Category Sports News

Neah Evans wanted to be a showjumper, but an injury to her horse prevented her riding. So she took up fell running instead, only for anaemia to curtail that.

In her early 20s, feeling gloomy and losing her love for sport, the veterinary student grudgingly accepted dad Malcolm’s surprise booking of a ‘give it a go’ cycling session at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.

Evans, who had cycled as a child, had never been on a bike without brakes. She’d never used clip-in pedals. She’d never even been inside a velodrome.

But with Glasgow 2014 looming and the track – built for the event – open to the public, she found herself making a decision that would change her life.

“I almost just went to appease my dad, but it was a sliding doors moment because I absolutely loved it and everything just snowballed,” she tells BBC Sport Scotland.

And how. Evans is speaking in that same velodrome 11 years later as the owner of world and European golds, as well as silvers from two separate Olympics and four Commonwealth Games medals.

“If it wasn’t for Glasgow 2014, and this place hadn’t been built, I wouldn’t be a cyclist,” says Evans, who confesses that her “lively” student lifestyle took precedence over attending any events at those Games.

“When people talk about legacy and those buzzwords, I normally kind of go, ‘oh yeah, does it actually work?’. But I’m living proof that it could change your life.”

Not that it happened immediately for Evans, who still readily describes herself as “an accidental athlete”.

Cycling remained a hobby while she qualified and worked as a vet. And it was only a year before the Gold Coast Games of 2018 that she became a full-time athlete.

She went to Australia as part of Team Scotland expecting to discover she wasn’t good enough to be a professional and destined for a life working with animals.

But Evans won silver and bronze and suddenly a whole new career opened up in front of her. “I was like ‘huh, I’m quite good at this’,” she recalls.

“It was a turning point. That’s why the Commonwealth Games are really special for me because I can pinpoint that as when I transitioned from being a vet who did a bit of cycling to seeing myself as a cyclist.”

With all that in mind, the Games returning to Glasgow next summer will mark a particular high point for Evans.

In the wake of a second successful Olympics, the 34-year-old’s focus has switched to road racing for this season. It has not gone well, with a succession of calamities befalling her, but she will be back on the boards next year.

Having competed – and won – at the Worlds in Glasgow in 2023, she knows what the sights, sounds and smells of the event will be and is using those memories to propel her through her ongoing struggles.

“When you’re faced with a four-hour bike ride in the rain and don’t really fancy it, you think, ‘come on, the Games are coming up’ and that keeps you going,” she says.

When Isaac Price spoke to the media before Northern Ireland’s friendly with Iceland at Windsor Park, it was put to him that his next goal for Michael O’Neill’s side would draw him level with some iconic figures who have worn the green jersey.

George Best, Norman Whiteside, Gareth McAuley and Billy Bingham were the only four men to score exactly nine times for Northern Ireland.

“The names are legends. I don’t think I’m anywhere near that,” replied the 21-year-old on Monday afternoon.

“But if I got to score another goal and join them, it would be an incredibly proud moment for me and my family.”

In the end, the wait was a short one as, with 36 minutes gone in Tuesday night’s 1-0 win, the West Bromwich Albion man drifted off the left before curling in a right-footed effort from outside the box.

With the final goal of his October hat-trick against Bulgaria and March’s free-kick against Switzerland having come from a similar area of the Windsor Park pitch, it was the sort of finish that feels like it is quickly becoming Price’s trademark.

If this one seemed more special given the company the Everton youth product now keeps, what’s most impressive is the speed with which he has reached such rarefied air in the country’s record books.

The game against Iceland was the side’s last before their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign begins in September with an away double-header against Luxembourg and Germany.

By the time those fixtures roll around, it will be almost two years since their last qualifier. If Liverpool’s Conor Bradley has emerged as the side’s talisman in that period, then Price has filled a role which has posed a problem for even longer – that of a regular goalscorer.

He remains some way off David Healy’s 36 scored for the side between 2000 and 2013, but when the former Leeds United and Preston North End striker came on the scene the record stood at just 13.

While Kyle Lafferty later hit 20 in 89 caps, with his goals proving crucial in guiding the side to Euro 2016 qualification, the search for a successor has been difficult.

