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The high jumper and race walker will lead the British squad at the European U23 Championships in Sweden

Morgan Lake and Callum Wilkinson have been announced as British team co-captains for the European U23 Championships, taking place in Gävle, Sweden, from July 11-14.

Both have won world under-20 titles, in 2014 and 2016 respectively, and are now also established names on senior British teams.

Lake has represented the senior British team at every major championships since claiming double world junior gold in the high jump and heptathlon five years ago, including an Olympic final appearance in the high jump at Rio 2016 and claiming Commonwealth silver last year, while she equalled her 1.97m PB in January.

Wilkinson has lowered his 20km race walk PB to a British under-23 record of 81:34 this year, the second best all-time in the UK, winning European Cup team silver and confirming his spot at the IAAF World Championships later this year with victory at the British Championships last month.

Photo by Joosep Martinson/Getty Images for IAAF

“Every time you put on the British vest it is an amazing experience and especially being chosen to captain the team, it is a really proud moment and a massive honour,” said Lake.

“My first age-group championships was the World Youth Championships in Ukraine in 2013 and I feel I have progressed quite a lot since then.

“It is going to be really nice to be able to lead the team, chat to everyone and talk about my past experiences and see if that helps anyone, whether it is their first championships or like me their last. It is going to be really nice week.”

Wilkinson said: “It is a massive honour to be named captain. It is a massive representation of the hard work that I have put in and the results that I have got this year.

“For a race walker and our event group, it is fantastic to get the nod and all of the recognition that comes with it. Hopefully with my captain’s hat on I can provide some more great results this week and lead from the front.

“I am a fairly experienced age-group competitor, I have been here before, had some good results and hopefully on Sunday I can help close a really great competition for the whole team.”

Lake and Wilkinson were selected to lead the GB squad of 56 by team leader Michael Afilaka.

“It is a pleasure to announce Morgan and Callum as co-captains of the British team for the European U23 Championships,” he said.

“Both Morgan and Callum have had tremendous success at age-group level and have taken that into the senior arena, representing the British team at the biggest events there are.

“Callum is having a great year so far and him being named captain is recognition of not just his own form but of the quality of race walking in the UK.

“They are both not only world-class athletes but also fantastic role models for everyone on the British team here in Gävle.

“I’ve no doubt both will lead by example in competition and also away from competition with their enthusiasm and love for the sport.”

European U23s get set for Gävle

Published in Athletics
Wednesday, 10 July 2019 09:20

A 56-strong GB team and a number of senior continental medallists will be in action at the European U23 Championships in Sweden

Several defending champions and 2018 European senior medallists will be in action at the European U23 Championships taking place in Gävle, Sweden, while the British team (listed below) will have hopes of much success.

The likes of world high jump silver medallist Yuliya Levchenko of Ukraine, European indoor shot put champion Konrad Bukowiecki of Poland, European 100m hurdles champion Elvira Herman of Belarus and European long jump champion Miltiadis Tentoglou of Greece have already achieved international senior honours. However, these will rub shoulders with many other athletes on the up at the event taking place from July 11-14.

READ MORE: Morgan Lake and Callum Wilkinson to captain GB team in Gävle

Aside from Bukowiecki, 800m runner Andreas Kramer (Sweden), triple jumper Nazim Babayev (Azerbaijan) and hammer thrower Bence Halasz (Hungary) return having won in Bydgoszcz in 2017.

As for the women, Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (100m), Britain’s Finette Agyapong (200m), Denmark’s Anna Emilie Møller (3000m steeplechase), Levchenko, Switzerland’s Angelica Moser (pole vault) and France’s Yanis David (long jump) will all attempt to successfully defend their titles.

Two GB athletes are top among the entries on this season’s rankings, although British Athletics’ tough selection policy means most in the squad will be medal contenders.

The fast-improving Shemar Boldizsar is quickest in the 200m line-up, while reigning European under-20 champion Jemma Reekie is fastest in the 1500m and she will also be a contender in the 800m.

