Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook: from opening batting to London Marathon
England's greatest opening partnership, Sir Andrew Strauss, 48, a veteran of two previous London Marathons, and Sir Alastair Cook, 40, are both running on Sunday to raise money for the Ruth Strauss Foundation set up in memory of Andrew's wife, who died in 2018 from a rare form of lung cancer.
Sir Alastair Cook The training has been really enjoyable but also quite strange. Some days you absolutely fly. You do a lot of plodding stuff and then you have effort days where you run shorter distances but quicker. Some days doing that you are cruising and some days it's a real effort. On Wednesday night I did a final run of 7km and I felt terrible. It was meant to be an easy run
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Novak Djokovic figures Wimbledon gives him his best chance at a record 25th Grand Slam title
Novak Djokovic during a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, Friday June 27, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP) FILE - Carlos Alcaraz of Spain holds his trophy as he stands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after winning the men's singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali,File) Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to a coach during a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) Novak Djokovic during a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, Friday June 27, 2025. (John Walton/PA via AP) FILE - Carlos Alcaraz of Spain holds his trophy as he stands with Novak Djokovic of Serbia after winning the men's singles final at the Wimbledon tennis championships in London, Sunday, July 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali,File) Novak Djokovic of Serbia speaks to a coach during a practice session at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, ahead of the Wimbledon Championships in London, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) LONDON (AP) — It's become part of Novak Djokovic's routine now, particularly at Grand Slam tournaments: He shows up and gets asked — at the start of the event, during the event, after the event or sometimes all three — whether this will be his final appearance there. Happened again Saturday at Wimbledon, and his response was the same it tends to be, which essentially amounts to: Who can tell? Advertisement 'Whether it could be my 'last dance,'' the 24-time major champion began, repeating the phrase used by the reporter who posed the question, 'I'm not sure — as I'm not sure about Roland Garros or any other Slam that I play next.' And then Djokovic continued, offering something of a mix of seemingly trying to quiet any talk about whether he truly is pondering retirement at age 38 while also being realistic about where things stand. 'My wish is to play for several more years. I would love to be healthy physically and also mentally motivated to keep on playing at the highest level,' he said. 'That's the goal. But you never know at this stage.' What Djokovic did concede is that the All England Club might offer the likeliest spot for him to gather one more Grand Slam singles title, which would allow him to raise his career haul to 25 — a number that no tennis player ever has reached. Advertisement 'I would probably agree that Wimbledon could be the best chance, because of the results I had, because of how I feel, how I play in Wimbledon,' said Djokovic, who faces Alexandre Muller in the first round Tuesday. 'Just getting that extra push mentally and motivation to perform the best tennis at the highest level.' Djokovic has won seven championships at the grass-court major and come oh-so-close to making his total eight — the number Roger Federer won, and one behind Martina Navratilova's record nine women's trophies — but lost in the 2023 and 2024 finals to Carlos Alcaraz. All told, Djokovic has appeared in the title match each of the past six times the tournament was held (it was canceled in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic), winning it in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. His most recent Wimbledon loss came all the way back in 2017, when he was defeated in the quarterfinals by 2010 runner-up Tomas Berdych. As for the persistent questions about Djokovic's future, it's the same type of topic that was presented to Federer, Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams as those greats of the game neared their farewells. Advertisement Now it's just Djokovic's turn. But just because he hasn't won a Grand Slam trophy in more than 1 1/2 years — he collected three in 2023, capped by the U.S. Open that September — don't think that Djokovic isn't capable of grabbing another. As he reminded anyone listening Saturday, he made it to the semifinals at the Australian Open this January before stopping after one set because of a hamstring injury, and got to the final four at the French Open this month before losing to No. 1 Jannik Sinner. After that one, Djokovic took time as he left the court to kiss his hand and lean down to touch the clay, then said it could have been his last match at Roland-Garros. There also was the not-so-small achievement of claiming a gold medal for Serbia at the Paris Olympics less than a year ago by beating Alcaraz, no less. Advertisement 'These tournaments give me the biggest drive, still,' Djokovic said. 'I like the way I feel right now, physically. Tennis-wise, I've been playing good on the practice sessions. Obviously completely different when you start a tournament. I'll try to have a very good tournament and go as far as I can.' And maybe even return in 2026. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
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WSU study finds possible link between childhood obesity and mothers' smoking pre-pregnancy
A study led by Washington State University (WSU) has identified possible links between childhood obesity and whether a mother smoked before pregnancy. The study found body mass index (BMI) patterns that could predict obesity, with findings published in Jama Network Open. The research analyzed the BMI trajectories of over 9,400 children, finding that while most children follow a typical BMI development path, 11% showed atypical patterns linked to factors before pregnancy. 'The most distinct finding is that we can identify children on a path to obesity as early as age 3.5 years,' said Chang Liu, an assistant professor of psychology at WSU and the corresponding author of the new paper. The study used data from the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program, covering from January 1997 to June 2024. Children in the atypical BMI group were more likely to have mothers who smoked during pregnancy or had high pre-pregnancy BMI, according to a release from WSU. The study said these children did not experience the typical BMI decline after their first year and began rapid weight gain by age 3.5, reaching an average BMI above the 99th percentile by age 9. The study highlights the potential for early intervention, suggesting that identifying at-risk children by age 3.5 could help prevent obesity and its associated health risks. The findings underscore the importance of early identification and intervention in preventing childhood obesity, with prenatal factors playing a significant role in determining BMI trajectories.
