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.
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The Manchester-born clothing brand being worn by some brilliant Northern sporting talents
Danny Jones
Back in 2020, HEX MCR burst onto the casualwear and sporting apparel scene and quickly became a cult favourite not just around Greater Manchester, but within the boxing and combat sports world as a whole.
They may have been away for a little while, but now under new ownership and hoping to venture even further out into the fashion industry than ever, they’re definitely ones to watch.
We wouldn’t quite call it a comeback fight, but they’re definitely starting to make a splash on their return to the scene.
Having been acquired by Craig Chiocci, a Wigan-based entrepreneur who owns a telecommunication company of the same name, 2026 looks set to be the year you’ll see more of their label out and about than ever – in fact, they’re already teaming up with some more British boxing talents once again.
Calvin Moyo wearing HEXThe worker bee insignia is never far away*Adds to basket*HEX hoodies have always been popularCredit: HEX MCR (supplied)
Continuing their trend of backing Northern fighters, in particular, they’ll be backing Doncaster-born boxer, Dave ‘The White Rhino’ Allen, for his hometown bout against top heavyweight, Filip Hrgović.
Allen, 34, will face off against the Croatian pugilist at the Eco-Power Stadium on Saturday, 16 May – donning the latest HEX MCR gear ahead of the fight, of course.
It’s far from the first time their casualwear will have been worn by a well-known face, either; the Manc brand has also been represented by the likes of Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship star Luke Brassfield – who’ll be fighting at BKFC Birmingham on Saturday, 30 May – as well as plenty of boxers.
Joe Howarth, Kian Hamilton, Liam Carrigan, and many others have all pulled on their hats, hoodies, graphic t-shirts and more.
Crediting the original founders, Luke Powell and Andy Gibson – who started the company as a pandemic project in 2020 – Chiocci said: “They did a fantastic job getting HEX to where it is. It grabbed my attention as I was a consumer first, who simply appreciated the exceptional designs and premium quality.
“Manchester and the North West are a hive of activity at the moment, producing the best creative people who are developing fantastic brands and designs in the fashion industry. HEX is one of those brands that has the potential to truly make an impact.”
Craig has made it abundantly clear that he’s got big plans for the future of the already popular independent business moving forward.
For instance, as part of this revival, they’ve just released a new line of headwear to their clothing range, made more premium than ever and with each piece showcasing the ‘HEX Worker Bee’ logo design on the side panel as a nod to the Northern Quarter and the city’s industrial origins.
Speaking to The Manc, he went on to add: “This is just the start, Dave has been very helpful to us in supporting our growth and seeing our vision for HEX within the Boxing scene, we can’t wait to repay the favour in supporting him in his upcoming fight.
“We think he will surprise a lot of people and get the result. He’s in fantastic shape. We are a brand formed from the back streets of Manchester, and we feel that the brand is suited to fighters who have to show true grit and resilience.”
If you fancy adding their latest stuff to your fits, you can help support a rising local indie by checking out the full HEX MCR collection right HERE.
Their new Hybrid Sports HatActor Adam Thomas wearing HEX(L-R) Dave Allen, Craig Chiocci, Liam CarriganWill ‘Brasshammer’ Brassfield win in HEX this month?Credit: Supplied
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (supplied via Hex MCR)
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Barca or back home? – Marcus Rashford makes feelings known on his future
Danny Jones
Marcus Rashford looks to have made his feelings on his future at Barcelona perfectly clear in a recent interview after winning his first senior championship and second trophy in Spain.
Rashford, a lifelong Man United fan and Carrington academy graduate, is only on loan at the Catalan club, but Barca does have the option of buying him on a permanent transfer.
A few rumours had been circulating that the newly crowned La Liga champions were unsure about activating that clause; however, these looked to have been largely quashed, and if there was any doubt around whether or not most fans want him to stay, he certainly helped put that to bed on Sunday night.
More importantly, the Manchester-born England international and still-growing European star has said, in no uncertain terms, that he wants to stay at the Camp Nou.
As you can see, during his post-match interviews after lifting the league title with the Spanish giants, Rashford was asked whether he would like Barcelona to sign him full-time.
While he may have acknowledged that the proposed permanent purchase price – said to be between £26-30 million – and his wages (of which Barca are covering in full after he agreed to a 25% pay cut) may still prove to be an obstacle, he would like to remain with the Blaugrana.
Speaking further with BBC Sport, the 28-year-old said: “I always had an admiration for Barcelona, that was my second team, so yeah, it’s a dream to come here, and to win is so important to me.”
He also confessed that finally winning a league title in such a big way, against their biggest rivals, Real Madrid, is a huge moment in his career.
In case you missed it, ‘Rashy’ opened the scoring in the 264th edition of ‘El Clásico’ with an absolute wondergoal that is one to behold from pretty much any angle…
Yeah, as far as worldies go, you won’t find many better than that in his catalogue, though he has scored a few fantastic free-kicks over the years.
Taking his tally for the season to 14 goals and 14 assists across all competitions – a fitting figure given it’s the same one as his current shirt number – one of his best overall returns in a few years.
Now well and truly within those ‘prime years’ for a footballer, it’s more crucial than ever that he not just regain his form but maintain, especially with a World Cup looming, so it’s no surprise that he’s looking to continue his journey there.
You can watch the highlights from the latest Clásico clash and title-deciding match down below.
These are the games players dream of playing in, let alone scoring in such style.
Daisy Jackson -
24th June 2022 
