AW promotion

Armand Duplantis and the household names of Jamaican sprinters Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah have been given the chance to be even further in the limelight.

This quartet as well as other track and field stars will reach an extended audience at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The prestigious meet at Budapest will be broadcast live, following a television deal between Warner Bros. Discovery and World Athletics rights-holders Eurovision Sport and ESPN.

Next years nine-day event will appear on its channels Eurosport 1, Eurosport 2 and the Eurosport app including its Discovery platform, on a non-exclusive basis in over 45 European countries. Eurovision Sport and ESPN jointly hold and distribute World Athletics media rights in Europe and Africa for 2023.

American-born pole vault world record-holder Duplantis is a massive draw, with the exciting Jamaican female trio of Fraser-Pryce, Jackson and Thompson-Herah injecting both some glamour and remarkable speeds.

Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics president, enthused: Im delighted to welcome Warner Bros. Discovery back into the high-powered portfolio of our World Championships broadcast partners.

Eurosport has a long tradition of offering outstanding athletics coverage. This agreement will be welcomed by our fans across Europe, as it will give them even more opportunities to watch every amazing moment of the World Athletics Championships [Budapest 2023].

Budapests brand-new National Athletics Centre will host the 2023 World Athletics Championships between 19-27 August. This will be the first-ever time that the illustrious event will be competed in central Europe. Already it has got fans buzzing about the talents on show.

Duplantis is a massive name and seems indomitable. He was named Male Athlete of the Year, selected from a panel of nominees by nearly 10 million voters, earlier this month at the esteemed World Athletics Awards 2022.

The Louisiana-born 23-year-old scooped the same award in 2020, but he was unable to attend any celebrations because of the disruption caused by COVID-19.

He holds the world pole vault record (6.21m) on top of being the reigning Olympic and world outdoor and indoor champion, the current world outdoor and indoor record holder, the current European outdoor and indoor champion as well as the current Diamond League champion.

The event was organised by the International Athletics Federation and Le Meridien hotel in Monaco played host, but the entire Jamaican contingent left empty-handed.

The Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA), were nominated in various categories, with Fraser-Pryce shortlisted for the Female Athlete of the Year award.

Fraser-Pryce claimed a fifth womens 100m title at the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States last July. Her season best of 10.62s was one of eight finishes in under 10.70s during the 2022 campaign. Her compatriot Jackson won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, with double Olympic champion Thompson-Herah settling for bronze.

Jackson then followed that up with a lifetime best, and Jamaican national record, of 21.45s to capture the 200m crown in Oregon. Some of the best online casinos in UK, such as Betway Casino and Unibet, have sportsbook counterparts that will surely be offering odds on which of these three athletics can succeed next term. , such as Betway Casino and Unibet, have sportsbook counterparts that will surely be offering odds on which of these three athletics can succeed next term.

All eyes will be firmly fixed on how Thompson-Herah bounces back next year following this seasons spate of injuries. She finished a disappointing seventh in the final of the womens 200m, but believes that she has fully recovered and is fighting fit to tackle the 2023 season.

The 30-year-old, currently the fastest woman alive in the 100m with a personal time and Jamaican national record of 10.45, has a worldwide following and will lap up the extra coverage to reach a larger audience.

Sprint legend is one of the big-name recipients at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year in Manchester on December 21

Usain Bolt will be presented with a lifetime achievement prize at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards later this month.

The Jamaican, who is now 36, won eight Olympic gold medals including 100m and 200m titles at three consecutive Games in addition to being the current world record-holder for 100m, 200m and 4x100m.

He retired in 2017 and, looking back on his career, said: I feel accomplished. Ive accomplished all I wanted to in my sport, so its just a great feeling to know that with [the] determination and sacrifice that I put in that I could accomplish what I wanted to. I always try to motivate people and say listen, believe in yourself and just go out there and do your best.

Previous winners of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year lifetime achievement award include Billie Jean King, Pelé, Bobby Charlton, Tanni Grey-Thompson, David Beckham, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Chris Hoy and last years winner Simone Biles.

For the main award at the annual SPOTY night, England footballer Beth Mead is odds on favourite with other leading contenders being snooker player Ronnie OSullivan, cricketers Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, plus boxers Natasha Jonas and Tyson Fury.

Jake Wightman and Eilish McColgan are fairly prominent with some betting firms but it looks unlikely that track and field athletics will win this top award.

