Ally McCoist admits any friendship between Rangers boss Michael Beale and Celtic counterpart Brendan Rodgers will be put on hold for the duration of the upcoming season.
Beale and Rodgers have previously crossed paths at Chelsea and Liverpool but will lock horns for the cinch Premiership title in the 2023-24 campaign.
McCoist talked up the importance of respect between managers of the Old Firm, having memorably clashed with Neil Lennon in a 2011 derby, and is in no doubt that will be there in abundance.
But TNT Sports pundit McCoist said: “No, the friendship has not got to be over but it has to be put on pause.
“One thing you’ve got to do is have a healthy relationship, you genuinely do, and respect for the opposition manager in the Old Firm.
“It has always been the case. Of course you have incidents, myself and Neil Lennon had a wee incident and Walter (Smith) had incidents, you have incidents but there has to be a healthy reaction and relationship between the clubs.
“I don’t have any doubt that Michael and Brendan will have that and continue it. They have been friends for a while and it will stay the same.”
Both Rangers and Celtic have overseen summers of change with Allan McGregor, Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos among those to move on from Ibrox while eight players have been signed with Los Angeles’ Jose Cifuentes expected to be the ninth addition with a pre-contract agreement in place, according to Beale.
Celtic, meanwhile, saw Ange Postecoglou move down south to take charge of Tottenham in June and ex-boss Rodgers return for his second spell at Parkhead.
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Rangers begin their league campaign with a trip to Kilmarnock on Saturday night while Celtic kick off with the lunchtime visit of Ross County.
“This is the first year in a long, long time where I genuinely don’t know who wins it,” McCoist admitted.
“Celtic have lost one or two, lost Jota but I wouldn’t say Brendan left under a cloud. I think there was a section of the Celtic support who weren’t happy because he left at that time and went Leicester and I get that, but you can’t please everyone all the time.
“One thing that is undeniable is that he is an excellent coach and knows how to set up a team. I thought he was a little bit unlucky and harshly treated at Leicester because I don’t think he got the money to spend to replace the real quality that needed replacement.
“Just in my opinion, I think he was cut a bit short there. They’ll back him at Celtic.
“Over at our place, I think Michael Beale has brought in nine players. I watched them against Newcastle in pre-season, did OK. I watched them against Olympiacos, didn’t look great. Didn’t look good in the first half against Hoffenheim and then looked great in the second half against Hoffenheim.
“So, I don’t really know but of course Rangers and Celtic have got to hit the ground running, particularly Rangers with the (Champions League) qualifier coming up.
“It is a tough one to call. I don’t know how Rangers’ players will settle in. They brought them in quickly.”
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The Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA) has showered praise of Jamaica’s Senior Women Football team that historically qualified for the round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in South Africa on Wednesday.
After holding France, ranked in the top five in the world, to a 0-0 in their opening match and defeating Panama 1-0, Jamaica only needed a draw from the much-vaunted, top-10 ranked Brazil on Wednesday to secure a place in the knock-out round of the global tournament. Prior to Wednesday, no Caribbean team has ever managed to advance from the group stage of the competition.
However, after another steely, disciplined performance in which they held the South American giant to a 0-0 draw, the Reggae Girls achieved another historic milestone.
The JOA’s executive was impressed with the monumental achievement.
“Feats are there to be achieved and the Reggae Girlz continue to demonstrate a capacity and an ability to do so by claiming a space in the round of sixteen at FIFA’s Women’s World Cup,” the JOA said in a statement following the match that saw Jamaica finish as the runner-up to France in Group F.
JOA President Christopher Samuda was effusive in his praise stating, “History is indelibly at their feet, the present secured in the palm of their hands and the future in the vision of young girls who are dreaming the possible.
“The Reggae Girlz are authoring a script in football which is inspiring a nation to aspire where it was thought dreams only resided. The reality is that we can and they have done it. The Jamaica Olympic Association salutes them and looks forward to sharing the Olympic dream that will become a reality in Paris 2024.”
