USA’s Katie Moon rises again to claim third successive world pole vault gold

USA’s Katie Moon leapt to gold in Tokyo on Wednesday in a thrilling final to become the first woman to win three successive pole vault titles at the World Athletics Championships.Moon has fond memories of Japan – she won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. This time she edged out compatriot Sandi Morris with a final successful leap at a season’s best 4.90m.Morris, a silver medalist at the 2016 Olympics in Rio, placed second on 4

Super League faces 11th-hour challenge to ‘press pause button’ on expansion

Super League’s proposed expansion to 14 teams is facing an 11th-hour challenge from clubs amid fears it could jeopardise the future of rugby league as a professional sport.Hull KR and Hull FC voted against expansion at Headingley in July, but other clubs are now understood to have expressed doubts about the Rugby Football League’s plans and want to “press the pause button” until 2027.The concerns centre on the financial sustainability of a 14-team Super League and the RFL’s failure to share a detailed business plan with the clubs. The Guardian has learned that while the RFL leadership gave a presentation at an informal owners’ meeting before the vote in July, multiple requests from several clubs for a detailed financial analysis underpinning expansion have gone unanswered.No documents were provided at the formal shareholders’ meeting where the vote took place, and the minutes of that meeting have not been shared

‘I’m chilling’: Gout Gout passes first test as he qualifies for world 200m semi-finals

Few sporting debuts have arrived with as much hype, but Australian sprint sensation Gout Gout passed his first test at a major global meet by booking a place in the semi-finals of the World Championships in Tokyo.The 17-year-old handled the pressure under the bright lights of Japan’s National Stadium, powering home in a time of 20.23 seconds to grab the third qualifying place in the fifth of six heats.He finished behind Jamaica’s Bryan Levell and Zimbabwe’s Makanakaishe Charamba, the only two athletes in the heat higher than his world ranking of 16.Gout started slowly and was quickly caught by Levell on his inside, but found his stride and comfortably claimed third in a time two-tenths off his personal best of 20

Grand Slam Track denies Michael Johnson earned $2m from scrapped series

Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track organisation has denied the former American sprinter has pocketed $2m from the series while his athletes have gone unpaid, calling the speculation “categorically false” – and claimed he was facing financial losses himself.Johnson is facing the prospect of legal action from athletes, agents and the suppliers who helped stage three GST meetings, with sources claiming they are owed as much as $19m (£13.9m). It is understood that two athletes claim they had to withdraw from buying a house when prize money was not paid, and many privately believe they will never receive their money.However, a representative for the four-time Olympic champion has told the Guardian that contrary to the speculation he had been paid $2m (£1

Before Swift and Kelce’s algorithmic fairytale there was Electra and Rodman’s neon fever dream

The internet is frothing. This time, over Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement, a spectacle reminding us how celebrities function as wish machines. Us normies ride shotgun, living vicariously through the highest peaks and, at times, the lowest valleys, making up for our own grayscale lives.But, while Taylor and Travis are about as mainstream as you can get, in the 1990s there was a celebrity couple who catered for the eccentrics, misfits, and outsiders.I remind you of a steamy time in 1998, when Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman married actor, model, and general celebrity Carmen Electra

It’s ‘game on’ for launch, says rugby’s breakaway R360 league – but how ready is it really? | Matt Hughes

R360’s decision to withdraw its application for sanctioning by World Rugby this month, as revealed by the Guardian, was the first significant setback for the planned breakaway league, which had appeared to be developing unstoppable momentum.More than 160 players have signed pre-contract agreements with the proposed new competition, which is offering annual salaries of up to £740,000 for a 16-match season, with 75% of the potential recruits having played international rugby within the past two years, and at least 10 of them for England.Despite this, R360 decided to defer its application for sanctioning after it became clear it would be unable to answer all the governing body’s questions before the World Rugby council meeting in Dublin on 23 September. In response, the co-founder Mike Tindall released a video in which he claimed it is “very much game on” for the new competition to launch in October next year.However, gaining World Rugby approval at its next council meeting in June will be just the start for R360, which is under the microscope about whether the proposition stacks up financially