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      in Athletics

      What are Nike sprint ‘super shoes’ worn by Dina Asher-Smith and why was original design axed for Toyko Olympics?

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      NIKE’S have released a new sprint ‘super shoe’ after the originals were axed by the company – because they would not have got approval from World Athletics.And the company have released an adapted version of the running spikes to be worn by Dina Asher-Smith at the Tokyo Olympics.
      Dina Asher-Smith is among dozens of athletes wearing Nike’s new sprint spikesCredit: Getty
      Nike’s new sprint spikes have been controversial but the original designs were never released before these versions were unveiled for the OlympicsCredit: Rex
      Nike’s new running spikes have been shelved ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics
      The shoes are a different design to ones we have seen before on an athletics track
      The controversial shoes were being branded as a Usain Bolt-busting solution from Nike – but the American company have shelved the shoes with World Athletics approval all but impossible.
      Instead they have released an adapted version, which have been approved by boffins at World Athletics.
      And rival companies are also coming up with footwear that has similar technology – with Adidas among the chasing pack.
      They have been a big talking point at the Olympics.
      What are the Nike Zoom Air Viperfly spikes and will they be allowed at the Tokyo Olympics?
      Nike’s cutting-edge running spikes are designed specifically for 100m sprinters.
      All sprinters wear footwear with small metal spikes on the bottom for better grip.
      Over the last few decades, manufacturers have found ways to make the foot plate more rigid and lighter, which has been approved by athletics officials.
      But the Nike shoes have a carbon fibre mechanism under the ball of the foot that acts like a springboard, generating more power in the sprinter’s stride.
      Nike said: “This composition, developed alongside the Nike Air Zoom Alphafly NEXT%, was designed to provide responsiveness and energy.
      “It follows deep study of the strategy and performance of the race, and focuses attention on what athletes need most in the last 20 meters of the sprint.”
      Currently, we will NOT be seeing these spikes at the Tokyo Olympics, if it goes ahead in the summer of 2021.
      Nike will not make these shoes available for athletes in Japan.
      The shoes have to be approved by World Atheltics, which approve certain lines of footwear ahead of each world championships, with specific limits on sole thickness.
      Nike told SunSport: “World Athletics changed the rules so the shoe will not be produced given Nike respects the rules.
      “We have been researching, developing, building, and testing performance footwear for half a century.
      “The athlete will always be our focus and we will continue to create new and better solutions for their needs.”
      The black and green spikes are being described as the fastest of all time
      What shoes did Usain Bolt run his 100m and 200m world records in?
      Retired Jamaican track icon Bolt ran 9.58sec in the 100m in 2009 at the World Championships in Berlin.

      He then went on and broke his own 200m world record, setting an all-time fastest of 19.19sec in the half lap sprint.
      Bolt wore Puma spikes his whole career and was endorsed by the German company since his earliest days as a promising young teenager.
      Usain Bolt broke the 100m and 200m world records in Berlin in 2009, which still stand todayCredit: AFP – Getty More

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      Who is Andrew Pozzi and how long has he been dating Katarina Johnson-Thompson?

