BLISTER FIESTA ...
The streets of the capital will again be filled with sweat-stained fancy dress next Sunday as the 36th London Marathon winds its way from Greenwich to The Mall (BBC1 from 8.30am). While the amateurs chase charity money, the elite will be trying to nail down places at the Rio Olympics. Among the British athletes, Scott Overall, Callum Hawkins, Sonia Samuels (above) and Alyson Dixon start with the advantage of having already run the qualifying time; top-two finishes will ensure their places on the plane to Brazil. In the men’s race the stakes for the Kenyans – led by the defending champion, Eliud Kipchoge – and Ethiopians will be heightened by the fact some serious contenders for gold in August will not even qualify, because of the weight of competition from compatriots.
RED CARPET SHOW ...
After Shanghai last year, with Benedict Cumberbatch (above) the host, on Monday evening it is Berlin’s turn to stage the annual mixture of showbusiness and sport that is the Laureus Sports Awards (all the latest on Sky Sports News). The American Katie Ledecky, with five golds and three world records at the 2015 world swimming championships, is in with a shout to prise the women’s title from Genzebe Dibaba, Ethiopia’s 1500m world champion, though Serena Williams would have been a shoo-in had she not stumbled on the verge of a single-year grand slam and may well win a third Laureus title. In the men’s section, Novak Djokovic is also up for a third win, with last year’s winner challenged by Lionel Messi, Usain Bolt, Lewis Hamilton, basketball’s Stephen Curry … and Jordan Spieth.
GETTING BACK ON A HORSE ...
While the changing of Danny Willett’s son’s nappies have beaten the odds to make the papers, Spieth (below) could be forgiven if he were to have spent the past week crying like a baby. The 2015 Masters win has been eclipsed by the 2016 choke and it may even have crossed the 22-year-old’s mind to take up another sport – probably not grouse shooting, though, as talk of a glorious 12th would bring back painful memories. For now Spieth resumes his golf career on home state soil at the Texas Open (Sky Sports 4, from Thursday). Last year he was the runner-up in San Antonio but the calendar was different, with that near miss being the second part of a PGA Tour sequence of first, second, second, first that culminated in his Augusta triumph.
Premier League Marathon ...
Sunday’s games at Leicester (against West Ham) and Arsenal (Crystal Palace) are day two of six in a row when the Sky Sports 1 cameras are showing live top-flight matches. On Monday Tottenham try to maintain their outside title challenge at Stoke, while 24 hours later Manchester City look to shore up their top-four place at Newcastle. It all concludes with Arsenal back in action on Thursday at home against West Brom but the pick of the action could prove the game with least significance in terms of league position: Wednesday’s Merseyside derby at Anfield. The beleaguered Roberto Martínez will be hoping to win back some Evertonians 10 days before their FA Cup semi-final, while Jürgen Klopp will hope for a less draining victory than Thursday’s nailbiter against Borussia Dortmund.
