Rope hope: meet the 72-year-old heaving hard for England’s tug of war team
After helping Great Britain win gold at the World Games last month, lifelong puller Richard Keightley is competing again in the world championships in Nottingham this weekendIt is Richard Keightley’s 50th wedding anniversary in early December, and he could really do with planning something special to placate his longsuffering wife, Ann, after he unwisely described helping Great Britain win tug of war gold at last month’s World Games as “the best time of my life”,Sadly for Ann, the date of their anniversary clashes with the National Indoor Tug of War Championships in Derbyshire, and there is only going to be one outcome,“What I always tell her is I’ve been doing tug of war since before I met her,” says a chuckling Keightley, fully aware he will be tipping the scales inside an agricultural hall in Bakewell right when his wife would relish breakfast in bed,Keightley, 72, is a tug of war lifer: first club competition in 1971, first international honours in 1983 and, remarkably, still going strong into his eighth decade,“You kind of get addicted to it,” he says.
“I’ve been all over the world doing it.”Last month, it was Chengdu, China, where he was a reserve for Britain’s victorious men’s 640kg team at the World Games – the “Olympics” for non-Olympic sports (everything from pool to boules and lacrosse to wakeboarding).This weekend, it will take him a fair bit closer to home, when Nottingham becomes the first English host of the World Tug of War Championships for 25 years.For British pullers it is a summer like no other.Men have been pulling ropes in the name of sport since ancient civilisations, with tug of war included in the Olympics from 1900 to 1920.
These days it is firmly in the bracket of niche sporting pursuit, requiring participants to self-fund and offering no prize money to the few who emerge victorious,“You compete for medals, cups, pride and gratitude,” says Alan Knott of the Tug of War Association (Towa), England’s governing body,About 25 clubs are affiliated to Towa, alongside informal leagues, military events and young farmers’ competitions,Keightley is one of the oldest competitors in a sport that does not discriminate by age,Although only a reserve in China – where Britain’s eight victorious pullers ranged from 23 to 56 years old – he formed part of the Lincoln team that won the national championships earlier in the summer and therefore earned the right to represent Great Britain at the World Games.
In Nottingham, the victorious World Games team will compete as England rather than Great Britain.“It’s not one of those sports where you need to be racing down a field chasing an 18-year-old,” says Knott.“It’s more about stamina and strength.It’s also how you work as a team, being able to read what the rope is doing and keeping your teammates calm.Experience counts.
”Keightley puts his longevity down to a lifetime of manual work as a carpenter – he is planning to build himself a house – mental stubbornness and refusing to relent from a gruelling training regime that tests the description of amateur pursuit.Top clubs require group training twice a week, daily individual strength or running sessions, and competitions almost every Sunday.As a weight-categorised sport, there is also constant dietary pressure.“Around Christmas, I usually weigh about 17 and a half stone,” says Keightley’s fellow World Games gold medallist Will Lee, 38.“But when I’m pulling, I pull at 12 and a half stone.
That’s how much weight I have to lose throughout the year to be competitive.”Lee, who runs his own building firm, estimates the total cost of all training and travel during his 24 years in the sport stretches well into five, or perhaps even six, figures: “It’s colossal.” Winning World Games gold in the blue riband men’s 640kg category made it all worthwhile.“When you compete at a World Games – and I’ve competed at three of them – they make you feel like a proper athlete,” he says.“It’s an amazing feeling.
You’re a winner just getting to compete there, but then actually winning gold is another level,It’s such a surreal moment,”Sign up to The RecapThe best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend’s actionafter newsletter promotionThe dream now is to complete a historic double this weekend on home soil,More than 1,200 competitors will descend on the Midlands, representing 20 nations across different weight categories in men’s, women’s and mixed events,The two days of international competition on Saturday and Sunday are already sold out, with 1,250 spectators attending each day at the University of Nottingham.
While Chinese Taipei are the predominant women’s nation, Switzerland had long been the team to beat in the men’s 640kg discipline until Britain turned the tables from the previous World Games final last month.“It’s good that people are chasing us for a change, and we’re not chasing the Swiss,” says Lee.“There’s nothing like pressure.Pressure is good.Hopefully we can do the double and that would be job done.
”Keightley was due to compete in the open club competition on Thursday and Friday before again serving as a reserve for England over the weekend.Whether a golden summer would provide a career swansong seems unlikely.“There’s got to be a point that I stop,” he says.“I keep thinking I’ll do one more year.“I always keep myself busy though.