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      ANDREW POZZI is Team GB’s big hope in the men’s 110 metres hurdles – and he is the male half of British Athletics’ power couple.The hurdler is looking to become Britain’s first medallist in decades when he goes up against the high barriers and the best in the world.
      Andrew Pozzi, left, qualified for the Olympic final after finishing fourth in his semi-finalCredit: Getty
      Andrew Pozzi and Katarina Johnson-Thompson have been together since 2018
      Even the great Colin Jackson, who held the world record, never won a medal at the Olympics.
      Who is Andrew Pozzi?
      Andrew Pozzi, 29, is a British track and field athlete from Stratford-upon-Avon.
      The began running with Stratford Athletics Club as a youngster and ran 13.29sec in the hurdles as a youngster, the fastest time ever run by a British junior.
      Pozzi made his senior breakthrough at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul, where he finished fourth at the age of 19.
      He later won the British Universities, or BUCS, Championships at the London Olympic stadium where he achieved the Olympics ‘A’ qualifying standard and berth at the home Games.
      Unfortunately he suffered a hamstring injury and had to withdraw during his first heat.
      In 2018, Pozzi beat Jarret Eaton to win the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham over the shorter 60m hurdles event, with a time of 7.46sec.
      In this Olympics, Pozzi has improved through the rounds, running 13.50sec in his heat, where he qualified in fourth, then 13.32sec in his semi-final, where he was again fourth.
      He will be in lane two for the final, next to world No1 Grant Holloway, who is favourite to win gold.
      How long has Andrew Pozzi been dating Katarina Johnson-Thompson?
      The hurdler and multi-event world champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson started going out in 2018.
      A year later, KJT became a heptathlon world champion and de facto favourite to win gold in the Tokyo Olympics.
      🥇 TOKYO OLYMPICS LIVE: All the latest from the Games with our live blog
      🥇 WHAT’S ON TODAY? Best bits to watch at the Olympics and UK times for your favourite stars

      But little did either of them know it would be put back by 12 months, leading to an injury nightmare for Johnson-Thompson, who has been battling an Achilles injury.
      Unfortunately for KJT, 29, she was forced out of the Olympic heptathlon after a pull in the opposite calf to the leg she injured earlier this year.
      The pair have shared adorable pictures together on Instagram and have juggled it all while getting through their gruelling training schedules. More

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      in Soccer

      Is Chelsea vs Tottenham on TV? Channel, live stream, kick-off time and team news for London derby friendly

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      CHAMPIONS LEAGUE winners Chelsea are back in pre-season action as they take on London rivals Tottenham.The Blues were controversial 2-1 winners over Arsenal at the weekend in the first match of the Mind Series.
      Tammy Abraham netted the winner for Chelsea against ArsenalCredit: Reuters
      Tottenham meanwhile have the Blues away and then the Gunners at home as Nuno Espirito Santo gets to grips with life in North London.
      But it’s unlikely he will have Harry Kane available as the England captain is no longer training with the club.
      What time does Chelsea vs Tottenham kick off?

      Is Chelsea vs Tottenham on TV and can I live stream it?

      Chelsea vs Tottenham is an online-only event in the UK.
      You can stream it on ChelseaFC.com, The Fifth Stand app or Spurs TV.
      The match will cost £7.99 on all three platforms.

      Team news
      Jorginho, Emerson Palmieri, Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James have returned to training this week but this fixture could come too soon for them.
      Edouard Mendy started for the Blues against Arsenal but Kepa could get the chance to prove himself in this game.
      Tammy Abraham is likely to keep his place after scoring the winner against the Gunners, but Michy Batshuayi could provide an alternative option.
      Harry Kane will play no part in this one after refusing to train with Spurs, with Man City his most likely destination.
      Tottenham are closing in on a deal for Atalanta’s Cristian Romero but it is unlikely to be done in time for this fixture. More

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      Which events are in the heptathlon at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and how do athletes earn points?

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      IF doing one track and field event was not enough – a number of athletes decide to do SEVEN.The heptathlon is a women-only event and competitors earn points for their performance in each discipline.
      Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be going for gold at Tokyo 2020Credit: PA
      Belgium’s Naffi Thiam won gold last time out at Rio 2016Credit: EPA
      World champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson will be targeting more success as he will bid for gold at Tokyo 2020 against 2016 champ Naffi Thiam of Belgium.
      And what British athletics fan could forget Super Saturday in 2012 when Jessica Ennis-Hill won a magnificent gold medal?
      What does the heptathlon consist of?
      All heptathletes are scheduled to take part in seven different events with the first four completed on day one and the remaining three on day two.
      The woman’s heptathlon consists of:

