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    Brilliant Galal Yafai wins boxing gold for Team GB with dominant win over Filipino rival in Tokyo 2020 final

    GALAL YAFAI, a former car factory worker from Solihull, delivered Team GB’s first boxing gold of the Tokyo Olympics.The flyweight fighter overcame former Filipino street vendor Carlo Paalam over three three-minute rounds at the Kokugikan Arena – the spiritual home of sumo.
    Galal Yafai won gold in boxing for Team GB on SaturdayCredit: PA
    Yafai floored Carlo Paalam in the first roundCredit: EPA
    The 28-year-old – who quit work at the Land Rover firm in the Midlands to pursue the noble art – was ahead on four of the five judges’ scorecards and has now joined the showroom of British boxing champions.
    The lucrative professional route will be his next target even though the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in 12 months’ time would normally have been an appealing proposition, especially as he won gold at light flyweight on the Gold Coast in 2018.
    Paalam started quickly and connected well with his early punches but was caught and knocked down by a brilliant left-hander from Yafai halfway through the first round.
    In the second round, Paalam was warned by the referee for the use of his head and from there on it was Yafai’s fight to lose.
    All Yafai had to do was stay out of trouble in the final round and remain on his feet for the 180 seconds.
    And Yafai, whose family have a British-Yemen heritage, did just that to secure finally a boxing medal for his family after 13 years of trying.
    Yalai is the first Brit to win in the flyweight division since Terry Spinks at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
    The Brit, who was well beaten in his first bout of the Rio 2016 Games, watched on TV as sibling Kal lost to a difficult Cuban in the Last 16 of the flyweight competition at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
    Kal has since become the WBA super flyweight world champion, and he tweeted his delight at his brother’s victory, saying: “Alhumdililah!!! My brother Galal Olympic champion!!! I’m lost for words!!! Olympic champion!!!! Olympic champion!!!!”
    And speaking after securing gold Yafai told the BBC: “It’s something I’ve always want to do, to be Olympic champion. Now I’m Olympic champion and I’m over the moon.
    “I’ve worked hard, took up boxing and thank God it’s worked out for me.
    “I bet they’re over the moon all my friends and family. The support I’ve had from back home has been ridiculous.
    “It’s overwhelming I’m so grateful for the support I’ve got.
    “I’m so determined to win, I’ve got that heart and desire to win and it’s worked out for me today.”
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    This result means Britain have won at least one gold medal at four successive Olympics, a credit to head coach Rob McCracken who took over 11 years ago.
    Lauren Price, a former South Wales taxi driver, should double that tally when she faces China’s Li Qian tomorrow on the final day of the competition.
    The middleweight boxer has been tipped to win gold even before she set foot in the Far East.
    Whatever happens from now on, the British boxing camp will return to the UK shores in the next 48 hours with six medals – a record for an overseas Games, and one that eclipses the five won at the London 2012 Games.
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    Galal Yafai boxed brilliantly to win gold in TokyoCredit: AFP
    The fighters embrace after their gold medal boutCredit: AP
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    Team GB star puts Tokyo 2020 merchandise up for sale on eBay in bid to raise funds to continue career

    TEAM GB hammer thrower Taylor Campbell has listed his Tokyo 2020 merchandise on eBay in a desperate bid to raise funds.Campbell, 25, finished 14th in his heat but said he will not receive any extra money for reaching the Games.
    Taylor Campbell revealed his UK Sport funding is not enough to live off
    Campbell showed off his goods in the eBay auction
    And he says the funding from UK Sport is not enough for him to train and live off – he even had to dip into his savings to go to the Tokyo Olympics.
    Every Olympic athlete received some Samsung goods from the Games’ sponsors.
    They include a Samsung Galaxy S21 bearing the design of the Olympic rings.
    As well as the phone, Campbell has put his wireless earbuds up for sale.
    The current bid stands at £3,230 but is constantly growing, with the public keen to get their hands on a piece of Olympic history.
    Campbell is currently looking for a job so hopes his memorabilia sells for a good price, with his earnings set to go towards his training for the Commonwealth Games, which take place in Birmingham next year.
    He told Sky News: “I get some funding from UK Sport but it’s not enough to live off.
    “It has blown up a bit and there has been an overwhelming amount of support.
    “Unfortunately making it to the Olympics doesn’t get you any more money, you do it for the pride.
    “I am an iPhone guy and the Samsung will have just sat in a box as memorabilia, so I put it on eBay.”
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    Some fans on Twitter were disheartened at Campbell’s need to sell the goods, and suggested other ways to raise money.
    One wrote: “Just set up a go fund me man. The Athletics community will donate more than what you’re selling all that for.”
    Another added: “Set up a go fund me – I don’t play the lottery but really want to support athletes directly – would actually be really chuffed to know I’ve helped in a small way!”
    Since the outpour of support after auctioning the items Campbell tweeted: “Overwhelmed by the messages of support I have received since posting this. So many kind individuals out there. I will keep you all posted over the next day or so for those that have reached out offering support!”
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    Team GB high jump coach Caan is under investigation about conduct and is banned from travelling to Tokyo Olympics

