Will Perrett knows he faces an uphill battle in his bid to make Great Britain’s Olympic squad next summer but the 27-year-old is well accustomed to fighting against the odds.
Perrett will be back at the Lee Valley Velodrome this weekend for the final two rounds of the UCI Track Champions League, 11 months after a stunning victory in the men’s scratch race here helped him force his way on to Britain’s podium programme.
At the time, Perrett had quit his job and was self-funding in a bid to prove himself to the national team coaches, and his Champions League display came after he had taken a points race fifth on his World Championships debut and won the British Madison title alongside Mark Stewart.
It worked and in January he was invited in to train full-time as part of the elite programme.
But nothing has come easily for Perrett and a fresh setback was just ahead. In March he was diagnosed with glandular fever as a result of the Epstein-Barr virus.
“Initially I was just incredibly ill,” Perrett told the PA news agency. “I had tonsillitis-esque symptoms and incredible fatigue. I’d go for a walk around the block, come back and sleep for an hour. It was horrible. You feel a bit helpless.”
Had it happened while Perrett was funding himself, the illness could have ended his elite racing career.
“I would have been absolutely screwed,” he said. “If I’d not been on the programme I wouldn’t have been able to race, I wouldn’t even have been able to work because I was so tired. It could have ended everything.
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“That’s a massive benefit of being on the programme. You get so much help from the doctors, the coaches. They’ve not been pushy. They’ve said, ‘Look, we need to rebuild your foundations and then build you back up.’ That’s what I’m hoping to do this winter.”
Perrett believes he is still missing around five per cent of his threshold – a massive number at the elite end.
Yet he was able to claim another fifth place in the points race at the World Championships in Glasgow and earn another invitation to the Champions League, the glitzy made-for-television series which is in its third season.
Perrett struggled for results in the opening three rounds in Mallorca, Berlin and Paris as he works his way back up to speed, but will come to London for the sold-out finale on Friday and Saturday buoyed by memories of last December.
“I’ve been a bit ropey after a bit of time off after the worlds but I’ve loved being back (in the Champions League),” he said. “It’s good fun, the racing and the atmosphere.”
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There will be plenty of British interest in London, with defending champion Katie Archibald top of the women’s endurance standings, Emma Finucane third in the women’s sprint, and Will Tidball and Stewart fourth and fifth respectively in the men’s endurance.
Perrett’s goal is to keep plugging away for form as he eyes selection for the Euros in January. He remains an outsider for Paris as only four male endurance riders will go, meaning those four must be competitive in the team pursuit, but a chance is all he asks for.
“At the moment I haven’t got the results or the experience at that level of team pursuiting,” he said. “Only four riders go to the Olympics. It’s a crazy stupid rule. The Madison is a 200-lap, 50 minute event but to get into that you have to be able to get into the one that lasts three minutes 45 seconds.
“It’s a stupid rule but it’s the one you have to aim towards…But I have an opportunity and as long as I get the opportunity, that’s what matters.”
Paris get Olympic Games under way with stylish opening ceremony
Paris kicked off the 2024 Olympic Games by making history with the first opening ceremony to be held outside on a rainy night in France.
It is the first time in 100 years that the Games have been held in the French capital, and despite the constant showers, thousands of Olympians from the 205 delegations celebrated as they travelled down the River Seine on boats and barges.
During the nearly four-hour sprawling ceremony, spectators were treated to performances by Lady Gaga, Aya Nakamura and Celine Dion as the city showed off the story of France while commemorating Olympic history.
On a tour of the city, Paris' most well-known landmarks, including the Louvre and Notre Dame Cathedral, were on show as fans packed in around the parade route to get a glimpse of the showcase.
The Olympic flag was delivered to the Eiffel Tower on the back of a mechanical horse travelling down the river, while a masked individual carried the torch across the city.
An incredible light show on the Tower then restarted the torch relay, as Zinedine Zidane reappeared to hand it to two-time gold medallist Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard, with the help of fellow tennis icon Serena Williams, American sprinter Carl Lewis and Romanian gymnast Nadia Comaneci carried the torch back down the river on its way to the cauldron.
Some of France's best Olympians helped carry it the rest of the way before judoka Teddy Riner and sprinter Marie-Jose Perec lit the flame in the hot air balloon cauldron, which rose high above the Parisian sky, to officially mark the start of the Games.
More than 10,500 athletes will compete across 32 sports at the Games, which will close on August 11.
