In just a few weeks, all eyes will turn to Birmingham as the city hosts the Commonwealth Games.
Thousands of talented athletes will take to pools, tracks and courts in the hope of securing a medal for their country.
It’s an event that means a lot to Manchester, which hosted the Commonwealth Games back in 2002.
Those games saw venues including the Etihad Stadium, the Manchester Aquatics Centre, and the rest of Sportcity built here, and our city was cemented as a truly global city.
Bolton’s Jason Kenny
But then of course, we’ve always had a bit of a reputation for sporting greatness, and they don’t come much greater than Jason and Laura Kenny.
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Between them, the cycling greats have won 12 gold medals, and are Britain’s most successful male and female Olympians.
Jason and Laura were knighted and made a dame respectively earlier this year for their services to cycling, meeting Prince William side-by-side.
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Laura said of the honour: “What a truly wonderful day. When you step onto the track you know you are there to win a medal, but you don’t ever think about huge honours like this.
Jason and Laura Kenny receiving their knighthood and damehood.
“So when you are recognised it’s incredible and humbling. To be able to once again do it together makes it all the more special.”
Jason has now officially retired from cycling and has now taken on the role of men’s podium sprint coach with British Cycling.
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He said of his retirement: “It wasn’t an easy decision.
“I genuinely wanted to carry on to Paris, but I creak quite a lot these days and I always knew I wanted to go into coaching off the back of it, and this opportunity came along.”
Both Jason and Laura, who live in Cheshire, have committed time to mentoring other young athletes coming up in the cycling world.
Most recently, Laura has made her way even further into the hearts of the nation by talking openly and trying to break down the stigma surrounding miscarriage and baby loss.
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Tragically, she suffered a miscarriage while commentating at the track champions league last November, followed by an ectopic pregnancy just months later.
In those dark days, Laura said she turned to cycling as her ‘safety blanket’, adding: “I’ve always known I was tough, but sometimes life pushes you to an unbearable limit.
“If it wasn’t for Jason and Albie [their son] getting me through the day to day I’d have been broken.”
Speaking of her Instagram post, she later told OK! magazine: “The response I got was overwhelming – my Instagram went mental and I had thousands of messages from women and men who came to me saying they’d suffered in silence too.
“Six or seven athletes also came forward, which was comforting for me as I felt like less of a failure.
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“We shouldn’t be ashamed or scared when the number is one in five. That’s a massive number – yet we felt so alone.”
The Commonwealth Games will take place between 28 July and 8 August. Laura Kenny is competing for Team England.
If you’ve been affected by this story, contact Tommy’s, a miscarriage, premature birth and stillbirth charity, at [email protected] or call 0800 0147 800.
About Manc of the Month
We all know that Manchester is home to some special people, some born here and others drawn here, and after a bumpy two years that effectively amounted to one big lockdown, it’s these special people that have inspired and led us through the tough times – so we decided to start a series that shines a light on those who should be celebrated.
Following on from our ‘The Mancs of the Year’ feature towards the end of 2020, Manc of the Month officially kicked off in July 2021, with Marcus Rashford MBE, Manchester’s mural king Akse P-19, the local chef feeding the region’s vulnerable families Mary-Ellen McTague, and Manchester’s groundbreaking new Council leader Bev Craig among previous honourees.
Sport
Kate Scott praised for impassioned speech following more racism in Champions League
Danny Jones
Football pundit and sports presenter Kate Scott has been met with plenty of praise for her ‘expert’ handling of the fallout following more racism in the Champions League this week, delivering an emotional and impassioned speech about discrimination live on TV.
The Manchester-born broadcaster, formerly Kate Abdo, was serving as the host on her usual CBS Sports panel on Tuesday, 17 February, when the story of the playoff game between Benfica and Real Madrid – which included a worldie from Vinicius Jr. – was overshadowed by more allegations of racial abuse.
In case you missed it, Argentine player Gianluca Prestianni was accused of making racist remarks by both Vini Jr and Kylian Mbappe, but supposedly covered his mouth so as not to be caught on camera; the match was then stopped for more than 11 minutes.
Speaking in the aftermath amid the following European fixtures the next day, the Withington-schooled journalist and University of Salford graduate delivered an eloquent reaction to the controversy with peak professionalism.