    A BRITISH high jump coach has been suspended pending the outcome of a disciplinary investigation.It is understood Fuzz Caan was unable to travel to Tokyo due to the British Athletics probe following a complaint about his conduct.
    Brtish high jump coach Fuzz Caan has not travelled to Tokyo as an investigation into his conduct goes on
    In a statement, UK Athletics said: “We can confirm that an employed coach has been suspended pending an internal investigation.
    “As such, no further comment is available at this time.”
    Had he travelled, Caan would have been involved with Brits Morgan Lake and Emily Borthwick ahead of this morning’s high jump contest in Tokyo.
    The pair had mixed emotions following their appearance at the Olympic Stadium on Day 13 of the Games.
    Milton Keynes’ Lake, 24, was fifth in qualification group B after clearing a height of 1.95m.
    She finished tenth at the Rio 2016 Olympics and will be aiming to improve considerably on that performance in Saturday’s final.
    Borthwick, 23, from Loughborough, was eighth in the qualification group with a personal best of 1.93m but that was not enough to progress further.

    In a separate issue, Toni Minichiello – the man who guided Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill to Olympic heptathlon glory at London 2012 – remains provisionally suspended from coaching.
    According to UK Athletics, the 55-year-old is the subject of complaints from female athletes and his coaching licence has been revoked pending an investigation.
    Minichiello is not a member of the BBC athletics team, which has been covering the events from studios in Salford.
    Morgan Lake booked her place in Saturday’s high jump finalCredit: PA
    Emily Borthwick went over a new PB of 1.93m but could not progress in TokyoCredit: PA
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    Amazing moment Keely Hodgkinson discovers she’s broken Kelly Holmes’ 800m record as she storms to Olympics silver medal

    TEENAGER Keely Hodgkinson was seen shouting “what the f***?” after winning Team GB’s first Olympic 800m medal for 17 years and shattering Kelly Holmes’ British record.The 19-year-old from Leigh, who is studying criminology at Leeds Beckett University, finished second behind American star Athing Mu – also aged 19 – in a new GB mark of 1:55.88.
    Keely Hodgkinson broke the British record to win silver in the 800-metre finalCredit: Reuters
    The teenager was in tears as she reacted to the stunning performanceCredit: BBC
    And the Brit broke down in tears on TV while thanking her coaches and family for their support after being caught on camera mouthing her shock after crossing the finish line in a brilliant second place.
    It is a fast track here in Japan and Mu ran the quickest time by an American woman over two laps in 1:55.21.
    It was a stunning display by Lancashire lass Hodgkinson, coached by Trevor Painter and former athlete Jenny Meadows, and she came into position down the back straight.
    This is the same site where Ann Packer won 800m gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
    And it is the first medal won in this event by a Brit since Kelly Holmes did the middle-distance double at the 2004 Athens Olympics.
    Hodgkinson was in tears as she said after the race: “I wanted to leave it all out there and I did that.
    “It’s going to take a couple of days to sink in but I’m so happy.
    “I’m speechless, obviously Kelly Holmes is a legend. I’ve looked up to her and even spoken to her in the past couple of days, she’s a lovely person and I have no words for that.
    My friends will be like, ‘What’s she crying for?!’, but it means so much.Keely Hodgkinson
    “I want to thank my amazing team, my family that made so many sacrifices for me, Trevor and Jenny, they’ve put so much belief in me.”
    Though she won the indoor title at the Europeans in Poland in March, it is fair to say that few outside of athletics circles were aware of Hodgkinson’s talents or her potential.
    The fact she has done it so quickly and achieved a medal at this level shows she has an incredibly bright future.
    To put this into context, it is the first medal in this event since Kelly Holmes at Athens 2004 and time of 1:55.88 beats Holmes’s British record which had stood since 1995.
    When asked what the medal meant to her, she pointed to her tears and replied: “This, because I don’t cry!
    “My friends will be like, ‘What’s she crying for?!’, but it means so much and thank you to everyone who’s sent messages and supported me from home.
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    “I can’t believe it. If the Olympics were last year, I wouldn’t be here. But it’s definitely given me a year to grow and compete with these girls.”
    Scot Jemma Reekie, nicknamed the Sloth by team-mates, tried desperately to hold onto the bronze and even produced a personal best of 1:56.90.
    But she was pipped in the closing metres by American Raevyn Rogers in a personal best of 1:56.81, and Team GB’s Alex Bell came home seventh.
    Hodgkinson paid tribute to her family and coaches after the raceCredit: Reuters
    Kelly Holmes won gold in the 800m 17 years ago at Athens 2004Credit: Getty Hulton
    American star Athing Mu dominated the race to take goldCredit: Reuters
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    Team GB’s Pat McCormack wins Olympic silver after being outclassed by Cuban Roniel Iglesias in Tokyo final

