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      London Marathon planning for world-record 100,000 runners in October – with half of racers taking part ‘virtually’

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      LONDON MARATHON bosses plan to smash the world record for the biggest event of its kind – with 100,000 runners on Sunday October 3.
      A record 50,000 participants will be able to take part in the rescheduled race later this year from Blackheath to The Mall.

      Runners head towards the finish of the 2019 London MarathonCredit: Reuters

      On the same day, there will be 50,000 entries open for those willing to race in the ‘virtual’ London Marathon.
      Runners will be expected to cover 26.2 miles in a location of their choosing but must complete the distance within that calendar day.
      Organisers hope this will help swell charity coffers which were significantly affected by the cancellation of the 2020 race due to the Covid-19 crisis.
      Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Event Director, said: “With a national vaccination programme underway, we hope to see an unprecedented 100,000 people take part.

      “The London Marathon is a wonderful example of sport as a force for good while raising millions for charity.
      “It’s all about communities and people coming together and one of our founding pillars is to have fun and provide some happiness and a sense of achievement in a troubled world.

      Shura Kitata of Ethiopia, left, won the men’s elite event last yearCredit: EPA

      Kenya’s Brigid Kosel was the first woman home last yearCredit: Getty – Pool

      “The world record-breaking success of the virtual event in 2020 and the incredible stories from participants across the globe showed how the world’s greatest marathon brought light and hope in the darkness of the pandemic.
      “We want to offer that again and we have also accelerated the plans we have been working on for some years to increase the number of finishers on the streets of London to 50,000.

      “People can run wherever they are in the world, they can run for charity, they can run for their mental or physical health, or run for the sheer enjoyment of it. Whatever the reason, they will be part of a unique day.”
      The elite events were run last year, with Shura Kitata of Ethiopia winning the men’s race and Kenya’s Brigid Kosel the first woman home.

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      Lloyd Cowan dead at 58: Jessica Ennis-Hill and Team GB stars pay tribute to highly-respected athletics coach

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      TOP British track-and-field stars paid tribute to respected athletics coach Lloyd Cowan, who has died aged 58.
      Cowan represented England in the 110m hurdles at the 1994 Commonwealth Games in Victoria before turning to full-time coaching.

      NINTCHDBPICT000630022437Credit: Getty Images – Getty

      Significantly, he helped Christine Ohuruogu, 36, to the Olympic 400m title in Beijing in 2008, silver four years later at the London 2012 Games and two world titles.
      Britain’s former Olympic 100m champion Linford Christie said: “The world of track lost another family member and it hurts more than I could have ever imagined.
      “RIP Lloyd Cowan – the space you left cannot be filled. My condolences to all who knew and loved you.”
      Olympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill said she was “absolutely gutted”.

      Ennis added: “I’ve so many great memories of spending time with Lloyd on training camps.
      “He always believed in me and gave me some great advice and coaching tips along the way in the hurdles.
      “Pure passion in what he did.”

      Andy Turner, who won Commonwealth and European 110m hurdles titles under Cowan, said: “Heartbroken, absolutely heartbroken to hear that my coach has passed away.

      “Twelve good years with this man, I owe him everything.”
      A UK Athletics statement said: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of Lloyd Cowan.
      “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”

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      Danny Mills’ Olympic hopeful son George discusses choosing track over football field after becoming national 1500m champ

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      GEORGE MILLS is one of Britain’s most exciting young athletes and was crowned 1500m national champion last September in Manchester.
      His father is Danny Mills, the former Leeds and Man City defender, who appeared for England at the 2002 World Cup finals.

      SunSport talks to George Mills, one of the country’s most exciting young athletesCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      His dad is ex-England, Man City and Leeds star Danny Mills

      SunSport’s ROB MAUL spoke with the father and son about athletics, football and life lessons.
      Maul: George, given your dad was a famous footballer, was there an expectation you’d follow him?
      George: I grew up playing football like most kids. But there was never any pressure. If you ask me now, it’d be amazing to be a footballer but that’s not how life turns out. I won a couple of cross-country races for my school when I was 12-13. When I made the English schools teams, running snowballed from there.
      Danny: George was born in Essex in May 1999 but at three weeks old, my wife and I moved to Yorkshire when I signed for Leeds from Charlton. I’ve a daughter Mya (19), who is studying English Language at Uni, a son Stan (17), who is an Everton full-time scholar, and my youngest is Spike (15).

