LA to make Olympic history with two-venue opening ceremony in 2028

Los Angeles will make Olympic history in 2028 by staging the opening ceremony of the Summer Games across two venues: the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. LA28 organizers confirmed the unprecedented dual-venue format on Thursday, making Los Angeles the first city to open an Olympics at two stadiums simultaneously.The 14 July ceremony will also mark a milestone for the Coliseum, which organizers say will become the first venue to host Olympic events at three separate Games, following 1932 and 1984. SoFi Stadium, the $5bn home of the NFL’s Rams and Chargers which opened in 2020, will make its Olympic debut.The Olympic closing ceremony will be held on 30 July at the Coliseum, the longtime home of the University of Southern California football team

Pogacar’s absence from Giro d’Italia may offer breath of fresh air for competition

The 2025 Giro d’Italia may lack the star power of the Tour de France, but it is likely to make up for it with dynamic and unpredictable racing when it gets under way in Tirana on Friday.Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, the top three riders in last year’s Tour de France, are not racing, but the Giro will, as ever, throw up plentiful drama.Even so, this year’s lineup has been characterised by some as a cast of Pogacar-avoidant wannabes, nearly men and fading champions who have travelled to Albania for the Grande Partenza.That’s a little unfair on a quality field that includes past Giro winners in Primoz Roglic and his Bora Hansgrohe teammate Jai Hindley, the Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and a resurgent Egan Bernal, the Colombian climber leading Ineos Grenadiers.Yet it only serves to emphasise the dominance of the seemingly unstoppable Pogacar – who rather than defend his title, has opted to focus on July’s Tour de France – that so much of the pre-race chat has been about the Slovenian’s absence

Horse racing: more records for Aidan O’Brien as Chester dominance continues

Aidan O’Brien took sole ownership of the record for victories in the Dee Stakes and the Ormonde Stakes on Thursday, thanks to a second double in as many days at the May meeting with Mount Kilimanjaro and Illinois. Both winners were delivered with precision by Ryan Moore to lead in the straight, and within sight of the winning line in the case of Mount Kilimanjaro.Moore’s mount was under a ride and seemingly going nowhere with just over a furlong to run in the 10-furlong Dee Stakes, a trial for the Derby at Epsom next month, but when Moore finally coaxed him through the gears, Mount Kilimanjaro produced a relentless run down the middle of the track to overhaul High Stock a few strides from the post.The winner was cut to around 20-1 for the Derby but, like the runner-up, could switch instead to the French equivalent – the Prix du Jockey Club on 1 June – over the same trip as Thursday’s trial.Mount Kilimanjaro brought up a dozen wins for O’Brien in the Dee Stakes, one more than Barry Hills, who was similarly dominant in the Dee in the 1980s and 1990s, while Illinois’ strong-staying success in the Ormonde took the trainer to seven victories in the race, one more than the now-retired Sir Michael Stoute

British & Irish Lions squad 2025: the chosen 38 players

We profile each player from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland who will compete for places in Andy Farrell’s Test match squads to take on Australia this summerSale and EnglandAge 31 Caps 49 Lions caps 3Back in the England fold after a two-year injury absence. Played in all of England’s Six Nations matches, starting four, winning the nod, as here, over Jamie George, England’s previous captain. Also involved in every Test in South Africa in 2021, starting the first two. A handful around the park with much-improved technical skills.Leinster and IrelandAge 28 Caps 39We thought he might be Ireland’s hooker for the foreseeable when he made his debut in the 2020 Six Nations, a few months after Rory Best retired

AFL invite backlash as they make it up as they go with Willie Rioli case | Jonathan Horn

After a week of threats, statements, weasel words, revelations and negotiations, the AFL finally landed on what they do best – a sanction. Willie Rioli can seize a dead ball, swivel his backside, slalom through a trio of defenders and slam home a goal in about 2.5 seconds. That’s how long it should have taken the AFL to deal with his alleged threats. Instead, in their eternal struggle between being progressive and punitive, they were caught in the middle, swinging in the wind

British & Irish Lions: Pollock in, Farrell out and Itoje captain for Australia tour – as it happened

Time to leave you with Gerard Meagher’s report, plus Michael Aylwin’s pen pics for every player. Thanks for joining me.There are only two Wales players in Andy Farrell’s 38-man line-up – comfortably their lowest-ever total in a Lions squad. Just four years ago, Wales sent 10 players to South Africa while Ireland had eight.2025: Ireland 15, England 13, Scotland 8, Wales 22021: England 11, Wales 10, Ireland 8, Scotland 82017: England 16, Wales 12, Ireland 11, Scotland 22013: Wales 15, England 10, Ireland 9, Scotland 3Here’s the reaction from Northampton as 20-year-old Henry Pollock was selected, along with Fin Smith, Tommy Freeman and Alex Mitchell