    PAT McCORMACK suffered a convincing defeat in his Olympic welterweight final – to take the shine off a record-breaking day for Britain’s boxers.The Sunderland slugger had been the top seed but he was outclassed by Cuban Roniel Iglesias, the London 2012 gold medallist, who won by unanimous decision.
    Pat McCormack was well beaten in his welterweight boxing final against Roniel IglesiasCredit: Sportsfile
    The classy Cuban won by unanimous decisionCredit: EPA
    McCormack, 26, was floored by a left hook in the second round – which was harshly ruled a slip – and had to settle for a silver medal to end his amateur career.
    The Brit – whose twin brother Luke had been defeated by another Cuban at these Tokyo Games – had been gifted a walkover in the semi-final after Irishman Aidan Walsh withdrew through injury.
    But Galal Yafai secured an historic sixth British Olympic boxing medal of the Tokyo Games with a frenetic display to defeat Cuban former world champion Yosbany Veitia in the flyweight quarter-finals.
    The 28-year-old Birmingham fighter pummeled the Cuban relentlessly from start to finish to earn the decisions of four out of five judges.
    With losing semi-finalists guaranteed a bronze medal, Yafai ensured the best medals tally for a British Olympic boxing team in more than a century.
    Yafai said: “It feels nice to get a medal, the sixth one for GB.
    “I’m rooming with (super-heavyweight) Frazer Clarke who is in the semi-final and (light-heavyweight) Ben Whittaker who’s in the final.
    “I didn’t want to go home with nothing, I had to make sure I got a medal.”
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    Yafai – the brother of former WBA world super-flyweight champion Kal – had scored a shock victory over the canny Veitia at the 2019 World Championships.
    And the tough little Brummie repeated the trick in Tokyo with a tireless display, never allowing Veitia to settle and unfortunate not to secure a unanimous decision.
    Earlier Caroline Dubois – the 20-year-old sister of heavyweight pro Daniel – missed out on a women’s lightweight medal with an agonising 3-2 defeat against experienced Thai Sudaporn Seesondee.
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    Tokyo Olympics football fixtures and results: Full semi-final schedule as Brazil and Spain bid for gold

    IF Euro 2020 wasn’t exciting enough, there’s plenty more football at the Tokyo Olympics.But Team GB are out of the women’s competition after losing their quarter-final with Australia.
    Brazil took gold last time out at Rio 2016, after beating Germany in a penalty shoot-out in the finalCredit: Splash News
    Team GB’s women starred at the London 2012 Games but were knocked out in the semi finalsCredit: Getty Images – Getty
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    What are the Olympic football groups?
    The men’s competition consists of sixteen teams split up four by four per group and the women’s competition will consist of 12 teams split up in three groups.
    Men’s groups

    Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France
    Group B: New Zealand, South Korea, Honduras, Romania
    Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia
    Group D: Brazil, Germany, Ivory Coast, Saudi Arabia