      Day one: 100m hurdles, high jump, shot put, 200m sprint
      Day two: Long jump, javelin, 800m run

      The long jump combines speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a take off point.Credit: Sportsfile
      For the high jump, competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it.Credit: Sportsfile
      The heptathlon is a set of events that take course over two days measuring the key components of strength and versatility of these mega-athletes competing at the Olympics.
      The event’s unrivalled empress is American athlete Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who set the world and Olympic record in 1988 with a score of 7,291 points.
      The 7,000-point barrier has only been breeched on 10 occasions, six of those coming from Joyner-Kersee herself.
      Since then, no other competitor has come within 250 points of breaking her mark.
      London 2012 – Jessica Ennis wins heptathlon goldCredit: The Sun
      How is it scored?
      This is where it gets a little bit complicated.
      The rule of thumb is that a high-level performance in each of the seven games should score a competitor approximately 1,000 points per event.
      There are three different equations to create the scores for each event in the heptathlon, those being:
      Running events (200 m, 800 m and 100 m hurdles)

      Jumping events (high jump and long jump)

      Throwing events (shot put and javelin)

      Yes, if it seems like you need an advanced degree to set this up, you’re right.
      The heptathlon’s scoring system was devised by Dr. Karl Ulbrich, an Austrian mathematician.
      P is the number of points scored, T is the competitor’s time, and a, b and c are Ulbrich’s specially derived coefficients. These coefficients can change for each event.
      Ulbrich’s formula is used to allow comparisons from past and future heptathlon’s, rather than just awarding points relative to placement.
      The scoring changes also make it more difficult for less-rounded athletes to win the event based on their dominance in one or two events.
      Losing by three-tenths of a second in the 200m run is the rough equivalent to losing by three feet in the javelin throw, and so on – so it is a competition of the best overall athlete over seven events.

      Who to watch out for
      Britain’s Katarina Johnson-Thompson – or KJT as she is nicknamed.
      Johnson-Thompson recorded her best ever finish at a World Championships in 2017 – finishing fifth in London.
      The Liverpool born athlete then followed up that success by winning heptathlon gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia to claim her first global senior outdoor title.
      And in that same year she also claimed a heptathlon silver medal at the European Championships in Berlin behind Belgium’s Nafi Thiam.
      The 28-year-old’s best score of 6981 points is a British record and the ninth best heptathlon score in history. More

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      in Soccer

      Meet Mohamed Zidan, the man Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp told ‘100 times’ was better than Mo Salah

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      MOHAMED SALAH has excelled since joining Liverpool from Roma back in the summer of 2017.He has bagged a quite brilliant 95 goals in 145 Premier League appearances for the Reds and been an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s transformation at the club.
      Mohamed Zidan was told by Jurgen Klopp he was ‘100 times’ better than Mo Salah while at Borussia Dortmund
      But fellow Egyptian Mohamed Zidan has revealed the former Borussia Dortmund boss told him he thought he was ‘100 times’ better than Salah while at the German side.
      Speaking to ON Sport in January 2020, Zidan said: “Klopp told me that I was better than Salah 100 hundred times but I needed to be more professional.
      “Klopp said to me that I have a great talent and skills but I need to concentrate more. If I did this I could be one of the best players in the world.”
      However, while Zidan enjoyed a solid career with teams such as Dortmund, Mainz, Hamburg and Werder Bremen, he admits he lacked a good work ethic, which meant he never hit the heights Salah has done in recent seasons.
      “I had to be more dedicated to training and be more professional to reach Salah’s level in the past,” he added.
      “Salah is more professional than me and more dedicated to football like Ronaldo and Messi.”
      Zidan netted 102 club goals in 294 games throughout his 16-year career, but never managed to bag 20 in one season.
      Salah, on the other hand, scored 44 times in his first season for Liverpool and followed that up with 27 and then 28 in the last two campaigns.
      And upon arriving at Anfield, Zidan said back in November 2018 that Salah was carrying on a long legacy of Egyptians playing in the Premier League.

