Zoe Backstedt insisted she loved powering through the mud as she became a cyclo-cross world champion for the second time. The teenage Welsh star was crowned the Under-23 world champion after a dominant solo performance on the final day of the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Tabor, Czech Republic.

Hector Pardoe proved himself to be an Olympic gold medal contender this summer with a sensational bronze medal at the World Aquatics Championships. The Welsh star – Britain’s leading marathon swimmer – finished third in the 10km marathon swim on Qatar to clinch his place at the Paris Olympics later this year.

World champion Matt Richards will headline a quartet of Welsh athletes who are primed and ready for the World Aquatics Championships 2024 in Doha. The multi-sport event runs from 2nd – 18th February, and with Paris 2024 now less than six months away, the Doha World Championships provides a crucial opportunity for many looking to secure Olympic quota spots or build towards the Games.

Gerwyn Price was unable to give the Cardiff crowd a home win on the opening night of the Premier League of darts. But The Iceman managed to make it through to the final before losing to Michael Smith, 6-2.

Luke Littler says he will just continue “to do what I do” as he prepares for his eagerly-awaited Premier League debut and the latest stage of a relentless playing schedule. The 17-year-old sensation will lock horns with his World Championship final conqueror Luke Humphries in the last quarter-final of opening night in Cardiff on Thursday.

Luke Littler has been warned to keep practicing and not get distracted ahead of his Premier League of Darts debut in Cardiff on Wednesday night. The advice has come from world champion Luke Humphries who urged teenage sensation Littler not to lose form by staying away from the board, otherwise it will “come back to bite him”.

Wales’ fastest woman Hannah Brier gained one championship record and lost another on a historic weekend of athletics in Cardiff. The first record to fall at the Welsh Indoor Senior and Under-15 Athletics Championships was the number of competitors taking part.

Elfyn Evans reckons third place on the Monte Carlo Rally is a solid start to his bid for the World Rally Championship crown.

Elfyn Evans saw his victory hopes hit bye hybrid issues on the Monte Carlo Rally as he switched his focus to a Sunday finish.

Elfyn Evans retained his lead on the Monte Carlo Rally as he led a Toyota one-two on the season opening event.

Elfyn Evans launched his World Rally Championship campaign in scintillating style on the Monte Carlo Rally.

After a record year in 2023, The Hundred will return to Cardiff in 2024 with Welsh Fire captain Tammy Beaumont determined to build on last year’s progress in the women’s tournament. Cardiff will host its first game on Sunday 28 July, with both the Fire men’s and women’s teams kicking off their competition against Oval Invincibles.

Luke Littler will make his Premier League debut against Luke Humphries in a rematch of their World Championship final in Cardiff next week. The 17-year-old headlines the opening night of the weekly competition against the man who beat him in the showpiece at Alexandra Palace at the start of the month.

Wales trio Rupert Shipperley, Jacob Draper and Sarah Jones can start preparing for the Olympic Games this summer after Great Britain men’s and women’s teams secured their places in Paris. Welsh star Jones was at the heart of the GB women’s effort – scoring first as the team beat Ireland in the FIH qualifiers bronze-medal match in Valencia. Great Britain’s men – with Team Wales Commonwealth Games stalwarts Shipperley and Draper in their ranks – then overcame New Zealansd, 3-1, in their qualifier in Oman to clinch their own spot in Paris.

Stevie Williams has described his triumph at the Tour Down Under in Australia as “simply perfect”. The Welshman won the last stage in Adelaide to confirm his victory in the overall title. “To kick off the season with the team’s first overall tour win, and our maiden victory in a top-tier stage race is nothing short of marvelous. It’s simply perfect,” said Williams, who rides for Israel-Premier Tech.

On the day rugby superstar Louis Rees-Zammit jetted off to Florida in pursuit of his American football dream, two Welsh track and field athletes continued to take the world of bobsleigh by storm. Reigning British shot put champion Adele Nicoll and Welsh international sprinter Kya Placide teamed-up to win British Bobsleigh’s first Europa Cup gold medal for seven seasons with success in St Moritz on Friday morning. They took top spot for the first time in their bobsleigh careers less than 24 hours after Nicoll secured silver in the monobob event at the same venue.

Matt Edwards will return to top level competition for the first time since he won the British Rally Championship title for a third time back in 2021 when he contests this year’s Irish Tarmac Rally Championship. The 39-year old Colwyn Bay driver will contest the series in a C&M Motorsport Ford Fiesta Rally2, prepared by NPL Motorsport.

Emma Finucane will return from the Netherlands with three medals gained at the European Track Cycling Championships to add to her world title. The new Welsh cycling sensation capped off an impressive European Championships by picking up her third medal with silver in the women’s keirin.

Nia Jones has admitted Wales have let an opportunity slip through their fingers after they lost the decider in their three-match series against Uganda. The Welsh Feathers captain insisted, however, the closeness of the series indicated the progress Wales are making under Emily Handyside, the coach appointed a year ago. Feathers lost 59-48 as the She Cranes came from one-nil down to take the three-match series at Cardiff’s House of Sport, 2-1.

Emma Finucane admitted she was shocked after becoming Britain’s first female European sprint champion at the European Track Cycling Championships in the Netherlands. Wales’ 21-year-old world champion breezed through her semi-final against Emma Hinze to set up a repeat of her victorious world championship final against Germany’s Lea Sophie Friedrich.