Trans player Noa-Lynn van Leuven says darts has given her something to live for following her transition.
The 27-year-old joined the Women’s Series in 2022 after transitioning the year before and she created history by becoming the first trans woman to play in a televised darts tournament in July when she played in the Women’s Masters in Blackpool.
The Dutchwoman believes she would no longer be alive if she had not transitioned but is now able to live out her dream.
“I think if I didn’t have the transition, I wouldn’t be here anymore,” she told the PA news agency. “The last two years before I transitioned were terrible for me, I was depressed, I wasn’t having fun in life.
“I didn’t have anything to live for, I wasn’t in a good space. Then I realised I am trans, I should do something with that or I am not going to make anything out of my life.
“I went to the doctor and then went into the programme.
“Since the transition it has been three or four years until I started playing darts again. I was playing darts for nine years and I was missing something in life and then I started playing darts again, I missed the game, I missed the people within darts.
“It is a dream to come true, the years before I transitioned I didn’t even have any dreams. I wasn’t happy.
“Now I am happy again and I have so much to live for. I really love darts, I love playing it, I love meeting new people and travelling and that is all possible because of darts.”
Her journey has not been entirely smooth, though, as she revealed she receives animosity from other players, who she believes want her banned.
“It’s been coming from some players, male players, female players but I think a lot of them are getting educated so that makes it easier for me,” Van Leuven, who has passed stringent transitioning tests, added.
“Most of the time it is behind my back, I have heard from a few friends that players have gone up to them and said we need to get her banned, this isn’t OK.
“But also more terrible things. It sucks but I try not to let it get too much into my head. It is very hard, it has been tough for the last two years. There are a few trans players but I guess I am the only one who can throw really good darts, so they want to get rid of me. What’s the easiest way to get rid of? To get me banned so they don’t have to play me.”
Van Leuven was speaking to mark this year’s Rainbow Laces campaign, with the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) supporting the movement by adopting the colours of the trans flag for the PDC logo on-stage at last weekend’s Players Championship.
She added: “A lot of the players are getting educated so that makes it easier for me. The PDC are really helping in educating people.”
The Milwaukee Bucks got big performances from their two brightest stars in a 131-124 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday to clinch a quarterfinal spot in the In-Season Tournament.
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and Damian Lillard added 32 to help the Bucks win East Group B with a 4-0 record.
Milwaukee will host wild-card New York on either Dec. 4 or 5, with East Group C winner Boston going to Group A winner Indiana for the other quarterfinal before the Final Four in Las Vegas.
Miami, which was without second-leading scorer Jimmy Butler, dropped its second straight following a 9-1 stretch.
Bam Adebayo scored 31 points and Kyle Lowry had 21, including a 3-pointer with 3:25 remaining to put the Heat up 118-115.
The Bucks, though, finished on a 16-6 run, going 5 for 6 from the field and 5 for 5 from the line. Lillard made two free throws with 63 seconds to play to help put it out of reach.
Milwaukee lost forward Pat Connaughton to a sprained right ankle in the second quarter.
Kings rally past Warriors to advance
Malik Monk sank a fadeaway with 7 seconds remaining and the Sacramento Kings rallied from 11 down in the fourth quarter for a 124-123 win over the Golden State Warriors.
De’Aaron Fox scored 29 points and Monk and Kevin Huerter each added 21 for the Kings, who won their group with a 4-0 record and will host New Orleans next week in the quarterfinals.
Sacramento needed a win or a loss by 11 points or fewer to advance but erased a 21-point deficit to win for the seventh time in nine games.
Stephen Curry and Andrew Wiggins led the Warriors with 29 points apiece, but Golden State dropped to 2-8 in its last 10 games.
Timberwolves star Edwards injured in win
Rudy Gobert had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame an injury to star guard Anthony Edwards in a 106-103 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the In-Season Tournament.
Edwards had 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter before landing hard on his right side during a dunk attempt and leaving with a bruised right hip.
Coach Chris Finch had no more details on the injury or whether Edwards would miss time.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder with 32 points on 13-of-22 shooting but his 37-foot try at the buzzer, his only 3-point attempt of the night, was well off the mark.
Reserve Troy Brown Jr. scored 17 points and Naz Reid added 15 for Minnesota, which improved the West’s best record to 12-4.