When I build this house it will be the third I’ve built for myself.That’s the type of person I am.I just cannot sit still.”
Jaguar Land Rover staff told to stay home after cyber-attack
Jaguar Land Rover has told its factory staff to stay home until at least next Tuesday as it continues to deal with the effects of a cyber-attack.The carmaker has had to stop production at its factories in Merseyside and the West Midlands after hackers infiltrated its systems.Production workers in Halewood on Merseyside and Solihull in the West Midlands and at JLR’s engine manufacturing site in Wolverhampton have been told to stay away until 9 September, in a tacit admission that a swift resolution to the problem is unlikely.The UK’s biggest car manufacturer, owned by India’s Tata group, halted production at the sites after discovering the breach on Sunday. It has since said its global operations had been “severely disrupted” by the cyber incident
Average UK house price rises to record £299,331, says Halifax
UK house prices rose for a third consecutive month in August, pushing the average price of a property to a record high as momentum returns to the market.Prices increased by 0.3% month on month in August – after a 0.4% rise in July and a 0.1% increase in June – pushing the average cost of a UK home to £299,331
Head of UK’s beleaguered Alan Turing Institute resigns
The chief executive of the UK’s leading artificial intelligence institute is stepping down after a staff revolt and government calls for a strategic overhaul.Jean Innes has led the Alan Turing Institute since 2023, but her position has come under pressure amid widespread discontent within the organisation and a demand from its biggest funder, the UK government, for a change in direction.ATI said the search was already under way for a replacement for Innes, who held senior roles in the civil service and technology industry before her appointment.Government sources pointed to a letter sent by the technology secretary, Peter Kyle, to ATI’s chair in July that demanded strategic change and indicated a need for new leadership.In the letter, Kyle said the institute should switch its focus to defence and national security and urged “careful consideration” on having an appropriate executive team in place for such a move
Quantum computing firm reaches $10bn valuation as investor interest builds
A British quantum computing entrepreneur has doubled the value of his stake in the business he founded to $2bn (£1.5bn), after the company achieved a $10bn valuation in its latest fundraising.Ilyas Khan, 63, is the founder of Quantinuum, a UK-US firm that announced on Thursday it had raised $600m as investor interest builds in the cutting-edge technology.Khan set up Quantinuum’s predecessor company, Cambridge Quantum, in 2014 before it merged with the US-based Honeywell Quantum Solutions in 2021.Khan, a former owner of his home town’s football club Accrington Stanley, is now chief product officer at the business and to date has not sold any shares since founding it more than a decade ago
Anisimova faces battle with Sabalenka and recent demons at US Open final
The 24-year-old endured humiliation at Wimbledon but has pulled off a rapid and remarkable comebackAmanda Anisimova was struggling to maintain her composure in the days leading up to the final grand slam tournament of the year. As the American braced herself for her first round match, her high expectations became a source of significant stress. In hindsight, this was nothing out of the ordinary. “I think most players are putting a lot of pressure on themselves and those few days before the tournament are pretty stressful, just the anticipation of it,” she said after reaching round three. “I feel it was natural for me to feel that way
‘Living the dream’: Hamilton savours first Italian GP in Ferrari colours
Were there any doubt of the import in Lewis Hamilton having joined Ferrari, it was summarily dismissed in the shadow of the Duomo di Milano on the Wednesday before this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. There, on the Piazzetta Reale, fans had gathered in a vast throng since the early morning to greet Hamilton as he prepares for his debut with Ferrari at their home race.The Piazzetta Reale – Royal Square – was an entirely apt locale as in Monza this weekend Hamilton and teammate Charles Leclerc are as close as any F1 drivers come to being considered royalty. The vociferous vocal acclaim that greeted them had begun 15 minutes before they appeared and all but drowned out attempts at interviews, according to Corriere della Sera.“They sign autographs
Lammy made deputy PM and Cooper foreign secretary after Rayner’s exit
Nige takes to the stage offering empty promises and anger – and the crowd love it | John Crace
Reform conference shows a party keen to present itself as normal | Peter Walker
The seven Labour MPs who have left Starmer’s government since election
UK children face barriers to outdoor play due to poor planning, says study
Reform UK could strip FCA of power to regulate banking if elected