At home with Jakob Ingebrigtsen: ‘I’ve fed my obsession my whole life’

On a bone-cold new year’s morning, the world’s most compelling athlete is sweating so much that tiny puddles are starting to ooze across his treadmill.For 40 minutes Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes 6min 40sec mile pace look like a Sunday stroll, breezily chatting away even as the heatbox in his home gym pushes the temperature inside to more than 32.4C (90F). Only when I ask the double Olympic champion what his super-strength is does he pause to take a proper breath. “In Norwegian we have a word for it,” he eventually replies

Bullish Borthwick tells England to target Six Nations triumph in Paris

Steve Borthwick is plotting an ­English raid on Paris and has called on his side to set their sights on clinching a first Six Nations title in six years in the French capital on Super Saturday.England have not won the title since the Covid-hit championship in 2020 and last managed the grand slam in 2016 when Eddie Jones’s side clinched a fifth straight victory at the Stade de France.Borthwick was in bullish mood after announcing a settled 36-man squad for the tournament, naming a pair of uncapped props in the 19-year-old Billy Sela and Emmanuel Iyogun amid injury problems in the front row, while Exeter’s 22-year-old flanker Greg Fisilau will hope to make his debut. The head coach also ­welcomes back George Furbank, who has struggled with calf and arm injuries recently and has not played for England since November 2024.A clutch of players including Fin Smith, Ollie Lawrence, Fin Baxter, Tom Roebuck and Ben Curry will head to next week’s warm weather training camp in Girona for rehabilitation but it remains to be seen whether they will be fit to face Wales at Twickenham for England’s opener on 7 February

Borthwick’s task is to strike the right balance with thriving England ready for takeoff | Robert Kitson

Precise formations, instant decision-making, absolute synchronicity. It is not hard to grasp why Steve Borthwick and his assistants spent an instructive day with the Red Arrows last month in preparation for a Six Nations campaign in which they would love to soar even higher and leave their rivals gazing at their vapour trails.Squadron leader Borthwick was particularly struck by the clarity of the Red Arrows operation – “They were so clear and to the point about what they must do better” – and how the world-renowned air display team choose their elite personnel. “The lead pilot basically said: ‘Every one of these pilots is a great pilot. What we’re going to select on is the character of these people

Harry Redknapp targets second tilt at Cheltenham glory with Taurus Bay

The first meeting between Sir Gino and The New Lion, the top two in the Champion Hurdle betting, is among the highlights of Trials Day at Cheltenham on Saturday but every contest on the eight-race card will offer pointers towards the festival and owner-of-the-moment Harry Redknapp will hope to see another big-race contender emerge in his colours in the concluding race.Redknapp’s attempt to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband of chasing, with The Jukebox Man, his recent King George VI Chase winner, already looks sure to be the biggest story at this year’s festival. It never hurts to have strength in depth at Cheltenham in March, however, and a win for Taurus Bay in the Grade Two AIS Novice Hurdle would see him shoot towards the market leaders for the Turners Novice Hurdle.Ben Pauling, who trains both The Jukebox Man and Taurus Bay, has made no secret of the regard in which he holds the five-year-old, a £155,000 purchase at Cheltenham’s February sale in 2025.“I think Taurus Bay is very smart,” Pauling said, “but we are going from two miles to two and a half miles on what will be very testing ground and hopefully he will stay

Lewis Hamilton warns new F1 season will present biggest challenge of his career

Lewis Hamilton has emphasised the scale of the challenge facing drivers and teams as Formula One enters a new season with a regulation reset that the British driver described as the biggest of his career, as his Ferrari team look to a new start after a disappointing 2025.The Scuderia launched their new car, the SF-26, with Hamilton driving it at the team’s test track at Fiorano for the first time on Friday. He was optimistic, having been involved in the development of a Ferrari for the first time but acknowledged that a huge task lay ahead.“The 2026 season represents a huge challenge for everyone, probably the biggest regulation change I have experienced in my career,” he said. “Being involved from the very start in the development of such a ­different car has been a particularly fascinating challenge, working closely with the engineers to help define a clear direction for it

Your Guardian sport weekend: Premier League, Australian Open and NFL title games

Day seven at Melbourne sees some big names in action as Jannick Sinner and Novak Djokovic go in the men’s draw, where one of the game’s veterans is enjoying a last hurrah. The former champion Stan Wawrinka, who will retire at the end of the season, is the first player to reach the third round at a grand slam past his 40th birthday since Ken Rosewall at the same tournament back in 1978. The Swiss next faces the ninth seed, Taylor Fritz of the US. In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek and fashionista Naomi Osaka are the standouts. Luke McLaughlin hosts our liveblog, while Tumaini Carayol and Jack Snape report