Jenny Nesbitt and Piers Copeland produced spectacular performances as The Cardiff Met Christmas Classic proved to be a real cracker for Welsh endurance stars. Nesbitt and Copeland stole the show in the event’s blue riband 3,000m races on Sunday, while Bethan Davies enjoyed a dominant gun to tape win in the 3,000m walk. Seven days after winning a team gold at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin, Nesbitt was in record-breaking form as the popular meeting returned after last year’s cancellation due to the pandemic.

By David Williams Glamorgan’s Australian run-machine Marnus Labuschagne enjoys winning games for his team more than any personal milestone, the 27-year-old said after his sixth test century consolidated the position of the hosts in the second Ashes test against England on Friday. The South Africa-born Labuschagne – who is due to return to play for […]

David Lloyd has taken over from Chris Cooke to become Glamorgan’s new captain. The county announced the news on Wednesday, bringing to an end Cooke’s three year spell as skipper. All-rounder Lloyd, will lead the side in next season’s LV= Insurance County Championship and Vitality Blast competitions, while Kiran Carlson will continue to captain the Royal London Cup team after winning the tournament this year.

By Paul Evans Matthew Rees is rocketing up the motorsport rankings and is now considered by many as a star in the making. Whether that means he will be the next Lewis Hamilton remains to be seen, but the 16-year-old from Cardiff has certainly made a fast start off the grid. Having won the prestigious […]

Gerwyn Price has warned his world title rivals he has plenty of room for improvement as he bids to defend his crown this week. The Welsh world No.1 is preparing to start his title defence on Wednesday, aiming to brush aside all challengers as he did 12 months ago in an empty Alexandra Palace. Price’s stunning triumph last year – when he captured his first world title – capped a remarkable seven-year rise from winning his PDC Tour Card.

By Owen Morgan Jenny Nesbitt and Osian Perrin claimed team golds while Cari Hughes won team bronze as all three Welsh athletes competing at the European Cross Country Championships returned home with medals. Perrin led the way in the first race of the day on his Great Britain cross country debut as he helped the […]

Zoe Backstedt has revealed her first senior cyclocross victory came at a cost – a bad back. The 17-year-old Welsh rider became the youngest winner of a women’s elite race at the Ethias Cross cyclocross competition in Essen, Germany. Backstedt – who became junior road race world champion in September – underlined her huge potential as well as her versatility as she finished more than a minute ahead of her nearest rival, Laura Verdonschot, who took second place.

By Owen Morgan Two years ago, Jenny Nesbitt returned from the European Cross Country Championships in Lisbon with a team gold medal in her luggage. But it’s a measure of the Cardiff athlete’s high personal expectations that she looks back at that championship with some disappointment. Nesbitt wasn’t happy with her individual performance – despite […]

Former European and Commonwealth champion Georgia Davies has announced her retirement from competitive swimming after a glittering 11-year career. Davies – who won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games – has decided to bow out at the age of 31, rather than go for a fourth Games appearance for Wales next year in Birmingham. The London-born swimmer, who trained at Wales National Pool in Swansea from the age of 10, won 20 international medals in total, went to both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but missed out on selection for the delayed Tokyo Games this summer.

By Paul Jones Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief executive Katie Sadleir has said organisers are open to the idea of athletes bringing the Pride flag onto the podium at next year’s event in Birmingham. “We will be talking to athletes over the next six months in the lead-up to the Games about what that may […]

Last weekend, Holly Jones retained her British title in Guildford. But the Swansea gymnast intends her success in the vault to be a springboard for more achievements and medals in a busy 2022, as she tells Lucy Rees. Holly Jones aims to have two teams behind her when she competes for her country at next year’s Commonwealth Games – Team Wales and Team Jones. Jones – who regained the British senior vault title at the recent British Gymnastics Championships – has a big year ahead that she hopes will include winning a medal in Birmingham.

By Owen Morgan Olympic 400m runner Joe Brier has been included in the Welsh Athletics funding list announced for the 2021-22 season. The coming year is particularly important for Welsh athletes with the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on the horizon next summer. The athletes named will receive a variety of backing from direct financial […]

Welsh boxing star Sean McGoldrick is a two-time medal winner at the Commonwealth Games and as the countdown starts to Birmingham 2022 he offers a simple recipe for success, as he tells Tom Prosser. The next edition of the Commonwealth Games is just eight months away and every Welsh hopeful is searching for the right approach towards peaking next July. Bantamweight, McGoldrick, won gold in 2010 in Delhi and backed that up with a bronze in Glasgow four years later. 

By Owen Morgan Four Welsh athletes have been named to the Great Britain team for next months European Cross Country Championships. Charlotte Arter and Cari Hughes have joined Jenny Nesbitt and Osian Perrin, who gained automatic selection thanks to their performances at the British Athletics Cross Challenge fixture at Liverpool on Saturday. Nesbitt finished second […]

By Paul Evans Llywelyn Williams and Isaac Heaher will represent the Wales Para Surfing Team at the ISA Para Surfing World Championships in Pismo, California (6-11 December) which is the sport’s biggest and most prestigious tournament attracting the world’s best para surfers to compete and display their talents in a Paralympic-style competition. Both Williams and […]

By Carl Field Swansea’s Holly Jones regains British senior vault title at 2021 Women’s Artistic British Championships. A dozen medals, including a clean sweep in the juniors and seven won by four Commonwealth Games contenders, capped a brilliant 2021 Women’s Artistic British Championships for Welsh gymnasts in Guildford over the weekend.

With Jason Pritchard in a healthy lead and Osian Pryce rapidly closing in on second place, it looked like there might be a magnificent Welsh one-two finish in Carmarthen come the end of the five-day Roger Albert Clark Rally. They had survived Storm Arwen – which had caused wild blizzards in Kielder Forest and the entire Scottish middle leg to be cancelled – and had reached home turf for a final push to glory. The duo had started as joint favourites for victory, but it was Pritchard who made the better start.

By Tom Prosser Welsh boxer Gavin Gwynne made a successful first defence of his Commonwealth title on Saturday but he is now calling for “bigger” fights and wants to get his hands on the British title. The 31-year-old beat Birmingham’s Jack O’Keefe by a wide points margin on all three of the scorecards. “It was maximum violence,” laughs Gwynne, who is nicknamed The Merthyr Mexican.

By Tom Prosser Paralympic boccia star David Smith is “ecstatic” to add yet another gold medal to his collection at the European Championships in Seville. Smith, who is based in Swansea, has won everything there is to be won in the sport and has an impressive five Paralympic medals to his name. The 32-year-old faced his old Russian rival Mikhail Gutnik and fought to a 5-2 victory after dismissing Andre Ramos of Portugal 8-1 in the semi-final. 

Jenny Nesbitt and Osian Perrin have booked automatic places in the Great Britain team at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin. The Welsh internationals produced excellent performances at Saturday’s British Athletic Cross Challenge event in Liverpool, which doubled up as the British trial for next month’s championships in Ireland.