Sport news in brief
McColgan insists 1% advantage for trans athletes ‘too much’
Eilish McColgan says a 1 per cent advantage for trans women athletes over female competitors would be “too much”. McColgan, one of Great Britain’s leading female long-distance runners, spoke out with World Athletics considering its transgender policy in consultation with member federations. World Athletics confirmed earlier this month that its current preferred option would halve the maximum level of plasma testosterone permitted for trans women compared to the current regulations, and double the period of time to two years
that athletes must remain below that threshold in order to compete.
“I’m not a scientist, so I have trust that people like Seb Coe [World Athletics president] and World Athletics are doing their due diligence and looking into this properly,” said McColgan, the Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion. “There’s a lot more to being a woman than lowering your testosterone, and a lot more work to be done to find out if there is an advantage. Even if there’s a 1 per cent advantage then it’s too much of an advantage. Rules are in place for other advantageous gains, so this should be one of them.” PA
Halfpenny to start in Wales Six Nations opener
Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny will make his first Test match start for 19 months in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations opener against Ireland. Halfpenny, who has won 97 caps, last featured in the starting line-up when Wales beat Canada during their 2021 summer internationals. He is joined in the back-three by Josh Adams and Rio Dyer, while Wales head coach Warren Gatland has selected six Ospreys forwards, plus centre Joe Hawkins, with Saracens’ Nick Tompkins missing out.
The Principality Stadium encounter kicks off Gatland’s second stint as Wales boss, with his previous reign between 2008 and 2019 yielding four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and two World Cup semi-finals. Gatland said: “We’ve picked Joe [Hawkins] at 12. He is a lovely footballer with some great skills. I thought for his first cap [against Australia in November] he was outstanding, so we have given him another opportunity.
“Ireland are the number-one team in the world, so they’re going to be coming here with a lot of confidence. We know how good they are and we are expecting a really tough contest. It’s important for us that we start well, but we need to be in the game at the last 20 minutes. We’ve only had a couple of weeks together, but I am confident that the guys will go out and give a good account of themselves.”
Ireland will arrive in Cardiff as the world-ranked number-one team following a memorable year when they beat New Zealand twice, South Africa and Australia. But they have lost their last four Six Nations games in the Welsh capital since defeating Wales 10 years ago. PA
Paul under fire for ‘vile’ reaction to birth of Fury’s child
Jake Paul has come under fire for his reaction to the birth of Tommy Fury’s child with Molly-Mae Hague. YouTube star Paul is scheduled to box Fury – half-brother of heavyweight champion Tyson – in Saudi Arabia on 26 February, after the contest fell through once in 2021 and again in 2022.
As Hague announced yesterday that she had given birth to a daughter on 23 January, Paul took to the comments to reference his upcoming bout with the influencer’s boyfriend. “Just in time to watch your dad get knocked out,” Paul wrote. The 26-year-old was criticised by fellow Instagram users, with one saying: “That’s just too far, creep.” Another wrote “this is vile” while one said: “You don’t take shots at another man’s wife/partner. You built your entire boxing career fighting washed-up losers ... have some class and shut your mouth.”
Paul and Fury, 23, were first set to box one another in 2021 but the latter withdrew citing injury and illness. Then, in August, travel issues prevented Fury from reaching the US, where his rescheduled contest with Paul was due to take place. Paul is 6-0 as a professional boxer, while Fury is 8-0.
Blackburn edge FA Cup replay against Birmingham
Blackburn Rovers will travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City in the fifth round of the FA Cup after a 1-0 win over Birmingham City in extra-time at St Andrew’s. On-loan Arsenal defender Auston Trusty diverted Sammie Szmodics’ 100th-minute cross into his own net after Birmingham had dominated the second half, with Rovers goalkeeper Aynsley Pears thwarting Blues numerous times. PA
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