A car crash almost ended the Birchfield vaulter’s athletics dreams but her comeback has led to national gold in Glasgow

After a car accident three years ago, Sophie Cook was told that she would never vault again. But last summer she secured British Championships silver before going one better in the national indoor pole vault final in Glasgow this weekend, getting gold with an emotional personal best performance.

Entering the competition at 4.15m, Cook went clear at that height on her second try to secure herself a medal, with her club-mate Tilly Hooper and Edinburgh’s Courtney MacGuire the two other athletes left in the contest at that point.

From there, Cook was competing alone, with the 4.00m clearances by Hooper and MacGuire proving to be their best to secure them silver and bronze respectively.

Cook, who works as a physio to support her athletics, then cleared 4.25m at the first time of asking before vaulting 4.35m on her second go.

With a previous best of 4.46m set this winter, the 25-year-old had the bar raised to 4.50m which she soared over first time before three unsuccessful attempts at 4.55m.

“I don’t think it has quite sunk in yet,” said Cook, who shed tears of joy after reaching new heights.

“4.50m is a bit of a benchmark height that I’ve really wanted for a long time. To do it at a championships here with an incredible crowd, it was an amazing experience and one I won’t forget.”

She added: “When I had the car accident they said I would never pole vault again. This (pole vault) is something I’ve always wanted to do so we put everything into it and I’m really glad that we did.

“I didn’t expect to be here (competing at this level) at one point but from putting all that hard work in it just shows that it does pay off and it’s worth it.”

Wales coach Wayne Pivac believes referee Matt Carley made a wrong decision to not award his side a key second-half penalty try in the 27-23 defeat by France.

Paul Willemse knocked on a try-scoring pass from Ken Owens to Josh Adams which could have been a penalty try.

The officials awarded a scrum by deeming the offence accidental.

"We have had a look at the slap down and I think the officials may have got that one wrong," said Pivac.

"That killed momentum as well."

Wales trailed 27-16 at the time and a penalty try would have reduced the deficit to four points. Carley decided to stick with the on-field decision by his assistant Karl Dickson after watching television replays.

Pivac was also disappointed when France were awarded a scrum penalty in the second-half when he felt the visitors' set-piece had scrummaged illegally.

It was a controversial issue raised before the game when Wales prop Wyn Jones claimed France would "chase and cheat" at the scrum.

"Another disappointing moment was when the French tight-head [Demba Bamba] came on and went straight across the scrum and was rewarded for that," added Pivac.

"Those were the big moments in the game. The scrums, from our point of view, had gone OK up until that point.

"You have got to go with the forward motion but he clearly went across the scrum."

Pivac also admitted there was a key moment when France led 17-16 and man of the match Romain Ntamack intercepted a Nick Tompkins pass and sprinted away to score.

"If we convert one or two more we are truly in games and winning," said Pivac.

"You come back to the intercept, three versus one. It was a 14-point swing.

"If we are accurate with our passing we probably score at the other end. That was a big momentum shift.

"We're frustrated with a couple of decisions we made ourselves after creating opportunities on one or two occasions.

"But I thought Nick played very well and was then pushed out to the wing. He did well there, he was involved in that last play.

"He bounced back well from Dublin."

Pivac gave France credit as Fabien Galthie's side claimed their first win in Cardiff since 2010 and remain on course for a Grand Slam.

"Having said all that, the French played very well and we have to take that loss on the chin," said Pivac.

"We scrambled very well and we created at the end of the game with some players playing out of position.

"We showed a lot of character to come back and have an opportunity to steal it at the end."

Pivac also confirmed George North failed a head injury assessment (HIA) after a heavy first-half collision, while fellow wing Josh Adams was forced off the field with an ankle problem.

"George will go through the normal protocols for an HIA, while we will have to check Josh in the next day or two to see how severe it is," added Pivac.

Wales next face England at Twickenham on 7 March having lost successive games against Ireland and France.

LAS VEGAS – Persistent rain forced the cancellation of NASCAR Cup Series qualifying Saturday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, barely 90 minutes after NASCAR Xfinity Series time trials were also washed out.

It’s just the second time in track history that Cup Series qualifying has been cancelled, following a similar rainstorm in the desert in March of 2013.

As a result, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. will make up the front row for Sunday’s Pennzoil 400, with the grid set based on owner points from 2019 as per the rule book.

Busch won Friday’s NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas and scored his lone Cup Series victory at his home track in 2009, 11 years ago.

Truex is the most recent Cup Series winner at Las Vegas, having won the playoff race at the track in September.

Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin will share the second row of the grid, followed by Joey Logano in fifth.

Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Clint Bowyer and Chase Elliott filled out the first five rows of the grid for Sunday’s race.

Jimmie Johnson, who paced Cup Series practice on Friday evening, rolls off 18th.

After the official qualifying washout, NASCAR officials confirmed that three Toyota teams – the No. 11 of Hamlin, the No. 18 of Busch and the No. 95 of Christopher Bell – were assessed L1-level penalties for issues with the nose area of their respective cars.

