Latest news with #CommonwealthGames
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Swim king Kyle Chalmers opens up on devastating mental health toll of love triangle controversy as he prepares to become a first-time father
Australian swimming champion Kyle Chalmers has opened up about some of the mental health challenges he faced during the 'love triangle' drama. Chalmers, 27, went through a rollercoaster of emotions at the 2022 Commonwealth Games as claims of a 'love triangle' emerged between himself, ex-girlfriend Emma McKeon and Cody Simpson. The ordeal tested him emotionally and led to Chalmers seriously considering quitting the sport he loves. 'It definitely impacted my mental health and wellbeing, and it kind of made me be like, "Do I actually want to put myself through this," and, "This is not what I signed up for to be a swimmer",' Chalmers told Body+Soul. 'I love swimming. I love representing my country at the highest level. But I don't want to talk about my personal life and then have that criticised in front of the world. 'As a young person in sport, you get into it for the love of sport; you don't ever think you're going to have to deal with these things.' Chalmers, who has previously said he was considering giving everything up to play country footy, revealed Aussie athletes of all stripes reached out to him. 'I received a lot of love from amazing athletes around Australia, and the world,' he said. 'Sam Kerr and Patrick Dangerfield reaching out to me was crazy, and Michael Clarke also, someone I grew up idolising. 'There were a lot of athletes in my corner supporting how I was feeling.' Chalmers is now engaged to Norwegian swimmer fiancée Ingeborg Løyning and expecting his first child. He says his life has already changed in many ways. 'You're quite selfish as an athlete, because you've always got to put yourself first,' he said. 'It's always prioritising your sleep and your recovery, and what you're eating and your plan for the day, to get the best out of yourself in the pool. 'Whereas now, it's already no longer about me. I'm prioritising my fiancee, how she's feeling in the pregnancy and doing what I can to support her through this period. 'And then eventually, it's going to be prioritising the baby, and the athlete will come second.' After his swimming career is over, he plans to complete his trade qualifications and return to his childhood home of Port Lincoln. He and Ingeborg are also excited about the Chalmers Swim Academy they have started, which will also offer mental health support alongside first-class virtual coaching. 'I don't want the next generation of swimmers to have to go through what I've gone through with the media,' he said. 'I want them to feel comfortable, rather than feeling criticised and fearing what the media could say or do.' Chalmers is still passionate about swimming and will surely be lighting up the pool again soon. 'Brisbane 2032 could be an option if I'm still loving it and enjoying my sport,' he said.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Sport
- Time of India
Bihar's Sunny settles for silver in long jump in Indian Open athletics
Bihar's Sunny Kumar grabbed a silver medal in men's long jump during the Indian Open athletics meet at Kanteerava Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday. He finished second on the podium with a jump of 7.90m while Muhammed Anees Yahiya grabbed the gold with a leap of 7.93m. As for David P, he finished third. Early this year, Sunny, who has been training in Thiruvananthapuram, had made a jump of 7.80m at 4th Indian Open Jumps Competition at Anju Bobby High Performance Centre in Bengaluru to grab the gold medal and he will be mighty proud with his showing on Saturday. Speaking of his performance, Raveendran Sankaran, director general cum CEO of Bihar State Sports Authority (BSSA), said in a statement, "This success of Sunny Kumar is the result of three years of hard training and practice. His success is not only a matter of pride for Bihar but also an inspiration and encouragement for other players." Meanwhile, on Saturday, Sunny began the final with a jump of 7.70 m and then followed it up with his best effort of the day — 7.90m. The third was a foul while the fourth was 7.87m. His fifth attempt was just 5.14m as he had to settle for a second spot. Muhammed Anees, who has a PB of 8.15m and also competed at Commonwealth Games and World Athletics Championships in 2022, meanwhile, struggled to say the least. His six attempts read as follows — 7.47m, 7.57m, 7.76m, 7.85m, 7.93m, 7.38m. As for David, he had three foul jumps but his last leap of 7.78m was enough to help him finish with a bronze medal.