Indeed, before Price’s run of seven goals in his past seven caps, it had not been uncommon for defender Paddy McNair to be the most prolific member of Michael O’Neill’s starting side during the manager’s second stint in charge.

That such a void has been filled by a player who is not striker at all, and rarely scores at club level, feels all the more noteworthy.

He scored once for West Brom after his January move from Standard Liege, the same tally he managed in two seasons spent in Belgium’s top flight.

While calling his move abroad from Everton in 2023 the “best decision” he could have made for his football, Price noted it had been “challenging to settle” in a new country, something that conversely made Northern Ireland feel all the more “like home” when the England-born player came away on international duty.

So, too, did the confidence of his manager.

O’Neill acknowledged only this week that he likely still did not know Price’s best position, but internationally he has settled into playing off the left of midfield, inside a wing-back and behind a central striker.

At club level, he often holds a more orthodox midfield position and has even turned out at right-back, although he noted he still works on his finishing “every day”.

He added: “I’ve probably not had a manager that’s told me that before. I feel like I’ve always been a number eight or a little bit deeper, trying to get on the ball more.

“But when I come here, he’s seen something in me that I probably didn’t see in myself.”

Just what was it that O’Neill saw?

“Two things – intelligence and athleticism. They are the two biggest things,” said the manager, who like Price made his international debut for NI as a teenager.

“There is a technical level there but he’s an intelligent boy. He understands the game and if you give him an instruction he is able to do it.

“He is a very easy player to coach and I think that’s the biggest attribute he has. If you are looking at the profile of a modern day footballer, we’d maybe like to see him a few kilograms heavier, but given his size and his ability to run, he has all the attributes you want in a young player.”

Of course, there is no greater attribute than a knack for a timely goal with Price’s ability to find the net, even on nights like Tuesday when he felt below his best, key to NI’s hopes of making it to the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico next summer.

“You need that in teams if you want to have a chance of qualifying,” said defender Trai Hume who has lined out alongside Price in 19 of his 22 caps.

“You just look at Kyle Lafferty in 2016, he was scoring goals non-stop.

O’Neill still maintains Price’s biggest contribution is off the ball. While it is his goals that catch the eye, a game in which he did not score, the 2-1 defeat against Denmark on Saturday, offered a good example.

Lazio’s Gustav Isaksen was quickly shown to be the host’s most direct threat in Copenhagen with Price recognising that his left wing-back, Justin Devenny, was playing in an unfamiliar position and frequently tracked back deeper to help out.

“The ball falls to Isaac and you know there’s a bit of magic in him, you know it’s going to happen,” said Crystal Palace’s Devenny.

“We see his quality on the ball, but it maybe goes under the radar, his work off the ball. He doesn’t stop running for 90 minutes.

“That’s massive for this team when we need to dig in. Isaac maybe doesn’t get the credit for that because he gets all the credit for his ability on the ball.”

Having spoken about his desire to achieve team success, Price wants to keep climbing Northern Ireland’s goalscoring charts too.

Already only 14 men have ever netted more for the team. Next in his sights are another fine trio of players – Jimmy McIlroy, Peter McParland and Johnny Crossan – who all scored 10 times for the side.

“I want more. I’m not satisfied with what I’ve got. I want to go and get more,” he said.

“The performances need to get better too.

Masters champion Rory McIlroy says this week’s US Open venue Oakmont “felt impossible” as recently as last week.

The world number two revealed he shot 81 during a practice round last Monday, although he added that the following day he found it not quite as fearsome a challenge.

The Northern Irishman missed the cut when the demanding Pittsburgh layout last staged the US Open in 2016, before its redesign in 2023.

And while he said he tried to wipe that week from his memory, he was handed a stark reminder of Oakmont’s severe demands – five-inch rough and undulating greens – while carding 11-over in practice on 2 June.

“Last Monday felt impossible – I birdied the last two holes for 81,” said the five-time major winner, who described Oakmont as a “big brute of a golf course”.

“It felt pretty good, it didn’t feel like I played that bad.

“It’s much more benign now – they had the pins in dicey positions and the greens were running at 15 and a half. It was nearly impossible.”

