Ben Bloom

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.

London Diamond League: Time for UK Athletics to accentuat... Sell-out event and new sponsorship deal should be the boost needed to get the sport thriving

Positivity has been in short supply for athletics in Britain over recent years. It would be great to have it stay.

This week, Faith Kipyegon will attempt to become the first woman ever to run a mile in under 4 minutes. It's contrived and won't count as an official time... but it's compelling and great for the sport.

Read the whole @athleticsweekly.com piece here: athleticsweekly.com/news/opinion...

Duke out as County Championship switches to Kookaburra ball The controversial Kookaburra ball will be used for all four upcoming peak summer County Championship rounds

While England's Test bowlers battle India with the country's traditional Dukes ball, their county counterparts are spending the next few red-ball games using a Kookaburra.

It's all in the hope of generating more spin and greater speed.

Keep the County Cricket members happy, or it might be Auf... The latest review into county cricket has to reduce load on players while winning over its loyal supporters

“If it doesn’t deliver the results we want then we, the counties, have only got ourselves to blame.”

The latest review of English domestic cricket enters its next phase this week. But will it leave anyone happy?

The curse of modern cricket – young stars who can’t get a... Will Smeed and Shoaib Bashir have flourished all over the world, but can’t make red-ball side for Somerset

In any other era, Shoaib Bashir and Will Smeed might be seeking alternative occupation.

Instead, they embody a very modern cricketing phenomenon: prospering around the world, but yearning for a chance at home.

Leicestershire are the ‘heroin addicts’ who have kicked the losing habit | The Observer Now minnows have thumped beleaguered Lancashire, missing out on promotion is becoming unthinkable

Halfway through the County Championship season, a look at how everyone is faring… with ‘little’ Leicestershire flourishing and winless Lancashire in need of a coach and captain.

‘Never think you’re too old’: Meet the world’s fastest 75-year-old woman Sarah Roberts is a grandmother and global record holder but only took up the sport after a parkrun eight years ago

Sarah Roberts had never run in her life until she turned 67. Now she's the fastest 75-year-old woman in history.

I went for a run with the extraordinary grandmother who holds every 75+ world record from 800m to 10km (she can also plank for 10 minutes).

How netball’s super relaunch missed the point | The Observer The new Netball Super League has enjoyed a successful relaunch, but “the most controversial game in Super League history” has exposed some outstanding issues in the game

Why are netball umpires paid to officiate on local park courts, but only given expenses when overseeing the elite?

A piece for @observeruk.bsky.social on the success - and teething problems - of the relaunched 'Netball Super League 2.0'.

Ahead of this weekend's World Relay Championships, a chat with Asha Philip for @athleticsweekly.com... on guiding Britain's next sprint generation, TV presenting at the Paris Olympics and potential retirement plans (not yet).

athleticsweekly.com/news/the-gui...