Month: August 2025

From August 19 to 27, the best track and field athletes from around the world competed for medals and titles at the World Athletics Championship. With unlikely triumphs, inevitable upsets and unfortunate falls all on show, it was a thrilling nine days of elite sport.

In contrast to the Olympic Games, which occur once every four years, the World Championships are held on a biennial basis each year in a different country. While the Olympics are restricted to a limited number of sports, the World Championships are a true showcase for all of the track and field disciplines.

As a result, the competition can feel even more exciting than the Olympic Games. That’s particularly true if you watch the long and middle distance races, where the athletes’ mental strength is put to the test. Then there are the grueling events like the marathon and race walking, where athletes have to endure a punishing mix of temperatures and humidity.

Despite the challenging conditions, some athletes still produced impressive performances. For example, Keely Hodgkinson secured second place in the 800m and Ireland’s Ciara Mageean won bronze. Meanwhile, British sprinters Zharnel Hughes and Matthew Hudson-Smith clinched bronze in the 100m and 400m respectively.

The women’s 1500m final was another highlight of the day. With 2022 Olympic champion Sifan Hassan missing out due to a knee injury, Dutch multi-distance star Sifan Bol took advantage. Although she initially stayed toward the back of the pack, she moved into fifth position with 600 meters remaining before battling Aregawi for victory in the final stride.

The US Open schedule opens this week with qualifying matches during the free “Fan Week” tournament August 18-21, then main draw action begins Sunday August 24. The 2025 US Open is the first to become a 15-day competition, with round 1 playing out over three days instead of two (the same as other Grand Slams).

Unlike in the past, where only the top eight seeds earned automatic entry into the main draw, this year every ATP and WTA player gets one shot at claiming the last four spots in both the men’s and women’s singles. That could make for a wild ride to the championships, with plenty of upsets and riveting match-ups likely.

This year the US Open will use shorter sets and no-ad scoring in the opening rounds, along with deciding tiebreaks in the early stages. It will also use a new rule requiring all players to wear white, with only one exception.

Tip #1: Watch for resale tickets: You can sometimes pick up great seats at the US Open if you look hard enough, but it requires monitoring the ticket situation carefully in the days leading up and being ready to act quickly once the official schedule is released. If you aren’t able to secure the perfect ticket, don’t despair: you can still watch all the action from home with the help of streaming services like ESPN+ or Tennis TV.

Keep an eye out for British talent, including defending champion Iga Swiatek taking on the reigning US Open queen, Jelena Ostapenko; rising stars Cam Norrie and Coco Gauff; and 2021 Wimbledon champion Daniil Medvedev facing off against 13th seed Alex de Minaur. Also look out for Emma Raducanu, who makes her return to the US Open in strong form following her quarter-final run at Roland Garros and a runner-up finish at the HSBC Champions.

The Asian Games, held every four years, is Asia’s biggest multi-sport event with 45 countries and regions participating. The Games are a platform for international exchange and cultural connection that celebrates diversity across the continent. They were first held in 1951, soon after World War II. The founders hoped to reestablish the bonds between Asian countries through sports and contribute to the development of peace in Asia.

In 2026, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games will be Japan’s third hosting of the event, following Tokyo 1958 and Hiroshima 1994. The theme for the Games is “Imagine One Asia”. The slogan and concept are based on the idea that we can create a unified and harmonious Asia through sport, with an emphasis on Asian values such as perseverance and teamwork.

A total of 41 sports and 58 disciplines and 400 events will be played at 55 competition venues. The organisers plan to use 70 accommodation facilities, with 14 in Nagoya city and 39 in Aichi prefecture, with the number of venues outside the host area depending on the location of sports competition venues.

Esports are also a feature of this year’s Asian Games, with seven titles available to participate in, including Arena of Valor Asian Games Version, DOTA 2, Dream Three Kingdoms, FIFA Online 4, League of Legends, PUBG and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. India, which won a bronze in eFootball at Hangzhou 2023 and a silver in eFighting at the 2018 World Championships, is expected to be a strong contender.

