News in Richmond

Simone Biles, four-time Olympic gold medalist and arguably the greatest gymnast of all time, has made international headlines for quitting the team and her all-around events at the Tokyo Olympics. Douglas MacArthur famously said: "Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul." But for all the viewers who are prepared to watch on TV but not put themselves through the mental and physical sacrifice required to become an Olympic champion, you should think twice before saying Biles is a QUITTER.

Elite Athletes are under extreme pressure to perform and when something feels strange or out of place it's ok to be honest with yourself. After watching her flip, twist and fly through the air, I was in awe and sat back and thought: "I wish I could do that". As fans we like to associate ourselves with sports stars, and we see them as superhuman beings.

Police are appealing once again for witnesses to come forward following the death of man who was in an e-scooter crash in Twickenham last Thursday.

The man, 53-year-old Twickenham business owner Anthony Mumford, was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition and sadly died from his injuries this morning, 22 July.

As we gear up for today's final a local resident who was lucky enough to be at the semi final last Wednesday shares his pictures with Nub News.

It was, in the words of Times writer Matt Dickinson, "a roar of euphoria 55 years in the making" as the final whistle blew at Wembley - putting England into their first international final since 1966.

"I feel like my stomach has been ripped out" were the words of England Manager Gareth Southgate following last night's defeat in the Euro 2020 final.

Many fans across Richmond can surely empathise with him after the emotional rollercoaster of an early goal for England at three minutes in followed by a heartbreaking Italy equaliser in the 67th minute leading to a tense penalty shoot out.

Last week it was announced that parkrun events would be restarting in Richmond provided we move to step 4 of the roadmap out of lockdown on July 19.

Richmond has two parkrun events taking place in Old Deer Park and Richmond Park with many more based around the borough - including Bushy Park, where the parkrun story began.

Jubilant scenes were to be seen outside Richmond Station last night as England fans celebrated victory over Denmark in the semi finals of Euro 2020.

The emotion of ending 55 "years of hurt" was clear to see in the England fans' celebrations, as several were hoisted onto shoulders whilst singing Football's Coming Home.

The Richmond Athletic Association has announced a new three-year agreement with Kew Park Rangers Football Club for the club to use the Richmond Athletic Ground as a training ground for many of its junior football sides and as a training and match venue for the KPR men's first-team.

Kew Park Rangers Football Club (KPR) was founded in 1999, its primary home remains North Sheen Recreation Ground in Kew but the club's membership has expanded at such a rate in recent years that it now uses several venues in the borough.

Since indoor venues have been allowed to reopen their doors we have seen a host of events going on throughout Richmond and across the country.

Of course, yet again some events have been postponed and cancelled due to the government's announcement on Monday that it will further delay the easing of lockdown.

Parkrun, the international charity which runs popular 5k events around the world including in Bushy Park, has responded to news yesterday evening (June 14) that the end of the UK lockdown will be delayed by four weeks to July 19.

The charity now aims to re-start its 5k races on Saturday July 24, rather than on the 26th as originally planned.

England Rugby Head Coach Eddie Jones' 34-player England squad began preparations for their summer series of fixtures today ahead of two Test matches at Twickenham Stadium in July.

Today, June 14, the squad start a five-day training camp at The Lensbury in Teddington.