British middle distance star Laura Muir paid a surprise flying visit to Cardiff on Sunday afternoon and came away with a World Indoor Athletics Championship qualifying time. The Tokyo Olympics 1500m silver medallist was competing as a guest in the Welsh 3,000m championship race at the Cardiff Metropolitan University Christmas Classic meeting.

World Athletics president Lord Coe fears fans – and athletes – could be priced out of next summer’s Olympics in Paris. Coe is concerned over sky-high costs, with tickets for an athletics session at the Stade de France costing as much as £850 on the official Paris 2024 website. The cheapest admission for an evening session is £170.

Ben Reynolds and Jenny Nesbitt had particular reason to celebrate their Welsh indoor 3,000m titles in Cardiff on Sunday. Injury and illness meant both had experienced recent setbacks, but each bounced back to claim gold in their respective races at the Cardiff Metropolitan University Christmas Classic.

Batting all-rounder Ben Kellaway has signed a three-year contract extension that will see him extend his stay at Glamorgan until at least 2026. The 19-year-old from Newport burst onto the scene this year, making his debut for the Club in all three formats, and having a stunning showing in the Metro Bank One Day Cup earlier this year.

Gareth Anscombe has vowed to get fit and return to the field despite having his dream move to Japan wrecked by injury. The Wales outside-half insists he can recover quickly after undergoing surgery for a groin problem and is aiming to be back running again within 10 weeks.

The Ospreys completed a miserable weekend for the Welsh regions in Europe as they conceded six tries in a 38-5 defeat to Montpellier in the EPCR Challenge Cup. All four Welsh regions lost in Europe, leaving them with a collective record of two victories from their opening eight matches. Last season Toby Booth’s Ospreys side completed a notable double over the then French champions in the Champions Cup, but they were no match for the home side in Round 2 of this season’s second tier tournament against the bottom placed side in the Top 14.

Para-Alpine chiefs believe there is still much more to come from Menna Fitzpatrick after the Wales-based skier won downhill gold at the Para-alpine World Cup in St Moritz, Switzerland. Fitzpatrick, competing for Great Britain and guided by Katie Guest, clinched the gold medal after winning a silver during the season opener on Saturday.

Leaderless Swansea City can still get the man they need, according to caretaker boss Alan Sheehan. The club’s failure to land their target Chris Davies as their new head coach was compounded at the weekend by a 2-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough.

Tom Lockyer remains in hospital where he is undergoing tests and scans after suffering a cardiac arrest during Luton Town’s abandoned Premier League clash with Bournemouth. Luton Town were drawing 1-1 at the Vitality Stadium when the Wales international defender collapsed in the middle of the field – just seven months after a similar incident in last season’s Championship Play-off Final. Lockyer had surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat in June.

Cardiff against Bath in the top tier of European rugby immediately takes the mind back to 1996 and the Heineken cup quarter-final at the Arms Park. It was Jonathan Davies v Mike Catt, Mike Hall v Jeremy Guscott, Dai Young against Victor Ubogu, Derwyn Jones v Nigel Redman – the English champions against the previous season’s Heineken Cup finalists.

LIfe is always relative if you are a Cardiff City or Swansea fan and often the judgement is how the other lot are doing. The two clubs have been jostling for superiority in the Championship for the past five years, since the Swans were relegated from the Premier League.

Cardiff will have the benefit of home comforts when they host Bath at the Arms Park on Saturday in the European Champions Cup, but head coach Matt Sherratt has urged supporters to bring patience and realism along with their backing. The Welsh regions are facing financial struggles with the budgets of the four professional sides reduced to £5.2m for the 2023-24 season, which is much less than the top French, Irish and English sides.

Merab Sharikadze will renew his rivalry with Scarlets cente Johnny Williams at Parc Y Scarlets in the second round of the EPCR Challenge Cup on Friday night in a game against Black Lion that is a potential banana skin for Dwayne Peel’s home side. The Scarlets were highly competitive, yet ultimately well beaten, in their opening game in Pool 3, going down 36-14 in Castres.

Rob Howley is back in Welsh rugby with Wales – four years after a ban for betting on matches forced him to stand down. The former Wales captain has been re-appointed to his old role as assistant to Warren Gatland, re-uniting the pair ahead of the forthcoming Six Nations.

Former Glamorgan batsman Usman Khawaja has promised to “fight” a ruling by the sport’s governing body that he says has stopped him from displaying messages in support of “those who don’t have a voice”. In an emotional video posted on his social media, Australia star Khawaja clarified that his message was “not political” and that the “bigger problem” was people calling him up to berate him for his stance.

Former Wales internationals Catrina Nicholas-McLaughlin and Ashley Beck will head the respective coaching and management teams for Gwalia Lightning and Brython Thunder next year. The new WRU-owned franchises will play Irish and Scottish opposition, home and away, in the cross-border tournament.

Erol Bulut admitted Cardiff City were unspeakably bad in a dreadful second-half display that ended with a 1-0 home defeat to Birmingham City. Despite hosting the team with the worst current form in the Championship – and who had not won away from home since August – the Bluebirds fell to their third defeat in four games.

Hot on the heels of only their second win of the season, over Oyonnax in the EPCR Challenge Cup, Dai Flanagan’s Dragons have been given another major boost with the return to action of Argentine World Cup scrum half Gonzalo Bertranou. The 29-year-old was given extra-time to recover from his French exploits, when he helped the Pumas reach the semi-finals before narrowly missing out to England in the Bronze Medal match.

An unexpected Welsh marathon record has put Clara Evans in the running for a place at next year’s Paris Olympics. The Pontypridd Roadents athlete went into the Valencia Marathon earlier this month hoping to catch the Great Britain selectors’ eye for next summer’s European Athletics Championships in Rome.

Swansea City caretaker manager Alan Sheehan praised his players’ character after they made it four points from two away games during his spell in charge. The Swans came from behind to claim a late point in a 1-1 draw at Stoke City in the Championship, to add to their victory at Rotherham last weekend.