McIlroy, the 2011 US Open champion, has struggled with his driver in recent weeks and is coming off a nightmarish week at the Canadian Open, where he missed the cut by 12 shots.

However, he admitted Oakmont – which is hosting its 10th US Open – felt “softer” during practice on Tuesday.

“If you put it on the fairway, it’s certainly playable,” added the 36-year-old.

“But then you just have to think about leaving your ball below the hole and just trying to make as many pars as you can. If you get yourself in the way of a few birdies, that’s a bonus.

“I’m glad we have spotters out there, because last Monday you hit a ball off the fairway and you were looking for a good couple of minutes just to find it.

McIlroy’s form has deserted him in recent weeks. After his Masters win sealed the career Grand Slam, he finished tied seventh in his next event before a tie for 47th at the US PGA Championship, where his driver failed a pre-tournament legality test.

And having endured a brutal practice round at Oakmont, he carded an eight-over 78 to miss the weekend in Toronto last week.

While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, McIlroy admitted he has struggled for motivation following his career-defining Augusta triumph.

“I think it’s trying to have a little bit of amnesia and forget about what happened six weeks ago [at the Masters], then just trying to find the motivation to go back out there and work as hard as I’ve been working,” he said when asked about moving forward.

“I worked incredibly hard on my game from October last year all the way up until April this year.

McIlroy, who has reverted to his old driver after struggling off the tee in Canada, added it was important to savour his most significant achievement.

“You have to enjoy that. You have to enjoy what you’ve just accomplished,” he said.

“I certainly feel like I’m still doing that and I will continue to do that. At some point you have to realise that there’s a little bit more golf left to play this season.

“Weeks like Quail Hollow [at the US PGA] or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way – to be like ‘OK, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process’.”

McIlroy also explained that he has “always been a player that struggles” to perform immediately after a big win.

“I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you’ve just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it, and you want to sort of relish the fact that you’ve achieved a goal,” he said.

After failing to make three consecutive US Open cuts between 2016 and 2018, McIlroy has posted six successive top-10 finishes and been runner-up the past two years.

Liverpool’s move for Bayer Leverkusen playmaker Florian Wirtz is at an advanced stage, with the clubs in discussions over the structure of a transfer that could be worth £114m.

The Reds submitted a third formal bid for the Germany playmaker last week, worth £100m guaranteed and a further £14m of add-ons. If completed, it would smash the club’s £75m record signing of captain Virgil van Dijk in 2018.

Sources have told BBC Sport that talks are now focused on the structure of the final details of the transfer, including the value of the add-ons and how achievable they are. Leverkusen had valued the midfielder at around £126m

Wirtz, 22, has made it clear that his preference is to move to Anfield following interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

He made his debut for Leverkusen at the age of 17 and has scored 57 goals in 197 games for the club.

He helped them win the Bundesliga for the first time in 2024 and has scored seven goals in 31 appearances for Germany since making his national debut in 2021.

Spain record goalscorer Jenni Hermoso has been left out of their squad for the upcoming European Championships in Switzerland.

Hermoso, 35, has scored 57 goals in 123 appearances for her national side and played a key role as Spain lifted the World Cup in Australia in 2023.

The Tigres striker featured in all six qualifiers, but her last appearance was in October 2024. She is among 12 changes to the World Cup-winning squad.

After receiving her World Cup winners medal, Hermoso was kissed by Spain’s former football federation boss Luis Rubiales without her consent. Rubiales was later found guilty of sexual assault.

Head coach Montse Tome gave a reason for her omission, saying: “I understand Jenni is an important player. I spoke with her about her situation and we’ve done the same work with her as everyone else.

“We have assessed her performances for Tigres and spoken with her coach. In her position, we have Patri [Guijarro], Aitana [Bonmati], Alexia [Putellas], Maite [Zubieta], Vicky [Lopez] and even Mariona [Caldentey] or [Claudia] Pina can come in there.

“It’s hard to pick 23 players, but we do the job professionally. At the end of the day that is what we have chosen.”

Mariona Caldentey, who started in Arsenal’s Champions League final win over Barcelona, and Manchester City’s Leila Ouahabi have been included in the squad alongside two-time Ballon d’Or winners Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati.