Olympians Rowden and Fontes join Belfast entries
Rowden, 27, will compete over an 800m distance where he set his personal best of 1 minute 43.95 seconds in 2023.
The Woodford Green athlete won the UK 800m title in 2020 and 2023 and was an Olympic semi-finalist in Tokyo in 2021 in addition to representing Great Britain at two World Championships and two European Championships.
Rowden will be joined in the 800m field by two-time Olympian Fontes, who finished 13th in the 1500m final at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
The men's 800m field already includes Rowden's fellow British internationals Callum Dodds and Tom Randolph.
Dodds broke one minute and 45 seconds for the first time to clinch victory at last year's meeting in a track record of 1:44.79 which propelled him towards selection for the European Championships, as second-placed Randolph who also went under 1:45.
"The men's 800m is looking to be an absolutely fantastic race and it's great to have athletes of such high calibre on the start line," said meet director Eamonn Christie.
The Belfast meeting will be headlined by St Albans athlete Phoebe Gill who returns to the Mary Peters Track event after smashing the 45-year-old European Under-18 800m record when clocking 1:57.86 which cut almost four seconds off her personal best as she clinched a remarkable victory.
Gill, who went on to reach the Olympic 800m semi-finals in Paris after winning the UK title, will be competing over 1500m in Belfast.
Other big names at the Belfast meeting will include Ireland's 400m star Sharlene Mawdsley and Great Britain's double Paris Olympics relay medallist Sam Reardon.
Tipperary woman Mawdsley anchored her country to a dramatic mixed 4x400m relay gold at last year's European Championships and also won silver in the women's 4x400m at the Rome championships.
Reardon, 21, was part of Great Britain's quartet that clinched third place in the mixed 4x400m relay final in Paris and also helped his country secure bronze in the men's 4x400m relay at the Games.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Los Angeles Times
42 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Former Disney boss to run L.A. 2028 Olympics ceremonies
Former 21st Century Fox and Walt Disney Co. executive Peter Rice has been named head of ceremonies and content for the 2028 Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Los Angeles, LA28 organizers said Wednesday. In this role, the longtime TV veteran will be in charge of the physical production and creative oversight of the opening and closing ceremonies for both games. The 2028 Summer Olympics' opening ceremony will be held at two venues — the Coliseum and SoFi Stadium. The Games' closing ceremony will be held at the Coliseum. In a statement, Rice said he looked forward to producing ceremonies that would honor the legacy of the Coliseum and 'celebrate the cutting-edge future' of SoFi Stadium. 'These venues have hosted some of the most legendary moments in sports history,' Rice said. 'I'm thrilled to deliver a powerful artistic experience that adds a new chapter to LA's Olympic and Paralympic story.' LA28 President and Chairperson Casey Wasserman said Rice's background in 'creativity, operational insight and production excellence' made him ideal for the position. 'He's been a leading figure in shaping the modern television and film landscape and is the perfect asset to reimagining the delivery of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the digital age, leaving a legacy well beyond the Games,' Wasserman said in a statement. Rice spent decades at Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox, eventually rising to the role of president. After Disney acquired the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox in 2019, he became chairman of Disney's TV content division. At one point, analysts and insiders speculated that he could become Disney's CEO. He was ousted from that role in 2022 over issues of 'cultural fit,' insiders said at the time. He was replaced by Dana Walden, his top lieutenant who is now seen as one of the frontrunners to succeed Bob Iger as Disney's next chief executive.
NBC Sports
43 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Peter Rice to lead LA 2028 Olympic, Paralympic ceremonies
Global TV and film executive Peter Rice will produce the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic and Paralympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies. Rice was named Wednesday as the Head of Ceremonies and Content for LA 2028. He will oversee the creative vision and physical production of all four ceremonies that will be shared by the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (Olympic Opening/Closing, Paralympic Closing) and SoFi Stadium (Olympic Opening, Paralympic Opening). 'This appointment reinforces LA28's commitment to showcasing Hollywood storytelling and leveraging Los Angeles' unique position as the entertainment capital of the world,' according to an LA 2028 press release. Rice's experience includes being chairman of Walt Disney Television and Walt Disney General Entertainment and President of 21st Century Fox. He began his career at 20th Century Fox in 1989 and has earned 51 Academy Award nominations, 42 Golden Globe nominations and 293 Emmy nominations. 'Los Angeles stands as a global beacon of entertainment, culture and diversity, and I'm incredibly honored to embark on this next chapter,' Rice said in the release. LA 2028 President and Chairperson Casey Wasserman said Rice is 'the perfect asset to reimagining the delivery of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the digital age, leaving a legacy well beyond the Games.' Nick Zaccardi,
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
US Olympic, Paralympic officials ban transgender women athletes
The Brief Transgender women have been banned from competing in Olympic and Paralympic events. The new policy was announced quietly on Monday. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee said it had an "obligation to comply" with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee has effectively banned transgender women from competing in women's sports. The committee told the federations overseeing swimming, athletics and other sports it has an "obligation to comply" with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump. The change, announced Monday with a quiet change on the USOPC's website and confirmed in a letter sent to national governing bodies, follows a similar step taken by the NCAA earlier this year. New policy Dig deeper The USOPC's transgender eligibility policy page now includes a note that reads, "As of July 21, 2025, please refer to the USOPC athlete safety policy." That policy does not lay out any clear guidelines regarding trans inclusion in women's sports. However, it does include one paragraph that directly cites Trump's "Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports" executive order. USA Fencing was one of the first US Olympic organizations to publicly announce it has updated its gender eligibility policy after months of criticism for allowing biological males to compete in the women's category. The organization appeared to update its policy last week to include the following requirements for competing in domestic women's competitions: "Athletes who are of the female sex, provided all other entry criteria have been met." The new policy will go into effect beginning next month. The USOPC oversees around 50 national governing bodies, most of which play a role in everything from the grassroots to elite levels of their sports. That raises the possibility that rules might need to be changed at local sports clubs to retain their memberships in the NGBs. The nationwide battle over transgender girls on girls' and women's sports teams has played out at both the state and federal levels as Republicans portray the issue as a fight for athletic fairness. More than two dozen states have enacted laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some policies have been blocked in court after critics challenged the policies as discriminatory, cruel and unnecessarily target a tiny niche of athletes. The NCAA changed its participation policy for transgender athletes to limit competition in women's sports to athletes assigned female at birth. That change came a day after Trump signed the executive order intended to ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's sports. The Source Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press and FOX News.