Andy Murray inspired Great Britain to Davis Cup victory for the first time in 79 years on this day in 2015 after success in the final against Belgium.
Britain had last got their hands on the trophy in 1936, when Fred Perry and Bunny Austin helped defeat Australia.
When Murray completed a straight-sets win against David Goffin in Ghent to clinch it, he completed one of the most impressive feats of his career.
The Scot’s 6-3 7-5 6-3 triumph against the Belgian number one at the Flanders Expo was his 11th win in the competition that season.
Murray spearheaded the victory and claimed 11 of the 12 points which Britain needed for the title, eight in singles and three in doubles with brother Jamie. The only player not a member of the Murray family to contribute was James Ward.
Three other players have won 11 rubbers in a season since the current Davis Cup format was introduced in 1981, but Murray became the first to do so all in live rubbers and remain unbeaten.
On their way to victory, Britain defeated the United States 3-2 in Glasgow, France 3-1 in London and Australia 3-2 in the semi-finals in Glasgow before Murray sealed a 3-1 success against Belgium.
Murray said: “I probably haven’t been as emotional as that after a match that I’ve won.
“I’ve been pretty upset having lost matches before. But I’d say that’s probably the most emotional I’ve been after a win.
“It’s incredible that we managed to win this competition. I didn’t know that would ever be possible.”
Filip Forsberg scored just 14 seconds into overtime to lift the Nashville Predators to their sixth consecutive win, 3-2 over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday.
Michael McCarron scored twice in the first period and Juuse Saros stopped 29 shots for Nashville, which followed a four-game losing streak with wins in six straight.
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust had goals for the Penguins, who dropped to 2-4-1 in their last seven.
Gustav Nyquist assisted on McCarron’s first goal to extend his point streak to nine games. He has two goals and nine assists during that stretch.
Pittsburgh went scoreless on both power-play opportunities and is 0 for 20 over the last eight games.
Wild stop slide in Hynes’ debut
Joel Eriksson Ek and Frederick Gaudreau scored first-period goals and the Minnesota Wild snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues in John Hynes’ debut as coach.
Matt Boldy added a goal in the third period and Filip Gustavsson stopped 23 shots for Minnesota, playing its first game under Hynes after the Wild fired Dean Evason on Monday.
Colton Parayko scored for the Blues, who dropped to 3-4-0 in their past seven games.
Devils score 3 in third period to rally past Islanders
Curtis Lazar scored with 23 seconds left to cap a three-goal third period and rally the New Jersey Devils to a 5-4 win over the New York Islanders.
New York took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but Jack Hughes scored at 5:08 and Nico Hischier netted the equaliser on a 4-on-3 power play with 8:50 remaining.
Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer also scored for the Devils, who have won two straight after losing six of seven.
Mathew Barzal had a goal and two assists for the Islanders, who had a six-game point streak snapped (3-1-3).
Global revenues for women’s elite sport will top £1billion for the first time in 2024, finance company Deloitte predicts.
Rapidly increasing attendances and television viewing figures across different sports, coupled with more lucrative commercial and broadcast deals, sees Deloitte’s TMT Predictions report (technology, media and telecommunications) predict global revenues of 1.28billion US dollars (£1.03bn).
Commercial revenue contributes 55 per cent of that total, backed up by broadcast deals and matchday income.
Jennifer Haskel, insights lead for Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, said: “We wrote a prediction in 2021 and the revenues that were generated, from 2021 to now, is over 300 per cent higher. So you can see over the past few years there has been an incredible amount of growth.
“We’re seeing a lot of popularity in terms of viewership, attendances etc. That’s showing it’s also a great business decision to invest in and support women’s sport – that’s what I think that billion dollars shows.”
This summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup final between Spain and England was watched by 75,784 in Sydney, with attendances at the tournament averaging nearly 31,000.
Over 86,000 watched hosts Australia beat India to win the women’s T20 Cricket World Cup in 2019 while last year’s Ashes drew significant crowds to English Test grounds including Lord’s and Trent Bridge.
Football’s Women’s Super League – which on Tuesday announced a new governing body also covering the Championship – has increasingly staged games at men’s Premier League grounds, with Arsenal hoping to sell out the Emirates Stadium next Sunday against Chelsea.