JOA Secretary General Ryan Foster was equally emphatic in his characterization of the performance that had an entire nation beaming with pride.
“The horizon is now clearly in sight and well within the reach of the Reggae Girlz and the Jamaica Olympic Association stands with watchful eyes in the hope that history again will be created and a nation’s pride will overflow for this is a moment that we hope will become a life-long story,” Foster declared.
Brazil, the pride of world football, was the casualty and sport historians will record that it was at the instance of Jamaica. This historic fact has not escaped President Samuda. “Brazil fell at the feet of the Reggae Girlz who now are the giants of history and visionaries of the future,” the JOA president beamed.
Dane O’Neill is making progress from injuries sustained in a fall at Wolverhampton earlier this month, but looks set to miss the rest of the domestic season.
The veteran rider was unshipped from the Charlie Hills-trained Eagle Eyed Tom in the extended nine-furlong Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Handicap on July 11, just after the stalls had opened.
The race was abruptly halted and voided, while O’Neill was attended to by paramedics on the track before being stretchered off and taken to Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
Shadwell’s number two rider suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra and broken ribs, and is “frustrated” according to Angus Gold, racing manager for Sheikha Hissa’s powerful racing and breeding operation.
O’Neill’s misfortune has been exacerbated by Shadwell’s number one rider Jim Crowley incurring a 20-day ban for overuse of the whip aboard Hukum, when winning a thrilling King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
Crowley will be ruled out of the Juddmonte International at York in a fortnight’s time and with O’Neill sidelined, the plum ride on the John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf is now up for grabs.
Gold said: “Mostahdaf, as far as I know, is well, although I haven’t spoken to John yet. We’ll get Goodwood out of the way first.”
Asked if either Frankie Dettori or William Buick may be considered for the ride, Gold added: “I’m not being perverse, but I’ve not even mentioned the subject. Obviously those are two possibilities, but we have literally not had a chat about it.”
O’Neill is on the mend, but he is not likely to return to the saddle in the immediate future.
Gold added: “Dane is mending. I spoke to him on Tuesday. It is frustrating, it’s a long process. Seven ribs (broken), he’s obviously very uncomfortable, poor man.
“Obviously, A – there’s the physical side and then, B – it is fantastically frustrating for him, when the whole point of being second jockey, when the first jockey is hurt or suspended, you want to make the most of the opportunity.
“But the poor fellow is not going to be able to be in a position to capitalise on it. It is very frustrating.
“I doubt he will be riding again this season. I haven’t asked him the question.
“It is the beginning of August and it is going to be another month mending them. I don’t know. He might be able to ride in early October, but that’s when he heads off to Dubai normally. I doubt he will be back here (this season).”
Southampton boss Russell Martin says James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia will be involved in Friday night’s Sky Bet Championship opener at Sheffield Wednesday “as it stands”.
Both players have been linked with an exit from St Mary’s this summer following last season’s relegation from the Premier League, with Ward-Prowse linked with Fulham and West Ham and Lavia attracting bids from Liverpool.
But a transfer for either men have yet to materialise and Martin will utilise them at Hillsborough.
“Both will be involved tomorrow night, as it stands, I dont know what will change between now and then,” he said in his pre-match press conference.
“Do I think they will be Southampton players at the end of the window? I have not got a clue. What I hope, what I think, is probably very different.
“It would be pointless for me to come out and say, ‘I think they will be here, I don’t think they’ll be here’, because ultimately I have no control over that.
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“If they are both not here, or one is not here it is because the club and the player think they have something which is beneficial for everyone.
“That will be the case, that is why it has dragged on and why it will probably continue to drag on. But while they have been here, both have been great and both will be involved tomorrow night. As it stands.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana is injured and will miss the trip to South Yorkshire, while Sekou Mara is a doubt.
England coach Shaun Wane has welcomed a revised international rugby league calendar that confirms a 2026 World Cup as well as committing to the return of regular Ashes tours from 2025.
