Wales’s women have got their first win of the annual Algarve Cup thanks to a 1-0 triumph over Mexico this evening.
Jess Fishlock’s strike from outside the penalty area after just 12 minutes proved to be enough as Wales put an opening-day 2-0 defeat to hosts Portugal behind them.
Groups A and B are reserved for the top teams, which include the likes of Germany, Japan and the USA, currently the world’s top three ranked teams.
Has there ever been a better sportsperson than Esther Vergeer? The Dutch wheelchair tennis player, who is unbeaten in 470 matches dating back to January 2013, today announced her retirement from the sport at the age of 31.
I first came across Vergeer while I was covering the Paralympics in the summer. At London 2012, she won her fourth consecutive gold medal in the singles, winning all six matches in straight sets and allowing her opponents to win just seven games between them all tournament.
She has won an incredible 21 major singles titles since her first such success at the 2004 Australian Open. Wheelchair tennis only has three annual major tournaments: Wimbledon has doubles events but not singles (in any case, she won three ladies’ doubles events at SW12 between 2009 and 2011).
Her career record was 687 wins from 712 matches, a winning record of more than 96 per cent.
Vergeer has also been number one in the world for what is surely an unprecedented (in any sport) 14 consecutive years.
BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra is a fantastic radio station, bringing a whole range of sports to a British (and world) audience.
And it is good to see it will tonight bring the second in the three-match netball series between England and world number one Australia live to listeners.
BBC Radio 5 live Sports Extra brings full commentary of the series to listeners, marking the first time that the sport – the world’s biggest in terms of women’s participation – has been covered live on UK radio.
The live commentary forms part of BBC Radio 5 live and sports extra’s ongoing commitment to showcase more women’s sport and minority sports.
Katharine Merry will lead the coverage from Bath and London, with Jennie Gow presenting from Birmingham, with expert input from former England International Tracey Neville for all three matches.
5 Live SX had live commentary from the first match in the series on Sunday in Bath – won by England – and will do so again this Saturday for the finale in Birmingham.
But although the games are also being shown on Sky Sports, there is still some way to go until the sport is given the same kind of coverage as in Australia and New Zealand. I was struck when I was there that sports shops stock merchandise for teams in the semi-professional ANZ Championship.
Christine Ohuruogu won Great Britain’s only athletics gold at Beijing 2008 and was, at that stage, thought to be one of the hosts’ best chances of more glory in the stadium a short walk from where she grew up.
But the 400m runner suffered injury problems, and her chances of being the face of the Games swiftly evaporated following the continued success of Jess Ennis and Mo Farah.
In the 2011 World Athletics championships in Daegu, Ennis won silver in the heptathlon; Farah took home a gold (5,000m) and a silver (10,000m). But Ohuruogu was disqualified in her heat, an ignominious exit for the reigning Olympic champion.
In many ways, Ohuruogu became a forgotten face of London 2012.
But she produced a typical late burst to power to silver in a race won by the American Sanya Richards-Ross to get on the podium against the odds.
It was a brave, battling performance but one which – perhaps inevitably after her Beijing gold – she felt disappointed by. Her tears on the podium initially appeared to be those of joy at having won a medal at the home Games she once feared she would miss out on.
But she later revealed they were tears of disappointment, and that she was heartbroken not to have successfully defended her title.
With a silver and a bronze, judo was a surprise success at the Games for Great Britain.
For most people, the abiding memory of the British judokas’ performances will – rightly – be Gemma Gibbons whispering emotionally to the heavens “I love you, mum” following her semi-final triumph over France’s Audrey Tcheuméo.
But for some reason I was equally touched by Karina Bryant’s bronze medal in the +78kg division the very next day. She, too, had a difficult road to London 2012, suffering a neck injury last year and even being forced to raise money herself simply to be able to drive to training.
And her emotion after she sealed a win over Iryna Kindzerska of Ukraine was obvious. She described the bronze as like a gold to her – in many ways earning silver in a knockout competition like judo is more of a disappointment than bronze, because to do so you will have lost your final match.
But Bryant won hers, in front of a family she barely sees and a rapturous crowd at the ExCeL. It was a second successive day of raw emotion for Great Britain on the mat.
London 2012 gold medallists Jade Jones and Mark Colbourne will be among more than 40 Welsh stars parading on the steps of the Senedd this weekend.
The Welsh government is also encouraging Games Makers who took part in either the Olympic or Paralympic Games to wear their uniforms to the event on Friday evening.
Jones, from Flint, won Great Britain’s first ever Olympic gold in taekwondo, while Paralympic cyclist Colbourne, from Tredegar, picked up three medals, including gold in the C1 individual pursuit.
Other medallists who will be met by First Minister Carwyn Jones and Presiding Officer Rosemary Butler include Tom James (rowing, gold), Fred Evans (boxing, silver) and Aled Davies, who set off on a memorable lap of honour after winning gold in the F42 discus.
Josie Pearson, who broke the world record three times to win the F51/52/53 discus – Great Britain’s 10th and final Paralympic athletics gold – is also set to attend.
The evening is set to begin at 4.30pm with performers from Wales’s cultural Olympiad, including 19-year-old clarinet player Lloyd Coleman, Abergavenny Borough Brass Band and Ebbw Vale Male Choir, entertaining the crowds.
The public will be able to show their appreciation to the athletes from about 6pm.
An Early Bath 