Athletics
Inside the exchange zone: the eleven strides that win a relay
The fastest four runners rarely win. The four who trust each other do.
Tactics
The set-piece routine that broke Ashford
Three rehearsed runs, one blocker, and a near-post header nobody tracked.
Soccer
Tactics board: the back-three revival is real this time
It was a fashion in 2017 and a fad in 2021. The difference now is who is playing the wing-backs.
Long reads
Inside the press: how a back four defends 40 yards up the pitch
Freeze-frame by freeze-frame, our analyst walks through the six seconds that decide whether a high line is brave or broken — and why three…
Interviews
Elena Vasquez on courage, July and the squad you actually have
You cannot coach courage into a squad in April. You buy it in July or you don’t have it.
History
The final that invented the modern press box
Before 1974 reporters stood. After it, they had a telephone each — and the match report changed for good.
Athletics
The high jump’s next centimetre is a question of approach
Eight strides, a curve, and the physics of leaving the ground later than feels safe.
Soccer
Nobody wants to defend a lead any more
Eleven of the last fourteen leads at half time were surrendered. That is not variance.
Athletics
Starting blocks: the first three steps, frame by frame
Reaction time is a fraction of it. Shin angle is the rest.
