If you thought sport would die down now that football isn’t coming home – think again

There is now the small matter of an Olympic Games beginning in a matter of days. There’s no rest for the wicked... or sports journalists, writes Ben Burrows

Team GB had six self-isolating at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics (PA)

If you thought sport would die down a bit now football isn’t coming home for the foreseeable future, you can think again.

While many fans across the country would quite like not to think about it for a little while after England’s agonising Euro 2020 final defeat a week ago, no one told the sporting calendar – which is as jam-packed as ever this summer.

This was no truer than Sunday, when a number of huge events reached a dramatic climax at the same time. First came The Open Championship at Royal St George’s in Kent, where American Collin Morikawa would eventually come through to win a first Claret Jug after a hugely impressive week on his debut.

Just as overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen’s challenge was beginning to die after visiting two bunkers on the par-five seventh, up in Leeds Jos Buttler was teeing off himself. England would go on to level their T20 series with Pakistan after spinning their way to victory at Headingley for an important win with the World Cup just a few short months away.

Around the same time as Buttler was flaying it to all parts, Lewis Hamilton was helping to send F1 title rival Max Verstappen into the barriers at Silverstone. The first-lap incident at the British Grand Prix cost him 10 seconds – but not the race win – as he closed the gap on the Dutchman before an angry war of words began off the track.

And then from four wheels to two in Paris, as Tadej Pogacar sealed a successful defence of his yellow jersey after a dominant three weeks at the Tour de France. There was to be no fairytale ending for Mark Cavendish on the Champs-Elysees, though, as his bid to usurp the record of the great Eddy Merckx goes on into another year.

Time to breathe now, then? Not quite with the small matter of an Olympic Games beginning in a matter of days. There’s no rest for the wicked... or sports journalists.

Yours,

Ben Burrows

Sports editor