      Maul: Danny, at what age did George start to beat you in races?
      Danny: I’ve always been a keen runner. But it was about four years ago, when I was doing my first London Marathon for the Bobby Moore Fund. George was about 15 and I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t take that well in the slightest.
      George: He never let me win anything.
      Danny: For many years, that last 50m before getting back to the house, I’d suddenly put a sprint in, say I won and dip at the line! Sadly those days are long gone. I never let my kids win. I didn’t believe in that. Genetically my kids are all fit. But you can have as much talent as you like, the one thing you can’t teach is work ethic.

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      George is the 1500m national champion after success in ManchesterCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Dad Danny is extremely proud of his son’s progress in the sport

      Maul: Has that tough love hardened George up?
      Danny: There were a couple of races early in his career where, like most young men, they get carried away, the ego and testosterone kick in. I gave him super tough love. I told him: ‘You didn’t do what your coach told you, you didn’t execute the plan, you’ve messed it up.’ Yes, you put the phone down and wonder: Have I been too harsh? Have I been OTT? So when he won the 2020 British trials, there was relief. Hallelujah, finally the penny had dropped.
      George: Winning that race was an amazing feeling. But strange because there was nobody there to share it with. It was a different experience but those are the times we are in.
      Maul: Tell me about the ‘Mills Mentality’?
      George: My best mate came up with that slogan. It’s all about giving your all, day-in, day-out, overcoming obstacles, being resilient and hard-working.
      Danny: If you’re going to do it – do it properly. Or don’t bother. I’ve a T-shirt on the wall that says: Play hard or get off the field. If you don’t you’ll never know how good you are. The mind gives up before the body.

      George and Danny are dreaming of an Olympics appearance for Great Britain

      There’s still a long road ahead but George is running on the right trackCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      Maul: George, tell me about the injuries you have had.
      George: In April 2017 I got a stress fracture on my right tibia. November 2017 it was a stress fracture on my lower back. Then I had a grade three hamstring tear in May 2018 in the right leg. So, I didn’t race for two years. Sport is about dealing with the highs and lows.
      Danny: Sport is cruel at times. If you don’t win sometimes, it’s a big disappointment and that takes a lot of managing.
      Maul: George, are you hopeful of qualifying for Team GB at the Tokyo Olympics?
      George: I still see it as a long shot. There’s great competition in the UK within middle-distance running. You’ve guys like Jake Wightman and Charlie Grice, who’ve run 3:29/3:30. I still have to run the qualifying time. It’s all about continuing to improve. I’m based in Brighton and coached by Jon Bigg, whose wife is 1992 400m hurdles Olympic champion Sally Gunnell. I run past Steve Ovett’s statue down on the seafront most days!
      Danny: Even though the Olympics have been delayed, it is still a long shot. Athletes, especially 800m or 1500m runners, don’t really peak until 25, 26, 27 years old. So it’s an awfully long journey you have to go on and time well. But he’s just enjoying it.
      George Mills will receive support in 2021 from the British Athletics Olympic Futures Academy Programme

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      Tokyo Olympics chiefs want athletes to get vaccinated against coronavirus as priority to make sure games go ahead

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      INTERNATIONAL Olympic Committee member Dick Pound has called for athletes competing in this year’s Tokyo games to be given early access to the coronavirus vaccine.
      The event was postponed by 12 months due to the pandemic, although there are growing concerns it could be delayed again due to a sharp increase in Covid cases in Japan.

      The 2020 Olympic Games will take place in Tokyo from July 23 until August 8Credit: AFP

      Dick Pound wants all athletes set to compete at the Olympic Games to be vaccinated as soon as possible Credit: christinne muschi

      And Pound reckons the best way for the Games – which are scheduled to get underway in July – to go ahead is for all participants to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
      The Canadian told Sky News: “In Canada where we might have 300 or 400 athletes – to take 300 or 400 vaccines out of several million in order to have Canada represented at an international event of this stature, character and level – I don’t think there would be any kind of a public outcry about that.
      “It’s a decision for each country to make and there will be people saying they are jumping the queue but I think that is the most realistic way of it going ahead.”
      Pound’s call for athletes to be immunised comes just a few weeks after IOC president Thomas Bach insisted athletes won’t be forced to take the vaccine.