    Women’s groups

    Group E: Japan, Great Britain, Chile, Canada
    Group F: Brazil, Netherlands, China, Zambia
    Group G: USA, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand

    The GB Women’s team qualified for the Olympics by virtue of England’s performance at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, when they finished fourth in France.
    Defending champions Germany will not field a women’s side at the Olympics after they lost their World Cup quarter-final to Sweden.
    And unlike the men’s event – which is an under-23 tournament – the Olympics is one of women’s football’s biggest events, with no age restrictions.
    Olympic football fixtures in full
    Games in the same group are being played two at a time in various stadia, so second kick-off times are approximate.
    Wednesday July 21 – Women

    E: Great Britain 2-0 Chile
    E: Japan 1-1 Canada
    F: China 0-5 Brazil
    F: Zambia 3-10 Netherlands
    G: Sweden 3-0 USA
    G: Australia 2-1 New Zealand

    Thursday July 22 – Men

    C: Egypt 0-0 Spain
    C: Argentina 0-2 Australia
    A: Mexico 4-1 France
    A: Japan 1-0 South Africa
    B: New Zealand 1-0 South Korea
    B: Honduras 0-1 Romania
    D: Ivory Coast 2-1 Saudi Arabia
    D: Brazil 4-2 Germany

    Saturday July 24 – Women

    E: Chile 1-2 Canada
    E: Japan 0-1 Great Britain
    F: China 4-4 Zambia
    F: Netherlands 3-3 Brazil
    G: Sweden 4-2 Australia
    G: New Zealand 1-6 USA

    Sunday July 25 – Men

    C: Egypt 0-1 Argentina
    C: Australia 0-1 Spain
    B: New Zealand 2-3 Honduras
    B: Romania 0-4 South Korea
    A: France 4-3 South Africa
    A: Japan 2-1 Mexico
    D: Brazil 0-0 Ivory Coast
    D: Saudi Arabia 2-3 Germany

    Tuesday July 27 – Women

    G: New Zealand 0-2 Sweden
    G: USA 0-0 Australia
    E: Chile 0-1 Japan
    E: Canada 1-1 Great Britain
    F: Brazil 1-0 Zambia
    F: Netherlands 8-2 China

    Wednesday July 28 – Men

    D: Germany 1-1 Ivory Coast
    D: Saudi Arabia 1-3 Brazil
    C: Australia 0-2 Egypt
    C: Spain 1-1 Argentina
    B: Romania 0-0 New Zealand
    B: South Korea 6-0 Honduras
    A: South Africa 0-3 Mexico
    A: France 0-4 Japan

    Friday July 30 – Women’s quarter-finals

    Canada 0-0 (4-3p) Brazil
    Great Britain 3-4 (AET) Australia
    Sweden 3-1 Japan
    Netherlands 2-2 (2-4p) United States – 12 noon UK (8pm Japan)

    Saturday July 31 – Men’s quarter-finals

    Spain 5-2 (AET) Ivory Coast
    Japan 0-0 (4-2p) New Zealand
    Brazil 1-0 Egypt
    South Korea 3-6 Mexico

    Monday August 2 – Women’s semi-finals

    United States vs Canada – 9am UK (5pm Japan)
    Australia vs Sweden – 12 noon UK (8pm Japan)

    Tuesday August 3 – Men’s semi-finals

    Mexico vs Brazil
    Japan vs Spain

    Thursday August 5 – Women

    Women’s bronze medal match – 9am UK (5pm Japan)

    Friday August 6 – Women and Men

    Women’s gold medal final – 3am UK (11am Japan)
    Men’s bronze medal match – 12 Noon UK (8pm Japan)

    Saturday August 7 – Men

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    Heartbreak for Team GB star Jessie Knight as she collides with first hurdle and out of Olympics following Covid hell

    TEAM GB star Jessie Knight suffered Olympic heartbreak after falling at the first hurdle of her 400m heat.The 27-year-old’s Games got off to the worst possible start, when somebody on her flight tested positive for Covid-19 12 days ago.
    #GBR  Kneels before 1st hurdle Jessie knight. She okay. Not cool that this was a restart. She would have rocked it on the first start. First start called off for echo pic.twitter.com/bAerT2qLC6— G G (@tweetgregory) July 31, 2021