The NWSL and basketball’s WNBA have led the way in the United States, helping establish football with the largest share of Deloitte’s projection at 555m dollars (£436.7m) followed by basketball with 354m dollars (£278.5m). Tennis comes next with the WTA Tour competing on an equal footing to the men’s ATP Tour.
Haskel continued: “Because women’s sport is in this nascent phase, there’s this ‘test and learn’ culture where you can trial playing a certain amount of games at the main stadium or increasing and decreasing ticket prices – that matchday environment is only going to get better because the data will be there to show what fans want.
“Matchday and broadcast (income) are going to continue to grow but commercial is really that biggest lever for women’s sports right now.
“You’re starting to see women’s-only commercial deals, but also percentages of full club deals being attributed to the women’s team so that value is starting to become more apparent.
“It is a lower-cost entry point but there is potential for very high reward, as well as opportunities for different sponsors that could enter women’s sport because of the demographic or the marketing message.”
Commercial expansion is not without risk, as demonstrated by the controversial European Super League proposal in men’s football and the over-saturation of the global cricket calendar.
Women’s football finds itself at the other end of the process, with the Champions League qualifying structure coming under scrutiny after the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Juventus and Wolfsburg missed out.
Haskel said: “I think one of the benefits is women’s sport can learn from the mistakes of men’s sport but change paths and be a bit more agile because of how early on in the cycle they are.
“Every female sports organisation right now is looking at, what are the governance structures that need to be in place to make sure that as women’s sport continues to grow, it maintains financial sustainability.
“Maybe at first the structure was set up to mimic what the men’s side used to do but now women’s sport, as its own distinct product, can carve its own path and its own structure.”
Tahlia Richardson can now call herself a four-time National Senior Badminton Champion after once again claiming the Women’s Open title at the All Jamaica Badminton Championships at the YMCA Auditorium last weekend.
The 22-year-old 2023 CAC Games bronze medallist took the title after a three-set win over Katherine Wynter.
Richardson won the first set 21-14 before Wynter rallied back to level proceedings at one set all with a 28-26 second set victory.
Richardson then locked in and was able to dominate the third and deciding set 28-10 to seal her fourth title.
Despite the win, Richardson expressed to Sportsmax.tv that she was not entirely pleased with her performance, specifically a shift in her usual play style in the second set.
“It’s two-fold for me. In one sense, I’m glad I was able to retain my title and win my fourth national championship. In another sense, I’m not entirely pleased with my performance,” she said.
“In the second set, I changed the game plan and was playing more passive which is not my playing style. In the third set I played my natural game which is more fast and attacking and was able to dominate,” Richardson added.
Richardson, who recently graduated from the University of the West Indies with BSc. in Human Resource Management while minoring in Psychology, went a bit into her preparation for the tournament, noting the process was slightly hampered by injury.
“I had a slight injury two weeks before that so it was about working through that and ensuring that I would be at my best for the tournament,” she said.
“Besides that, it was just about doing strength training and on-court training and ensuring consistency in both,” Richardson added.
She also went into difficulties endured while trying to balance a budding career in professional badminton with the pursuit of her college degree.
“It was about being disciplined and knowing what I want,” she said.
“It would sometimes be difficult especially when face to face school resumed because I would be gone for a tournament or a training camp once a month or once every other month. But once I managed my time and was consistent with that, I was all good to go,” she added.
Richardson also claimed top spot in mixed doubles and silver in women’s doubles.
Indianapolis star running back Jonathan Taylor is scheduled to undergo thumb surgery and is expected to miss multiple weeks, The Athletic reported Tuesday.
The Colts expect Taylor to miss two or three games, so they do not plan on placing the former All-Pro on injured reserve.
Taylor will have the operation on Wednesday.
The news of Taylor’s injury came as a surprise after he played throughout Sunday’s 27-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and carried the ball twice during the game’s final drive. He finished with 91 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
Taylor’s absence comes at a crucial time for the Colts, who have won three straight games and cling to play-off hopes in the AFC at 6-5.
The 2021 rushing champion missed the first four games of the season while recovering from an ankle injury suffered in 2022.
