WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT

HOT MARCUS RASHFORD

FIGHTING the good fight for kids and giving the Government a kicking at the same time. In a week where football attempted another clumsy bite out of its own arm, this guy continues with his utterly barmy idea of thinking about the welfare of others.

IGA SWIATEK

IT TAKES some doing to find limelight in the courts of King Rafa Nadal, but Swiatek was the greater tale of this year’s French Open. To win a Slam for the loss of 28 games is brilliant. To do it as an unseeded 19-year-old on a university gap year is really quite special.

LEWIS HAMILTON

HE HAS a mechanical advantage. We all know that, even without Sir Jackie Stewart saying so. But to go level with Michael Schumacher on 91 Grand Prix wins marks him out as one of the finest British sportsmen of any era, irrespective of whether a few were a little too easy.

NOT JANE ALLEN

WHOEVER knew the keenest gymnast in the building was a 65-year-old administrator? It would seem the British Gymnastics CEO is quite happy to contort and spin her way around questions of athlete welfare until her retirement in December. To hear her kind words for a coach under investigation was to take a step closer to understanding their mess.

DAVE BRAILSFORD

THE more we learn, the more we wonder. This week, as part of Richard Freeman’s medical tribunal, we found out the former British Cycling and Team Sky doctor lost medical data from a third laptop. To think, Brailsford, that knighted mastermind of gold and yellow prizes, was always so careful on details. How very odd indeed.

IGORS RAUSIS

AN EXCELLENT chess scandal. Rausis, a Latvian grandmaster, was exiled in disgrace in 2019 amid accusations of using his phone in a toilet to cheat. He resurfaced at a tournament last weekend under a new name but a rival recognised him. Igors is back in the cold.