The International Rugby League said the next tournament will take place in the southern hemisphere following two rival bids, each backed by government guarantees, which are presumed to be from Australia and New Zealand.
The tournament had been due to take place in France in 2025 but the prospective hosts pulled out in May citing financial reasons, leaving the immediate future of the tournament, which had been staged successfully in England last year, in jeopardy.
The IRL also indicated that the sport’s Australian power-brokers have agreed to the return of regular Ashes tours, starting with both England men’s and women’s teams heading Down Under in 2025.
Wane said: “I was brought up on Ashes tours so the chance to coach on that makes myself and my family immensely proud.
“I’m so glad we’ve gone forward with the international rugby league calendar. It’s such a strong message to everyone in the game and I think it’s a real shot in the arm.
“Even though we didn’t succeed in the World Cup, the tournament over here and the success of Super League since the World Cup just shows the need for a strong international game.”
From 2026, the men’s World Cup will be reduced from 16 to 10 teams, while both the women’s and wheelchair World Cups will continue to feature eight teams each. The women’s event will revert to a stand-alone competition from 2028.
IRL chairman Troy Grant said: “The IRL board has made these decisions to create more compelling content and secure the financial future of the international game.
“The cancellation of France 2025 has given us an opportunity to refresh the structure of the World Cup and associated tournaments as part of a long-term international calendar that all in the game have been desperately seeking.”
Previous attempts to pin down an international calendar have stalled, partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic, plus perceived resistance within Australia’s NRL.
However, England will face Tonga in a three-Test series in October, and Grant indicated that agreements have been reached for New Zealand and Australia to travel to face England men’s and women’s teams in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
Despite initial interest from Qatar and another country in the Middle East, assumed to be Saudi Arabia, a return of the World Cup to the southern hemisphere appeared inevitable after the French withdrawal.
Grant added: “We will have an expedited bid process and the host will be identified before the year’s end, once the board has completed its due diligence of those bids.”
The next Rugby League World Cup will take place in the southern hemisphere in 2026, the sport’s international governing body has announced.
The tournament had been due to take place in France in 2025 but the prospective hosts pulled out in May citing a failure to achieve financial guarantees.
In addition, the IRL announced a resumption of the Ashes series with England’s men’s and women’s teams travelling to Australia in 2025, and return visits from New Zealand and Australia in 2027 and 2028 respectively.
The International Rugby League (IRL) said a precise decision on the hosting rights for the next World Cup will be announced later this year.
The revised tournament will feature a reduced field of 10 men’s teams, as well as eight-team women’s and wheelchair World Cups respectively.
IRL chairman Troy Grant said the organisation has received two separate bids to host the new tournament, presumed to be from Australia and New Zealand, which will be backed by government guarantees.
Grant said: “We will have an expedited bid process and the host will be identified before the year’s end, once the board has completed its due diligence of those bids.”
Former Sunderland and Ipswich striker Marcus Stewart feels both his old clubs can put themselves in the Sky Bet Championship promotion picture this season.
The Mackems reached the play-offs last season, losing out to Luton, while Ipswich came up from Sky Bet League One.
Sunderland host Ipswich at the Stadium of Light for their Championship opener on Sunday, with the televised fixture set to support the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation.
A programme of activity is scheduled to raise awareness for motor neurone disease and help generate donations, including a pre-match talk-in with Stewart, whose own diagnosis came after 12 months of testing and was revealed in September last year.
Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray was Stewart’s captain when at Ipswich, while another former Town team-mate Mark Venus is assistant head coach.
Stewart played for Sunderland between 2002 and 2005, helping Mick McCarthy’s side win promotion to the Premier League in his final season.
It is a target which Stewart feels Mowbray’s men can also now have in their sights once again.
“Sunderland pushed on last year and got into the play-offs, probably unexpectedly with a young squad,” Stewart told the PA news agency.