Co-captain Morgan Lake, the 2014 world under-20 heptathlon and high jump champion, is the most experienced on the GB team. Fourth on the high jump performance list for this year, she faces tough competition from Belarus’s Karyna Taranda, who has jumped 1.98m this year, as well as Levchenko.

Cameron Chalmers (400m), Spencer Thomas (800m) and Kristal Awuah (200m) are among Britain’s other top contenders for gold.

Timetable and results

The action gets under way on Thursday July 11 and runs until Sunday July 14, with a timetable and live results available here.

Click here for final entries.

TV guide

The championships will be streamed live on the European Athletics website here and coverage will also be shown on Eurosport.

GB team

MEN
100m: Dom Ashwell, Oliver Bromby
200m: Shemar Boldizsar, Toby Harries
400m: Cameron Chalmers
800m: Spencer Thomas
1500m: Piers Copeland, Jake Heyward
5000m: William Fuller, Petros Surafel
10,000m: Emile Cairess, Mahamed Mahamed, Jake Smith
110m hurdles: Cameron Fillery, Tade Ojora, James Weaver
400m hurdles: Alex Knibbs
20km walk: Cameron Corbishley, Callum Wilkinson
High jump: Tom Gale
Pole vault: Adam Hague, Joel Leon Benitez, Charlie Myers
Long jump: Reynold Banigo, Jacob Fincham-Dukes
Triple jump: Ade Mason
Discus: George Armstrong, George Evans
Javelin: Harry Hughes
Hammer: Jake Norris
4x100m: Ashwell; Bromby, Boldizsar, Kaie Chambers-Brown, Jona Efoloko, Michael Olsen
4x400m: Joe Brier, Cameron Chalmers, Ellis Greatrex, Alex Haydock-Wilson, Alex Knibbs, Lee Thompson

WOMEN
200m: Finette Agyapong, Kristal Awuah
400m: Lily Beckford
800m: Ellie Baker, Jemma Reekie
1500m: Reekie
5000m: Jodie Judd, Amelia Quirk
10,000m: Julia Paternain
3000m steeplechase: Aimee Pratt
High jump: Morgan Lake
Long jump: Alice Hopkins
Triple jump: Naomi Ogbeta
Shot put: Divine Oladipo
4x100m: Awuah, Hannah Brier, Shannon Malone, Melissa Roberts, Alisha Rees
4x400m: Agyapong, Beckford, Yasmin Liverpool, Melissa Roberts, Lauren Russell, Hannah Williams

In his latest BBC Sport column, Andy Murray discusses his blossoming partnership with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles and not playing against older brother Jamie at Wimbledon.

Playing alongside Serena at Wimbledon has been great fun so far and, as I joked after our first match, we are both younger siblings - so we are very competitive.

We want to have a few more days and matches playing together, hopefully until the final on Sunday.

I wouldn't say anything has particularly surprised me about Serena as a player or a person, even though I didn't know her particularly well before we played and we have not spent loads of time together.

But you expect someone who has been as successful as she has to be extremely competitive - and she is.

Even though it is mixed doubles, and her priority is singles, she goes out there and wants to win every point.

Her record speaks for itself and the more matches she plays, her performances and level will only increase.

We played better in our second-round match against 14th seeds Fabrice Martin and Raquel Atawo than we did in the first round, and I'm sure we will continue to improve as we get more matches under our belts.

We have put pressure on our opponents in all four of the sets we have played and created a lot of break-point chances, and I think as the matches go on we will get better at converting them.

What I think has worked particularly well so far is our returning games. Some of Serena's returning - especially in our second match - was brilliant.

Martin is a really tall guy and was serving huge, but she put a lot of returns in play on the first serve and then she took big cuts at the returns on the second serve and was making a lot of them.

That is not an easy thing to do and she won't have been used to returning serves of that size. And if you think how little she has been playing, the way she is picking that up is special. It's not something everyone can do.

'Wimbledon has been more relaxed this year'

Only playing in the doubles at Wimbledon is obviously different to playing in the singles and it has been a new experience for me. The tournament has been more relaxed.

