Sport

Scoring a hat-trick in the UEFA Champions League is a remarkable achievement that highlights a player's skill and prowess on the biggest stage of European club football.

The FIFA World Cup has never just been about football, but it has been a running record of power, politics and shifting dominance, written every four years since 1930.

Spain have emerged as the early favourites to win the 2026 FIFA World Cup, according to data-driven forecasts from Opta Analyst, which place the European side ahead of traditional powerhouses France and England.

Norway delivered one of the most dominant performances in Winter Olympic history at the 2026 Winter Games, finishing at the top of the medal table with 18 gold medals, the most by any nation at a single Winter Olympics, and 41 total medals across disciplines.

As the 2026 Winter Olympics open, a visual ranking of countries by all-time Winter Games gold medals reminds the world who has dominated winter sport, and why nations like Norway and the United States remain forces to watch.

The gold inside an Olympic gold medal is worth less than the price of a flagship smartphone. Surprising, right?

Before the Open era (pre‑1968), Wimbledon was dominated by a few players who set records that were unmatched for decades. British twin William Renshaw won the gentlemen’s singles title seven times between 1881 and 1886 and again in 1889, pioneering the powerful overhead serve that would become a staple of modern tennis.

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, China’s Pan Zhanle demolished his world record in the 100‑metre freestyle, and in the months since, Romania’s David Popovici and America’s Jack Alexy have continued to push the event into unexplored territory.

At just 18 years, Lamine Yamal has been named the most valuable player in world football, with an eye-watering market value of €200 million ($235m), according to the latest data from Transfermarkt.