“They have added a bit of experience with summer signings like Bradley Dack, so I expect them to be up there again.
“It is probably a different kind of pressure they have now, because that expectancy level has gone up a bit.
“The fans there are passionate, ruthless and brilliant all in one. If you are not pulling your weight, they will let you know about it – but on the flip side, if you are doing brilliant, then they are the best fans in the world.
“You have got to be able to handle the pressure up there, the good and bad times which every player gets during the season.
“But Tony is a calm man and will take everything as it comes. He will not get too excited and not get too down when results are going well or bad for them, which will happen during the season.
“It is just how to get through those spells (of bad results), which will happen, and then promotion is on the cards.”
Ipswich have also supported Stewart’s fundraising efforts, making donations from a new kit launch in July, which was the inspired by Suffolk club’s shirt in the 1999-2000 promotion campaign.
After winning the Championship play-off final at Wembley, Stewart’s 19 Premier League goals helped George Burley’s team finish fifth and secure qualification for the UEFA Cup.
Former Town frontman Stewart, 50, feels the Tractor Boys can use momentum from a fine League One campaign under Kieran McKenna to make an impact on their long-awaited return to the second tier.
“Ipswich are riding a crest of a wave at the moment, there is a feel-good factor about the place,” said Stewart.
“How they are doing things there from the top can only benefit the club and they have a good young manager who got promotion in his first full season.
“Like most clubs, you want to get off to that good start. It is all about being in touch and then the recruitment come January will be really important.”
MND is a degenerative condition which affects the brain and nervous system. It is a life-shortening disease and there is no cure.
Although it will progress, symptoms can be managed to achieve the best possible quality of life.
Currently head of player development at National League South club Yeovil, another of his former clubs, Stewart, supported by his wife Louise, hopes to continue to front charity campaigns while he is able.
In May, Bristol Rovers hosted a charity match between a South West Legends side and an All-Star XI, with the weekend’s events raising a grand total of just over £110,000.
Stewart’s family and friends will also be undertaking the #TEAMSTEWART254 Cycle Challenge in October, which will see fundraisers travel over 900km to seven of his former clubs.
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Stewart has lost grip in his left hand since being diagnosed and has a weak arm, but continues to hold a positive outlook.
“I am not a person who likes to be in the limelight to be honest, but I have embraced it,” said Stewart, who also had spells at both Bristol clubs as well as Huddersfield and Exeter, playing in every tier of the English professional game.
“With the start of a new season it is the start of a new campaign to raise awareness and a new opportunity for clubs to step up, like Sunderland and Ipswich have.”
:: The Stewart family are raising funds for the Darby Rimmer MND Foundation at justgiving.com/team/teamstewart254.
Donations can also be made by texting DRMND followed by the amount to 70085.
Lizzie Armitstead and Geraint Thomas won gold in their respective road races on the final day of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, on this day in 2014.
Armitstead – now Lizzie Deignan – led an England one-two ahead of retiring team-mate Emma Pooley in an exciting women’s race.
Pooley, in her last race before switching to endurance triathlons, played a brilliant selfless role in the 98-kilometres event – seven laps of a 14km undulating course – and finished with silver as 25-year-old Armitstead triumphed.
“I just feel like I deserve it,” said the Otley rider, who claimed silver behind Australia’s Rochelle Gilmore in Delhi four years ago and secured Britain’s first medal of London 2012 – with Olympic silver – behind Marianne Vos of Holland.
“I’ve trained so hard. I’m always on the podium, I don’t win that many races.
“It’s just a confidence thing. Once you’ve got a big title, you can call yourself a champion finally.”
England finished top of the medal table with 174, 58 of them gold.
Thomas won gold for Wales in the men’s discipline, triumphing in torrential rain in a race which became about survival and brute strength.
The 28-year-old from Cardiff, fresh from finishing the Tour de France a week earlier, twice suffered front-wheel punctures, including in the last six kilometres as his rivals neared.