Zack Moss, who excelled in Taylor’s absence in September, is expected to start and see the lion’s share of work in the backfield.
A mid-season trade acquisition from the Buffalo Bills last year, Moss leads the Colts with 672 rushing yards this season and has six total touchdowns.
In seven games this year, Taylor has 551 yards from scrimmage and has found the end zone five times.
The Colts play road games against the Tennessee Titans and Cincinnati Bengals over the next two weeks before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 17.
Parliament will be forced to consider whether to hold a debate on the proposed implementation of betting affordability checks after a petition opposing such measures passed 100,000 signatures.
Racing organisations and officials have expressed fears that the introduction of intrusive financial risk regulations could lead to punters switching to unlicensed bookmakers.
A group of industry leaders have warned that the new regulations could then cost the sport up to £250million over the next five years, threatening racecourses with closure and putting some of the 80,000-plus jobs associated with racing at risk.
The petition states: “We want the Government to abandon the planned implementation of affordability checks for some people who want to place a bet.
“We believe such checks – which could include assessing whether people are ‘at risk of harm’ based on their postcode or job title – are inappropriate and discriminatory.
“The proposed checks could see bettors having to prove they can afford their hobby if they sustain losses as low as £1.37 per day.
“We accept the need to help those with problem gambling but more intrusive checks triggered at a higher threshold risks bettors moving to the black market where there are no consumer protections or safer gambling tools.
“We are concerned there will also be a negative impact on British horseracing’s finances due to a reduction in betting turnover and resulting fall in Levy yield.”
Leading National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson helped drive the push to reach 100,000 signatures.
In an open letter to Racing TV customers, he wrote: “In recent weeks, I have realised that this very much is my problem. If you are reading this, you are a racing fan, which means it’s your problem as well.
“I have spoken to one or two quite serious punters who are already being impacted by affordability checks and are furious that the gambling white paper is set to make it even harder for them.
“They are adamant they are not going to hand over their personal financial documents. I don’t blame them. Why should they or any punter, big or small, be told whether or not they can afford to have a bet?
“It is completely wrong in principle – and even if you don’t bet, it doesn’t mean this has nothing to do with you. Affordability checks are going to smash a hole in racing’s finances and do untold damage to British racing and rural communities.
“That’s why I’ve been urging people in Lambourn to sign the sport’s petition against affordability checks. This is a massive issue and we must do all we can to make a difference.”
Earlier this month, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided a detailed response to the setting up of the affordability checks petition.
It stated: “The government recognises the enormous value of horseracing as both a spectator sport and through its economic contribution.
“The white paper’s estimate was that financial risk checks will reduce online horserace betting yield by 6% to 11%, which would in turn reduce racing’s income by £8.4 to £14.9 million per year (0.5% to 1% of its total income) through a reduction in levy, media rights and sponsorship returns.
“We are working with racing and refining that estimate. We have also commenced a review of the Horserace Betting Levy to ensure a suitable return to the sport for the future.
“The government and Gambling Commission are working with the industry and others to ensure the checks can be implemented in an effective but proportionate way.
“We are also exploring the role of pilots or phased implementation to help ensure this. The Gambling Commission will set out details on its plans in due course.”
The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honorable Olivia Grange, has announced that Jamaica has been elected to three important UNESCO committees, including the powerful World Heritage Committee which has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Minister Grange said it was “important that Jamaica is at the table helping to make the important decisions in the interest of the country and other Small Island Developing States. So, we take our election to these committees quite seriously and will work to amplify the voices and concerns of states like us.”
Jamaica was one of nine new members elected to the World Heritage Committee at the recent General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in Paris, France.
Jamaica’s membership to the Committee will run until 2027. The country will be represented by Miss Debra Kay Palmer and Mrs Tracy Commock.
It is Jamaica’s second term on the World Heritage Committee, having served between 2013 and 2017 when the Blue and John Crow Mountains was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Jamaica is currently in the process of nominating Port Royal to the List. Jamaica also intends to nominate Seville Heritage Park to the List.
In the meantime, at the UNESCO General Conference, Jamaica was elected to four-year terms on the Intergovernmental Committee for Physical Education and Sport and the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme.
Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams hit out at his team's lack of fight and said they were failing to honour the franchise's jersey after they slipped to a 14th consecutive defeat on Monday.