The World Series is the pinnacle of baseball competition, with the most talented players in the sport converging to compete for the title. As a result, the Series is chock-full of exciting plays, nail-biting twists and turns of fate and historic moments that will live on forever. From Carlton Fisk’s famous “fingertip home run” to Kirk Gibson’s iconic Game 7 blast, here are some of the most memorable World Series highlights.

The 2024 World Series was the first one to feature both teams playing at their home stadiums in a decade and the action didn’t disappoint. The series kicked off with a thrilling Game 1 in which Freddie Freeman’s walk-off grand slam stunned the crowd at Chavez Ravine and made him the youngest player to hit a World Series winning home run.

For the second time in two games, a controversial call at first base changed the course of a World Series and helped put an end to the St Louis Cardinals’ reign as champions. After New York Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter tagged out a sliding Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the seventh, the umpires reviewed the play and determined that Ohtani didn’t touch second base before being touched by the ball. It was ruled a foul ball, and the Yankees went on to win 4-2 in the game and series.

The 1988 World Series is remembered for the heroics of Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Dennis Eckersley in Game 7. Trailing the 104-win Boston Red Sox by two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Eckersley faced elimination and fouled off pitch after painful pitch on his injured leg before launching a screamer over the right-field fence that became one of the most legendary World Series moments.

The NFL draft is a time to snag game-changing talent for teams looking to get back into the playoff race. It also offers a chance to fill glaring holes. The 2025 NFL draft was full of talented young players who will help their teams reclaim their spots in the AFC South.

New York’s first pick of the 2025 draft was a big one, as they grabbed Iowa State wide receiver Jayden Higgins. The Big Apple will be a threat on both sides of the field with Higgins and fellow first rounder Jordan Matthews. The Giants then picked another top receiver in Isaiah Oliver, and then filled a huge need for depth at safety with the addition of Azareye’h Thomas.

With a new coach at the helm and a fortified front, the Chargers made some nice additions in this draft. They traded down twice, but still found value in this class with a fourth-round pick for wide receiver Woody Marks and the fifth-round selection of running back Jahkiya Taylor. Both should be immediate contributors.

Mike Vrabel’s first pick as the Patriots’ head coach was a smart one, as he bolstered his team’s offensive line. The unit was a sieve in 2024, and the quickest way to return to relevance is making sure franchise quarterback Drake Maye stays upright. The Pats also added a second-round receiver in Kyle Williams and a center in Jared Wilson. Both will provide Maye with bigger downfield targets than what he had in 2024.

Whether they were forced to retire or chose to, athletes are often left to figure out what to do next. Some find a new way to use their skills, some try to resurrect their career and others just start anew. Regardless of the reason, all athletes reach the end of their athletic careers at some point.

For some, retirement can be a financial necessity. Many elite athletes spend thousands on equipment, shell out for elite coaching and often forgo regular employment in order to train around the clock. They can even go broke as they attempt to make it to the Olympics where their dream is to win gold. Many of these athletes have reported having to rely on food stamps or rack up credit card debt after their sporting career ends.

This week, two-time Olympic gold medalist Tobin Heath, a pioneer for women’s soccer, hung up her cleats after 13 years with the U.S. women’s national team. The American midfielder, 37, is also retiring from club soccer with the San Diego Wave.

Meanwhile, in collegiate athletics, associate director of sports medicine Mike Goforth is stepping down from his post after 26 years with Virginia Tech athletics. During his time with the Hokies, Goforth has been instrumental in advancing sports medicine across the college landscape and is known for his dedication to athlete health and well-being. He will be focusing on research, teaching and new initiatives with various campus agencies in Blacksburg.

When fans organize to protest the actions of their teams or club owners, this is a clear example of fan activism. These groups demonstrate the power of Jenkins’s theory that fandom provides the opportunity for people to invest in media with the potential to mobilize civic or political action.