Mo Farah was the last winner of SPOTY from the sport of athletics. Seb Coe, Daley Thompson, Fatima Whitbread, Kelly Holmes and Paula Radcliffe are other athletics stars to have claimed the top honour in the past.

Athletics is easily the most successful sport in the history of SPOTY but has only had one winner in the past 16 years Farah in 2017 and didnt even have a contender in the short list in 2021.

The 2022 awards are on Wednesday December 21 at 6.45pm on BBC One live from Salford.

Olympic and world 800m silver medallist tackles the distance at Manchester World Indoor Tour Bronze meeting next month

Keely Hodgkinson will have Jenny Meadows British record of 1:25.81 in her sights when she races over 600m at the Manchester World Indoor Tour Bronze meeting on Saturday January 28.

Meadows, who now coaches Hodgkinson along with husband Trevor Painter, coincidentally set the record in Manchester in 2007.

The world record is 1:23.44 set by Olga Kotlyarova of Russia in Moscow in 2004. Olympic champion Athing Mu, meanwhile, is the second fastest in history the American clocked 1:23.57 in New York in 2019.

One things for sure, though, Hodgkinson is sure to beat her PB of 1:56.9 which was set a decade ago when she was an under-11 athlete.

Last winter Hodgkinson set a UK 800m record of 1:57.20 in Birmingham and also placed a close second in the 400m at the UK Indoor Champs before pulling out of the World Indoor Championships in Belgrade with injury.

Later in the summer the 20-year-old finished a close second to Mu in the World Championships and runner-up to Mary Moraa at the Commonwealth Games before taking gold at the European Championships.

This winter she is set to run 800m at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final on February 25 and could possibly finish her indoor season at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul on March 2-5.

Also at the Manchester meeting in January, former European 800m champion Lynsey Sharp makes her comeback and will race for the first time since 2019 over 800m.

The 32-year-old, who gave birth in 2021 to a baby boy called Max, is set to face Issy Boffey, Louise Shanahan and Abigail Ives among others.

Sharp, who is married to athlete Andy Butchart, said last year: I want to bring a child into the world and be able to show them that a mum can have a child and can come back and achieve amazing things. I definitely want to come back for a couple of years. Focusing on a family doesnt mean you have to say goodbye to other goals in your life.

Early entries for the womens 1500m include Sarah McDonald, Ellie Baker, Jenny Selman and Aimee Pratt.

Tickets are 10 for adults and 5 for children click here.

Fund-raising efforts continue for 32-year-old as he takes some tentative steps with the help of staff at a neurological rehabilitation unit

Four months after being on life support with a fractured skull and brain haemorrhages following a car accident, Welsh decathlete Ben Gregory is up on his feet and beginning the long road to recovery.

It is a scenario few believed would happen back in August when he was hit by a car while cycling in London, suffering catastrophic brain injuries.

The three-time Commonwealth Games competitor is expected to remain in the unit for several months yet as he starts to relearn how to talk, walk and do simple tasks for himself. It will be a long time before he can return to his job as a fitness instructor too.

But his friends and family are delighted with the progress and there have been a number of fund-raising events taking place to help his recovery.

These include a marathon run by pole vaulter Max Eaves and a mini-combined events competition organised by fellow Welsh decathlete Curtis Matthews and Olympic bobsledder Mica Moore (see main photo above taken at the Cardiff Indoor Athletics Arena).

On Tuesday (Dec 20) two of Gregorys friends will be running 60km to help raise money for his recovery fund and you can support and follow their efforts here.

His partner Naomi Heffernan was even able to go out with him recently for a coffee and said: Since Ben moved to The Wellington Hospital nearly a month ago, he has transformed. The level of care and therapy is outstanding and has 1000% contributed to his incredible progress.

Gregory, 32, has a decathlon best of 7882 points and placed sixth in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi 2010 and Glasgow 2014 before finishing seventh at the Gold Coast in 2018.

The popular Welsh combined events athlete also won the England Athletics decathlon title during his career before becoming a PT and coach in London.

Heffernan added: They say that recovering from TBI is a life long process but I believe with all my heart that Ben has an exciting and independent future ahead of him.

It could take another 4-6 months of being in hospital but 2023 will see us living together again and getting some normality back. All kinds of therapy will be a huge part of Bens daily life for a long time to come from physio, occupational, music and neuropsychology.

It will help him gain back his cognitive and physical functions to become more and more like the Ben we all know.