Olympic track gold medallist Mark Lewis-Francis has become the latest sprinter to move into bobsleigh.

The 33-year-old, who triumphed at Athens 2004 with Great Britain's 4x100 metre relay team, has joined British Bobsleigh's squad ahead of the new season of the Winter sport.

He is now aiming to medal again at the next Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.

"I'm all about challenges, I’ve already won a gold medal in the Summer Olympics and if I can win a medal at the Winter Olympics, I’ll be a happy man,” said Lewis-Francis.

"We’ve got a strong team already, they’ve come fifth at the last two World Championships and the Olympics so if I can slot in there somewhere and help them gain two or three places, it’s job done.

“The success the team have had really excites me.

"I’m definitely not coming just for the ride.

"I don’t just want to help them win medals - I want to be a big part of it.

"I want to put as much work in as the rest of the guys and achieve what they want they want to achieve.

“I’m loving the fact that British Bobsleigh and the British Bobsleigh & Skeleton Association have given me this opportunity and I’m going to grab it with both hands.”

Americans Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones are among the other athletes who have competed in both sports.

British Bobsleigh described the acquisition of Lewis-Francis as a "major coup".

“For an Olympic gold medalist to want to come and be a part of the programme shows that we’re on the right track,” said Performance Director Gary Anderson.

“We’ve made the sport attractive to guys like Mark, they know there is a chance of a medal, and that’s what they want.

“Mark is a guy who likes to engage, and that’s something that we like about him.

"He’s extremely confident and has lots of ability.

"He’s won the highest accolade you can in sport and he was part of a team when he won that medal.

"That’s also very important to us because he clearly knows how to interact with the group.

“We know how fast Mark can run and we know his pedigree - that’s a given.

"We’ve been inducting him into the sport down at our push track facility in Bath, and that’s quite a fast process.

"He’s met the athletes and trained with them and he’s working with the coaches to look at transferring his speed into pushing, because that’s what we do - we push a sled.

“I’m fairly certain that Mark will push a sled quickly: he has everything that our research suggests he needs to do that and I’m excited about seeing him out on the ice this winter.”

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The US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has strongly suggested that a further wave of arrests in relation to the FIFA corruption scandal could come about.

Lynch was speaking in Zurich at press conference organised by the International Association of Prosecutors updating the world on the investigation by US authorities alongside Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber.

In May, 14 senior FIFA-linked officials were arrested in Zurich and Lynch that day revealed details of the fraud, conspiracy and corruption charges against the charged men just days before Sepp Blatter was re-elected as FIFA president.

However, the impact of the scandal played a decisive role in his decision, only four days later, to announce his intention to stand down. A new president will be elected at an extraordinary congress on February 26.

Lynch said: “In the four months since May our work and the investigation has continued. Thirteen of the 14 defendants have been arrested either by us or by other authorities. Three have been arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn; 10 others are pending extradition in Switzerland and three other countries.

“Our investigation is ongoing and has expanded since May. On the basis of new evidence we anticipate pursuing additional charges against individuals and entities.”

Lynch refused to comment on whether Blatter was one of those who could be charged in the future and extradited.

She said: “I have no comment on individuals who may or may not be subject to the next round of arrests so I cannot give you any information about Mr Blatter’s travel plans.”

However, she did have a stern warning about the need for urgent reform in the sport.

“The problem of corruption in soccer is global and we will remain vigilant,” Lynch said. “One hallmark has guided our work: all individuals involved in soccer, this beloved sport through which we teach sportsmanship, integrity and fair play, must be committed to reform and compliance with the rule of law.

“To anyone who seeks to live in the past, this global response sends a clear message: You are on the wrong side of progress and do a disservice to the integrity of this wonderful sport.”

Lauber confirmed that as part of the Swiss authorities investigation, which is not directly linked to the US one, assets had been seized including real estate in the Swiss Alps.

However, he would not reveal who they belonged to for “tactical reasons”.

Lauber also revealed that around 11 terabytes of data had been collected.

The investigations continue.

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Richard “Torpedo” Thompson will be in Florida in the first week of November, training under the watchful eyes of his new coach Ato Boldon.

Thompson, who cut short his 2015 season because of a knee injury, told the Express he is eagerly anticipating his partnership with Trinidad and Tobago's quadruple Olympic medallist.

“I'm looking forward to the move. I can't want to start training with Ato. It's the change that I need. There's no guarantee that it will work but I think any athlete has to give himself the best chance and opportunity to perform at a high level.”

Thompson earned silver at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, finishing second to Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt in the men's 100 metres dash. Thompson also has two Olympic 4x100m silver medals, as well as a World Championship sprint relay silver. Individually, though, he has not been able to reproduce his Beijing 2008 podium success at the global level.

“I always say out of any bad situation something good comes. Being injured this year gave me a lot of time to sit back and reflect on the past couple of years as a professional athlete. I know I haven't performed to the standard I expect for myself and what others expect from me as well. As a result I decided to make a switch.

“I wanted a new environment,” the triple Olympic silver medallist explained, “and I wanted a new programme. I'm extremely grateful to coach Dennis Shaver and everything coach and the LSU (Louisiana State University) programme has done for me over the years. They've been great to me and moulded me into the professional athlete that I am today.