Hindustan Times
15 hours ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
AFI sets new norms for private training centres
New Delhi: India's track and field athletes are preparing for the season this year at various private and government run training centres as per Athletics Federation of India (AFI) ambitious plan to give them the freedom to train at centres of their choice. AFI has also done away with long-duration training camps except for relay teams. Praveen Chithravel . (Getty Images) The idea is to create an open and competitive training environment and broaden the talent pool. Senior AFI officials feel the plan to decentralise training is showing results as is evident from performance at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea, where Indian athletes scooped up 24 medals finishing second in medal tally behind China. However, AFI is also facing some teething troubles in monitoring the athletes and has decided to put in place a mechanism to deal with that. In a meeting with various stakeholders, including government and private entities, AFI set several guidelines that these training centres will have to follow. The federation has already issued directions to athletes to get their training and competition programme cleared by them in case they want to head overseas. AFI said there is a growing trend of athletes choosing to train and compete abroad with funding and support from Target Olympic Podium Scheme and institutes like Reliance and JSW, who run their own centres. But when it comes to major international competitions their performances have dipped. The Paris Olympics were a big lesson for the AFI. Long jumper Jeswin Aldrin, Triple jumper Praveen Chithravel, Javelin throwers Kishore Jena and Annu Rani were among those who failed to deliver in Paris. They weren't even close to their best. Now, the federation doesn't want to make the same mistake with the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games scheduled next year. 'We want to ensure that athletes train with a target in mind, and not aimlessly go for overseas competitions. When you are competing abroad, you don't belong to JSW or Reliance, you belong to India,' said AFI spokesperson and former president Adille Sumariwalla. Chithravel, who equalled his national record of 17.37m this season, went for a few meets in Spain without AFI's permission. 'The point is that they just go and then perform badly. If you are a coach, all we are saying is tell us the annual programme. Which meets you will compete in India and which meet you will compete outside. Why do you want to go to a particular meet and train?' Sumariwalla said the Mission Olympic Cell does not give approval to athlete training abroad without AFI permission. 'Earlier there were cases where MOC had given permission even when AFI did not agree and all those athletes failed. Now, they take our approval,' he said. AFI also said that Indian coaches have a big role to play in pushing athletes to train outside because of their own interest. 'We have a full fledged calendar now in alignment with the world athletics calendar, so why do you want to compete outside? The standard of some of these tournaments are so low. In India you will get better competition,' said senior AFI official Lalit Bhanot to stakeholders. 'Neeraj Chopra trains outside because of a reason. Jyothi Yarraji can train and compete in meets outside because she doesn't have much competition at home but I can't understand why our jumpers and throwers are so eager to go out,' the seasoned administrator said. He said that participating in state meets and national championships is now mandatory and AFI has even set qualifying standards for its important domestic events. AFI has also started the process of registering coaches to track which athletes are being trained by whom. 'Some of these coaches are into manipulation, they encourage doping. They are also changing their wards from one training centre to another by taking money,' said Bhanot. AFI chief coach Radhakrishan Nair said coaches have to be very sure of periodisation. 'In the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, we had some wonderful performances. For example, Jeswin jumped 8.47m and Praveen did 17.37m. Going by their performance as a coach I would feel that at the Olympics, the jumpers would do better but we all know what happened in Paris,' said the chief coach. 'So we should have a combined plan. We can't just send our athletes to compete in events abroad without a plan. The stakeholders have to justify why they are participating. Recent studies show there is no one method of periodization. Next season we have CWG and Asian Games, and we need to sit together and chart out which events we need to give importance to and accordingly set training plans,' he said.
South Wales Guardian
15 hours ago
- Sport
- South Wales Guardian
Sir Mark Cavendish ‘proud' to have Douglas cycle track named in his honour
The winner of a record 35 Tour de France stages was back home in Douglas on the Isle of Man, where the cycle track at the National Sports Centre where he first started racing as a child was renamed the Sir Mark Cavendish Raceway. On the track where he used to compete every Tuesday night during his youth, Cavendish, who retired from racing at the end of last season, joined local schoolchildren on a ride as a new podium and signage was unveiled. 'When I was young, I would always be smashing it around that half-mile circuit,' Cavendish told the PA news agency. 'It was always fun, it was always something I would look forward to, and it taught me how to race. 'This is where I started, where every Isle of Man rider started racing, so it's very sentimental. It's not just like having something named after me – I'm very proud to have it at the place that started and shaped my career. It's truly an honour, it really means something on a personal level.' Cavendish used to revel in the weekly races run at the venue by Dot Tilbury, who remains a fixture at the National Sports Centre. Tilbury helped launch the careers of Cavendish, former Team Sky rider Pete Kennaugh and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Mark Christian, but the sessions she runs have been about more than finding future professionals. 'Cycling is fundamentally built on community and volunteers,' Cavendish said when asked about her contribution. 'That's what I loved about it. That's what got me started. 'It doesn't matter where you're from or what you do, everyone is joined by this single love, which is the bicycle – whether it's racing, using it for transport or for fitness. 'Historically club racing here in the Isle of Man and the UK in general takes a community who just love it, love seeing the racing and love what the bike is about. Without them these things don't exist and I think we need to treasure that.'
South Wales Guardian
15 hours ago
- Politics
- South Wales Guardian
Scottish troops set for relocation with high-readiness posting in Cyprus
The soldiers of 4th Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (4 SCOTS) have been based at Bourlon Barracks at the Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire for the last 10 years. During that time they have been able to 'put down roots' – building families and friendships, and continuing 'proud' Scottish traditions including the Highland games. The new posting will see them relocate to the British Sovereign Base Area in Dhekelia, Cyprus, with the first flights scheduled for Saturday. Once there the battalion will stand ready to respond at short notice to emerging situations across the Middle East and North Africa. At the same time they will be tasked with supporting peacekeeping efforts and protecting key military infrastructure on the island. Captain Craig Taylor, who has been with the battalion throughout its time at Bourlon Barracks, said the move will be a 'big change' for the troops. 'We've had 10 solid years of stability here in Catterick. It's been a place where soldiers could put down roots, raise families, and grow professionally,' he said. 'Moving to Cyprus will be a big change for us, not just in terms of the climate. 'This is an exciting opportunity that soldiers have been training hard for. It's not a short-term tour or exercise – it's a full overseas posting which gives us the chance to experience new cultures and ways of life. 'Professionally, it sharpens our edge. We'll be held at high readiness to deploy anywhere in the region, and beyond which is of real strategic importance to the UK.' It is not the first overseas posting for the battalion, which has been involved in operations in the likes of Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo since its formation in 2006. Closer to home, 4 SCOTS also provided security support for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, provided emergency aid during the 2018 Saddleworth Moor wildfires, and took part in the national Covid-19 response. Despite being more than 2,000 miles from Scotland, the battalion intends to take its traditions with it, with events including regimental competitions and Burns Night celebrations remaining 'firm fixtures' in the calendar. Capt Taylor added: 'We're proud of everything we've achieved here. 'But now it's time to pack up, push forward, and embed our Scottish identity into a new location.'