All three will have to drop to the rear of the field on the pace laps Sunday afternoon.

Sunday’s Pennzoil 400 is slated for a 3:30 p.m. ET start, with live coverage on FOX, the Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, channel 90.

LINEUP: NASCAR Cup Series; Las Vegas Motor Speedway; Feb. 22, 2020

1. Kyle Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Joey Logano
6. Kyle Larson
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Chase Elliott
11. William Byron
12. Alex Bowman
13. Kurt Busch
14. Aric Almirola
15. Ross Chastain
16. Erik Jones
17. Cole Custer
18. Jimmie Johnson
19. Matt DiBenedetto
20. Ryan Preece
21. Austin Dillon
22. Christopher Bell
23. Chris Buescher
24. Ty Dillon
25. Tyler Reddick
26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
27. Darrell Wallace Jr.
28. Michael McDowell
29. John Hunter Nemechek
30. Corey LaJoie
31. Joey Gase
32. Quin Houff
33. Brennan Poole
34. Garrett Smithley
35. Daniel Suarez
36. Reed Sorenson
37. JJ Yeley
38. Timmy Hill

LOS ANGELES -- When the Boston Celtics retire and raise Kevin Garnett's jersey to the rafters next season, Doc Rivers wants Ray Allen to be there in attendance.

The LA Clippers coach said on Saturday that he has a role to play in mending the rift that still exists between Allen and some of his former Celtics teammates such as Garnett.

After Allen left Boston to sign with the Miami Heat in 2012, some of those Celtics who won a title together in 2008 haven't forgiven or let go of the beef with the shooting guard.

"I hope not, but it's proven to be, yeah," Rivers said when asked whether there's still beef between those Celtics and Allen before the Clippers faced the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. "I think it's ridiculous, but it's still there, with some guys, not with every guy.

"KG is getting his jersey retired next year, and I'm hoping everyone is there," Rivers continued. "I'll make the right calls -- that doesn't mean the right things will happen."

Allen joined some of his former Heat teammates to celebrate Dwyane Wade's jersey retirement and the Celtics rift came up again when Udonis Haslem said he would fight any former Celtics who still have a problem with Allen if need be.

"Once we knew you were one of us, it was all love," Haslem said. "If they got a problem with you, they still got a problem with us then. Whatever that is. Whatever they want to do. We old, D-Wade retired, CB [Chris Bosh] retired, we got nothing to do but fight. So if they want to fight, we can fight."

In 2017, Paul Pierce posted a picture of himself and Allen on Instagram asking that Garnett and Rajon Rondo let any anger go with the hashtag #burythehatchet. Like Rivers has said before, Pierce said that the bond that they all have from winning the title together in 2008 will never be broken.

Rivers plans on trying to help all sides heal and have Allen be there in Boston when Garnett's No. 5 is retired.

"I have a role in it," Rivers said. "I just think we won a title with Ray, and we need to get over it."

Stephen Curry on Saturday said he's optimistic he'll return to the court on March 1 when the Golden State Warriors host the Washington Wizards.

Curry hasn't played since breaking his hand after a collision with Phoenix Suns center Aron Baynes on Oct. 30.

The Warriors had yet to schedule an exact date for Curry's return, saying only that it would come sometime in early March.

"It's always been March 1," Curry said when asked about a specific target return date.

Cross-country runners battle gruelling conditions at Wollaton Park in historic Saucony-sponsored event

Calum Johnson led a Northern one-two-three as he won Gateshead’s first English National senior title since Brendan Foster in 1977.

The Northern champion (pictured) made his move on the long final lap of Wollaton Park in Nottingham and eventually won by 12 seconds in 43:36 on the supposedly 12km course.

He had only finished 39th in the recent Armagh 5km but knew his 14:14 time showed he was in good form for 12km which he felt was more to his liking.

“I felt strong and pushed on the hill and thought that as I had beaten my rivals in the Northern I knew I had a good chance,” he said.

Joe Steward and Linton Taylor matched their Northern positions in second and third. Adam Hickey did well to finish fourth after spending time putting on a shoe that came off in the early stages of one of the muddiest ever National courses and amid strong winds.

Led by Max Nicholls in 11^th, Tonbridge won the team event.

Start of the Saucony English men’s National at Nottingham pic.twitter.com/JVoUmHpJsS

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 22, 2020

Anna Emilie Møller added to her European under-23 and BUCS victories this winter with another gold. Running in the Aldershot vest, the St Mary’s student became the first ever Danish winner of the title as she broke clear on the last lap to win in 32:59.

“It was the toughest cross-country I have run,” said Møller, who next competes in a 10km in Spain before embarking on a track season which should culminate in the Olympic steeplechase.

She won a second gold on the day as Aldershot defeated Leeds by 10 points in the team contest.

