, but an ankle injury threw a spanner into those plans. He finally made that long-awaited debut three years later against West Indies and smashed back-to-back centuries, suggesting that he was more than ready for the step up to the longest format. However, issues against the moving ball has restricted him to a mere 27 Test appearances, prompting him to go rather philosophical last May.

"There's limited time you have as a player and I have finished almost half of it. There's no point in spending the remaining half thinking whether I'll be picked or not. I am going forward with the theory of 'whatever time I have, make it count'," Rohit told PTI, referring to his record in international red-ball cricket."

Gill, meanwhile, has been banging the door down to India's Test team for a while. In July, the 20 year-old had expressed his disappointment at not being selected for India's tour of the West Indies, saying he expected to be there in at least one of the squads. He responded by scoring an unbeaten 204 off just 248 balls after coming in at 14 for 3 against West Indies A in the third four-day game. Earlier this week, captaining India A against South Africa A in Thiruvananthapuram, Gill scored 90 in the first innings.

In 14 first-class matches so far, Gill has amassed 1443 runs at an average of 72.15 with a highest score of 268. In Ranji Trophy 2018-19, he was the top-scorer for Punjab with 728 runs at an average of 104 despite playing only five games.

The rest of the team lines up as it did in the Caribbean where Virat Kohli became India's most successful Test captain after winning the series 2-0. Jasprit Bumrah leads the fast bowling attack alongside Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami. Both Ravindra Jadeja and R Ashwin, and Kuldeep Yadav too, may expect more game time with the three Tests being played in spin-friendly venues such as Visakhapatnam, Pune and Ranchi. Rishabh Pant lines up as first-choice wicketkeeper while fast bowler Umesh Yadav has been pushed out.

Big Picture

Zimbabwe are a cricket team in desperate need of context; Bangladesh, one that is aching for a return to normalcy and stability. Bangladesh's first T20I match of the year, against an opponent they have dominated at home in recent years, should give them just the sort of soft landing they need in this tri-series ahead of what will likely be sterner challenges against Afghanistan, who are probably the favourites at this stage.

Hot on the heels of the Test defeat to Afghanistan, further ructions are at play in Bangladesh's cricket system, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board set to take charge of the next edition of the BPL after a fallout with the team owners. Shakib Al Hasan has grown increasingly frustrated in his captaincy tenure, and the T20 World Cup is just a year away. A win over Zimbabwe will go some way towards calming everything down a little bit for Bangladesh.

Zimbabwe, of course, do not have any global tournament on the horizon to look forward to. They are still under suspension, and both the men's and women's sides lost their places at the T20 World Cup Qualifiers as a result. The suspension opened up divisions in their squad that are yet to fully heal.

Zimbabwe enter the series without one of their most accomplished players as Sikandar Raza has been left out for 'disciplinary reasons' - a curious catch-all phrase that is yet to be fully explained. Their head coach, Lalchand Rajput, admitted that Raza will undoubtedly be missed, but he also underscored that Zimbabwe are a team in transition, with their eyes on the future. What that means for Raza's future remains to be seen. And with only three members of the squad aged 25 or under, and nine aged 30 or above, Zimbabwe do not appear to be in a huge rush to usher in a new era.

And first, they will say goodbye to the past. This series will be Hamilton Masakadza's last in national colours. A long-time servant of the game, Masakadza has struggled a little of late, amid tumultuous times, and will be desperate for his last games as captain to be happy ones. So, surely, will Shakib.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Bangladesh: LWLWW

Zimbabwe: WLTLL

In the spotlight

Since his teenage Test hundred on debut 18 years ago, Hamilton Masakadza has summited several statistical peaks for his team, and he will go out playing a format in which he blazed a trail for his country, holding several Zimbabwean records. But the last year has been a lean one in all formats: he has passed fifty only once in internationals - during the Sylhet Test the last time Zimbabwe visited Bangladesh. Runs at the top of the order will provide a fitting finale, as well as vastly improving his team's chances of success.

Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker in this format over the last year, and is only narrowly behind Liton Das as their leading T20I run-scorer over the same time period. Indeed, he is central to Bangladesh's fortunes no matter the format, and in a sense the spotlight is always on him. Perhaps that is why he has become an increasingly reluctant captain. But there will be no let-up for him just yet, and Bangladesh will continue to look to Shakib as a leader with bat and ball, even if he doesn't have the captain's hat on.

Team news

Tamim Iqbal is still on R & R leave, so Bangladesh will have to cobble together a new opening pair for this series. But plenty of experience remains in the core of the middle order. There could be some new faces lower down, however, and Afif Hossain's three quick wickets for the BCB XI on Wednesday could see him picked ahead of Mosaddek Hossain, while pace bowler Yeasin Arafat may be in line for a T20I debut.