But Thomas soloed to victory by one minute 21 seconds as Jack Bauer of New Zealand beat England’s Scott Thwaites to silver, the Yorkshireman having to settle for bronze.
“Riding the Tour before, it just adds to how good it feels to come away with two medals. I really didn’t expect it,” said Thomas, who also took bronze in the road time-trial.
“I was coming purely out of national pride and wanting to ride for Wales. I never really expected to medal, if I’m honest.
“To come away with a win and a bronze is more than I could’ve dreamt of.”
Gerrit Cole outpitched Shane McClanahan in matchup of All-Star aces, and Giancarlo Stanton drove in four runs as the New York Yankees avoided a sweep with a 7-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday.
Cole allowed a two-run homer to Wander Franco in the first inning but settled down to allow those two runs and four hits over seven innings. He struck out eight, walked two and improved to 6-0 after a Yankees loss this season.
New York sent eight batters to the plate and scored five times off McClanahan in the third inning as the left-hander was denied his 12th win.
Harrison Bader led off with a double and Anthony Volpe followed with his 14th home run. Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Gleyber Torres singled before Stanton launched his 15th homer to right-centre for a 5-2 lead.
Stanton added a run-scoring single in the seventh and the Yankees won for just the eighth time in 22 games since July 4.
Tampa Bay had a three-game winning streak snapped but remained 1 ½ games behind AL East-leading Baltimore.
Happ homers twice in another big offensive showing for Cubs
Ian Happ went deep twice and and Jeimer Candelario was 4 for 4 in the Chicago Cubs’ 16-6 rout of the Cincinnati Reds.
Christopher Morel, Dansby Swanson and Seiya Suzuki homered as Chicago beat up on the Reds for the second straight night. The Cubs won 20-9 on Tuesday and the 36 runs are their most in any two-game span since 1897.
Joey Votto hit two home runs for the first-place Reds, who matched a season high with four errors.
Braves hit 3 more homers in win
Ronald Acuna Jr., Austin Riley and Matt Olson homered off Lucas Giolito and the Atlanta Braves rolled to a 12-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels.
Acuna belted a three-run shot off Giolito in the third inning, then Riley and Olson went back to back in the fourth to cap a six-run outburst that ended the day for the Angels’ starter.
Giolito matched his career high with nine runs allowed in 3 2/3 innings in his second start with the Angels since he was acquired from the White Sox.
Atlanta has a major league-leading 206 home runs and is on pace for 315m, which would best the major league record of 307 set by the 2019 Minnesota Twins.
Andy Murray was triumphant in his first match since last month’s Wimbledon second-round exit and in the process exercised some demons in Washington.
Murray lost in the last-64 at the All England Club to Stefanos Tsitispas on July 6 but was back on court four weeks later to step up his US Open preparations and defeated Brandon Nakashima in straight-sets.
World number 44 Murray was in action at a familiar stomping ground and was able to clinch a first victory at the Citi Open since his tearful appearance there in 2018.
Five years ago after victory against Marius Copil, a tearful Murray hobbled off court and had to withdraw from a scheduled quarter-final showing with Alex de Minaur due to exhaustion.
Murray’s troublesome hip injury plagued him in Washington in 2018 and he would subsequently have hip resurfacing surgery that would rescue his career months later.
The two-time Wimbledon champion lost in the first round of the Citi Open to Mikael Ymer last year, but was able to finally return to winning ways at the tournament with a 7-6 (5) 6-4 victory over Nakashima in the last-32.
Fellow Briton Dan Evans joined his compatriot in tasting victory in Washington.
Evans fought back from a set down to beat Gregoire Barrere to book his place in the next round.
The 33-year-old won a narrow contest 2-6 6-0 6-3 to end a run of three defeats after first round losses at Queen’s Club, Wimbledon and Atlanta during the past two months.
Liam Broady was unable to replicate Murray and Broady’s success after he was defeated 6-4 6-2 by Tallon Griekspoor.