      Speaking to Goal, he said: “He’s a good example, as we were before – me and other Egyptian colleagues who played in Europe, like Mido, Ahmed Hassan and many other players who played in top leagues.
      “Now Mo Salah is continuing the legacy of Egyptian players in Europe to make the Egyptian kids keep dreaming, because he’s one of us.
      “Today is Mo Salah time, it is going very well, he is giving hope to all Egyptians and then in the future it will be other kids from Egypt that will play in Europe.”
      Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp reacts to subbing Mo Salah More

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      in Soccer

      Mexico vs Brazil: Live stream, TV channel, team news and kick-off time for huge Tokyo Olympics semi-final clash

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      BRAZIL are up against a steely Mexican side in their Tokyo Olympics semi-final on Tuesday morning. The Brazilians have been superb up to this point, as they look to retain the Olympic title they won five years ago in Rio at their home Games.
      Brazil are looking to retain their Olympic title in TokyoCredit: Reuters
      Mexico represent a tough challenge, however, as they beat emphatically beat South Korea 6-3 in the quarter-finals.
      What time does Mexico vs Brazil kick-off?

      Mexico’s huge semi-final clash with Brazil will get underway from 9am UK time on Tuesday, August 3.
      The game will take place at the Saitama Stadium in Satitama, Japan.
      There will be no fans in attendance at the clash because of coronavirus restrictions.

      What channel is it and can it be live streamed?

      Mexico vs Brazil will be shown live on the Eurosport Player and Discovery+.
      You can catch build-up to the game from 8.30am UK time.
      The Eurosport and Discovery+ apps are available for download onto your tablet or mobile device.

      Team news
      Mexico will go with Jesus Angulo at right-hack after Jorge Sanchez picked up a suspension because of an accumulation of yellow cards.
      Carlos Rodriguez is likely to come back into Mexico’s midfield, which Means Jose Esquivel could miss out.
      Semi-final match winner for Brazil Cunha picked up a thigh strain after his goal so is a doubt to start against Mexico.
      Richarlison could instead be moved to a more central position while Paulinho operates from the left. More

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      Japan vs Spain: Live stream, TV channel, team news and kick-off time for massive Tokyo Olympics semi-final game

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      JAPAN will be looking to make it to the football final of their own Olympic Games but have to beat Spain in the last four first. Spain are hopeful of progressing to the final of the Games for the first time since 2000, where they won a silver medal in Sydney.
      Spain are hoping to reach their first Olympic final since 2000Credit: Alamy
      What time does Spain vs Japan kick-off?

      Spain’s huge semi-final clash with Japan will get underway from 12pm UK time on Tuesday, August 3. 
      The game will take place at the Saitama Stadium in Satitama, Japan. 
      There will be no fans in attendance at the clash because of coronavirus restrictions. 

      What channel is it and can it be live streamed?

      Japan vs Spain will be shown live on the Eurosport Player and Discovery+. 
      You can catch build-up to the game from 11.30am UK time. 
      The Eurosport and Discovery+ apps are available for download onto your tablet or mobile device. 

      Team news
      Japan have Hiroki Sakai back from suspension with Takehiro Tomiyasu likely to sit the game out as he is on two bookings himself.
      Daichi Hayashi could come out of the side, with Ayase Ueda likely to be thrusted into the XI to face Spain.
      Oscar Gil is probably to start for La Furia Roja, while Dani Ceballos is still sidelined because of an ankle injury.
      Euro 2020 stars Dani Olmo and Mikel Oyarzabal will both start for Spain. More

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      in Athletics

      How many false starts are sprinters allowed in 200m? Rules explained for 100m, 400m, relay and hurdles at Olympics