The Pistons suffered another heavy loss at Little Caesars Arena as the Washington Wizards claimed a 126-107 win, Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 32 points and 12 rebounds.
While Washington ended their own nine-game losing streak, Detroit now have the worst record in the league after slipping to 2-15, losing three of their last four games by at least 19 points.
In a post-game media appearance lasting just one minute, Williams accused his team of failing to compete while acknowledging he is ultimately responsible for turning things around.
"That wasn't fight on the floor. That wasn't Pistons basketball by any stretch of the imagination," Williams said.
"That's what this is, we have to have people that honour the organisation and the jersey by competing at a high level every night. I'm not talking about execution, just competing. That wasn't it, and that's on me."
Asked what needs to improve as the Pistons prepare to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Williams added: "It's just a level of growing up on this team, maturity, understanding what game-plan discipline is. All the stuff we talk about all the time. It's enough talking."
Guard Cade Cunningham echoed his coach's thoughts, saying the team needed to improve physically.
"We all want to win really bad," Cunningham said. "Everybody's doing it out of the spirit of that; wanting to win, wanting to do what's best for the team.
"I think we need more aggressive mess-ups. Where we're struggling right now is slip-ups where we're not physical enough or not aggressive enough. That's what we need to lean towards instead of trying not to press.
"We play great stretches, and then we've had crazy bad stretches where we dig ourselves in too deep of a hole.
"That's it right there, it's just holding each other accountable and when we do feel it start to slip, having the mental stamina to stay together, stay connected."
Ronnie O’Sullivan reeled off six frames in a row to seal a 6-2 win over Anthony McGill in the first round of the UK Championship in York.
The seven-time champion at the Barbican was back in action after withdrawing from the Champion of Champions event in Bolton a fortnight ago, due to being “mentally drained and stressed”.
McGill took a 2-0 lead, thanks to a 116 break in the opening frame and a shock looked on the cards.
However, O’Sullivan took control, firing five half-centuries on his way to winning six frames in a row.
O’Sullivan, who won his first title in York 30 years ago to the day, told the BBC: “You just get to the point where you think, ‘I’ll just keep going as long as I can’.
“I was at 35 and I was probably done and dusted because that is what happens.
“But I just appreciate every moment now, it feels like I have got a second life. I am a born-again snooker player.”
“I do find the matches hard and long now. If I can win two or three matches in the tournament, you get used to it. I find it harder to concentrate and have the hunger.
“For me, playing in competitions, you have to dig deep and out-battling players, it is hard at my age.
“These tournaments create a bit of a buzz and feel it more.”
O’Sullivan will meet Robert Milkins or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the next round.
John Higgins also advanced through – beating Joe O’Connor 6-3 – with the highlight of his performance coming with an eighth-frame 122 clearance.
Mixedwave has become the first winner to be disqualified under the current whip rules after his rider Alex Edwards used his whip 16 times at Market Rasen last week – nine above the permitted level.
Regulations concerning the use of the whip underwent major changes earlier this year, with the numbers of strikes allowed in Flat and jumps races reduced to six and seven respectively.
A tougher penalty structure for those in breach was also introduced, including doubled suspensions for major races and disqualification in the most serious of cases.
The Pam Sly-trained Mixedwave was a 4-1 shot for Market Rasen’s Pertemps Network Handicap Chase on Thursday – and after making virtually all the running, clung on by a short-head from Post Chaise.
However, following the latest meeting of the Whip Review Committee, Edwards was found to have used his whip nine times above the permitted level of seven and “without giving his mount time to respond from approaching the third-last flight.”
Taking into account Edwards had used his whip more than four times above the permitted level, Mixedwave was disqualified, while Edwards will serve a 24-day suspension (December 12-23 and December 26-January 6), with one of these days to be spent receiving specialised coaching.
It is the first such disqualification since the rules were introduced, with 7,903 races staged under the rules as of November 26, according to the British Horseracing Authority.
A BHA spokesperson said: “Disqualification was introduced as the ultimate deterrent for overuse of the whip and there can be no excuse for exceeding the permitted level by nine uses.
“As well as extensive consultation and communication, jockeys were required to undertake online training modules which clearly set out the new rules prior to riding under them.