Corey Seager's sprained right thumb healed even faster than the Texas Rangers had anticipated.
The Rangers activated Seager from the 10-day injured list Wednesday ahead of their game against the Chicago White Sox.
Just earlier in the day, Rangers general manager Chris Young told reporters that the All-Star shortstop had a chance to come off the IL later this week.
Turns out, it was just a few hours later he would be back in the Rangers' lineup.
Seager was placed on the IL on July 22, a day after he jammed his hand on an awkward head-first slide to beat out a double in the eighth inning of the Rangers' 11-5 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
X-rays after the game were negative, and an MRI revealed no structural damage.
The Rangers went 3-6 with Seager on the IL, and entered play Wednesday, one-half game ahead of the Houston Astros for first place in the AL West.
This ended up being Seager's second trip to the IL this season after he missed 31 games from mid-April to mid-May with a left hamstring strain.
Seager is hitting .350, which would be good enough to lead the American League in batting, but he doesn't have enough plate appearances to qualify because of his earlier trip to the IL.
Prior to exiting the July 21 game, Seager hit his 15th homer of the season and team-leading 29th double - tied for third most in the AL.
Seager, who was selected to his fourth All-Star game earlier this year, is in the second season of a $325million, 10-year deal with the Rangers.
The Toronto Blue Jays placed star shortstop Bo Bichette on the 10-day injured list Wednesday, two days after the American League's current batting leader injured his right knee against the Baltimore Orioles.
Bichette underwent tests Tuesday that revealed no structural damage and the 2023 All-Star has been diagnosed with patellar tendinitis.
Blue Jays manager John Schneider told reporters Wednesday that the team does not anticipate a lengthy absence for Bichette, who's batting .321 this season and ranks second in the major leagues with 144 hits. Schneider said it's too early to tell, however, whether the 25-year-old can return when first eligible on Aug. 11.
“The quicker we can get Bo back the better, obviously,” Schneider told MLB.com. "But we’ve got to see how he goes with each day, with each treatment, with each activity.”
Bichette exited Monday's 4-2 loss to Baltimore in the third inning after his right knee buckled as he rounded first base after reaching on a single. He was able to walk off the field under his own power but was noticeably limping and grimacing.
The injury prompted the Blue Jays to acquire veteran infielder Paul DeJong from the St. Louis Cardinals at Tuesday's trade deadline. DeJong will make his Toronto debut in Wednesday's series finale against the Orioles.
DeJong has produced 13 home runs and 32 RBIs along with a .233 average in 81 games this season. The seven-year veteran was an All-Star with the Cardinals in 2019 and finished that season with career highs of 30 homers and 78 RBIs.
Newly minted men’s 100m champion Rohan Watson and defending world champions Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce and Shericka Jackson headline a powerful Jamaican team named Wednesday to represent the country at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Watson, the surprise winner of the men’s 100m will campaign alongside Ryiem Forde and 2022 World Championship finalist Oblique Seville. Ackeem Blake who just missed out on the top three spots in the 100m has been listed as an alternate but he will be a member of the 4x100m squad that will also include Tyquendo Tracey and Michael Campbell.
Fraser-Pryce will be going for her sixth world title with Shericka Jackson, the reigning national champion in both 100m and 200m, campaigning alongside her. Also down to contest the 100m is Sashalee Forbes and Natasha Morrison.
Briana Williams and Elaine Thompson-Herah have been selected as members of the 4x100m relay team.
Andrew Hudson and Rasheed Dwyer will contest the men’s 200m while Jackson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Natalliah Whyte and Kevona Davis will take on the 200m. Sashalee Forbes has been named as an alternate for the 200m, presumably on the likelihood that Fraser-Pryce will not go in the half-lap sprint.
The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) put to rest the likelihood of Rusheen McDonald, who is the fastest Jamaican in the world this year over 400m, contesting the one-lap sprint. McDonald, who has run 44.03 this year, the third fastest time ever run over 400m by a Jamaican man, failed to show up for the semi-finals of the national championships.