I've enjoyed Wimbledon every time I've had the opportunity to play - it is just a little bit more stressful when you're playing singles. When it is doubles you are sharing that load together, which helps.

One of the things that is tough to get used to on court in mixed doubles is the difference between the man's serve and the woman's serve.

Martin's serve was getting up to 138mph and the ball is bouncing up around your head on the return. But when the woman is serving, it is a 30mph or 35mph difference and the ball is staying probably a metre to a metre and a half lower. That can be more challenging to keep the rhythm there.

However, the format is good fun and the crowd love to watch it.

You only see the mixed at the Slams really, but is a different format and one a lot of social tennis players play at local clubs around the country.

Serena and I shared a few jokes out there on Tuesday night - but we can't reveal what they were, unfortunately, because some of the language was not repeatable!

I was feeling more relaxed than the first match and that was probably because Serena was making me laugh out there, and hitting some amazing returns.

We are playing again on Wednesday and I'm looking forward to that. The crowds have been brilliant so far and, hopefully, we can put on another good display.

No tinge of disappointment that Jamie and I won't meet

Jamie losing in the mixed doubles earlier on Tuesday means we won't play against each other here at Wimbledon.

It is a shame he did not do as well in the men's doubles with Neal Skupski as he would have liked, and it is a shame I didn't either after losing in the second round with Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

But it is everyone else who talks about us playing each other. It's not like we are sitting there and texting each other, saying we could play each other in the third round of the men's, or the final of the mixed.

That is not how sport works. Wimbledon is one of the toughest tennis tournament in the world and the best players are here, so it's hard and we both know that.

Just because it is a good story for me to play against my brother it does not mean we are automatically gifted a passage through the draw.

Andy Murray was talking to BBC Sport's Jonathan Jurejko at Wimbledon.

Lock Mitch Lees has left Exeter Chiefs after five years at Sandy Park, agreeing a move to French Top 14 side Brive for the 2019-20 season.

The 30-year-old, who joined from London Welsh in the summer of 2014, made 113 appearances for Exeter.

"Mitch didn't get a lot of game time last season due to injuries and the form of others," said Chiefs director of rugby Rob Baxter.

"We've all agreed to release Mitch from his contract with immediate effect."

The 2019-20 Premiership season will start with Bristol hosting West Country rivals Bath on Friday, 18 October.

Champions Saracens will open the defence of their title the following day at home to Northampton.

Last season's runners-up Exeter welcome Harlequins to Sandy Park, with promoted London Irish at Wasps on the Sunday.

The campaign gets under way about six weeks later than usual because of the Rugby World Cup, which takes place in Japan from 20 September to 2 November.

It will be the second Premiership season running to start at Ashton Gate, with Bristol beating Bath in last year's curtain-raiser after their promotion back to the top flight.

Opening Premiership fixtures

Key dates

While there are no scheduled matches at Twickenham for now, Saracens will take on London rivals Harlequins at Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium during the round of fixtures scheduled for 27-29 March.

It is part of an agreement announced in March, which will see the English and European champions play an annual showpiece game at the 62,062-capacity ground.

The first of the heavyweight Premiership derbies sees Leicester go to Northampton in the fifth round of fixtures, on 30 November.

Worcester head to Kingsholm to face Gloucester in the first Severn derby of the season on 20 December, with Exeter hosting Saracens on 29 December in a repeat of last season's final.

Twickenham will host the Premiership final on Saturday, 20 June - almost three weeks later than in 2018-19.

The world's top football players are all quite different, but which one are you most like? Find out below.

MLBPA: Baseball doing poor job promoting Betts

Published in Baseball
Wednesday, 10 July 2019 02:10

CLEVELAND -- Baseball players' union head Tony Clark says a poor job has been done of marketing Boston Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts, the reigning AL MVP.

"Mookie should be a household name," Clark told the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Tuesday. "Mookie should be a one-name guy. You say Ronaldo. You say Messi. You say Mookie. You should know who Mookie is, and outside of the baseball world, I don't know how many do."

