Published: 14 August 2016

Great Britain can match its incredible track cycling haul from London four years ago, according to Joanna Rowsell-Shand, a member of the record-breaking women’s pursuit team in the Olympic velodrome.

The British women set three world records over two days to retain their Olympic crown and claim Britain’s third cycling gold medal in Rio.

Britain already has the titles for the men’s team sprint and men’s team pursuit — also in a world record time.

On Saturday, Becky James won silver in the women’s keirin while reigning champion Jason Kenny and Callum Skinner qualified for the men’s sprint final, guaranteeing Britain gold and silver on Sunday.

Four years ago and in Beijing 2008, Britain won seven of the 10 Olympic disciplines.

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Published: 12 August 2016

Police in London are investigating allegations that a young tennis player was poisoned while competing at this year's Wimbledon, a British newspaper reported on Thursday.

Gabriella Taylor, 18, withdrew from the Girls' Singles competition in July and spent four days in intensive care.

Police are now investigating whether she was deliberately poisoned, The Telegraph newspaper said.

Taylor was reportedly diagnosed with Leptospirosis, a bacterial infection spread by animals.

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Published: 26 July 2016

British Paralympic sprint star Jonnie Peacock will defend his 100m title in the Paralympics in Rio after he gained selection for the team on Tuesday.

The 23-year-old -- one of 41 athletes to be added to the 13 selected in June -- said he would face some stiff opposition but was ready to show his amazing performance in London was not a one-off.

He said there would be some 'incredibly fast times in Rio' but he is primed to 'give a performance to be proud of'.

Peacock is part of a strong team, which also includes legend David Weir, who won four Paralympic titles in London, and Libby Clegg, who is fresh from breaking the 200m world record at last weekend's IPC Athletics Grand Prix Final.

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Published: 17 July 2016

Chelsea on Saturday announced the signing of Leicester City's all-action defensive midfielder N'Golo Kante on a five-year deal to become new boss Antonio Conte's second capture of the summer.

The fee for the French international was about £32 million (38 million euros, $42 million), British media said, and comes after Chelsea snapped up Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi from Marseille for a similar fee.

Kante's move to London will bolster a side that failed miserably in its defence last season of the Premier League title, but represents a blow to reigning champions Leicester as they battle to keep together the side that shocked world football.

"I am so happy to have signed for one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It?s a dream come true for me," the 25-year-old Kante told Chelsea's website.

"The opportunity to work with Antonio Conte, a brilliant coach, and some of the best players in the world was simply too good to turn down."

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Published: 03 July 2016

Crystal Palace have signed England international winger Andros Townsend from Newcastle for a club record £13 million ($17m, 15.5m euros), the Premier League club confirmed on Friday.

The 24-year-old has agreed a five-year contract with his transfer coming on the same day that striker Dwight Gayle moved in the opposite direction.

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Published: 01 July 2016

Newcastle United snapped up goalkeeper Matz Sels for a reported fee of £4.5 million (5.4 million euros) from Belgian side Gent on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old, voted goalkeeper of the year last season in Belgium, signed a five-year contract and becomes Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez’s first summer signing, as the Spaniard looks to freshen up his squad after relegation from the Premier League.

“I am really pleased to welcome Matz to the club,” Benitez said. “He’s a fantastic goalkeeper and many top clubs have been interested in signing him.

“Obviously we have injuries to Tim Krul and Rob Elliot which could be difficult for us in the first part of the season so it was important to strengthen in this area to be sure we can make a strong start in the Championship.”

Sels joined Gent from Lierse in January 2014 and made 106 appearances in all competitions for the club.

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Published: 10 June 2016

The three-day sale of memorabilia belonging to world football icon Pele ended in London on Thursday with the artefacts sold for the princely total of £3.4million ($5million, 4.4million euros).

The final day of the sale -- held in London but under the banner of Los Angeles based auction house Julien's -- was lit up by the sale of the 75-year-old Brazilian's third and final World Cup winners medal from 1970 which fetched £346,000.

To put that price into context, the ones from 1958, when he was just a teenager, and 1962 had sold collectively on Wednesday for £340,000.

"It was a white glove auction where 100% of all the lots sold," Darren Julien, Chief Executive of Julien's auctions told AFP.

Julien's had extra reason to be happy as they had placed an original total estimate of £3million on the memorabilia.

Another Pele item to make big money on Thursday was his 1000th game crown which eventually went for £162,000.

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Published: 09 June 2016

England captain Alastair Cook said on Wednesday he wants all cricketers found guilty of match-fixing to be banned for life, but that he would be prepared to face Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir.

Left-arm quick Amir is in line for a Test return -- having already made his comeback in white-ball international cricket -- in the series opener against England at Lord’s next month.

It was during a Lord’s Test against England six years ago that Amir and two Pakistan team-mates were involved in the deliberate bowling of no-balls -- the trio having been lured into a newspaper ‘sting’ operation to demonstrate their willingness to take part in spot-fixing.

A teenager at the time and one of world cricket’s undoubted rising stars, Amir was sent to jail by an English court and banned from all cricket worldwide for five years.

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Published: 08 June 2016

The three-day sale of more than 2,000 items from world football icon Pele’s personal memorabilia kicked off on Tuesday, with shirts, souvenirs and medals all going under the hammer.

The Brazil legend’s collection of items from his extraordinary career, being sold in London by Los Angeles-based Julien’s Auctions, is expected to fetch some £3 million ($4.4 million, 3.8 million euros).

The 75-year-old is the only player to have won the World Cup three times and the standout item is a replica awarded to him of the Jules Rimet winners’ trophy, which is estimated to fetch up to £410,000.

His World Cup winners’ medals from 1958, 1962 and 1970 are expected to net up to £140,000 each.

The sale began Tuesday with a yellow 2015 Brazil national football team jersey presented to Pele, bearing his name and the number 10 on the back.

It sold for £725, surpassing its estimate of £280 to £420.

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Published: 04 June 2016

Gareth Bale believes Wales have it in them to cause an upset at the forthcoming European Championship in France by topping a group that also includes England.

The main aim for Wales, appearing in their first major tournament finals since the 1958 World Cup, will be to get out of a group that also includes Slovakia and Russia and into the knockout stage.

But Real Madrid star Bale, set to feature in Wales’ final warm-up match against Sweden in Stockholm on Sunday, wants the team to aim higher.

“We’re not going there just to make up the numbers,” Bale told a BBC Wales documentary entitled, “Gareth Bale: Euro Star.”

“We want to win every game that we play, we want to win the group and give ourselves the best chance.

“No matter who we play we feel confident in our abilities we can win.

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