Zandrian Barnes has been given the nod, who failed to finish in the top three at the national championships in early July, but has met the qualifying entry standard of 45.00. He will contest the 400m along with national champion Sean Bailey and runner-up Antonio Watson.
Jevaughn Powell, Malik James-King and Demish Gaye will make up the 4x400m relay squad.
Nickisha Price, Candice McLeod and Charokee Young will compete in the 400m for women with Joanne Reid named as an alternate. Janieve Russell, Rhonda Whyte and Shian Salmon will make up the 4x400m relay squad.
Reid, meanwhile, will contest the 4x400m Mixed Relay along with Stacy-Ann Williams, Rusheen McDonald and D’Andre Anderson.
Navasky Anderson, who dramatically met the entry standard of 1:44.70 on the final day for qualification on Sunday, is only male 800m runner named on the team while Natoya Goule and Adelle Tracey will take on the women’s event. Tracey will also compete in the 1500m.
An area of great strength for Jamaica is the sprint hurdles. World leader Rasheed Broadbell, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion, will lead Jamaica’s hunt for medals along with Olympic champion Hansle Parchment and the fast-rising Orlando Bennett. Tyler Mason has been named as an alternate.
Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper will lead the charge for the Jamaican women in the 100m hurdles alongside NCAA champion Ackera Nugent, who is making her debut on the senior team, and 2015 World Champion Danielle Williams, who is also the 2019 bronze medallist.
Amoi Brown is selected as the alternate.
Newly crowned senior national champion and World U20 record holder Roshawn Clarke will take on the world’s best in the 400m hurdles along with Jaheel Hyde and Assinie Wilson while Russell, Andrenette Knight and Rushell Clayton, the 2019 bronze medallist, will go in the women’s race.
Salmon is the alternate.
Romaine Beckford is to represent the black, gold and green in the high jump for men with Lamara Distin and Kimberly Williamson set to take on the women’s event.
The impressive teenager Jaydon Hibbert, the world leader in the triple jump, will try to add world title to his World U20, Carifta, NCAA Indoor and Outdoor titles. Two-time World championship silver medalist Shanieka Ricketts will go for a third medal in the women’s event and will be accompanied by NCAA silver medallist Ackelia Smith and Kimberly Williams.
Jamaica’s strength in the field events is further bolstered by the selection of Carey McLeod, Wayne Pinnock and the 2019 World Champion Tajay Gayle for the long jump while Tissana Hickling and Smith will contest the event among the women.
Newly crowned national record holder Rajindra Campbell and Danniel Thomas-Dodd will throw the shot put in their respective events.
Fedrick Dacres, the 2019 silver medalist, national champion Traves Smith and NCAA silver medallist will throw the discus in Budapest with Samantha Hall set to take on the women’s event. Last but certainly not least is the impressive Nyoka Clunis who will throw the hammer at the prestigious event where the world’s best athletes will congregate on August 19, 2023.
Gabriel Jesus will miss the start of the Premier League campaign after Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed the forward has undergone a minor operation.
The Brazil international missed three months of last season after suffering a knee injury at the World Cup.
Jesus impressed following his move from Manchester City last summer but now faces a short spell on the sidelines after going under the knife after “irritation” with the original knee issue.
“Unfortunately, he had a little procedure this morning,” Arteta said after Arsenal’s penalty shoot-out win over Monaco in the Emirates Cup.
“He had some discomfort in his knee that has been causing some issues and they had to go in and resolve it. It is not something major but he looks to be out for a few weeks I think.
“It is a big blow because we had him back to his best, especially the way he played against Barcelona, and he was in good condition and we lost him.
“But he has been feeling some discomfort in the last few weeks and we had to look at it, we had to make a decision and the best one is to protect the player and get him back as quick as possible so we decided to do it.
“It is something related to the previous injury that he had and the surgery. He had some irritation in the knee and we had to get it resolved.”
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