Ben Bloom

Lampard determined to stay normal as Coventry buy into the Cult of Frank | The Observer

10 points clear at the top of the Championship, Coventry City are delighted members of the Cult of Frank Lampard.

Wingate & Finchley have perspective and concrete wall altered after Vigar’s death Eight weeks after their last home game, the non-league club returned to their stadium eager to honour memory of opponent

“It’s as much of a normal Saturday as it can be. But I don’t think there’s any joy.”

Eight weeks after the tragic death of Billy Vigar, who collided with a perimeter wall during a match, Wingate & Finchley have finally returned to their home ground.

"I couldn't step off the train because I said I'd get back. I was fighting myself."

After almost dying in a motorbike crash, James Ellington spent years striving for a third Olympics. Then, he quietly stopped.

An admirably honest @athleticsweekly.com interview: pocketmags.com/athletics-we...

Late Thiago double earns comeback win for Brentford against 10-man Newcastle Kevin Schade was also on target in Brentford’s 3-1 win against Newcastle, who had led through Harvey Barnes before Dan Burn was sent off

Newcastle haven’t won an away Premier League game since April. Something is going very wrong.

Report from Brentford’s fully deserved 3-1 win.

Beach sprint rowing: The ‘T20 cricket of rowing’ coming t... Created specifically for entertainment value a little over a decade ago, the new discipline will make its debut at the next Olympics

"It's the T20 cricket version of rowing. A real spectator sport and far more exciting."

Sand run, sea row, sand run. Welcome to beach sprint rowing, coming to the LA 2028 Olympics.

Meet Megan Kealy, Britain’s best gymnast you’ve never hea... At the peak of her tumbling career, the 25-year-old is overcoming financial hurdles for the love of the sport

Meet Megan Kealy, Britain's greatest gymnast you've almost certainly never heard of.

Meet the British shot put champion doubling up as a bobsleigh pilot with an eye on Milan 2026 Having won her third British shot put title in four seasons in the summer, Adele Nicoll also has a Winter Olympic dream – and admits she’s ‘terrible for wanting to do everything’

Adele Nicoll has won the British shot put title in three of the last four years... but she's also the country's best female bobsleigh pilot, with sights set on the Winter Olympics.

The week sumo wrestling took over London | The Observer Excitement crackled in the glorious surrounds of the Royal Albert Hall, leaving Japan for only the second time in its 1,500-year history

Sumo wrestling at the Royal Albert Hall. Utterly absorbing.

The Spin | Cricket in Corfu causes confusion but also unexpected delight for a few Seeing a match on the Greek island may be unusual but it gave one American boy a touching link to his dead father

I went to play cricket in Corfu and it turned out rather unexpected.

Meet the cyclist who can earn six figures without leaving... More riders are turning to e-racing, despite the snobbery in the peloton

“A lot of people think: ‘What is this guy doing?’ But the money is so good and it’s an easy lifestyle. I’m my own boss.”

Meet the cyclists earning more competing virtually from their own living rooms than they did as top-tier road-racing professionals.

Comment: To hell with consequences, the Enhanced Games is... American sprinter Fred Kerley’s addition to the games  shows athletes are merely pawns ripe for exploiting

The Enhanced Games is dangerous, exploitative and those in charge could not care less about sport.

It is all about money, and to hell with the consequences.

Harry Brook has a dilemma as England search for more meaning The continued global formats forces England to solve their own malaise

What does all this cricket mean?

Rope hope: meet the 72-year-old heaving hard for England’s tug of war team After helping Great Britain win gold at the World Games last month, lifelong puller Richard Keightley is competing again in the world championships in Nottingham this weekend

Last month, I wrote about the world's greatest air hockey player. Now, it's on to tug of war (where England/Britain this weekend bid for an unprecedented golden summer).

To think I got ditched from my last job because athletics is supposedly too niche...

Southern Brave and Oval Invincibles shine as Hundred’s po... We wrap up 2025’s The Hundred in a series of 100-word snippets

Ahead of Sunday’s finals, an overview of The Hundred season in a series of exactly 100-word sections.

A task that started off oddly enjoyable and ended with a wish to never again count words.

Seamus Derbyshire sashays towards track stardom Ahead of his World Championship debut, the openly gay hurdler has gone viral on TikTok for his starting line routines

Seamus Derbyshire's story is important, because sport is for everyone.
observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

SACA: The growing success of Asian talent factory is a le... Breakthrough for South Asian Cricket Academy as more of their players go pro

This season, eight players have emerged from the South Asian Cricket Academy (SACA) to earn professional contracts, including four in the past month alone.

A huge success story that tells a deeper tale.