Bangladesh (probable): 1 Liton Das, 2 Soumya Sarkar, 3 Sabbir Rahman, 4 Shakib Al Hasan (capt), 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (wk), 6 Mahmudullah, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Afif Hossain, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Yeasin Arafat

Brendan Taylor kept wicket in Zimbabwe's warm-up match, and will likely take the gloves again, despite Zimbabwe having, somewhat bizarrely, two specialist wicketkeepers in the squad in Regis Chakabva and Richmond Mutumbami. The absence of Raza leaves a hole in the middle order but Timycen Maruma's outing against the BCB XI in the tour opener means he should fill the vacant slot ahead of either of the wicketkeepers. Chris Mpofu, Zimbabwe's leading wicket-taker in T20Is over the last year, didn't get a bowl in the warm-up, so he may well be left out of the series opener.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Hamilton Masakadza (capt), 2 Brendan Taylor (wk), 3 Craig Ervine, 4 Sean Williams, 5 Timycen Maruma, 6 Ryan Burl, 7 Tino Mutombodzi, 8 Neville Madziva, 9 Kyle Jarvis, 10 Ainsley Ndlovu, 11 Tendai Chatara

Pitch and conditions

The T20 strip at the Shere Bangla Stadium has built a reputation for big scores in recent times: Bangladesh breached 200 here for the first time during West Indies' visit in December last year. This should be a good track to bat on, while probably offering a little more to the spinners than it will the quicks.

While the track might be conducive to exciting cricket, the weather may not. Rain is forecast in Dhaka in the morning and the evening. This being an evening game, wet weather is likely to be around.

Stats that matter

• Hamilton Masakadza's 1529 runs in this format are the most by a Zimbabwean, and almost twice as many as the man below him on the list, Elton Chigumbura. He also holds the record for most fifties (10), and most runs in a series - the 222 he scored over four games in Bangladesh in 2015/16.

• Craig Ervine is Zimbabwe's leading run-scorer in this format over the last year, with 211 runs at an average of 70.33

• The last time these two teams met in a T20 here, allrounder Neville Madziva inspired Zimbabwe to a win when Bangladesh seemingly had the match in the bag, spanking two sixes and a four in the final over to pull off a memorable heist

• Bangladesh have won five of the nine T20Is between these two sides

• Shakib Al Hasan is Bangladesh's leading run-scorer and wicket-taker against Zimbabwe in this format, with 185 runs at 37.00 and 12 wickets at 17.50 against them

Tennessee Titans defensive back Logan Ryan expressed his appreciation Wednesday to the Cleveland Browns for acting swiftly in banning the fan who doused him with beer at FirstEnergy Stadium last Sunday.

Problem is, the Browns appear to have banned the wrong fan.

A man named Eric Smith claiming he was banned by the Browns told WKYC in Cleveland that he wasn't even at the stadium, and that he was DJing at a wedding on Sunday instead.

I legit just got a got from the @Browns telling me I've been banned from the stadium for throwing the beer in Logan Ryan's face Sunday. I'm fairly certain I haven't been to a game since 2010.

— Eric Smith (@TheBeardedDJ) September 11, 2019

.@Browns pic.twitter.com/bTDWZd4Lxa

— Eric Smith (@TheBeardedDJ) September 11, 2019

Cleveland Music Group vs the Browns

I love Cleveland so much! ??? pic.twitter.com/GjtFjdeH65

— Eric (@EricGebhardt06) September 11, 2019

The Browns released a statement Wednesday night:

"Our investigation of the fan incident on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium remains ongoing. While we are continuing to gather information and have been in contact with multiple people as part of that process, we have not explicitly identified the individual involved or taken any formal action of punishment at this time. We will have no further comment until the investigation is complete."

British athletes win six gold medals on day seven of the European Masters Championships

After Tuesday’s rest day, it was a quiet return on Wednesday at the European Masters Championships in Italy. There were no track finals but Britain still won six gold medals.

Two of these were for former Olympians Ian Richards and John Watts, while there were additional golds for Evaun Williams and Joanne Willoughby.

Olympic 50km walker Richards had already won a 5000m title on the track and here he added the 10km road walk. His time of 49:32 gave him a two-minute win over Italy’s Ettorino Formentin.

In third place Peter Boszko won his second medal of the Games with a time of 53:06.

Richards won his third gold with the M70 team defeating Italy by over six minutes to win the team contest.

World Masters bronze medallist Noel Blatchford won Britain’s other walking gold in the W70 category.

It was close though as Blatchford’s 61:37 gave her just a seven second margin over Ukraine’s Antonina Tyshko.

Cath Duhig won her second medal in Italy with a bronze in the W60s in 57:08 and she also won a team silver with assistance from Ann Wheeler in sixth and Judy Howard in 12th.

