Day: October 4, 2025

The world’s best NHL players take their talents to the Olympic ice in a tournament unlike any other. But they must also adapt to the unique rhythms and style of a game that can be played on smaller rinks and with different rules than those of the National Hockey League.

In the early years of the Olympics, teams from Canada dominated the men’s hockey tournament, winning six gold medals from 1920 to 1952. But the Soviet Union first competed in 1956, and quickly overtook Canada as the dominant international team. From 1956 to 1991, the Soviets won nine straight Olympic gold medals. In the 1990s, new story lines emerged: Sweden clinched its first gold medal in a shootout classic against Canada; Dominik Hasek led the Czech Republic (now Czechia) to a gold with his imperious goaltending; and the U.S. forged the “Miracle on Ice” in its 4-3 semifinal victory over the Soviets that lived on in sports mythology forever.

A key difference between NHL and Olympic ice hockey is that, during an Olympic match, players may not intentionally commit any illegal actions such as diving or fighting. Players who do so will be penalized and, in extreme cases, ejected from the game.

Mike Eruzione, then playing for the Minnesota North Stars, sent a long slap shot past Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak to tie the game with ten minutes left in the third period. Amid a crowd of jubilation, the U.S. won the overtime period, and the Miracle on Ice was born.

Athlete endorsements are an increasingly crucial element of sports marketing, tapping into the personal connections and influence that athletes have with their fans. Unlike sponsorship, where brands align broadly with a sporting entity, athlete endorsements leverage the trust and credibility that individuals elicit from their followers to directly recommend products or services, shifting consumer buying habits and influencing public perception.

Choosing the right athletes to endorse brands, ensuring authenticity, and measuring impact are key to maximizing the potential of athlete endorsements. For example, in the case of Nike and tennis star Serena Williams, the campaign “Dream Crazier” positioned her as an empowering role model for women, while also leveraging her resilience to drive engagement and foster brand loyalty. In addition to sales analysis, tracking audience sentiment through surveys and discussion forums can provide qualitative data that complements quantitative metrics.

Beyond ad placement, athlete endorsements can also be utilized in the form of collaborative content. This allows athletes to convey their own authentic experiences with the product, fostering greater authenticity. This was the approach taken by Hannah Kathleen Hawkshaw in her collaboration with Lierac Ireland & UK, where she created user-generated content (UGC) to share her own experience using the brand’s lift products.

Athlete endorsements are a powerful and unique marketing strategy that can be used in conjunction with other tactics such as event management, sponsorship strategies, NIL licensing, and more. By partnering with the right athletes, leveraging influencer marketing, and measuring impact, brands can build stronger relationships with their audiences, while generating a positive impact on their bottom line.

World Athletics Championship is the world’s premier track and field competition for senior athletes organised by the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations). The 2025 edition in Tokyo, Japan marked the milestone 20th World Championships since the first World championships were held separately from the Olympic Games in 1983. It saw a new global medal champion in Cordell Tinch, who won the 110m hurdles; Nicola Olyslagers crowned her second outdoor world high jump title; and Cole Hocker returned to form to win 5000m gold.

It was a dramatic final day at the championships in Tokyo with one world record and seven championship records broken or equalled. Australia’s Nicola Olyslagers won her second world outdoor high jump title with a clearance of 2.00m, while Poland’s Yaroslava Mahuchikh and Serbia’s Angelina Topic were tied on countback for silver. The men’s 3000m steeplechase also produced an exciting finish with Geordie Beamish (New Zealand) running down Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco to win the gold medal in a new world-leading time, with Amanal Petros of Tanzania in third place.

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden became only the second female sprinter to complete a sprint treble at World Athletics, adding the 200m and 4x100m relay titles to her earlier 100m victory. The South Carolina native is bidding to add to her haul at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and she will face a challenge from fellow United States sprinter Noah Lyles. But Jefferson-Wooden says she’s used to big goals, having grown up in Georgetown and attended a small Division 1 college program in her early years.

Formula 1 is the world’s most prestigious open-wheel single-seat car racing competition. It’s a sport that requires skill, endurance and strategy. It’s also a sport that requires speed – drivers race around the world, at circuits as historic as Silverstone and Spa-Francorchamps, travelling at speeds of up to 200 miles per hour. And at the end of a season, only the top three drivers and teams can take home the coveted trophy.

The first driver to cross the finish line at each Grand Prix receives 25 points, with the remaining runners earning points on a sliding scale. Sometimes a shorter sprint race – known as a ‘sprint’ – takes place before the main event and can count towards the final standings. The team that has the most points at the end of the season wins the constructors’ championship.

Ferrari have competed in F1 since the very first season in 1950 and are still competing today with a driver line-up of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, while McLaren and Haas have made significant gains in recent years. Those newcomers join established giants like Mercedes, who have won 14 championships and are still competing with Ferrari in the battle to win the most titles.

Multi-champions include Juan Manuel Fangio, who won five titles in the 1950s; Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna, who both collected four championships in the 1980s; and Sebastian Vettel, who took a remarkable seven consecutive championships from 2010 to 2013. Viewers can follow the latest developments and keep up with the action in our F1 standings section, which features graphs that show season progression, as well as tables that list both points and positions.