“The wide-ranging understanding of what may trigger a disqualification, and the steps taken by jockeys to adapt well to the new rules, is demonstrated by the fact that this is the first time in almost 8,000 races that the rule has been invoked following a winning ride.”
John McConnell’s Mahler Mission is reported in fine spirits for the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday and is the current favourite with the sponsors.
The seven-year-old made a pleasing return to action in the Colin Parker earlier in the month, finishing second over a trip bound to be insufficient for a proven stayer.
Crucially, his jumping was sound throughout the race, a reassuring sight after he fell two from home on his final start of last season when leading the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
McConnell reports the gelding to have fared well since his Carlisle run and, all being well, expects him to take up his engagement at Newbury – where he is currently the 7-1 favourite with sponsors Coral.
“He came out of Carlisle fine, we were delighted with the run there and this was always the next step for him,” he said.
“It’s just the final checks we’ve got to do, we’ll run a scope on him and if that’s all OK, then we’ll be there.”
Coral’s David Stevens commented: “This year’s Coral Gold Cup betting remains wide open, although punters have at least found a clear favourite for now, with the Irish raider Mahler Mission now a point shorter than Complete Unknown.”
Tiger Woods has revealed his frustration at the secretive way in which a potential peace deal in golf’s civil war was agreed and insisted: “That won’t happen again”.
Woods will compete for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in April in this week’s Hero World Challenge and believes contesting one tournament a month is a realistic target for 2024.
However, the questions in his pre-tournament press conference in the Bahamas were predominantly about the future shape of men’s professional golf after he took on a major role in those discussions by becoming a player-directory on the PGA Tour’s policy board.
The world of golf was stunned when a framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was announced on June 6, with a deadline of December 31 for a deal to be finalised.
“Going back to that, I would say that my reaction was surprised as I’m sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened so quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there,” Woods said.
“We were very frustrated with what happened. We were all taken back by it.
“It happened so quickly without any of our involvement. No one knew. That can’t happen again.
“How do we do that is having six player directors so we control the board and we control what we’re going to do.
“I think Jay (Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner) has been a part of the direction, he understands what happened prior to that can’t happen again and won’t happen again, not with the players that are involved and not with the player directors having the role that we have.”
Woods, who said he totally understood why Rory McIlroy had stood down as a player-director earlier this month, is relishing the opportunity to have a “lasting impact” on the future of the PGA Tour as the future of LIV Golf and the players who joined the breakaway are decided.
“I think there is away in which we can all benefit from team golf, it’s just how do we do it? We’re just trying to figure out that process now,” Woods said.
“We’ve been doing it for months, trying to figure out how that all works, what does that landscape even look like and where do we play and what impact does it have on our PGA Tour schedule?
“As far as a pathway (for LIV players), we’re still working on that. There’s so many different scenarios. That’s why I said there’s a lot of sleepless hours trying to figure that out.
“Everyone involved wants a return, that’s just part of doing deals, but we have to protect the integrity of our Tour and what that stands for going forward.”
Woods has become so involved in his new player-director role that he insisted any conversations about becoming Ryder Cup captain in 2025 would have to take a back seat, but the 47-year-old is still targeting more individual glory.
“What drives me is I love to compete,” added Woods, who revealed he always knew he would need his ankle to be fused or replaced, a process accelerated by his aborted comeback last year.
“There will come a point in time, I haven’t come around to it fully yet, that I won’t be able to win again. When that day comes I’m going to walk away.
“I don’t have any of the ankle pain that I had before with the hardware that’s been placed in my foot, that’s all gone. The other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back. The forces go somewhere else.
“I’m just as curious as all of you with what’s going to happen. I haven’t done this in a while.
“I think that best scenario (for 2024) would be maybe a tournament a month. I think that’s realistic. The biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that.
“Now I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction.”
Frost covers have been deployed at both Newcastle and Newbury as course officials do everything within their power to ensure this weekend’s high-profile fixtures beat the impending cold snap.
Newcastle is due to stage the biggest meeting of its jumps season on Saturday, with the brilliant Constitution Hill set to be the star of the show as he bids for back-to-back victories in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
However, with temperatures in the north east due to dip below freezing every night ahead of raceday, clerk of the course Eloise Quayle appears more hopeful than confident that racing will go ahead.