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Police assessing videos of Kneecap and Bob Vylan's Glastonbury performances
Police are assessing videos of comments made by acts Bob Vylan and Kneecap at Glastonbury to decide whether any offences may have been committed. Rapper Bobby Vylan, of rap punk duo Bob Vylan, led crowds on the festival's West Holts Stage in chants of: 'Free, free Palestine' and: 'Death, death to the IDF', before a member of Irish rap trio Kneecap suggested fans 'start a riot' outside his bandmate's upcoming court appearance. In a post on social media, Avon and Somerset Police said: 'We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon. 'Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation.' Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has spoken to the BBC director general about Bob Vylan's performance, a Government spokesperson said. They added: 'We strongly condemn the threatening comments made by Bob Vylan at Glastonbury. 'The Culture Secretary has spoken to the BBC Director General to seek an urgent explanation about what due diligence it carried out ahead of the Bob Vylan performance, and welcomes the decision not to re-broadcast it on BBC iPlayer.' A BBC spokesperson said: 'Some of the comments made during Bob Vylan's set were deeply offensive. During this live stream on iPlayer, which reflected what was happening on stage, a warning was issued on screen about the very strong and discriminatory language. We have no plans to make the performance available on demand.' Kneecap, who hail from Belfast, have been in the headlines after member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who performs under the name Mo Chara, was charged with a terror offence. In reference to his bandmate's upcoming court date, Naoise O Caireallain, who performs under the name Moglai Bap, said they would 'start a riot outside the courts', before clarifying: 'No riots just love and support, and support for Palestine.' In the run-up to the festival at Worthy Farm in Somerset, several politicians called for Kneecap to be removed from the line-up and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said their performance would not be 'appropriate'. During the performance Caireallain said: 'The Prime Minister of your country, not mine, said he didn't want us to play, so f*** Keir Starmer.' He also said a 'big thank you to the Eavis family' and said 'they stood strong' amid calls for the organisers to drop them from the line-up. O hAnnaidh, 27, wore a keffiyeh during the set, while member JJ O Dochartaigh, who performs under the name DJ Provai, wore his signature tri-coloured balaclava as well as a T-shirt that said: 'We are all Palestine Action', in reference to the soon-to-be banned campaign group. News broadcasts criticising the hip hop trio played from the sound system before they walked onto the stage were booed by the Glastonbury Festival audience. The trio opened with the song Better Way To Live from their 2024 album Fine Art and also performed tracks including Get Your Brits Out and Hood. Access to the area around the West Holts Stage was closed around 45 minutes before their performance after groups of fans arrived to form a sea of Irish and Palestinian flags. Earlier on Saturday, the BBC confirmed they would not be live-streaming the set but said the performance is likely to be made available on-demand later. O hAnnaidh was charged with allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist organisation Hezbollah, while saying 'up Hamas, up Hezbollah' at a gig in November last year. On June 18, the rapper was cheered by hundreds of supporters as he arrived with bandmates O Caireallain and O Dochartaigh at Westminster Magistrates' Court in Free Mo Chara T-shirts. He was released on unconditional bail until the next hearing at the same court on August 20. Elsewhere at the festival, Haim were revealed as the surprise act on the Park Stage at 7.30pm on Saturday. The band bounced on to the stage in black and silver outfits and tore into a raucous version of hit single The Wire. After the song, singer Danielle Haim said: 'On our first album, we came to Glastonbury and we played the Park Stage, I love you, and it was the best show I had ever played, until now, this tops everything.' The band was revealed as the surprise act with a red LED sign, similar to the one on their new LP I Quit, which was released earlier this year. The sign read 'the Haim show is about to begin'. Haim also dipped into some of their best-known songs, such as Summer Girl, Want You Back and one of their latest singles, Relationships. On the Pyramid Stage, Pulp were revealed to be Patchwork with the Sheffield-formed Britpop band paying homage to their breakthrough 1995 stand-in headline set during the performance.
