Russia’s sporting return on hold for inquiry into official’s alleged role in doping cover-up

Russia’s return to international sport has been delayed following allegations that its head of anti-doping was involved in covering up drug test results at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.While the International Olympic Committee said on Thursday that athletes from Belarus should now be free to compete under their own flag and anthem, it admitted it still had “concern” over Russia.Sources have confirmed that concern relates to recently reported claims linking the Russian anti-doping agency’s director general, Veronika Loginova, with the government-supported doping programme at the Sochi Games.While not naming Loginova, the IOC’s president, Kirsty Coventry, said the allegations had caused “great concern” and had “led to the World Anti-Doping Agency [Wada] looking into a potential doping allegation”.“It is of huge importance for me to do whatever we can to ensure that the field of play, whenever any athletes are coming back to competition, is the cleanest and fairest field of play that we can provide,” added Coventry

Jannik Sinner not ruling out grand slam boycott in prize money dispute

Jannik Sinner refused to rule out participating in a player boycott of the grand slam tournaments and accused the majors of disrespect for the top players due to their lack of response in the ongoing prize money dispute.“It’s more about respect, you know?” said Sinner, the men’s No 1. “Because I think we give much more than what we are getting back. It’s not only for the top players; it’s for all of us players. Again, from men’s and women’s side, we are very, very equal

Jonas Vingegaard targets Grand Tour slam as Giro d’Italia begins in Bulgaria

Jonas Vingegaard’s bid to complete a rare Grand Tour grand slam by winning the 2026 Giro d’Italia begins in Bulgaria on Friday when the double Tour de France winner makes his debut in the Italian race.Vingegaard, the winner of the 2022 and 2023 Tours de France, has been eclipsed by the achievements of Tadej Pogacar – winner this season of nine races in 11 days of racing – but is the outstanding favourite for victory in Rome on 31 May.That is largely because Pogacar is absent. In fact, the Dane will be competing in something of a void, as the world’s best riders skip the Giro to prioritise on the all-consuming Tour de France.Success in his first Giro will make Vingegaard the eighth rider in history to win all three Grand Tours, but the absence of Pogacar, both from last year’s Vuelta field and this spring’s Giro peloton, is likely to overshadow the achievement

From ‘whiff-whaff’ to the Table Tennis World Championships – photo essay

“Table tennis is very good for the mind as well as the body, whatever age you are,” says 73-year-old Wang Qi, the oldest competitor at the Table Tennis Team World Championships in London.Incredibly the Fiji player, who hails from China, is 61 years older than the youngest player, Enya Hu, from Switzerland. Age is evidently no barrier in this increasingly popular sport.Qi and Hu are among 380 men and women representing their nations inside the Copperbox and Wembley Arenas, where extraordinary reflexes and dexterity are showcased by all.This year’s tournament marks a century since the first world championships and comes when the sport is in the global limelight, buoyed up by the Hollywood movie Marty Supreme, starring Timothée Chalamet

Rachel Entrekin becomes first woman to win Cocodona 250 ultramarathon – and pets dogs along the way

Rachel Entrekin has made history by beating a field of elite men and women to win the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon.Entrekin had won the women’s race on two occasions but on Wednesday she headed the entire field, winning in a record time of 56 hours 9 minutes and 48 seconds.“I think I basically wept from the second I got off the single track until I crossed the finish line,” she told Run after completing her victory. The 34-year-old’s previous best time, which she set last year, was 63:50:55. The overall record had been 58:47:18

England poised to pick Marcus North as men’s selector over Steven Finn and Darren Gough

Marcus North, the former Australia middle-order batter, has emerged as the leading candidate to become the new England men’s selector, with an official announcement expected in the coming days.The 46-year-old has worked as director of cricket at Durham since 2018 and was among those interviewed for the equivalent role with England four years ago – only to miss out to Rob Key in the final stages of the process.But the chance to help shape the England men’s teams as selector has now resurfaced, with North understood to have beaten the likes of Steven Finn and Darren Gough after a round of interviews this week. The England and Wales Cricket Board has declined to comment, with the contract still to be signed.North would effectively replace Luke Wright, who decided to step down at the end of the Ashes defeat in Australia citing a desire to spend more time with his family