Anna Moller becomes the first ever Danish winner of the Saucony English National women’s title with Jess Judd following her home. pic.twitter.com/xVFTyRjoZ5

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) February 22, 2020

Jess Judd was pleased to finish second in 33:20 and said: “The course and mud did not suit me but I am pleased with my run and my season, which is the best I’ve had.”

She did technically win the English title and joked: “Maybe I should run in the Danish Championships next year!”

Her next race is also on the road as she makes her half-marathon debut in New York next month.

Third was Bronwen Owen while South of England champion Jess Gibbon was fourth ahead of an inspired Charlotte Dannatt.

The junior women’s title was retained by Amelia Quirk in 25:33 – five seconds ahead of fellow Mick Woods-coached Isobel Fry. Quirk had the added bonus of leading her Bracknell team to a one point victory over Aldershot.

Aldershot did win the under-17 women’s race but only on countback from Blackheath as both teams scored 119 points. The individual title went to Maya Todd McIntyre, who won by 10 seconds in 21:59 from Kirsten Stilwell with Lara Crawford taking bronze.

Kiya Dee has one of the biggest wins of the day as she won the under-15 girls title by 22 seconds in 18:35. Grace Roberts and Jessica Bailey took the other medals with Roberts leading Vale Royal to team gold.

Zoe Gilbody made up for her Midlands under-13 loss to Shaikira King as she gained a clear win in 15:00 as it was a Midlands top three as Scarlett Williams took bronze.

With two in the top 10 Tonbridge won the team race as Gilbody’s Chiltern Harriers weren’t at their best as South of England winner Francesca Baxter dropped out.

Zak Mahamed showed he is successfully following on the footsteps of his brother Mahamed, who won the senior title last year, as he won the junior men’s title in 36:27. European under-20 1500m medallist Joshua Lay was 15 seconds back in second as Shaftesbury won team gold.

Will Barnicoat, who has twice been second in the National, finally won gold as the South of England runner-up proved too strong for Flynn Jennings, who set a UK under-17 5km record at Armagh last week.

Mohamed Ali made it a South 1-2-3 with bronze and it was also a South clean sweep in the team contest as Barnicoat’s Windsor led home Tonbridge and Aldershot.

English Schools champion Lewis Sullivan continued his winning run in the under-15 race in 16:30 but he only won by two seconds from last year’s under-13 champion Benjamin Peck with Northern champion Chris Perkins third.

Alden Collier has dominated the under-13 boys age group all season and he won yet again but had to fight all the way as he won by a single second in 14:21. Gianleo Stubbs and James Lewis took the other medals as Collier’s Chiltern won the team race by 60 points.

World number two Simona Halep has won her 20th WTA title, beating Elena Rybakina 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) in the Dubai Tennis Championships final.

The Romanian, who reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January, struggled in the first set but fought back to lift the trophy.

Rybakina, 20, playing her fourth final this year, took the two-time Grand Slam winner to a third-set tiebreak.

"I played so hard, I really wanted to win this tournament," said Halep.

World number 19 Rybakina broke into the top 50 in September and in 2020 has reached the finals of the Shenzhen Open and St Petersburg Ladies Trophy as well as winning the Hobart International.

Victory at the Aviation Club Tennis Centre is former world number one Halep's first title of 2020.

"I have such crazy emotions right now, it has been a great match," Halep added.

"Rybakina is still really young and has many years ahead of her in the game.

"It was a little bit tough, I was too nervous. You have to fight for every ball, I think I gave my best this week."

Scotland can now play with the "pressure lifted" after a gritty first Six Nations win against Italy, says head coach Gregor Townsend.

Tries from Stuart Hogg, Chris Harris and Adam Hastings earned a 17-0 win.

It came after defeats by Ireland and England without scoring a try, on the back of a poor World Cup campaign.

"I'd like to think we'd go into our last two games with any pressure that might have been on our shoulders lifted," Townsend told BBC Scotland.

"Maybe we didn't play as fluently, partly because of the way Italy were playing, but also maybe because we knew how important a game and result was for us to now kick on in the championship."

In a scrappy match with 17 turnovers, Scotland kept Italy scoreless, having only conceded one try against both Ireland and England.

Townsend paid credit to defence coach Steve Tandy, who replaced Matt Taylor shortly before the tournament, and believes the win can provide a platform for the final two matches of the tournament.

They host France at Murrayfield in two weeks' time before finishing against Wales in Cardiff.

"The performance wasn't perfect by any means, but the defence was almost perfect when you have a zero against you," he added.

"When you take the best bits of attack from this game and the Ireland game and put that together we can be a real threat for France, and Wales the following week."

Hogg's superb individual effort opened the scoring in Rome, providing the perfect response to costly errors by the Scotland captain in the last two matches.

"It was world class," Townsend said of the try. "He almost had another with a few similar line breaks in the second half.

"He's been full of positive energy and shown good leadership through a tough time losing games and there are other distractions."