Great Britain's swim team continued their historic Tokyo Games by smashing the world record to win the inaugural Olympic 4x100m mixed medley relay on Saturday.
Britain have now won seven swimming medals in Tokyo, including four golds, two silvers and a bronze, matching their greatest ever medal haul at an Olympics, last achieved in 1908.
"It's incredible," said Adam Peaty, who is responsible for two of the gold medals following his earlier success in defending his Olympic title in the 100m breaststroke and could help Britain win an eighth medal in the men's 4x100m medley relay on Sunday.
"It's more inspiring to be part of this team than anything could ever be. British swimming has flipped over. We deliver the goods and get the plane flying but there is a whole orchestra of people behind it."
The four-strong mixed relay team of Kathleen Dawson, Peaty, James Guy and Anna Hopkin touched in 3min 37.58sec to break the previous world record of 3:38.41 set by China in Qingdao last year.
The Chinese were second in 3:38.86 and Australia third in 3:38.95. The Caeleb Dressel-led United States were relegated to fifth.
Dressel had earlier broken the world record to win his third sprint gold in the 100m butterfly but Britain's Hopkin was too far in front and she held off the American to secure victory.
"The guys got me such a great lead I knew I could stay ahead," Hopkin said. "It's cool to say I've killed Dressel! I didn't really look at where he was, I think that would have taken my focus away, but it's pretty cool to be in the same race as him."
Britain had their own superstar in Peaty, who took over the second leg in sixth but motored to put the team in contention.
"It's not about getting pumped up, it's about getting pumped down," Peaty said. "If I see someone ahead of me I see red mist and think I've gotta get them. For the first 50m it's about control and then off the wall it's about all the emotion, everything."
Swimming history has not been confined to Great Britain's achievements in Tokyo after Katie Ledecky booked her place in the Olympic record books with a sixth individual gold medal, making her the most decorated female swimmer of all time.
The American dominated the 800m freestyle final to win gold comfortably, beating the record for the most women's individual Olympic swimming titles held for a quarter of a century by Hungary's Krisztina Egerszegi.
Ledecky said the idea of already being a sporting legend had never entered her mind.
"I don't know if even my first Olympic gold has sunk in fully, nine years later, so I think once I eventually retire I'll probably more fully appreciate it all," she said.
"I'm just going to try and live in the moment, right now I think I've done a good job of that this week, taking it one day at a time, one race at a time.
"I've always been moving forward, driving forward ... I'll let this sit for a little bit longer."
The winner of 15 world titles said her sights were on the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and at just 24 years old, she isn't ready to rule out the Los Angeles Games four years after that.
"People are sticking around in the sport into their 30s and I still love this sport. I love it more and more every year. I feel like I'm going to give every ounce I have to the sport," Ledecky said.
"I'm just going to keep doing it until I feel like it's time. Obviously, like the Olympics in 2028 are in LA, so that's kind of out there and appealing."
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Company%20profile
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Asia Cup 2018 Qualifier
Sunday's results:
- UAE beat Malaysia by eight wickets
- Nepal beat Singapore by four wickets
- Oman v Hong Kong, no result
Tuesday fixtures:
- Malaysia v Singapore
- UAE v Oman
- Nepal v Hong Kong
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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Family reunited
Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was born and raised in Tehran and studied English literature before working as a translator in the relief effort for the Japanese International Co-operation Agency in 2003.
She moved to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies before moving to the World Health Organisation as a communications officer.
She came to the UK in 2007 after securing a scholarship at London Metropolitan University to study a master's in communication management and met her future husband through mutual friends a month later.
The couple were married in August 2009 in Winchester and their daughter was born in June 2014.
She was held in her native country a year later.
OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
The biog
DOB: 25/12/92
Marital status: Single
Education: Post-graduate diploma in UAE Diplomacy and External Affairs at the Emirates Diplomatic Academy in Abu Dhabi
Hobbies: I love fencing, I used to fence at the MK Fencing Academy but I want to start again. I also love reading and writing
Lifelong goal: My dream is to be a state minister
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
