Great Britain sprinter Dina Asher-Smith eyes a big scalp in Birmingham’s Diamond League meeting on Sunday, and Andy Murray reaches his first Roland Garros final. Here’s our review of the last 24 hours:
Dina Asher-Smith has World and European 200m champion Dafne Schippers in her sights as the 20-year-old aims to lay down a marker at the Birmingham Diamond League on Sunday.
Asher-Smith, who holds the British record over both 100m and 200m, will face Netherlands’ Schippers over the shorter distance in a hugely competitive field. And with Rio 2016 little more than two months away, Asher-Smith knows just how important a milestone a good performance in Birmingham could prove.
“I’m really looking forward to Sunday – it’s great to compete against amazing athletes like Dafne. She is an incredible athlete but all athletes are beatable and I’m here to do my best,” she said.
“I only opened my season last week, but I’ve focused on the mistakes I’ve been making since I was 15 and I’m hoping to pull those together and execute my race better in Birmingham – hopefully it’ll be a really big year. "I want to continue my progression as an athlete and produce my best on Sunday.”
Andy Murray might not have thought he would ever do it, but on Sunday he will play in his first French Open final after beating Stan Wawrinka in four sets.
Olympic champion Murray downed the defending champion 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, in what he called one of his best ever matches on clay, to become the first British man in a French Open singles final since Bunny Austin in 1937.
“I knew that if I was going to win I had to play one of my best clay court matches,” said the 2013 Wimbledon champion.
“Stan’s record here the last two years has been unbelievable, he has been playing better every match here but I played one of my best matches here and I’m looking forward to the final now.
“I am extremely proud, I never expected to reach the final here, I always struggled on the clay but in the last two years I’ve had some of my best results on it."
Great Britain head coach Bobby Crutchley has named his 18-man squad to compete in the Hockey Champions Trophy in London as they step up preprarations for the Olympic Games.
Barry Middleton will captain the team in what will be his sixth Champions Trophy after first appearing in the competition in 2007, and will be joined by Henry Weir, George Pinner and David Condon who could all reach 100 international caps during the tournament.
The squad will also feature Dan Fox, who could reach 150 international appearances in London having earned a combined 148 caps with England and Great Britain.
"The Hockey Champions Trophy is part of our Rio preparation but it's also a big tournament in its own right," said Crutchley ahead of Great Britain’s opening game against Australia on June 10.
"We're aiming to develop our squad for the summer and play some good hockey. It'll be a good chance to test ourselves against some of the best teams, different styles and different plans which will help us to adapt ahead of the Olympics.”
Jamie Cooke has risen to world number one in the official Modern Pentathlon World Rankings following last week's World Championships in Moscow.
The 25-year-old finished ninth in the Russian capital, following victories at the World Cup in Hungary and the World Cup final in Sarasota.
His performance at the World Championships ensured he achieved the Rio Olympics qualification standard by virtue of his place on the ranking list, meaning Great Britain will be sending a maximum squad of four pentathletes to the Olympic Games.
"It's a massive achievement as it's something you always want to be," he said. "It's not really something you set out to be as you concentrate on results and competitions but it's a really good ways to finish off the Olympic qualification.
"In the four years since the last Olympics I really feel I have improved. Then, this year, my fencing has become much more consistent and I have been 50-50 or above in every competition.”