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• T&T’s Richards receives additional financial support from Ministry of Sport and Community Development

  Olympic 400m finalist Jereem Richards on Wednesday has been rewarded with additional financial support from Trinidad & Tobago’s Ministry of Sport and Community Development.

  The 30-year-old, who finished fourth in the 400m final in Paris in a national record 43.78, collected a cheque for $187,500 from acting permanent secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Community Development, David Roberts, at its head office in Port of Spain.

  “Jereem’s performance at the recent Paris 2024 Olympics games and his subsequent bronze medal at the Diamond League, showed true grit and a determination to succeed,” T&T’s Minister of Sport, Shamfa Cudjoe-Lewis, told Trinidad Express.

  “We at the Ministry are committed to ensuring that athletes are given all that they need to reach their highest levels of performance,” she added.

  The funding was awarded under the Elite Athlete Assistance Programme (EAAP) designed to help athletes like Richards to cover costs including training, international competition and travel fees as well as other essential expenses.

  A Ministry release on September 11 stated that, “similar to other athletes, the Ministry has continuously supported Richards’ athletic development which allowed him to successfully compete on the international stage. In 2019, Jereem Richards was awarded $125,000 and $187,500 in 2021. In 2022, he received $250,000 and in 2023 he was awarded a further $250,000.”

  Richards is also a World Indoor 400m champion from 2022, a two-time Commonwealth Games 200m champion from 2018 and 2022 and a World Championship 200m bronze medallist from 2017.

   

   

   

   

• Rahm sets sights on Ryder Cup but refuses to pay DP World Tour fines

  Jon Rahm has no intention of paying the fines dealt his way by the DP World Tour, as he reiterated his desire to play at the Ryder Cup.

  Rahm, who starred as Europe beat the United States in Rome last year to regain the Ryder Cup, moved to LIV Golf in February.

  The Spaniard's participation in next year's Ryder Cup, which will be held in New York, remains in doubt.

  Rahm was slapped with fines for playing in LIV tournaments that clashed with DP World Tour events without having requested permission.

  If he does not play in three more DP World Tour tournaments before the end of the season in November, he will not be eligible to play at the Ryder Cup.

  However, despite Rahm entering the Spanish Open, Dunhill Links Championship and Andalucia Masters, he will be unable to play until he pays his fines, something the 29-year-old does not plan on doing.

  "I'm not a big fan of the fines. I don't intend to pay the fines and we keep trying to have a discussion with them about how we can make this happen," he said.

  "I intend to play in Spain. Whether they let me play or not is a different thing."

  Former European captain Padraig Harrington has limited sympathy for Rahm.

  "I'm a stickler for the rules," he said.

  "I'm friends with Jon but if the rules are written down, that's just the way it is. The Ryder Cup is bigger than just the match. It is the backbone of the European Tour.

  "The European Tour doesn't have a lot of leverage to get players to come back across and play here. The Ryder Cup is the carrot that we use to get people to come back.

  "It is a very tough situation for Luke Donald and the Ryder Cup but if the 12th guy who qualifies by sticking to the rules gets bumped out, he's not going to be happy if somebody else has not stuck to the rules. We can't forget that person."

• McIlroy hoping for 'solution' to latest PGA-PIF talks

  Rory McIlroy hopes there will be a "solution" from this week's scheduled talks between the PGA Tour and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF).

  Tiger Woods is reportedly among a number of PGA Tour representatives in New York for discussions with representatives from PIF, which funds the LIV Golf tour.

  Negotiations for a deal that would inject over $1billion from PIF into PGA Tour Enterprises - launched by the tour and Strategic Sports Group as the new for-profit entity - began over a year ago,

  McIlroy recently revealed his frustration at the lack of progress, but is hopeful the ongoing issues will soon be resolved. 

  "I think everyone in the game would love there to be one [a resolution]," the world number three told BBC Sport NI.

  "A solution is hard to get to because there are different interests and people want different things. There's going to have to be compromise on both sides but hopefully they're the things they're talking about in those meetings.

  "I'm hopeful and hopefully we'll be hear some good news in the foreseeable future where things start to come back together."

  McIlroy was speaking ahead of this week's Irish Open at Royal County Down, where he hopes to deal with the pressure of performing on home soils.

  "I've had to learn over the years how to manage my week when I come home," he added. "I'm trying so hard to perform in front of the home fans, but then if I push too hard, it's detrimental to my game.

  "It's about managing all those emotions and getting lost in my own little world, and not trying to do anything I wouldn't normally do.

  "Just go out there and play the best golf that I can and not get too frustrated when things don't go my way. If I can do that then I think I'll be OK.

  "It would be extra special [to win here]. After everything that went on this summer and being so close to winning the US Open and being close at the Olympics as well, it would be a nice way to forget about those things and move on."