Dango Ouattara sees off Aston Villa as Brentford give Keith Andrews first win A debut goal from Brentford’s record signing combined with stubborn defending secured a 1-0 victory over Aston Villa

Two sets of worried fans turned up. Now there is only one.

Brilliantly drilled Brentford, woefully impotent Aston Villa.

Rivalry and role models: the benefit of a cricketing brother The Rew and Ahmed duos follow in a long history of fraternal competition

There are 14 sets of brothers playing first-team county cricket this season.

‘I went from world champ to mopping floors’: Colin Cummings, the greatest air hockey player of all time The Hawaii-based Cummings is hoping to parlay his family’s air hockey dynasty into a more prominent future for the sport

Ignored by the masses, but adored by a select few.

Meet Colin Cummings, the greatest air hockey player of all time.

Wedding venues and club pitches: where 50-over cricket we... The unloved One-Day Cup has been downgraded to little more than a development competition

A once-great competition pushed to English cricket’s unloved margins. Welcome to the One-Day Cup in 2025.

Hirst’s late penalty earns Ipswich draw with Birmingham in Championship opener The Ipswich striker fired home from the spot in the 95th minute to earn a 1-1 draw at Birmingham on the opening night of the Championship season

A couple of harsh decisions went against them, but plenty to hearten Birmingham fans after a dominant start to what they hope will be a Premier League promotion campaign.

Match report from Birmingham City 1-1 Ipswich Town.

Asher-Smith surges to 200m win and competition best at UK championships The sprinter clocked 22.14secs to edge out Amy Hunt in the women’s 200m, while Zharnel Hughes also ran a championship best in the men’s 200m

Mid-season upheavals are avoided in athletics, but last month Dina Asher-Smith left her American coaching setup and returned to London.

Now happy again, she claimed the British 200m title in a time quick enough for last year’s Olympic podium.

Burgin and Caudery dispel their demons as they target glo... With stars of the Olympics absent, new generation hope to stake their claim

With none of GB’s five Olympic medalists contesting their primary event this weekend, it’s over to the next generation to shine at UK Championships.

Step forward Max Burgin, Molly Caudery, Amber Anning, Charlie Dobson and the rest…

Zharnel Hughes dedicates British 100m title to aunt after missing her funeral to race Zharnel Hughes won the men’s 100m while Amy Hunt won the women’s 100m at the British athletics championships

- Zharnel Hughes misses his aunt’s funeral to win British 100m title.
- Amy Hunt clocks another PB after harsh Daryll Neita DQ.
- Molly Caudery says Olympic pole vault disaster is forgotten history.

A Day for Thorpey: Cricket still learning how to deal wit... With mental health referrals in the game at a high, a new book is trying to find answers

Over the first half of this year, the Professional Cricketers’ Association referred 79 cases for mental health treatment, putting it on track for its highest ever annual figure.

Is there a link between cricket and depression? And if so, then why?

Hunter Bell’s dilemma over audacious bid for double world athletics glory Middle-distance runner heads into this weekend’s UK Championships in Birmingham with a tricky decision looming

Georgia Hunter Bell will next week ask to be selected for the 800m and 1,500m at the World Championships. But actually contesting both events is another matter.

Non-league football: How 'Wrexham effect' is trickling down The 'Wrexham effect' is spreading as famous faces invest in non-league football, bringing higher attendances and bigger dreams.

The Wrexham Effect: How non-league football became glamorous (with Hollywood’s help)

Celebrities, publicity-hungry entrepreneurs, social media gurus, foreign investors and an attendance increase of almost 50% in five years

World Athletics monitoring outstanding Grand Slam Track payments to athletes World Athletic president Sebastian Coe said: ‘It’s not good’ as athletes wait on payments from the series, which was cut from four meetings to three last month

“It’s not good. There is no point in pretending this is a satisfactory situation.”

Seb Coe says World Athletics is closely monitoring Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track with athletes still waiting to be paid.

Poorer county cricket clubs count on the magic of The Hun... Windfalls from franchise could keep the more traditional form of the sport running

The Hundred is accentuating a "yawning gap" between county cricket's rich and poor. But it's also providing clubs a lifeline for their survival.

Hunter Bell contends with double trouble after winning London Diamond League 800m Georgia Hunter Bell, a 1500m specialist, said she will reach out to Kelly Holmes over her worlds dilemma while Phanuel Koech stunned home hope Josh Kerr in the men’s 1500m

What does a 1500m specialist do when they cannot stop winning over 800m?

Georgia Hunter Bell could attempt an audacious World Championships double. It depends what Kelly Holmes (the last woman to win Olympic 800m and 1500m gold) says.