With four fourth places in Birmingham in 2022, Richards was looking for his first Commonwealth medal to complete the set of Olympic, world and European podium positions.

Wales opted for an entirely different quartet in the pool in the final after Kieran Bird, Harry Milne, Medi Harris and Meghan Higgs had qualified fourth fastest in the heats.

Sutton and Taylor had qualified for their respective individual semi-finals in the 100m backstroke and 100m breaststroke, but both pulled out with a full focus on the relay.

The policy paid off and Taylor brought Wales back from fifth to third on the final leg.

Earlier, Rose Williams finished fourth in the women’s S14 200m freestyle final.

The S14 category covers swimmers who have an intellectual impairment, which typically leads to the athletes having difficulties with regard to pattern recognition, sequencing, and memory, or having a slower reaction time, which impact on sport performance in general.

Tyler Melbourne-Smith finished sixth in the 400m freestyle final, while Lewis Fraser qualified for the 100m butterfly final to be staged on Sunday evening.

Eve McMahon has claimed a bronze medal at the Los Angeles Sailing Grand Slam on the waters that will host the sailing competition at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

McMahon secured her place on the podium after a composed performance in Friday’s Final Series in San Pedro, California, bringing to a close a week of racing against many of the world’s best Olympic sailors.

Racing took place inside the bay in ideal conditions of 10–13 knots of breeze, with both McMahon and fellow Irish sailor Finn Lynch having qualified for the new-look Final Series.

The Women’s Dinghy (ILCA 6) Final Series began after a short delay while the light morning breeze settled across the course. Starting the day level on points for third overall, McMahon delivered when it mattered most, finishing third in the opening Final Series race to strengthen her grip on a medal position.

She backed that up with a fourth-place finish in the final race to secure the bronze medal, ending the regatta just two points behind silver medallist Charlotte Rose (USA) and four behind Britain’s Hannah Snellgrove, who took gold after leading for much of the week.

World Championships in Dublin

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, the multiple Olympic medallist added, “We’ll take a short break now before getting straight back to work preparing for the World Championships in Ireland in September. There’s still plenty to improve, but that’s where our focus is now. Racing for a world title on home waters is a huge opportunity and we’ll do everything we can to be ready.”

In the men’s Finals, Finn Lynch began the day in fourth position but an entanglement with two competitors at one of the marks resulted in a first final race finish of 10th putting the medal opportunity out of reach. Lynch finished the regatta with an eighth place that gave him a final position of seventh overall. The final result was bittersweet in that Lynch missed a medal but will now have the confidence to know he is a contender for the podium in two year’s time.

Paris 2024 Olympic champion Matt Wearn secured gold, with Cyprus’ Pavlos Kontides taking silver and Britain’s Michael Beckett completing the podium.

Attention now turns to the ILCA World Championships in Dún Laoghaire, Dublin, with the ILCA 7 World Championship taking place from 23–30 August and the ILCA 6 World Championship following from 5–12 September. This will be the first time since 2001 that Ireland has hosted a World Championship for an Olympic sailing class, presenting the Irish sailors with a rare opportunity to compete for a world title on home waters.

LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

For all that Ferrari have been quick, Norris and McLaren have also looked in good shape all weekend. And, at least on this circuit, they have vaulted right to the front, into a position that had been familiar for the past two seasons but not so in 2026.

While sat with Ferrari’s Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, Norris said: “I knew the pace was certainly there. It has been all weekend. Even though these guys have been insanely fast, I knew I’d been driving very well, I’d been consistent, and I knew the car had potential.

“We also had the upgrades this weekend, and it doesn’t feel that different, but it certainly seems to be going a little bit quicker, and that’s always a good thing.”


Overtaking is expected to be especially difficult around the Hungaroring this year.

In Miami an excess of caution on McLaren’s part about the potential of rain allowed Mercedes to pit Antonelli before Norris and leap into the lead.

Norris’ pole provides an opportunity to make amends for that – if he can keep Leclerc behind on the run to the first corner.

After winning two consecutive constructors’ titles in 2024 and 2025, as well as Norris’ drivers’ championship last year, McLaren have not had a great season at the start of this new regulation cycle.

Securing the title against a late-season onslaught from Max Verstappen and Red Bull put them behind on designing this year’s car, and they took some missteps on aerodynamic philosophy that only became fully understood after the first handful of races.

An upgrade package introduced by McLaren this weekend, their first since Miami, is the fruit of work aimed at correcting course, and the first signs are positive.

They have also struggled to get on top of the operation of the new Mercedes engine, feeling for the first time that they were suffering for not being a works partner of a manufacturer.

“It’s just nice to be on pole,” said Norris, who had also shown competitive pace in Belgium last weekend but was denied a good result by a 10-place grid penalty for exceeding the permitted number of engine parts, and then by bad luck with the timing of a safety car.

“I have felt good all weekend. The last few weekends, honestly, I felt pretty good and it’s been nice I continued my good feelings in the car.

“I had my money on Ferrari before the weekend and they have been insanely quick, but, come qualifying, we just seemed to take more of a step forward. I knew it was possible and that has been a good feeling – and one that I have missed for quite a while.”

As for his prospects in the race, Norris alluded to strong performances from the Mercedes and Ferrari drivers on the race-simulation runs in Friday practice when he said: “The race pace on others looked very strong. It is always a bit tricky to know how things will go with a new car and new bits.”

Leclerc, though, felt Norris would certainly be in the fight, and both have some protection from Hamilton and Antonelli, both demoted by three-place penalties to fifth and seventh respectively.

“Lando seems to be very, very strong, so I’ll say Lando [is favourite],” Leclerc said. “But if you look over the course of the season, Mercedes has always been up there, so I do not doubt that they’ll all be in the fight as well.”

