An icon’s journeys

FOUR sporting icons are set to feature in a new brand campaign from Eurosport to unlock the power of sport through authentic storytelling of their sporting journeys.

The campaign will centre on double Olympic gold medallist Tina Maze, former tennis world number two Alex Corretja, seventime world snooker champion Ronnie O’Sullivan and cycling trailblazer Iris Slappendel.

The series kicks off with an episode starring Slovenian alpine skiing legend Tina Maze to coincide with the end of the winter sports season.

cult for them. It’s down to us and that’s the most important thing. I’m just glad to have helped the team with a goal. It was epic at the end and I’m pleased for Franck to get the goal.”

Going live ahead of the World Snooker Championships in April, the second part of the campaign will see Ronnie O’Sullivan elaborate on how he overcome significant hurdles in his life to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

From mid ­ May and ahead of Roland­Garros, a tournament which saw Alex Corretja reach the final twice, the Spanish personality and Eurosport tennis expert will explain why sport continues to bring him good vibes.

The fourth and final part in the series, which goes live in June ahead of the Tour de France, will see former Dutch cyclist Iris Slappendel reveal her inner thoughts about the gender bias she encountered and how she overcame them.

PROPOSALS have been unveiled in a bid to limit hitting distance for elite golfers.

In what is certain to be a major story in the months and years to come, the R&A and USGA have re vealed their joint propos al for a Model Local Rule (MLR) that gives competition organisers the option to require use of golf balls which are tested under modified launch conditions to address the impacts of hitting distance in golf.

The MLR is intended for use only in elite competitions and, if adopted, will have no impact on recreational golf.

Golf balls that conform to the MLR must not exceed the current Overall Distance Standard (ODS) limit of 317 yards (plus three yards tolerance) at modified Actual Launch Conditions (ALC) with a clubhead speed of 127 mph and based on a calibration set­up for 11 degrees and 37 revolutions per second (2220 rpm) as part of this proposal.

All other balls, including those typically used by recreational golfers with lower swing speeds, would continue to be tested using the existing ALC values (120 mph, and a calibration set­up of 10 degrees and 42 revolutions per second ­ 2520 rpm).