She said: “We had the black, thick sheets down on the take-offs, landings and crossings yesterday and we’ve covered the rest of the track today.
“Temperatures are forecast to drop below zero every night from tonight now and I suppose the concern at the moment is that while the night temperatures are not massively cold, the day temperatures aren’t coming up overly high and they’re quite slow to rise.
“On Saturday, we’re not looking at getting above zero until around 11am, so we’re obviously going to be reviewing and checking the forecasts and hoping that will improve marginally at least.
“We’ll have to be very slick (on Saturday) because our first race is due off at 11.35am and you don’t want to lift the covers too early because if it is warm enough underneath, you don’t want to lift them and then it starts to freeze.
“It’s all fine margins at the minute and a bit of a balancing act, but I think we’ve done everything we can to keep that residual heat in the ground and there’s a great covering of grass.
“Hopefully, the forecast is forgiving, rather than being as brutal as it might be, but we’ll just have to see and keep our fingers crossed.”
Saturday’s Coral Gold Cup is the centrepiece of a scheduled two-day meeting further south at Newbury.
Conditions were perfectly raceable on Tuesday afternoon – but with frost forecast for the remainder of the week, clerk of the course George Hill is taking precautions.
He said: “We were frost-free this morning and had a nice drop of rain on Monday, but we’re due to get a bit colder heading towards the weekend, so we’ve covered the track for Friday and we’ll cover up again after racing on Friday ahead of Saturday.
“There are sub-zero temperatures forecast for later in the week, and there’s freezing fog around too, so we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens.
“We were over 7C today with a nice bit of sunshine and we’ve got good grass cover, so that’s a positive – as the more grass there is the better when frost is around.
“It’s hard to imagine today that the frost is coming, but that’s what they’re saying, so we’ll be prepared either way.”
Officials at Kelso have called a precautionary inspection for 7.30am ahead of Wednesday’s card due to the threat of overnight snow and frost.
England international Zach Mercer has bought an oxygen chamber for his home as part of the recovery process from an ankle injury.
Mercer, who joined Gloucester from Montpellier earlier this year, has not played since late October, missing the Gallagher Premiership club’s last four games.
But the 26-year-old number eight is leaving no stone unturned, and he could be back in action sooner rather than later.
Oxygen chamber use can assist in helping damaged tissue heal, and Gloucester head coach George Skivington said: “Zach is doing everything he can. He has bought an oxygen chamber for his house.
“It is out of Zach’s own pocket and his own commitment to getting fit.
“He has definitely shown his level of commitment and professionalism over the last five weeks in how he is approaching his rehab.
“He is really motivated, he is a very smart rugby guy and he wants to be the best.
“It has not surprised me, but it is still nice to see when someone you have invested in has that level of commitment and is that hungry to get back.”
Mercer, flanker Ruan Ackermann and fly-half Adam Hastings are among the Gloucester players currently sidelined.
But Skivington says there are “positive shoots” in terms of them returning to action as Gloucester target overturning poor Premiership results.
They have lost their last five league games, dropping to ninth in the Premiership after an encouraging start produced victories over Harlequins and Newcastle.
They face west country rivals Bristol at Ashton Gate on Saturday, and Skivington added: “I would take a win however it came. It is not the start we wanted to the season.
“I think the frustration for us as a group is that every game we have done some things really well and we have just dropped off in other areas. At the back end of games we have had some poor moments.
“We are not making any excuses, we don’t come in and try to dance around it. We are very honest as a group.
“I understand my job is to take the brunt of it, and I always will. I would never hide away from anything.
“I just stay focused, keep motivating the boys, keep trying to push the team on and I am confident it will come together.
“We’ve had lots of bumps and good times as a group over the last couple of years, so we are a pretty tight unit, and in these hard times that really shines through.
“No-one puts more pressure on me than me. You live and breathe the job. The pressure doesn’t really change because it is always there, and if you don’t want that on you then don’t be a director of rugby.”
Harry Fry has confirmed that Love Envoi will tackle Constitution Hill in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle on Saturday.
A winner of eight of her 11 races under rules, she has been a credit to her connections for the past two seasons.
