US Olympic committee sidesteps transgender athlete policy amid LA28 buildup

The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has said it will not set any policy on transgender athlete eligibility ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games, despite growing political pressure from the Trump administration and increasing scrutiny over access and inclusion in women’s sport.Speaking Thursday after the committee’s first board meeting of 2025, chief executive Sarah Hirshland said the USOPC had no plans to define eligibility criteria, even as US president Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14201 – titled Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports – threatens to upend international participation protocols.“It wouldn’t be appropriate,” Hirshland said. “It’s not our role to take on that position.”Responsibility for athlete eligibility, she said, falls to international federations in global events and national governing bodies (NGBs) in domestic competitions

Aaron Rodgers keeping options open: ‘Dealing with a lot off the field’

Aaron Rodgers isn’t in a hurry: not to retire, not to return and not to sign with another team.The 41-year-old quarterback, released by the New York Jets last month, said Thursday he’s not ready to make a commitment for the upcoming NFL season. Appearing on the Pat McAfee Show, the four-time MVP stressed that his current focus is on matters off the field, including a serious relationship and close friends facing personal challenges.“I’m in a different phase of my life,” Rodgers said. “To make a commitment to a team is a big thing

Max Verstappen insists he is happy at Red Bull despite concern over car

Max Verstappen played down concerns that he may leave Red Bull after the world champion was left frustrated and disappointed at the last round in Bahrain but reiterated that he was unhappy with the car and that as things stand it will be hard to defend his title this season.Verstappen finished sixth in ­Bahrain, unable to make any impression against the frontrunners McLaren, Mercedes and ­Ferrari. The car struggles with balance problems and is proving a handful to drive, with the team identifying a disconnect between their data from the wind tunnel and its real-world performance.After the race, Red Bull’s motorsport adviser Helmut Marko called the performance “very alarming” and warned that “the concern is great” Verstappen, who has a performance-related escape clause in his ­contract, could leave. Senior ­personnel, including Marko and the team ­principal, Christian Horner, held crisis talks after the race to consider how to address the car’s problems

Skelton’s Cheltenham winner maintains narrow title lead in duel with Mullins

A single winner on Cheltenham’s final card of the season was enough to maintain Dan Skelton’s narrow lead in the contest for the National Hunt trainers’ championship on Thursday, ahead of a busy Easter programme weekend when Skelton and the defending champion, Willie Mullins, will send dozens of runners to tracks in all parts of the country as the title race goes into its final week.Mullins, who was the first Irish trainer to win the British championship for 70 years when he edged out Skelton 12 months ago, equalled his own record of 10 wins at the track’s festival meeting last month.He could not add to his Cheltenham tally for the year from four runners yesterday, however, although all four finished in the money, adding £17,645 to the Mullins cause before Skelton’s mare Shakeyatailfeather went to post as 2-1 favourite for the Holland Cooper Mares’ Handicap Chase.It was a clear shot at a valuable prize for the stable as Mullins did not have a runner in the race, and Harry Skelton, the trainer’s brother, brought Shakeyatailfeather with a smooth run to overhaul the second-favourite, Somespring Special, on the run to the final fence on the way to a four-and-a-quarter length success.The Skeltons also fielded the 3-1 favourite in the concluding bumper, but while Sheezer Dancer finished strongly against the stands’ rail, she crossed the line in third

Andrew Flintoff to share ‘vivid’ memories of Top Gear crash

The former England cricketer Andrew “Freddie” Flintoff has promised to share “what actually happened” in the horrific Top Gear crash in December 2022 that left him with life-altering injuries.In the trailer for a Disney+ documentary about his life and career, which will air next Friday, he says of the accident: “I remember everything about it … it’s so vivid.”Flintoff was airlifted to hospital after a crash at Dunsfold Park in Surrey while filming an episode of Top Gear for the BBC. The popular motoring show was subsequently taken off air and the broadcaster reached a financial settlement with Flintoff for a reported £9m.“It’s almost like a reset and I’m trying to understand what I am now,” Flintoff says in the trailer for the documentary

Three dead after boat collision at Major League Fishing event in Alabama

A fishing tournament on Alabama’s Lewis Smith Lake turned deadly on Wednesday morning when two boats collided during competition, killing three people and injuring at least three others.The crash occurred around 7am during the second day of the Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Invitational, prompting the league to cancel the remainder of the event.According to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the collision involved a Nitro bass boat and a center-console style vessel. One man, identified as Joey M Broom, 58, of Altoona, was fatally injured when the bass boat struck the vessel he was aboard. He was pronounced dead at the scene