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      SPRINTERS are allowed ZERO false starts at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and if found guilty will be instantly disqualified – if the starter decides they’ve violated it.From January 2010 onward, the official track and field false start regulation indicated that any athlete starting within 100 milliseconds of the gun being fired would be disqualified from the race.
      Usain Bolt’s false start in the men’s 100m final at the World Athletics Championships in South KoreaCredit: AP:Associated Press
      How can they detect a false start?
      False start detection systems were introduced in 1979 and Omega’s false start detection system made its Olympics debut at the Los Angeles Olympics Games.
      In major athletics competitions, reaction times (RT) are currently detected using IAAF accredited false start detection systems.
      These systems determine athletes reaction time using encased accelerometers or force sensors fixed to the rear of the starting block rail to detect changes in force or acceleration exerted on the blocks through the feet.
      RT’s can now be instantly calculated accurately to 0.001 of a second, but for results, are recorded to the nearest 0.01 second.
      Research has found that a reaction time faster than one-tenth of a second is impossible for a human, and the runner is therefore deemed to have anticipated the gun.
      On the ‘Track & Field 101: Rules’ on the Olympics website, it states: “If a sprinter commences his or her starting motion from the set position before the Starter’s gun is fired, it is deemed a false start.
      “The first false start of a race results in an automatic disqualification to the offending runner.”
      For athletics and specifically sprint athletes reaction times and overall sprint time detection methods have improved dramatically since the original 1896 Olympic Games.
      Were false starts previously allowed?
      Before 2003, athletes were allowed one false start and were automatically disqualified on the second.
      In 2003 the rules were changed to “one-and-done” – meaning one false start was allowed per race in events up to 400 metres.
      This means the athlete making the second false start of a race, breaking the accepted RT of 0.10 seconds, will be disqualified regardless of whether he or she was responsible for the first one.
      However, sprinters would often take advantage of the previous false start rules, purposely jumping the gun either to play mind games with their competition and set them on edge before the race or use the extra leniency to predict the gun and gain bonus milliseconds from their efforts.
      So in 2010, World Athletics just decided to ban any false starts in the 100m, 200m, relay and hurdles – it’s one and YOU’RE OUT.
      🥇 TOKYO OLYMPICS LIVE: All the latest from the Games with our live blog
      🥇 WHAT’S ON TODAY? Best bits to watch at the Olympics and UK times for your favourite stars
      Famous false starts at previous track and field events
      Zharnel Hughes
      Zharnel Hughes is disqualified from the 100m at the Tokyo 2020 OlympicsCredit: PA
      It was heartbreak for Team GB’s Zharnel Hughes at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympics as he went off far too early in the 100 metre final.
      The first Brit to make the final in 21 years blamed his false start on cramp.
      Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs won the race in 9.8 seconds.
      Usain Bolt
      Usain Bolt after disqualification at 2011 World ChampionshipsCredit: AFP
      At the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea, Usain Bolt, 100 metre world record holder, jumped the gun in the 100m final over a year after the new regulations had been put into place.
      Bolt walked off the track, head in hands, only to watch his Jamaican teammate Yohan Blake take the gold.
      Jon Drummond
      A race official shows Jon Drummond the red card after his false start at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in ParisCredit: AP:Associated Press
      Drummond’s infamous “I did not move!” plea after his disqualification at the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris.
      Drummond protested his disqualification by storming into the infield, repeatedly yelling in front of officials and laying on the track.
      His tantrum delayed the 100 metre final by ONE HOUR. 
      Linford Christie
      Linford Christie walking back to his starting blocks after disqualification at the 1992 Barcelona gamesCredit: Reuters

      The 1992 Olympic 100 metre champion was disqualified under an even older false-start rule.
      Before 2003, any sprinter could false start once and get away with just a warning however Christie reacted early twice, delayed the competition and refused to leave the track.
      This was the first time a previous champion was unable to defend his title live on TV.
      Tokyo 2020: Zharnel Hughes disqualified from 100m final after false start More