The Adcocks battle through their first-round clash at the All England Badminton Championships while cyclist Victoria Williamson is convinced she can return to her very best as she continues to recover from a serious crash. Here's our review of the past 24 hours:
Chris Adcock is adamant he and wife Gabby can win the YONEX All England Badminton Championships after coming through their mixed doubles first-round clash in Birmingham.
The Adcocks were forced to save game point in the first set but eventually came through 24-22, 21-12 against Indonesian duo Ronald Alexander and Melati Oktaviani.
The world No.7 pair now face Kim Jung and Shin Chan of South Korea as they bid for a second consecutive quarter-final berth at the prestigious tournament.
“We are 100 per cent capable of winning it and we have shown that with the success that we have had,” said Chris.
“We won the last Super Series event in Dubai so while it is not going to be easy to win the YONEX All England because there are some great pairings here, we know we have the calibre and the potential to win the competition and we have to keep playing well and enjoy ourselves out there.”
There was also British success in the men’s doubles as Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge made it through to round two – taking a huge step towards Rio 2016 qualification in the process – by downing Chen Hung Ling and Chi-Lin Wang 21-19, 21-14.
But Team GB’s men’s and women’s No.1 are both out of the competition following first-round losses.
Rajiv Ouseph reached the quarter-finals at the event 12 months ago but the world No.18 lost 21-17, 21-12 to India’s Kidambi Srikanth while world No.19 Kirsty Gilmour went down 21-17, 21-17 to Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.
Victoria Williamson believes she has every chance to get back to her previous level as she continues her recovery from a serious crash in January.
Williamson fractured her neck and back, dislocated her pelvis and slipped a disc in her neck after the accident at Rotterdam’s Zesdaagse.
She collided with Elis Ligtlee during the omnium final and ultimately spent four weeks in hospital.
The 22-year-old hopes to be back on her bike doing easy riding by the end of the summer but knows how lucky she was not to end up paralysed.
"They were pretty sure paralysis was going to be the outcome while I was in Rotterdam, but luckily I pulled through," Williamson told the BBC.
"Being an athlete, I think they said because my neck and back were so strong I was able to withstand the force.
"Although I did break a few bones, my spinal cord stayed intact and I'm here to live another day.
"I have no memories, which is probably pretty good. It's not going to put me off in the future.
"I'm going to get back on a bike eventually. I've got no timescale yet, but I don't know what level I'll be able to get to. I'll give it a good go.
"I've got the full support team behind me, I've got physios, doctors. We've got the world's best.
“At the end of the day, we're a great programme, so I've got every chance of getting back to where I was.”
Regardless of results on the water at the Marina da Gloria this August, sailors Ben Saxton and Nicola Groves will already be making history at Rio 2016.
But while selected as the first Britons to compete at an Olympic Games in the Nacra 17 mixed multi-hull event, the duo are determined to achieve plenty more than that and keep up Team GB’s proud tradition of ruling the waves.
And with their place at this summer’s Games rubber-stamped on Monday when they were announced as two of five extra sailors added to the Team GB ranks for Rio, 25-year-old Saxton believes recent consistency could prove to be one of their biggest assets come Rio.
“The last year for us has gone really quite well. We had a long training period in the autumn and that led us up to the European Championships,” he said.
“We went into them with an attacking mindset and we smashed it with a win so we’re European champions.
“We went through another training block getting ready for some important events which we did well at, so we’re on a bit of a roll.”
Read more from Saxton and Groves here
Leon Smith claims he intends to leave a lasting tennis legacy after signing a new three-year contract to remain as Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain.
Smith led the team to their first Davis Cup title in 79 years with a 3-1 victory over Belgium in November last year, after taking over the reins from John Lloyd in April 2010.
The team have won 13 of their last 15 matches in the competition under the Scot’s lead, including just a solitary defeat on British soil.
And with Great Britain gearing up to face Serbia in the quarter-finals in July, after a dramatic 3-1 win over Japan last weekend, Smith is confident their success in the competition can continue.
“It’s a huge honour and privilege to continue captaining our Davis Cup team,” he said.
“We have achieved so much over the last six years and becoming world champions last year will be the highlight of my career.
“I’m really excited at the opportunity to continue working with this group of players, support staff and of course our fans.
“Our Davis Cup journey has captured the imagination of so many people across the country and I’m looking forward to using our Davis Cup successes as a way to get more kids playing tennis.”
Jazmin Sawyers admits she is delighted to have been invited to compete at the IAAF World Indoor Championships for Great Britain, just weeks after thinking her chances had been blown.
The long jumper thought her performance at the British Indoor Championships in February wasn’t enough to book her seat, despite picking up a gold medal.
Her jump fell eight centimetres short of the qualification standard for the Worlds, but British Athletics have confirmed it has accepted an invitation from the IAAF for Sawyers ahead of the Championships which start on March 17.
And after being given a second chance, Sawyers is thrilled to be on her way to Portland, USA later this month.
“I am delighted to have been invited to compete in Portland,” the 21-year-old said.
“I’m looking forward to putting on the British vest once again and am focused on producing the best possible performance I can, starting what I hope will be a big year for me.”
Heather Watson maintained the form that saw her win the Monterrey Open title last week to reach the second round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
Watson was made to work hard by Kazakhstan’s Galina Voskoboeva but eventually prevailed 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-1.
After being pegged back from a set up, an early break in the decider set the tone for the British No.2 – who wrapped up victory in just under two-and-a-half-hours.
The 23-year-old – up to 53 in the world rankings after her title success in Mexico – now faces Romanian 32nd seed Monica Niculescu but was delighted with her play against Voskoboeva at crucial moments.
“When it was important I was able to bring out my best tennis,” said Watson. “I was a bit slow getting used to the court. It was a bit different [to the Monterrey Open].”
Geraint Thomas maintained his top-five standing in Paris-Nice after stage three was cancelled due to snow.
Team Sky’s Thomas currently lies fifth, 19 seconds behind overall leader Michael Matthews of Australia.
Organisers stopped stage three, which was running from Cusset to Mont Brouilly, after 75km of the 168km stage due to fears over rider safety.
And as their attentions now turn to the 195.5km stage four from Julienas to Roman-sur-Isere, Team Sky sporting director Nicolas Portal agrees the correct call was made.
"The first decision was to stop the race and then have the riders go by car to kilometre 125 and race again," Portal told teamsky.com
"I think a lot of people saw that and said it was not possible. The riders would not really be able to get warm and they would be wet in their clothing.
“The buses were at the finish and eventually the decision was to cancel the race. In this case I think it was the best decision.
"The guys did really well today. Despite everything they were ready to race. We never had any complaints about the snow or the conditions and they were really on it.” Sportsbeat 2016