As a novice, Love Envoi won the Dawn Run Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle and last season she went out on her sword when taking on Honeysuckle in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle, finishing a gallant runner-up.
While she faces a tall order on her return to action against the best hurdler in training, Fry feels it is the perfect place to get her started.
Conditions are currently cold in the North East but precautions have already been taken, with the track under cover.
“She’s all ready to get her season under way. Obviously, it’s going to be a very good race with a certain Constitution Hill set to line up but it’s a lovely starting point for us,” he told Newcastle racecourse.
“We’ve been happy with her since she came back into work and we’re looking forward to seeing her out.
“I was delighted when Noel (Fehily, who manages the syndicate which owns her) asked me to train her, her first season went great, she was unbeaten over here and only lost her unbeaten tag in Ireland, winning at the Cheltenham Festival.
“Last year, she picked up where she left off, added two more wins and was then a brilliant second to Honeysuckle in the Mares’ Hurdle.
“That’s what her season will be built around once more in March, but we are looking forward to seeing her out this weekend.”
Nick Alexander is keeping his fingers crossed that Shishkin lines up at Newcastle on Saturday to give him the best possible chance of bagging a second victory in the BetMGM Rehearsal Chase with Elvis Mail.
The Kinneston handler saddled stable stalwart Lake View Lad to land the prestigious handicap five years ago and has high hopes for his latest candidate, who made a successful start to his campaign when notching a fifth Kelso win in last month’s Edinburgh Gin Chase.
What complicates matters slightly in terms of this weekend’s race is the presence of Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin, who could make a swift reappearance under the welter burden of 12 stone after refusing to race in last Saturday’s 1965 Chase at Ascot.
If Shishkin does take his chance, Elvis Mail will carry just 10st 1lb, but if Henderson decides against sending his multiple Grade One winner to the North East, the weights will rise considerably, and it is not inconceivable that Elvis Mail himself could yet end up carrying top-weight.
“I’d love him to be running with 10st 1lb on his back. He’s well and ready to run again and he’d certainly be running if that was the case,” Alexander explained.
“If the top-weight doesn’t run and the next two (Ga Law and Datsalrightgino) were to run at Newbury and he was to end up with top-weight, then I wouldn’t be certain.
“He’ll probably run anyway. He won very nicely at Kelso, we were delighted with him and he’s been great since, so fingers crossed he’s still great on Saturday.”
Elvis Mail has won eight races in his career so far, with his five Kelso triumphs supplemented by a trio of wins at Ayr.
Alexander feels the nature of Gosforth Park should suit his charge just fine, adding: “He likes a galloping track and has run well at Doncaster.
“He doesn’t want holding ground, so he could do with them getting a snow shower or something, just to keep it on the wetter side. He likes decent ground as well, so he should be fine.
“I’m very much looking forward to running him.”
Tom Daley has returned to British Swimming’s World Class Programme for diving ahead of the Paris Olympics.
The 29-year-old took a two-year break from the sport after winning two medals at the Tokyo Games but returned to training earlier this year and is targeting a fifth Olympic appearance.
Announcing his return in July, Daley said: “I don’t know if this is going to be a completely silly idea of me getting back in the pool or an opportunity for me to do this recreationally and have a bit of fun without any pressure, or if my body is going to be able to get back on a diving board and dive half-decently.
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“I don’t know what that’s going to look like. Paris 2024 is definitely a goal. I don’t know if it’s going to be possible but you never say never.”
Daley won gold in the synchronised 10 metre platform event in Tokyo with Matty Lee and also claimed bronze in the individual – his fourth Olympic medal.
The podium programme sees athletes receive financial assistance and other support to aid their training and competition.
Yasmin Harper, Scarlett Mew Jensen and Kyle Kothari have all been moved up from podium potential to the main programme.
British Swimming’s associate performance director, Tim Jones, said: “The athletes named onto the World Class Programme are presented with a unique opportunity to build on what they have learnt so far, whilst continuing to develop their skills in our world-class training environments
“We hope that the competition opportunities we can provide over the coming months will allow the cohort to build towards next summer’s Olympic Games.
“Everyone at British Diving is now fully-focused on delivering the best possible medal haul in Paris, whilst continually ensuring that those on long-term plans have appropriate development opportunities throughout the year.”
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