After 24 days, multiple live show appearances without divulging anything and nearly a dozen podcasts from agent Rich Paul, LeBron James finally announced his free agency decision on Friday, choosing the Philadelphia 76ers as the final chapter in his illustrious career. 

The news came as a pleasant surprise for the Sixers, who found themselves as a serious contender for James after trading for Jaylen Brown earlier in the summer, and a painful snub to the Cavaliers, Heat and Warriors, who were all holding out hope that they would be the ones getting the call from James. 

James stretching his free agency out for more than three weeks held up some of the NBA’s business, including creating the 2026-27 schedule, but now that he’s in Philly, teams can shift their attention to finishing their offseason tasks. 

What’s next for the four LeBron James losers? Warriors’ window is closed, and the Cavs are in trouble

Sam Quinn

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At a league level, that means the schedule can start to take shape. Philadelphia was already a focal point in the East after the Brown trade, but will now grab even more spotlight games with James in town — dates on the opening night and Christmas day slates are now highly likely for the Sixers. At a team level, the James suitors who were holding out hope to land James now have to pivot to Plan B — of which the options are limited — and that could kickstart the restricted free agent market that’s been dormant ever since Walker Kessler’s sign-and-trade to the Lakers. 

Let’s dive into what we can expect to see in the coming days and weeks now that James’ situation is settled. 

When will James Harden, Draymond Green get deals done?

Both Green and Harden declined player options to clear space and have patiently waited to see if the Warriors or Cavaliers could land James. Now that James has chosen the 76ers, the expectation is that both Green and Harden will work out new long-term deals to return to their respective teams at a handsome price point that will compensate them for their willingness to be good team players to aid in the pursuit of James. 

Green, according to The Athletic, is expected to sign a deal in the $28 million range — just about the same amount he declined on his player option. Harden’s new deal will likely not be worth the $42.3 million he declined on an annual basis, but a sizable long-term deal is headed his way. There is still a question of when those deals get done. Both the Warriors and Cavaliers need to fill some roster spots and having a bit more flexibility with Green and Harden not yet signed could help their pursuits of rotation talent. 

What happens with top restricted free agents?

James dragging out his free agency for more than three weeks put the stagnant RFA market on the back burner, but now Jalen Duren, Peyton Watson and Bennedict Mathurin become the best players on the market. This is far from the first time restricted free agents have found negotiations hard, as the way the league operates in free agency has made it nearly impossible for top RFAs to get offer sheets. We’ve seen a handful of offer sheets go out this summer — the Grizzlies successfully poached Quinten Post from the Warriors, for example — but almost all of them are in the below mid-level range. 

Very few teams enter the summer with significant cap space anymore, and even when they do, teams are afraid of having that money tied up in an offer sheet another team can match. The result is RFAs end up in one-sided negotiations with their current team, who never want to make the mistake of overpaying when they are the only team bidding. The way restricted free agents change teams now is typically in a sign-and-trade, and that’s been complicated this summer by the Lakers sending the Jazz a king’s ransom for Kessler. 

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Jalen Duren

Duren and Detroit have been at an impasse since before free agency began, with the Pistons seemingly daring Duren to find a team willing to offer him more than what they’ve put on the table. That hasn’t happened, and the Pistons have made it clear they have no interest in letting go of Duren. Even if they were to listen on the All-NBA center, they’d ask for even more than what L.A. sent to Utah for Kessler, and now that it’s late July, the list of potential suitors for Duren has dwindled. 

Peyton Watson

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The Nuggets are reportedly open to discussing sign-and-trades for Watson, but are setting the bar at the same price as what the Jazz got with two unprotected firsts and two pick swaps. That’s a steep asking price and they’ll try to squeeze Watson into signing back in Denver — with apron concerns complicating those negotiations even further. Denver also has to decide what to do with Spencer Jones, who reportedly nabbed a rare offer sheet from the Thunder worth $12 million over two years. If they don’t match that, they’ll be under even more pressure to bring back Watson. 

Bennedict Mathurin

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Mathurin is in limbo in Los Angeles, where the Clippers were considered a suitor for Watson, making things a bit awkward with their own restricted free agent, who was the most notable player they got back in the Ivica Zubac trade. The scoring guard may find himself in the wrong kind of era, as his top skillset as a tough shotmaker is less valued around the league these days. 

What factors into these decisions?

Restricted free agency has always given teams an upper hand in negotiations, but with the introduction of the aprons and teams no longer operating with cap space in the summers — instead making major moves largely via trades — players who hit the RFA market find it nearly impossible to maximize their value. That’s the unfortunate situation for Duren, Watson and Mathurin, and all three will have to decide whether to sign the deal that’s been on the table for weeks or if any of them are willing to roll the dice on the qualifying offer to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. 

Which notable free agents are available?

Now that James is in Philly, the market should open back up for some of the veterans on the free agency market. DeMar DeRozan, Jonathan Kuminga, Bradley Beal, Gabe Vincent, Russell Westbrook, Bruce Brown, Nicolas Batum, Kelly Olynyk and others will now start getting earnest offers, particularly from some of the teams that missed out on James. 

DeRozan could be a target for the Warriors or Heat, while a reunion in Toronto is also in play. Kuminga has reportedly garnered interest from the Cavaliers and Lakers, with Cleveland potentially pivoting to him to fill their need on the wing after missing out on James and seeing Dean Wade also leave for Philly. Beal and Vincent would both make sense as targets for the Heat as they try to fill out their backcourt with more talent to supplement their star frontcourt of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo. 

The Warriors are always on the lookout for veteran reinforcements to surround Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and the Nuggets and Timberwolves, while they knew they were long shots for James, still have work to do to bolster their rotations to try and contend with the Thunder and Spurs at the top of the West.