“But I just felt like I had gotten to a point in my career where I had been stagnant. I had literally been doing everything, from massages, strength and conditioning training, all the different things, and utilising the necessary resources and tools to get myself better, and I wasn't seeing the improvement that I wanted to make.”

Boldon, meanwhile, was coaching teenager Khalifa St Fort in Florida. The American-born teenager made huge strides under Boldon's guidance. She lowered her personal best in the 100m to 11.19 seconds, and earned silver for T&T at the 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships and gold at the Pan American Junior Championships. She was also part of the women's 4x100m squad that bagged bronze at the IAAF World Championships.

“It came to my attention,” said Thompson, “that Ato was coaching Khalifa, who I believe is a huge talent and has great potential to do big things eventually. I always said that I think Ato would make a great coach. He's very knowledgeable, he's very up to the time, and he's a very proud person so if he puts his hands on something he wants it to be done in a particular way.

“I thought about it for a while,” the Torpedo continued, “then I picked up the phone and I called him, and I asked him if he would be interested in helping me to prepare for the 2016 Rio Olympics. He jumped at the opportunity, he was extremely enthusiastic about it. We started planning one time. It's a great, great relationship. It moved from Ato being my idol to becoming my friend to becoming my mentor and motivator, to now being my coach.”

Thompson is currently in Trinidad, preparing for his move to Florida.

“Shayne Cooper is helping me, Orlando Ortega, Peter Campbell. They are pretty much preparing me to be ready for Ato. I know Ato's programme is going to be tough, and I want to show up ready for whatever he has in store for me to do. I had a knee injury this year and that's something we had to focus on as well.

“I will officially start training with Ato in the first week of November. Ato is the head of the table. He is the one in charge and has the final say.”

Thompson said he will benefit from being part of a small training group.

“There's Khalifa, and also the possibility of another athlete coming over. Regardless of who it is, it still means intimate work. It wouldn't be a big group of us. That way Ato has time to have a special eye on us. That's essentially what I need right now. I need eyes on me full-time to straighten out some of the mistakes I've been making. These little details sometimes make a huge difference.”

Thompson, the national record holder in the 100m at 9.82 seconds, is confident he can still compete with the world's best sprinters.

“With the level Bolt and (Justin) Gatlin are performing at right now, and young kids like Trayvon Bromell and Andre De Grasse coming up and medalling in World Championships this year, it's tough competition. In order to put myself back in the mix again, there's a lot of work to be done.”

Bolt, the reigning world and Olympic champion in both sprints, will be the man to beat at the Rio Games.

“Just mounting the podium again would be a huge success for me,” said Thompson. “Bolt proved himself to be not just a physical champion this time, but he proved himself to be a mental champion, and he's a very difficult person to overthrow. People always say to shoot for the stars and you could beat whoever you put your mind to, which I essentially believe.

“But I also believe,” the 30-year-old T&T track star continued, “it has to be incrementally done, and you have to take small steps to eventually make it to the finish line. Right now I'm just taking those small steps, and it means me being 100 percent healthy again and working very hard running amongst the elite again. A medal in Rio would be the icing on the cake.”

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...host delighted with visit

Sport and Youth Affairs Minister Darryl Smith provided early evidence on how he intends to approach his job when he made an impromptu visit to the studios of I95 on Saturday evening and took part in the weekly sports show hosted by the popular Andre Baptiste.

The programme, which started around 6.15 pm and included among the panel Guardian Sports Editor Valentino Singh, well known sports promoter Tony Harford and investigative sports reporter Lasana Liburd, was into its first ten minutes, when to the surprise of the quartet, the minister entered the studio and joined the discussion.

Pointing out that he was an avid follower of the programme, the minister who had just attended the Secondary Schools match between St Mary’s and St Anthony’s Colleges, gave a brief history of his involvement in sport as a national youth footballer, and pointed out that anyone who knew him would testify to his passion for sport.

The quartet was impressed at the ease with which Smith responded to their questions, promising that he intends to be in the ministry for the full five years.

“I don’t want my legacy to be about buildings. I want it to be about our athletes, not only those who are national athletes but all the young people who would want to use sport as a social tool to improve their lives.”

Reminded that sport and culture were the two major areas of the nation’s life that united the people, but which appeared to be treated as ‘lightweights’ by government, Smith said he has no doubt that under the current leadership of the new Prime Minister, Dr Keith Rowley, this would change.

“I believe that Dr Rowley, more than any other Prime Minister understands the value of sport. After all, he is still involved in sport almost on a daily basis through his love for golf. I am sure he knows what sport can do for a nation, and I have little doubt he will make sure we get as fair treatment as possible.”

Smith revealed that he was on the job minutes after being sworn into office. This included meeting with staff at both the Ministry of Sport and the Sports Company of T&T. “I toured all the floors, met everyone who was present and I think there is a sense of relief among the workers.”

Told by the panel that there appeared to be lots of tension and demotivated people at the Ministry, Smith promised to bring the work environment up to be acceptable standards, even if it meant relocating the ministry.

