In today's news: Helen Glover continues comeback with selection for European Rowing Championships, female officials named for this weekend's Boat Race, and Ashleigh Barty reaches Miami Open semi-final.
Helen Glover named in British squad for European Rowing Championships
Glover, who won coxless pairs gold at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games, announced a return to competition earlier this year.
She had retired in 2016 but decided to resume training during lockdown. The 34-year-old then rejoined the British rowing team at their base and revealed an ambition to make the squad for Tokyo 2020.
Glover’s comeback will continue at the European Rowing Championships in Varese in Italy. Competition starts on April 9th and Glover is set to contest the women's pair with Olympic silver medallist Polly Swann.
"I've been back full time for three months now and being selected for the Europeans is the first step on my mission to become the first woman in British rowing history to make an Olympic team after having children," Glover said to BBC Sport.
"I'm finding the journey exciting and extremely challenging, but I hope I can return from Varese with some success stories to share with the children."
Boat Race to be run by women
In more rowing news, this year’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge will be run by female officials.
Sarah Winckless will umpire the men’s race. She will be the first woman to do so in the event’s 166-year history. Judith Packer will be in charge of the women's race.
"We can be visible female sports officials for the world," Packer told BBC Sport. "This is a great opportunity for visible officials and can help inspire the next generation.
"It's great to finally let it happen, both for myself and the people that have been working hard. But also to say to our younger generation out there it's not just about being a core athlete, there's so many other roles in sport that could be your perfect pathway."
This year’s Boat Race on April 4th will not take place on the Thames in London as usual. It was moved to the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Germany’s women’s football team postpone tour in US
Germany will no longer travel to the United States in June for two friendly matches against the world champions. They decided not to make the trip due to the logistical complications arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour had already been moved from last year as a result of the global health crisis.
The postponement will come as a blow to the US, who will be hoping to play matches against high-quality opponents in preparation for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. Reigning Olympic champions Germany did not qualify to defend their title in Japan later this year.
Barty reaches semi-final of Miami Open
Tennis world number one Ashleigh Barty defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 to progress to the final four of the Miami Open.
“That was certainly the best level I’ve played for a long time and certainly for a sustained period,” she said after the match.
“I really had to look after my service games and I did that really well today. Then I needed to be as aggressive as I could inside the court.”
Barty is set to come up against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine in the semi-finals. If the Australian is victorious, she will maintain her place at the top of the world rankings. If she is defeated, the door will open for Naomi Osaka to become world number one.
Osaka, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, is competing in her quarter-final against Maria Sakkari this evening.
Chelsea book place in Champions League semi-finals
Chelsea earned a spot in the final four of the Champions League with an emphatic 3-0 win over Wolfsburg. Across both legs, the Blues ran out 5-1 winners on aggregate.
After the match, manager Emma Hayes said it was a “really, really proud day for English football”.
Chelsea will face either Bayern Munich or FC Rosengård in the semi-final. The latter side must overturn a 3-0 deficit in their second leg clash to have any chance of progressing.
It was curtains for the other English team left in the competition. Manchester City managed to overcome Barcelona 2-1 today, but this was not enough to overturn the Spanish club’s 3-0 win in the first-leg.