“The favourite is Thompson”-Boldon highlights Jamaican champion as man to beat in 100m in Paris
Trinidadian four-time Olympic medallist Ato Boldon has named Jamaican sprinting sensation Kishane Thompson as his favourite to take 100m gold at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Thompson, 23, is currently the world leader in the event after running a personal best 9.77 to win the 100m title at the JAAA/Puma National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June.
The MVP Track Club-trained sprinter also produced times of 9.82 and 9.84 in the heats and semi-finals, respectively, at those national championships and, most recently, ran 9.91 shutting down to win at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Hungary on July 9.
“Thompson is the favourite,” Boldon said in an interview with LetsRundotcom on YouTube on Friday.
“I know Noah (Lyles) is the World champion. I think Noah made it a little bit more interesting by running that 9.81 into a headwind which kind of almost converts to a 9.77 but there’s no way you can look at the way in which Thompson ran that 9.77 and just go ‘Oh Noah will beat him.’ Noah has his hands full with that guy,” Boldon said.
Blazing speed acknowledged, one thing that Thompson lacks that his other competitors don’t is experience competing at the highest level of the sport with this being his first time representing Jamaica at any level.
If there is anything to prevent Thompson from delivering on the form that he’s shown so far this season, Boldon believes that would be this lack of experience on a stage like the Olympic Games compared to his peers.
“There are things which I see people completely ignoring. Kishane Thompson has not been under the microscope of Olympic favourite. Rounds are a great equalizer. Noah has the medals that he does because of how well he runs rounds. Is Noah suddenly a lock for the silver? No but he does have his hands full,” he said.
“There are others who are going to be in the 100m that are used to the pressure and pressure is a big thing. If he’s able to pull this off, you write books about stuff like that,” he added.
Thompson's quest for Olympic glory will begin in the heats of the men's 100m beginning on Saturday' August 3.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce launches hair care line, AFIMI, ahead of final Olympic Games
In what is hoped will be a memorable year for Jamaican track and field star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the legendary sprinter has announced the launch of her new hair care line, AFIMI. The announcement comes as Fraser-Pryce prepares to compete in her final Olympic Games, aiming to make history by winning a record-extending fifth Olympic 100m medal in Paris.
Fraser-Pryce, 37, has faced injury challenges over the past few years and has only had four races this season, three of which were at the Jamaican national championships in late June. Despite her limited time on the track, her entrepreneurial spirit continues to thrive. The three-time Olympic gold medalist shared the news of her latest venture on Instagram, posting a video that features her running on a track, enjoying the beach, and proudly standing beside her products, all while wearing various hairstyles that showcase the versatility of her yet-to-be-released hair care line.
In her Instagram post, Fraser-Pryce, adorned in Jamaican colors, is seen wearing braids, lace front wigs, and other styles, emphasizing the multi-use nature of AFIMI products. The caption reads, “Hair is your most powerful form of self-expression and has been an exciting way to reinvent myself every time I step on the track. From the main stage to the finish line, my hair has helped me set the tone for many fearless victories. That’s why it’s so important that it gets the care it needs. I’ve designed these products with you in mind to keep your hair feeling and performing its best no matter what comes your way. This line is a vibrant tribute to Jamaica, inspired by its lush resources and welcoming essence — each ingredient naturally sourced from the earth to enhance your natural beauty. AFIMI, It’s for you, no matter who you are.”
Fraser-Pryce is no stranger to making bold statements with her hair. Whether at the World Athletics Championships or the Olympic Games, she has consistently used her hair to express her vibrant personality and Jamaican pride. At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar, she won her fourth world championship gold medal in the 100 meters with a stunning rainbow-dyed hairstyle. In 2022, she claimed her record fifth world 100m title in Eugene, Oregon, while sporting a beautiful blonde look with green and yellow highlights.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she left fans speechless with a striking orange wig featuring elements of hot pink during her first 100m heat. Similarly, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, she wore a yellow-to-orange ombre wig while taking home the silver medal in the women’s 100m race.
Fraser-Pryce's love for hair dates back to 2013 when she launched Chic Hair Ja, a store that retailed virgin human hair and hair care products in Kingston. The store enjoyed a successful run until 2017. That same year, she revamped and rebranded her hair care line to Lady Shelly, adding natural products to the lineup. Lady Shelly featured products made in Jamaica with natural ingredients, catering to all hair textures and positioning itself as a multicultural hair care line.
As Fraser-Pryce prepares for her final Olympic Games, fans are eagerly anticipating not only her performance on the track but also the stylish hair looks she will undoubtedly bring to Paris. With AFIMI, she continues to inspire and empower, showing that her influence extends far beyond the world of athletics.
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