Ilona Maher and US rugby seek breakthrough with sell-out DC doubleheader

At the ESPY Awards in Hollywood on Wednesday, Ilona Maher was named Best Breakthrough Athlete.“It’s taken me seven years and two Olympics but I finally broke through,” the 28-year-old US Eagles center, social media sensation, swimwear model and reality TV star said, with a delighted laugh.USA Rugby knows such attention is to be seized. After all, Maher’s presence against Fiji at Audi Field in Washington on Saturday explains the 20,000 sellout for a program that also includes the Eagles men against England.Out in LA, Maher told her celebrity audience: “PSA, there is a Women’s Rugby World Cup this year

Daniel Lapin, Ukraine’s next big boxing hope, on Usyk bonds after Russia ‘broke’ early career

Daniel Lapin pulls up a video on his phone and, having chatted away for 40 minutes, lets the images do the talking. Or, more accurately, the sounds. It is a scene he captured in the early hours of a Kyiv morning during the spring and what stands out above everything is the awful, incessant, gathering buzz of the Russian-controlled drones that plague Ukraine’s capital almost every night. Sleep is rendered impossible for residents during those attacks, partly due to the sheer noise and in huge degree to the fear that you, or your loved ones, will be struck next. “After a night like that you don’t want to train,” he says

Havana Hurricane can blow rivals away in Newbury Super Sprint

Eve Johnson Houghton has drawn a blank with 14 previous runners in the Super Sprint at Newbury and recently described it as her “unluckiest race”, but she may never have a better chance to break her duck than in the latest renewal of the £250,000 contest on Saturday, when Havana Hurricane, her Windsor Castle Stakes winner at Royal Ascot, will go to post as the short-priced favourite.Johnson Houghton’s Chipotle, also a Windsor Castle winner, was the beaten favourite in the Super Sprint in 2021, but Havana Hurricane (3.30) arguably has even stronger credentials and has progressed with every outing so far.A repeat of his Ascot form might well be enough off 8st 11lb in a race where the weights depend on a horse’s purchase price at auction, but further improvement is also more than likely. Havana Hurricane cost just 9k gns (£9,450) as a yearling and can take his career earnings past £200k with a third career victory on Saturday

Johnny Sexton backs ‘flash’ Finn Russell to produce his best on first Lions start

The British & Irish Lions assistant coach Johnny Sexton has insisted that Finn Russell is still “flash” but believes the Scotland playmaker has the temperament to shine on his first Test start for the tourists against Australia on Saturday.Sexton described Russell as a “media darling” and as “flashy” before he was named as one of Andy Farrell’s assistant coaches, making for a potentially awkward reunion with Russell upon his appointment.Russell is taking part in his third Lions tour but makes his first Test start, having impressed off the bench in the series decider against South Africa four years ago while he played a bit part role as one of the “Geography Six” in 2017.Sexton, who made his Lions debut in Brisbane 12 years ago, admits he has been pleasantly surprised by Russell in Australia and, with the tourists heavy favourites to defeat the Wallabies, believes the Scot can help his side deal with the expectation.“Oh, he’s still flash, yeah! He’d hate it if I said ‘no’,” said Sexton

Felix Baumgartner, who jumped from edge of space, dies in paragliding crash

The extreme sports pioneer Felix Baumgartner, famed for a record-breaking 2012 skydive from the edge of space, has died in a paragliding accident in central Italy, local police said.The Austrian, 56, lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant’Elpidio in the Marche region on Thursday and fell to the ground into the swimming pool of a hotel. Media reports said several people were in the pool at the time and witnessed his fall, the cause of which was unclear.Porto Sant’Elpidio’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, said reports suggested he may have suffered a sudden medical issue mid-air, and offered the town’s condolences for the death of “a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flights”.Baumgartner, who was known as “Fearless Felix”, made headlines around the world in October 2012 when – wearing a specially made suit – he jumped from a balloon 38km (24 miles) above Earth, becoming the first skydiver to break the sound barrier

Lions accused of blocking Pasifika XV star in eligibility row on eve of series

The British & Irish Lions have been accused of running scared on the eve of the first Test against the ­Wallabies, amid a disagreement over the availability of Pete Samu for next week’s First Nations & Pasifika XV tour match.Samu, who last season represented Bordeaux before joining the Waratahs for the next Super Rugby season, has been blocked from playing in Tuesday’s game and is said by the head coach, Toutai Kefu, to be “devastated”.The fixture has replaced the ­scheduled match against ­Melbourne Rebels, who went bust last year, and the Lions have pointed to the ­regulations that state only ­players from Australia’s Super Rugby sides, as well as in some cases Fijian Drua and Moana Pasifika, can be selected. Samu played for the AUNZ ­Invitational XV in Adelaide last week but as he did not ­represent the ­Waratahs in the 2025 Super Rugby season he has been deemed ineligible.A Lions source has said the tourists did not bring Samu’s ineligibility to light but that is strongly disputed by Rugby Australia