      He said: “There are too many issues to consider. This is a question of private health.
      “It is a question also of (the) health conditions of each and every person. It’s a question of availability.”
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      British Olympic Association chief Andy Anson insists British athletes will only be given the vaccine when it’s appropriate for them to receive it.

      He told Sky: “They won’t get priority access now because I think everyone – athletes included – would agree that the priority is the people who need it most; the frontline workers, the elderly, those with health issues and that’s the first wave of vaccination.
      ‘There will come a time, hopefully in late spring/summer ahead of the Olympic Games when the athletes can be vaccinated.

      “But we’ll do that when it’s appropriate and when the government feels it’s appropriate.
      “We will encourage athletes that whenever possible they have the vaccination because it is better for their health, and it is also a demonstration of solidarity with their fellow athletes and also the Japanese people.”
      Although Japan has experienced a steep rise in Covid cases, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is confident the rescheduled games will go ahead as planned.
      He said: “This summer, we will hold the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which are a symbol of world unity.
      “We will make steady preparations to realise a safe and secure event.”

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      Seb Coe advises British Golden Girls to ring Jessica Ennis-Hill before Tokyo Olympics

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      SEB COE has the perfect advice for Britain’s Golden Girls before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics: Go and talk to Jessica Ennis-Hill.
      Sprinter Dina Asher-Smith and all-rounder Katarina Johnson-Thompson will have the weight of the country on their shoulders when they get to Japan this July.

      Jessica Ennis-Hill coped with the pressure of the London 2012 Olympics to win heptathlon goldCredit: Reuters

      The pair are reigning world champions in the 200m and heptathlon respectively and will be expected to achieve glory in the Japanese capital.
      Only NINE women have won gold for Britain in track-and-field since the Tokyo 1964 Games.
      One of those is the now retired Ennis-Hill, 34, who delivered heptathlon gold eight years ago when she was the poster-girl of the London 2012 Olympics.
      And Coe, a two-time 1500m Olympic champion, reckons the Sheffield star knows better than anyone had to deal with pressure.

      Coe, 64, said: “The one person that I would advise them probably to go and talk to –and I’m sure she would be amenable to it because she’s that type of person – is Jessica Ennis-Hill.
      “She went through London 2012 as the poster child and in seasons in advance, the World Championships, she produced terrific performances.

      Ennis-Hill, pictured with Coe and then London mayor Boris Johnson, was a woman in demand in 2012Credit: Graham Hughes – The Times
      “She probably would give insights of a more topical nature than I’m able to give.
      “You know I’m probably throwing her a bit of a curveball here.

      “But anytime spent talking to her just about what it was like to have to withstand that expectation.
      “I honestly do not think there was anybody in the Games in London that probably had more expectation and pressure sitting on their shoulders.
      “What she really was very clear about is that she did not leave her coaching environment.
      “She didn’t play around with variables. She stuck to the same system, the same city, the same training venues, and she kept it about as normal as she possibly could.

      Ennis-Hill, now retired from athletics, is a mum of twoCredit: Reuters
      “That’s not always easy in an Olympic year but I think she wasn’t just perfect in her competitions.
      “I think her build-up, given the enormity of the pressure on her, was probably textbook.”
      Britain won four athletic gold medals at the London Games and then two at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
      Over the past four years the sport has lost some of its allure in the eyes of the British public.
      There were no big events in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the governing body in this country has seen big changes with a new head coach (Christian Malcolm) and CEO (Jo Coates).
      Even though he is the head of World Athletics, Coe plays an active role with the young British squad, often speaking on the telephone and Zoom with the emerging talents.
      Coe said: “There is a fantastic crop of young athletes coming through.
      “For many years I have often sat and chatted to the middle-distance athletes, male and female, that have come through.