Betts earned his fourth straight All-Star selection after helping Boston win the World Series last year.

"In the grand scheme of things with respect to players that should be at the forefront of every conversation and should be in conversations even with non-baseball fans, Mookie is one of them," Clark said. "No doubt about it. And unless or until we fix that, it's going to be difficult for others to be a part of that conversation, too."

Clark said baseball commissioner Rob Manfred probably would be in position to answer what is required to increase Betts' recognition.

"I want to be able to turn on the TV and see players on products with sponsors, licensees, up and down the rows of the streets, whether you're in a big city or a small city, I would like to see them overlap in other sports and other industries and on TV and in commercials promoting movies," Clark said. "I would love to see all of that, so that our guys are mainstream. Promoting our guys on baseball channels is not going to get us there. Baseball fans know who Mookie is. Non-baseball fans deserve to know who Mookie is."

Betts entered the All-Star Game to start the eighth inning but did not have any plate appearances.

"There were other guys that we wanted to play," said AL manager Alex Cora of the Red Sox. "There were a lot of first-timers, and we kind of mapped it out. And he was going to come up in the ninth. It just happened that we won the game."

Bruins sign RFA winger Heinen to 2-year contract

Published in Hockey
Tuesday, 09 July 2019 21:21

The Boston Bruins signed restricted free agent winger Danton Heinen to a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.8 million, the team announced Tuesday night.

Playing mostly third-line minutes on a deep team that went to the Stanley Cup Final, Heinen put up 11 goals and 34 points in 77 games. That was a bit of a regression from the season before -- his first full season in the NHL -- when he had 16 goals and 47 points.

Heinen, who last week had filed for salary arbitration, is the first of three key restricted free agents to re-sign with the Bruins.

Boston is still working on deals for defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo.

Heinen, who turned 23 Friday, just completed a three-year, $2.9875 million entry-level contract.

A native of Langley, British Columbia, Heinen was selected by the Bruins in the fourth round (116th overall) of the 2014 NHL draft.

Ex-Predators captain Greg Johnson dies at 48

Published in Hockey
Tuesday, 09 July 2019 22:02

Former Nashville Predators captain Greg Johnson has died. He was 48.

Tom Laidlaw, his former agent, told USA Today that Johnson died Monday at his home in Michigan. No other details were provided.

Johnson also played for Detroit, Pittsburgh and Chicago during his 12 seasons in the NHL, finishing with 145 goals and 224 assists in 785 games.

Johnson was with Nashville for the franchise's first season in the league. He spent the final seven years of his career with the Predators.

The Predators called Johnson "a consummate professional and terrific teammate" in a statement released Tuesday. The team also said he "was an integral part of our community and in developing the Predators culture that we experience today."

Johnson was selected by Philadelphia in the second round of the 1989 draft. He made his NHL debut Oct. 5, 1993, scoring for the Red Wings in a 6-4 loss at Dallas.

Rashford: Lingard's holiday video 'a mistake'

Published in Soccer
Wednesday, 10 July 2019 00:58

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has admitted the controversial video shared by Jesse Lingard on their holiday was "a mistake."

A video accidentally posted by Lingard to his 6.3 million Instagram followers during a holiday with Rashford in Miami featured a friend, Jamal Branker, simulating sex with a pillow.

It prompted criticism from supporters and Rashford has accepted it should not have been made public.

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"I haven't spoken to the manager about it," said Rashford.

"From what I saw of it, people have to understand that he was enjoying his holiday and it was a mistake.

"There's not really much I can say about that."

Rashford, 21, has arrived in Australia for the first leg of United's preseason tour a week after committing his future to the club by signing a new five-year deal.

The England international has revealed the squad have been put through their paces by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during double sessions at the WACA cricket ground and believes are already fitter than last summer under Jose Mourinho.

"Everyone is positive," said Rashford. "We know last season wasn't good enough but we've put it behind us. We've worked harder than ever to put things right. Going into the season that's what we're looking to do.

"The sessions have been quite tough but I think it's what we need. If we look at this time last year, we're in much better condition."

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