Absolutely pitch perfect, and all those involved in preparing the statement should be applauded.
While Scott herself recognised that it’s a shame we even have to keep talking about issues like these rather than the sheer simplistic beauty of, well, ‘the beautiful game’, her response is an example of the job being done at arguably its very best: factual, ethical, moving and inspiring.
As you can see, Scott goes on to say, “This isn’t Real Madrid versus Benfica – it is right versus wrong. Vini Junior and Kylian Mbappe said that there was repeated racial abuse.
“Gianluca Prestiani said they misheard, but he covered his mouth to hide what he said from the cameras, and hopefully, we can all agree that if what you are saying on a football pitch is shameful enough to have to hide it from the public, then you’re wrong.”
The Portuguese club, which ultimately lost 1-0 in their first leg at home on the night, have released a statement reaffirming their commitment to “equality, respect, and inclusion” but reiterates that they believe Prestiani and feel he is now the subject of a “defamation campaign”.
Conversely, in a definitive and emphatic closing message, she signs off by adding the following: “The racial diversity on a football pitch in the Champions League is the representation of the global love for this game and the global belonging in this game. This is the very spirit of football.
“And if you don’t agree, then respectfully, you are the one who doesn’t belong.”
This is what the Athletic is supposed to be. Telling important stories & giving in depth analysis. I hope this signals that it will be its focus moving forward.
From CBS ‘Golazo’ show being applauded for tackling the subject head-on, to Cross herself being labelled as everything from “a role model” and “a benchmark” to “the best on the planet” in the outpouring of reactions on social media, it’s fair to say they absolutely nailed it.
Sadly, this is one of many recent examples of prejudice being shared publicly across various UEFA tournaments and beyond in recent years, but the only way we can truly help anti-hate initiatives is by continuing to call them out.
Stockport County defender Tyler Onyango out injured for the rest of the season
Danny Jones
Stockport County defender Tyler Onyango is set to be ruled out for the rest of the season as the club confirms he has injured his hamstring yet again.
County manager Dave Challinor delivered the unfortunate news in his most recent pre-match press conference ahead of the local clash against Wigan Athletic, revealing that the injury, which saw Onyango forced off in the defeat against Bradford City, as feared, is fairly serious.
The young Luton-born full-back has played a baker’s dozen worth of games already this campaign – already three more than his first term last year – but is now scheduled to be out for a number of weeks and isn’t likely to return before Stockport’s promotion race ends.
With the Greater Manchester club having stayed well in and amongst the playoff scrap spots, currently sat in 5th, losing a player in a key wide position is the last thing the Hatters need.
Damaging his hamstring once more, and not for the first time (suffering multiple related setbacks since 2023), the 22-year-old has racked up a number of concerning injuries at a young age.
As well as a hernia problem, Onyango fractured his ankle in 2021 and was sidelined for more than a third of the year in 2022/23 with a hip flexor issue.
He only returned to action after his last muscle strain this past December and did look to be finally enjoying a decent run in Challinor’s side.
On the other hand, the Everton loanee’s performances haven’t always been consistent, and while many fans recognise he’s a “good player when fully fit” and has progressed since he arrived in SK3, other supporters fear he may not be a reliable enough option.
Writing on X, one user said: “A player who has improved since last season and adds quality to the group. My question to the club is, at what point is maintaining good injury-prone players a potential detriment to the squad rather than a positive ‘gamble’ given we haven’t had consistent wingbacks all season?”
Sadly for the young right-back, who has shown promise in spells bombing down those flanks, his second stint at Edgeley Park is being cut short just like his last one.
Detailing that Onyango “will now go for surgical opinion”, a club statement put simply, “Whatever the outcome, the setback brings his second loan spell at Edgeley Park to a premature end.
Praising the versatile defender for his efforts and resilience thus far, they go on to add: “We wish Tyler all the best and will continue to offer our support throughout his recovery. We thank him for his efforts during his time as a Stockport County player.”
It remains to be seen whether or not they will attempt to keep him close and secure a third temporary deal come the summer.
One player they have decided to help complete his loan trilogy is returning winger Louie Barry, who isn’t expected to be back in action until March, but could provide plenty of solutions on the pitch.
You can see Dave Challinor’s post-match presser following the double defeat to Bradford here.
Daisy Jackson -
24th June 2022 