      Dina Asher-Smith stunned the world of sprinting in 2019 when she won the 200m world titleCredit: PA:Press Association
      “I’ve had similar conversations with Laura Muir, Jake Wightman, who I speak to a lot.
      “I had a long conversation with Daniel Rowden the other day.
      “I’m actually comforted now that from the discussions I’m having with these athletes, that this current crop really do understand, probably more than earlier generations exactly what it takes in order to get to the highest level.
      “We’ve got a really powerful cohort of young athletes coming through.
      “And that’s got to be good commercially, that’s got to be good Box Office for us.”

      Katarina Johnson-Thompson was crowned world heptathlon champion in Doha in 2019Credit: PA:Press Association More

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      Team GB Olympic hopefuls told they CAN have coronavirus vaccine over fears it could contribute to failed drug tests

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      BRITISH Tokyo Olympic hopefuls have been reassured they CAN take the Covid-19 vaccine without danger of it contributing to failed doping tests.
      UK anti-doping chiefs admitted last week that they were unable to be certain if there was a risk of the vaccine bringing positive test results.

      Team GB Olympic hopefuls have been reassured they can take the Covid-19 vaccine before the the GamesCredit: EPA

      But world bosses have now confirmed the vaccine does not contain any prescribed substances.
      UKAD’s Head of Science and Medicine, Nick Wojek said: “We welcome the statement made by WADA regarding their position on COVID-19 vaccines. 
      “UK athletes should feel confident that they will not be in breach of the World Anti-Doping Code if they receive the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
      “The health and wellbeing of athletes is of primary importance to us and we understand the deployment of new vaccines will raise questions from athletes. 

      “We will continue to liaise with WADA so that athletes continue to receive the assurances they need about the anti-doping status of new vaccines as they are approved for use.”
      Meanwhile, chiefs are confident fans will be able to attend the Games in Tokyo under plans to vaccinate spectators and athletes upon their arrival in Japan.
      International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach said recently: “In order to protect the Japanese people, and out of respect for the Japanese people, the IOC will undertake great effort so that Olympic participants and visitors will arrive here vaccinated if, by then, a vaccine is available.”
      The 2020 Summer Olympics were originally due to start last July.

      But they were postponed for a year due to the outbreak of the pandemic.
      It had been claimed the Olympics would not go ahead without a vaccine.
      Should that scenario unfold, it would be only the fourth time in modern history that the event would have been cancelled
      The other three times were called off due to the two World Wars, in 1916, 1940 and 1944.

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      Team GB athlete Eilish McColgan and partner in video hack hell as private footage posted online

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      TEAM GB athlete Eilish McColgan and her partner have called in cops after hackers stole one of their private videos.
      The track star, 30, and boyfriend Michael Rimmer, 34, were left distraught after an iCloud account was raided and personal footage posted online.

      Brit track star Eilish McColgan and boyfriend Michael Rimmer have had a private video stolen

      Middle-distance runner Eilish, from Dundee, is also thought to have informed Scottish Athletics bosses of the theft.
      Crooks broke into the web library, which backs up Apple devices’ data, to view the pair’s films.
      A source said: “The couple are absolutely devastated by this. They feel completely violated that not only has someone accessed them but that one was made public.
      “Eilish called in the police when she found out.”

      And cyber security expert Professor Anthony Glees warned that using internet storage services made people more likely to become victims of hacking.

      Middle-distance runner Eilish McColgan has competed at the last two Olympic GamesCredit: PA:Press Association
      He said: “It is barmy to post pictures or video of yourself anywhere.
      “Anything written online or any uploaded images can be hacked. People are extremely skilled at doing it now.
      “If your password is memorable to you it’s probably memorable to anyone else. All our information is out there.”

      We told how Olympic 5000m hopeful Eilish and English 800m ace Michael were caught up in a horror taxi pile-up in Delhi, India last year.

      They were left “shivering with shock” after a speeding motor smashed into their cab and overturned.
      Eilish, whose mum Liz, 56, won the 10,000m world title in 1991, recalled how they were surrounded by a furious mob after the crash before being rescued by a local who drove them away.
      douglas.walker@the-sun.co.uk

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      Paris 2024 Olympics to feature BREAKDANCING in bid to appeal to younger audience

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      THE 2024 Paris Olympics will feature breakdancing in attempt to attract a younger audience. The move was confirmed on Monday by International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. As well as breakdancing, fans will also be able to watch surfing, skateboarding and sports climbing. But those three will make their debuts at the Tokyo Games first. […] More