In this case, the protest was against Sevilla’s president and board. The protest was aimed at urging the board to remove president Jose Maria del Nido Carrasco and other top members of the club’s management, who the fans believe are making poor decisions for the team. The fans’ protest was successful; the club did end up firing Carrasco and several other board members.

While many scholars argue that fan activism is a fad, recent events have shown that this movement can be a powerful force in the game. Fans have brought down Jose Mourinho at Manchester United and led marches against their club’s ownership at Chelsea, as well as pushed back on plans to commercialize the game in Liverpool.

The NFL’s response to the Kaepernick controversy also illustrates how fan activism can influence the discourse around a issue. Rather than viewing the player’s position as a social justice issue, the statements by various NFL personnel emphasized the importance of patriotism. These officials were worried about the possibility of disapproval from President Trump and losing revenue, but they failed to recognize that Kaepernick’s stance on police reform was a valid social justice issue.

While sports participation has increased significantly since Title IX’s enactment, there is still an underlying issue of gender discrimination. In fact, women from marginalized sections of society see far less opportunities to participate in sports. This is a result of gender stereotypes and perceptions and lack of access to facilities and equipment, among other factors.

Gender equality is crucial in all fields, including sports. Women’s sport needs the same attention as men’s to prevent the stigma against female athletes and improve gender attitudes. This can be done by advocating for equal pay, creating social media platforms for women’s sport and supporting programs that train journalists to cover all events.

UNESCO is currently working to develop and implement measures for the prevention of discrimination and violence in sports. These will include establishing transparent and anonymous abuse reporting systems; training sports educators, coaches and other professionals on the principles of inclusion, gender equality and respect for diversity; and setting up judicial infrastructure to facilitate investigations and hold perpetrators accountable.

Another way to promote gender equality in sports is by encouraging people to support women’s sport by attending their games and watching them on TV. This can also help change societal perceptions of sports. For example, if more people watch women’s sports, they will stop thinking of men as superior athletes and realize that men and women are equally good at different sports.

Research shows a direct relationship between sports participation and support for gender equality in sport. This is consistent with the findings that the #MeToo and #SeAcabo movements have raised awareness of gender discrimination in sports. A study analyzing data from the Special Eurobarometer 525 used Fuzzy-Hybrid TOPSIS to create a synthetic indicator of Europeans’ Attitudes Toward Gender Equality in Sport (ATGEQS) and Latent Profile Analysis to cluster respondents based on their attitudes. Results show that political ideology has a significant influence on attitudes, with left-wing citizens showing more support for ATGEQS than right-wing citizens. This is in line with previous studies, which suggest that conservative religiosity and older socio-political structures have been key drivers of resistance to progressive gender equality initiatives (104).

From performance analytics and AI-powered training tools to eSports, immersive technologies, smart stadiums, and more, sports technology is expanding the sport industry and improving athlete performance, team-audience interactions, and fan experiences. Discover the top 20 sports technology trends that are transforming the sport world.

Athlete performance-boosting technologies like wearables and sensor-enabled equipment capture real-time biometric and data-driven information, enabling coaches to optimize their training regimes. Advanced athletic injury prevention tools use granular data to identify potential injuries in advance, such as knee damage or concussion. Meanwhile, crowd sentiment analysis is enhancing sports marketing and promotion via social media.

Smart stadiums are leveraging IoT technologies to deliver personalized and interactive fan experiences. For example, a digital wayfinding system can help fans find the concession stand or restroom quickly. And asset tracking helps teams keep track of expensive equipment, like defibrillators or groundskeeping carts. It uses small tags that send real-time location updates to a central dashboard. If a piece of equipment gets lost, the system can alert staff and provide a map showing its last known location.

Enhanced sports broadcasting solutions are also transforming the game, with video-based playback and high-speed streaming allowing audiences to experience the game at home. Additionally, over-the-top (OTT) sports apps offer a curated and personalized sports viewing experience. And smart sports apparel incorporates woven sensors that can measure the force of physical impact or determine what area of the body strikes a ball, eliminating the need for bulky data relay packs.