‘A testament to our Union and our country’

‘A testament to our Union and our country’ Canada’s Alana Gattinger is the first female Team Manager at a men’s Rugby World Cup. She’s been speaking to Sportshour ahead of their opening match against Italy in Fukuoka on Thursday.Solid Gold Hits Noah Lyles and Sandi Morris are both gold medal favourites for this month’s World Athletics Championships. But, alongside their sprinting and pole-vaulting this season, the pair have co-written, recorded and performed a song with the Swiss band, Baba Shrimps. That performance was to a crowd of 25 thousand at the Zurich Diamond League meeting – and, in Noah’s case, he picked up the microphone only an hour after winning the 100 metres.‘You’re not entitled to any of it working out, but it’s really fun to try’ Alise Willoughby is a reigning BMX World Champion, who also won Silver at the Rio Olympic Games. Her husband and coach is Sam Willoughby, who won his Silver at the London Olympics in 2012. Sam's own BMX career was ended when he suffered a life-changing injury just over three years ago. He lost the use of his legs after a training accident. Together, they got through that very difficult time and are now a world championship winning coach and athlete combination. That doesn’t mean there weren’t some darker moments though, especially in the hours and days after Sam’s crash.Net Benefits Zimbabwe made their Netball World Cup debut in Liverpool this summer, going on to finish in eighth place. But what’s next for the team? Sportshour has spoken to the team’s goal shooter, Joyce Takaidza, and Head Coach Lloyd Makunde about what the lasting impact of the Gems’ achievements could be. Chief amongst the issues to be tackled is finance. Caroline, who commentated on the country’s World Cup journey, has been speaking to Kirsty Coventry, the Olympic gold-medal winning swimmer and now Zimbabwe’s Minister for Youth and Sport, about how the country can ensure the World Cup is the beginning of a journey, not the end.Photo: A Canada rugby fan cheering (Getty Images)