He promised to listen to the voice of stakeholders before making decisions, and to ensure that the legacy of the country’s sporting personalities received the respect it deserved through the national sports archives.

Told by Baptiste that most ministers appeared on his programme when they first come into office and then refused to return, Smith promised that he would be the exception.

“There is a lot to be done, I have no doubt, and at the end of my five years, I intend to be available to return for you all to judge me.”

The panellists later agreed that the minister’s decision to make his way to the studio was a refreshing move that augurs well for the future.

Baptiste noted it was the first time that a minister had exercised such an initiative, and he was surprised, pleased and looking forward to the Minister returning in the future.

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Disgraced former FIFA official Jack Warner made a profit of around £11million on World Cup television rights that Sepp Blatter sold him for a fraction of their true value, it can be revealed.

Swiss television channel SRF has published a contract that Blatter signed off in 2005 for the broadcast rights for South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014 to be sold to the Warner-controlled Caribbean Football Union (CFU) for $600,000.

Investigations by Press Association Sport have shown that Warner, at that time CFU's president, sub-licensed those rights to his own Cayman Islands-registered company J & D International (JDI). In 2007, JDI sold on the rights to Jamaica-based cable TV station SportsMax for a value that the broadcaster reported on its own website as being between $18million and $20million.

The revelations highlight the questionable relationship between the outgoing FIFA president Blatter and Warner, his one-time backer and Caribbean powerbroker.

According to court documents in the Cayman Islands, Jeffrey Webb - Warner's successor as president of the CONCACAF confederation - was a director of JDI at the time of the deal. Both Webb and Warner are facing corruption charges in the United States.

FIFA's deal with the CFU included an agreement for a 50 per cent share of any profits from sub-contracting the rights but few if any payments from profit share were ever made by Warner and in July 2011, a month after he resigned from FIFA following bribery allegations, FIFA terminated its contract with the CFU.

It was not the first time FIFA had given Warner TV rights for a knockdown price - in 1998 he was awarded the 2002 World Cup TV rights for Trinidad and Tobago for just one dollar, a practice that had begun under Blatter's predecessor Joao Havelange.

Warner's JDI also sold the 2006 World Cup rights to the Caribbean for $4.25million in 2001.

Warner is currently fighting extradition from Trinidad to the USA where he has been indicted by the US justice department on football-related corruption charges.

US attorney general Loretta Lynch is due to provide the latest details on the FIFA investigation at a news conference in Zurich on Monday. Webb is currently on bail in New York, as is former FIFA member Chuck Blazer who has admitted to taking a share of a 10million dollar bribe to vote for South Africa to host the 2010 World Cup.

Swiss attorney general Michael Lauber is also due to speak at the news conference to give details on the separate investigation into the 2018 and 2022 World Cup votes.

The SRF programme published a contract signed by Blatter showing the TV rights for the 2010 World Cup had been sold for $250,000 and the 2014 tournament for $350,000 to the Warner-controlled CFU.

FIFA responded by issuing a statement saying: "On 12 September 2005, FIFA signed a contract with the Caribbean Football Union regarding TV broadcasting rights.

"Under the terms of this agreement FIFA was to receive a fixed licensing fee as well as a 50 per cent share of any profits related to the subcontracting of these rights.

"The CFU made several breaches to the contract and failed to meet its financial obligations. The obligations concerning the required pre-approval for subcontracting were not met either.

"For these reasons, FIFA terminated its contract with the CFU on 25 July 2011."

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David Nakhid, got the full backing of  T&T Football Association (TTFA) to be the next FIFA president.

A unanimous decision was taken by the TTFA Executive Committee on Thursday evening to support the former National Senior Team captain. The former Grasshoppers FC midfielder met with members of the TTFA for discussions on his bid to be the next FIFA President which he launched last month.

The TTFA, led by president Raymond Tim Kee, reviewed the manifesto for change proposed by Nakhid and believes it provides the basis for a fresh start for FIFA. The local governing body believes that it is the right time for new blood to be brought in and that Nakhid is capable of leading the world governing body.

 “At a meeting of the Executive Committee on Thursday, there was a unanimous decision taken to back Mr Nakhid in the next FIFA Presidential election. We are one for improved governance and transparency at FIFA and it is our belief that Mr Nakhid has the right intentions and qualities for the position,” Tim Kee said.

 “The focus now has to be on the best interest of the region and the world. The  executive committee was impressed by Mr Nakhid's vision for the development of Caribbean football and he displayed the best understanding of the unique needs and great potential of the region.”

Nakhid, who is based in Lebanon where he runs the David Nakhid International Football School, needs the backing of five national associations in order to be a candidate. The TTFA is now among those associations that will be backing the 51-year-old American University graduate.

Nakhid also met with members of the Caribbean Football Union last month to gather support.

With just six months to go before FIFA elects a new president, the pool of candidates has grown to seven. The other men in the race are France’s Michel Platini, Jordan’s Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein,  former Nigerian player Segun Odegbami, Chung Mong-Joon of South Korea, former Brazilian player Zico and Musa Bility of Liberia.

The election to find a successor to Sepp Blatter will be held in Zurich on February 26.

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