For the armchair sports enthusiast there’s been little reason to leave the house in recent weeks. And for anyone cheering on Great Britain, there’s been even more reason to smile.
A month of back-to-back sporting occasions kicked off with the Henley Regatta which saw rowing crews from around the world battle it out to be the best. The final of the Men’s 8 featured a world-class field and saw rowers from the UK see off their German challengers. While the boats were battling it out on the river Thames, Formula 1 cars were taking to the track at Silverstone for a nail biting British Grand Prix. A rain shower in the middle of the race shook things up and upped the excitement, but it was race favourite and world championship leader Lewis Hamilton who took the chequered flag at the finish line.
Across the border into Wales and into cricket whites, as the Ashes got underway in Cardiff. England’s preparation had been far from ideal and there was a sinking feeling as they batted first and the wickets began to fall. But it was the home team who came out on top, scoring a clear victory over great rivals Australia and taking a 1-0 lead in the series.
As the sun shone on the cricket in Cardiff it also beat down on Wimbledon’s centre court for the best-known tennis tournament in the world. There was the usual excitement of the early stages, particularly Rafa Nadal exiting early after a jaw-dropping display from his lowly ranked opponent Dustin Brown. Although Andy Murray fell at the final hurdle, losing to SW19 favourite Roger Federer in the semis, the Scot had a lot to be proud of – and let’s face it, would have probably lost to eventual winner Djokovic in the final also.
Across the channel The Tour de France continues into its second week, and although there was no visit of Le Tour to British shores this year, a couple of our compatriots are making headlines. Sprinter Mark Cavendish took his first stage win in 2 years and last year’s champion Chris Froome remains one of the favourites to take the yellow jersey all the way to the Champs Elysee.
Roll on the rest of this sizzling summer of sport!