    Jessie Knight stumbled into the first hurdleCredit: AFP
    The Team GB star was left tearful on the groundCredit: AFP
    The 27-year-old was left devastatedCredit: Getty
    This meant that, upon arrival in Japan, Knight was forced to isolate.
    She could train once a day, but was denied freedom to roam the village and properly prepare for her event.
    And when the day finally came around for her to compete, it couldn’t have gone any worse.
    Knight tripped heading into the first hurdle, following an initial false start, hurtling straight into it.
    The heartbroken star was understandably a picture of anguish as she rose from the ground, her opposition disappearing into the distance.
    She was left in tears, and didn’t want to speak after her immense disappointment.
    A primary school teacher by trade, Knight had given up her job in order to chase her Olympic dream on a full-time basis.
    After her inauspicious arrival in Tokyo, Knight tried to make the best of things – joking that having all her food brought to her made her feel like royalty.
    But frustrated team-mate Zak Seddon, who was also having to isolate upon arrival, couldn’t help but having a pop at her doing so.
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    He wrote, in a now deleted social media post: “Article makes me so mad.
    “So undermining of us who are struggling with this situation, thrive off social interaction, and perform our best when we get the stimulus from the championship environment.”
    All hope is not lost for Knight, however, as she will be back competing the 4×400 women’s hurdles relay on Thursday.
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    Team GB rowers end Tokyo 2020 without a single Olympic gold medal ‘after £27m investment’ as men’s eight take bronze

    GB rowers’ week of woe ended with yet more disappointment – and the first Games without a gold medal since 1980.After Vicky Thornley became the SIXTH GB boat to succumb to the “curse of fourth”, the defending champion men’s eight could only finish third behind New Zealand and Germany.
    Team GB’s men’s eight won the bronze medal after finishing behind New Zealand and GermanyCredit: AFP
    It was Britain’s second and final medal in rowing at Tokyo 2020Credit: Reuters
    Rio 2016 silver medallist Vicky Thornley came fourth in her women’s single sculls finalCredit: AP
    Despite the second medal of the regatta, it was a poor end to a miserable week, with the reaction of the crew telling its own story.
    And the nightmare at the Sea Forest Waterway could have a massive long-term financial effect on one of Team GB’s best funded sports.
    Two-time Olympic champion James Cracknell said on BBC commentary: “We got three golds and two silvers in Rio. 
    “We come away from Tokyo – after £27million worth of investment in British rowing – with one silver and one bronze.
    “At a time when the national budget is under pressure from so many areas, is that a good investment?”
    Starting in lane five, GB including only flagbearer Mo Sbihi of the crew that won in Rio, were in the race from the start, headed only by Germany at the 500m mark.
    By half-way, though, New Zealand were in front, with GB just 0.07secs behind and Germany third.
    The British crew of Josh Bugakski, Jacob Dawson, Tom George, Sbihi, Charlie Elwes, Oliver Wynne-Griffith, James Rudkin and Tom Ford, coxed by Henry Fieldman, had no answer as the Kiwis pushed clear in the third 500m.
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    And as they battled to stay in the frame, they were also overtaken by the Germans, holding on for bronze.
    It meant they did add to the silver won in the quad scull.
    But that represented a terrible performance from a team that had topped the rowing medals table for the past three Games.
    Indeed, GB had taken at least one gold in every Olympics since 1984, standing just two gold medals behind leaders USA and East Germany.
    But the retirement of long-standing coach Jurgen Grobler and a stack of experienced rowers took a heavy toll as the team significantly under-achieved to face a major effort to retain their lottery funds.
    Earlier, Thornley, who partnered Katherine Grainger to silver in Rio, became the latest and last of the fourth place finishers in the single scull, behind New Zealand’s Emma Twigg.

    Thornley wanted to be in the race by the half-way mark but found herself fifth through the first 500m, 1.51 seconds behind Twigg.
    She looked as if she might drop to the bottom of the pile but with 500m to go it was clear she was locked in a scrap for third with Austria’s Magdalena Lobnig.
    Thornley gave it everything in the final burst but was not able to close the gap and finished a third of a length behind the Austrian, with Hanna Prakatsen of Russia second.
    Harry Leask, Angus Groom, Tom Barras and Jack Beaumont claimed the silver medal in the men’s quadruple sculls which was Britain’s best resultCredit: PA
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