Britain’s W50 team also won a bronze.

The fastest walkers overall were Netherlands’ M40 Rick Liesting and German M35 Andreas Janker (both 41:26) and German W40 Blanca Schenker (48:00).

Richards was not the only British Olympian to win gold and another, Penny Forse, had won gold in the earlier cross-country.

Watts, who threw in the Munich Olympics 47 years ago and has a PB of 59.70m in finishing second in that year’s Olympic trials, won his third medal of the championships but first gold.

The discus is his speciality though and after a no throw, he then threw the five longest throws of the competition, peaking with a 39.25m fifth round throw to go very close to his British record and within two metres of the world record. Germany’s Roland Heiler won silver with 32.59m.

Williams won her fourth gold in the W80 category.

Already in possession of the shot, discus and hammer titles, she added the javelin with a 26.64m throw to go within a metre of her world record.

Her worst throw was 23.83m and the best the opposition mustered was a 11.64m.

Another multi champion is Willoughby as she added the W55 long jump title to her triple jump won earlier in the week.

She only won by nine centimetres but produced a superbly consistent series of 4.56m, 4.66m, 4.57m, 4.50m. 4.69m and 4.63m to defeat Birgit Burzlaff of Germany’s 4.60m.

Melanie Garland jumped 4.50m for third.

Dougie Graham went one place better than the World Masters to win a M40 bronze in the pole vault with a 4.20m leap.

Other top overseas performances included Sweden’s M45 pole vaulter Jonas Asplund (4.70m).

In the 200m heats M80 Anthony Treacher (33.14), M65 Steve Peters (25.83) and W65 Caroline Powell (30.77) qualified fastest.

Powell’s nearest opposition for the final is seemingly fellow Brits Joylyn Saunders-Mullin (32.62) and Caroline Marler (33.46).

M35 100m champion Jonathan Browne (22.13) was a whole second faster than the other seven who made the final.

Qualifying fastest for the semi-finals were M60 John Wright (25.68) and M55 Don Brown (24.51).

In the 800m, Britain had the three fastest M50 finalists led by David Matthew (2:07:26), Dominic Bokor-Ingram (2:07.79) and 1500m champion Mark Symes (2:08.47).

European Masters 1500m champion Mark Symes wins his 800m heat to qualify for Friday’s final @emacvenice2019 pic.twitter.com/o27jYPdYDv

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) September 11, 2019

M60 1500m and 10,000m champion Paul Fletcher was third fastest in his heat (2:18.70) though top ranked former 1:45 international Paul Forbes pulled up injured.

In the W55s 1500m, cross-country and 10,000m champion Clare Elms (2:43.10) and 400m champion Virginia Mitchell (2:47.28) were fastest.

W40 1500m champion Zoe Doyle qualified third fastest in 2:18.67 behind Ireland’s Denise Toner (2:17.89) and Annette Quaid (2:18.34).

Thanks largely to the team golds, Italy are back in front of the medal table with 64 gold, 51 silver and 49 bronze to Germany’s 60, 64 and 59, Britain’s 46, 34 and 46 and Finland’s 27, 15 and 11.

Britain’s gold medallists Days 1-7

Clare Elms: W55 1500m, 10,000m, XC, XC team
Evaun Williams: W80 shot, discus, hammer, javelin
Ian Richards: M70 5000m walk, 10km walk, 10km team walk
Paul Fletcher: M60 1500m, 10,000m
Steve Peters: M65 100m, 400m
John Wright: M60 100m, 400m
Caroline Powell: W65 100m, 400m
Joanne Willoughby: W55 long jump, triple jump
Matt Barnes: M40 1500m
Ed Betts: M45 400mH
Norel Blatchford: W70 10km walk
Guy Bracken: M55 1500m
Ian Broadhurst: M65 300mH
Don Brown: M55 100m
Jonathan Browne: M35 100m
Gintas Degutis: M45 shot
Nisha Desai: W35 400mH
Zoe Doyle: W40 1500m
Lucy Elliott: W50 XC, XC team
Jean Fail: W70 200mH
Iris Holder: W75 triple jump
Jane Horder: W60 300mH
Andrew Leach: M55 10,000m
Virginia Mitchell: W55 400m
Julie Rogers: W55 300mH
Victor Shirley: M75 1500m
Mark Symes: M50 1500m
Ros Tabor: W70 1500m
Anthony Treacher: M80 Triple jump
John Watts: M80 discus
Team gold medallists not included above
Karen Rushton/Sue Ridley: W50 XC
Christine Anthony/Jane Pidgeon: W55 XC
Peter Boszko/Roger Mitchell: M70 10km walk

See @emacvenice2019 on Twitter.