Team GB lose Cas appeal over new skeleton helmets at Winter Olympics
Great Britain’s skeleton team have been banned from wearing its new aerodynamic helmets at the Winter Olympics after the court of arbitration for sport ruled they were illegal because its “rear significantly protrudes”.The news is a big blow to Team GB’s Matt Weston and Marcus Wyatt, who have dominated skeleton all season, winning all seven of the World Cup races between them.Those victories were won with a different helmet, but Weston and Wyatt were hoping to go even quicker by using a differently shaped design.In its appeal to Cas, the British Bobsleigh and Skeleton Association had argued that the new helmet, which it started using in St Moritz last week, was compliant with the rules because it was manufactured without any elements “attached” to it and did not have “aerodynamic modifications”.However the sport’s governing body, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, disagreed, saying the BBSA’s innovative design was aerodynamic and did not comply with its rules.
After a hearing, Cas has now sided with the IBSF, saying the new helmet “departs from the standard shape and reflects a novel design specifically developed to enhance aerodynamic performance where the rear considerably protrudes”.As a result, its panel ruled that the helmet was not compliant with IBSF rules as they currently stand for the current season.In a statement, Natalie Dunman, BBSA’s executive performance director, admitted her disappointment – but insisted the team was still in a strong position to go for gold.“Based on the strength of the case we put forward, naturally we are disappointed in today’s decision,” she said.“However, this does not affect our final preparations and nor has the discourse affected the athletes’ focus or optimism going into the Games.
”“Our athletes have been winning medals all season and throughout the Olympic cycle in their current helmets and we remain in a strong position to continue that trend.We will make no further comment until after the conclusion of the skeleton competition.”UK Sport has spent £5,765,123 of national lottery funding on skeleton sliders over the past four years, and has been rewarded with Weston in particular dominating the sport.Last year the 28-year-old became world champion for a second time, beating his closest rival Wyatt by 1.9sec.
This season, Weston has won five races and Wyatt two,
Austin Butler to play Lance Armstrong in big-screen biopic
The Oscar-nominated actor Austin Butler is scheduled to take on the role of the disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong in a buzzy new biopic.According to Deadline, the package has caused a “frenzied” bidding war in Hollywood with the Conclave director Edward Berger at the helm and King Richard’s Zach Baylin set to write the script.Producer Scott Stuber, who recently worked on Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, has been working to secure Armstrong’s life rights for a while and a deal has now finally been agreed. Armstrong will be involved in the film but will not have a producing credit.The hope is for the film to be a cross between F1 and The Wolf of Wall Street
Stephen Colbert: ‘Trump would eat a bicycle tire if you put it on a bun’
On Thursday night, Stephen Colbert responded to White House adviser Paula White-Cain’s claims that Donald Trump is “the GOAT”, while Jimmy Kimmel and Seth Meyers addressed ICE and Jeffrey Epstein.Over on the Late Show, Colbert turned his attention to Trump’s appearance at the national prayer breakfast and his speech at the Washington Hilton hotel. Or as Colbert called the president’s 77-minute address, “special material just for the prayer munchers”.Ahead of his remarks, Trump was introduced by White-Cain, the White House senior adviser who Colbert called a “haunted Bloomingdale’s mannequin”. White-Cain introduced the president as “the GOAT: the greatest of all time”
Aacta awards 2026: horror film Bring Her Back and Jacob Elordi win big at Australian film and TV prizes
Bring Her Back has dominated at the 2026 Aacta (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) awards, winning 10 of 16 nominations, while Jacob Elordi has continued his recent awards buzz by taking home best lead actor for his performance in The Narrow Road to the Deep North.Bring Her Back, Danny and Michael Philippou’s horror-thriller about a sinister foster mother, emerged as the most awarded film of the night with 10 wins. This marks a major milestone for the Adelaide brothers, surpassing the eight awards they won for their 2024 global breakout, Talk to Me.Bring Her Back won best direction, best film, best leading actress in a film for Sally Hawkins and almost every technical category, including cinematography, editing, original score, sound, costume design, hair and makeup, and casting.Fresh from his Critics’ Choice Movie awards win for his portrayal of the Creature in Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, Elordi won best lead actor in a drama for his portrayal of army surgeon Dorrigo Evans in the screen adaptation of Richard Flanagan’s Booker prize-winning novel The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Volcanic vulvas and hermaphrodite marble: Ovid’s Metamorphoses reshaped at the Rijksmuseum
Artists from Bernini to Louise Bourgeois are brought together in a new exhibition exploring the uncomfortable erotic parables of the ancient Roman poetOn three massive screens in a darkened room, snakes glide over the face of artist Juul Kraijer – covering her eyes, caressing her lips. She is the silent but terrifying snake-headed Medusa, and one of the surprises in an exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam revolving around Greek and Roman myths.While the show features rarely lent works from masters such as Caravaggio, Bernini, Rodin and Brâncuși, it marries them with modern artists who reinterpret the legends where male gods do all they can to get their wicked way and the powerless are punished. Transgender bodies, bare breasts and even a volcanic vulva appear in artworks inspired by Roman poet Ovid’s masterpiece, Metamorphoses.Taco Dibbits, general director of the Rijksmuseum, believes the 200 myths and legends from this ancient epic poem still speak to our uncertain times
Seth Meyers on Trump skipping the Super Bowl: ‘Of course he is worried about getting booed’
Late-night hosts looked into Donald Trump’s excuses for not attending a Super Bowl where he would be booed and the dubious audience scores for the Melania documentary.With the Super Bowl just days away, Seth Meyers looked into why Donald Trump, usually one for attention, does not plan to be in attendance. “Given Trump’s love of football and attention, you might have expected him to show up to the Super Bowl on Sunday, especially since he went to last year’s Super Bowl,” the Late Night host said.But Trump has told reporters that he won’t attend the game because it will be played in Santa Clara, California, outside San Francisco, which is “just too far away”, though he acknowledged that he had received “great hands [at] the Super Bowl. They like me,” he said, adding that he “would go if, you know, it was a little bit shorter”
‘One of the most stunning sights in the country’: your picks for UK town of culture
From pirates and skateboarders in Hastings to legends and locks in Devizes, from dolphins in Scarborough to the ‘artists’ town’ of Kirkcudbright, readers put forward their favourite placesCulture secretary Lisa Nandy has launched a search for the UK’s first “town of culture”, similar to the city of culture programme, which honoured Bradford last year. After the Guardian’s writers nominated theirs – including Ramsgate in Kent, Falmouth in Cornwall, Abergavenny in Monmouthshire and Portobello in Edinburgh – we asked readers which UK towns they would put forward.Culture in Hastings grows out of the shingle and the wind and the friction between past and present. You can feel it in the fishing fleet hauled up on the beach, still part of daily life, and then a short walk away in bold contemporary spaces showing work that speaks far beyond the town. It shows up in events that belong to the people who live there; Jack in the Green spilling through the streets; Pirate Day turning the whole place into a shared act of play; music competitions that quietly bring international talent into a town that never pretends to be grand
‘Am I at peak popularity? I hope not’: on the road with Zack Polanski, from protest to podcast to Heaven nightclub
‘I’m British, English and British Asian’, says Rishi Sunak in riposte to racially charged debate over identity
Minister commissioned investigation of journalists looking into Labour thinktank
Reform faces police investigation over ‘concerned neighbour’ byelection letters
Mandelson lobbying firm sought work with Russia and China state companies, Epstein emails show
Gordon Brown ‘deeply regrets’ bringing Peter Mandelson into his government