“Some may question the timing but, in my heart, I feel now is the right time to take that step back”
SALLY CONWAY
Scot explains her decision to retire from judo just six months before the Tokyo
Olympics
Sally Conway has announced her immediate retirement from judo and will not compete at the Tokyo Olympics.
Conway’s legacy is considerable – she is one of only two British female Judoka to win medals at the Olympic Games, World and European Championships and the Commonwealth Games.
The 34-year-old won bronze at the Rio Olympics in 2016 and says she would have competed in Toyko, had the 2020 Games gone ahead as planned last year.
“I always said to myself ‘I will know when the time comes, and I am ready to stop’ regardless of results and performances,” Conway said.
“I think had Tokyo 2020 gone ahead as planned last year, I 100 per cent would have competed. The last year has given me a lot time to take a step back and reflect on the future and some may question the timing with Tokyo less that six months away but, in my heart, I feel like now is the right time to take that step back.
“I am so happy with what I have achieved within the sport and how my career has gone that I feel that is it for me now and I ready to close this chapter and see what the future holds.”
Conway took up judo 26 years ago and reached the pinnacle of the sport. As well as her Olympic medal, she won bronze at the World Championships in 2019 and triumphed at the Paris Grand Slam in 2018. She also won a
bronze medal for Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Conway has some firm ideas about what she now want to pursue. “I would like to try coaching and pass on my experience to young athletes coming through. I also plan to do sports massage, and I also enjoy public speaking. I am just going to see what opportunities arise and see what I enjoy doing, I am really looking forward to seeing what the
future holds.
“I have learnt so much through judo and being an elite athlete that I know I have a good foundation on which to build upon in the future.”
Bristol-born Conway has lived in Scotland for much of her career after basing her training in Edinburgh.
Andrew Scoular, British Judo’s chief executive, said: “Sally has been a pioneer for British judo for a number of years and she will leave a big
hole in British judo. Her storied career will have inspired a range of new judoka to step onto the mat and we will always be grateful for her contribution both on and off the mat.
“I will never forget some of her career highlights from watching her claim GB’S sole medal at the Rio Olympics to completing her international medal collection at the World Championships in Tokyo. The smile on her face throughout those events was infectious.”
Kate Howey, British Judo head coach, said: “I have watched and been involved with Sally as a judo fighter since she was 16 years old. There have been many highs and lows throughout this time and the highs far outweigh the lows. I have seen her mature from a young girl into an Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth medallist and watched her hard work pay off in the end.”
James Harden is six weeks into his Brooklyn Nets career and, so far, it’s been a dream. In his short 17-game career with the Nets, he is setting career marks for most of the significant shooting statistics, the notable exception being points, but there’s a reason for that.
Harden is shooting better threepointers, twos and free throws. He is creating more than ever and collecting more defensive rebounds. For all intents and purposes, at 31 years of age, one of the best shooting guards in the league just got better.
So it’s little surprise that fans of Brooklyn are happy with the trade and very happy with The Beard, one of Harden’s more famed monikers.
Harden did well in Houston, collecting the 2017-18 MVP during his eight years in Texas. In those eight years, the team made the playoffs each time and never had a losing season.
The shooting guard had some good times in Houston and is well thought of by the fans. Still, the team never achieved the ultimate goal of winning NBA titles, something that caused the acrimonious split between Harden and the organisation.
Harden knows his time in the NBA is getting shorter and wanted the team to make a run at the championship. But, after they fell a game short of making the finals in 2017-18, the management seemed consigned to defeat, letting the supporting cast slip away as they entered a rebuilding phase.
Harden stuck it out for another two seasons, then after a lack of movement and a change of coach, he decided to make his feelings known, leading to the early-season trade to Brooklyn.
In his last game, Harden scored 37 points, had 11 total rebounds and seven assists, an example of how successful his time in Brooklyn has been so far.
Of course, Harden has been a delight in New York City, hitting the ground running and becoming a core member of the Nets locker room. In addition, his stats have significantly improved and the only one to decline is his total points.
Now, that’s not indicative of anything other than Harden not having to be the star in Brooklyn and knowing that he can be part of a team rather than having to lead every day from the front.
So all is well, right?
Well, here’s the thing, New York fans are fickle. They love when players are playing well but they also quickly jump on their backs when they aren’t.
The New York media are as, if not more, passionate about the teams. Just look back at ‘Linsanity’ in 2012 when the craze around the Knicks’ Jeremy Lin reached fever pitch.
The Beard is the apple of the fanbase’s eye but there are storm clouds on the horizon. Harden’s stats always decline in the playoffs.
That could be said of most players, as when you enter the postseason, you are, of course, playing against the elite teams in the league. After a long hard season, it can be expected that fatigue could play a factor, but a five-point drop like in the 2018-19 season?
Across his career, Harden has seen a 2 per cent drop in his shooting from the field, a three per cent drop in his three-point shooting, and he scores 2.2 points fewer per game.
Novak Djokovic will adjust his schedule as he looks to overhaulrogerfedererandrafael Nadal.
The Serbian maintained his position as the king of Melbourne with a ninth Australian Open title, courtesy of a straight sets victory over Daniil Medvedev, in Sunday's final.
It was the 33-year-old's 18th grand slam singles title, leaving him two behind the men's record held jointly by Federer and Nadal.
"I've said it before, obviously majors, especially at this stage of my career, are the most important events, the tournaments where I want to peak and play my best tennis," he said.
"I feel age is just a number. I don't feel tired or exhausted from playing tennis or from competing at the highest level. I know also, realistically, things are not the same as they
were 10 years ago in terms of energy and biology and everything, but I feel like I still have a lot of gas in me.
"I will have to be wiser and smarter with my scheduling in order to save and use and direct the energy into the tournaments that matter the most and, hopefully, I'll be able to win more majors. That's something I'll definitely look forward to as a priority."
It is unclear when Djokovic will return to action. He revealed he had a second MRI scan on Monday on his abdominal tear, which had grown from 1.7cm when he first sustained it to 2.5cm. "The damage is bigger than when I did it after the third round," he said. "It's not too bad, judging by what the doctor said, but I'll have to take some time off for it to heal properly."
The Australian Open was successfully staged during the coronavirus pandemic. More than 1000 players and support staff were flown to Australia on charter flights and quarantined for 14 days from mid-january, while the tournament went behind closed doors for five days after Victoria went into a lockdown to combat an outbreak of the UK strain of the disease.
Tournament director Craig Tiley believes he has unearthed a blueprint that other bodies can follow to organise major sports events. "This was the first time since the start of the pandemic that there was a sport and entertainment event that had crowds and had every top player bar a few that couldn't make it," he said. "I think it is a blueprint that works. It requires more resources and more time but that's a commitment you have to make."
Tiley said Tennis Australia had to use up its entire cash reserves of 80 million Australian dollars (£45m) and take out a loan to get them through to next year.
Wimbledon could also could be played out in front of capacity crowds after the UK Government set out its road map for the easing of coronavirus restrictions in England.
The fourth and final step of the recovery plan aims for the lifting of all restrictions on sports and entertainment events from June 21 at the earliest, "using enhanced testing approaches and other measures" which are to be trialled at pilot events starting from April.
Wimbledon gets under way on June 28. Sports venues will be able to welcome spectators back on a limited basis at step three of the recovery plan, no earlier than May 17.