Deal with oil major brings 2012 promoters closer to goal of raising £600m from British business

As the British Championships began here last night with Olympic places up for grabs and 17-year-old Fran Halsall in the spotlight, swimsuits as much as the athletes inside them remained the sport's hottest talking point.

You might not have heard of Adi Dassler. But I bet you've worn his work. He was the founder of adidas and made his first sports shoe by hand in 1925.

Following in the footsteps of Stella McCartney and Yohji Yamamoto, Gucci has just entered the lucrative world of sportswear. But can fashion and fitness really mix?

The Real Madrid presidential candidate Arturo Baldasano claims the England manager Sven Goran Eriksson has agreed to become the club's new head coach, subject to the result of next month's elections.

When Darren Campbell takes his mark in Athens this week, he will represent one of our greatest hopes for gold. Has he got what it takes to win? Mike Rowbottom examines a body of evidence

SPORTS RETAILERS have enjoyed an energetic recovery this year and John David Sports has been a clear winner. The shares have more than trebled this year as JD has recovered from its self-inflicted problems of 1998, when it stocked too many lines and was forced to cut prices to clear the shelves.

TWO FOOTBALL agents have been charge by the Football Association and Premier League for their involvement in the controversial transfer of the outstanding teenage prospect Jermaine Pennant to Arsenal.

Tuxedo-style jackets, chessboard T-shirts, leopard-print vests and fingerless leather gloves - the sharpest men's clothes combine simple cuts and flashy prints. To dress up, add a trilby; to dress down, a pair of plimsolls

NEW ZEALAND is not generally thought to exist at the cutting edge of fashion; indeed, it is the only country on earth where the sheepskin fleece still qualifies as haute couture. But the All Blacks are no ordinary Kiwis. By time they play Tonga in their opening World Cup match in October, Taine Randell's team will have christened a trendy set of lightweight shirts designed not only to expel sweat while retaining body heat, but to minimise the kind of handling errors that saw the greatest side on earth lose five on the bounce last season.

JJB SPORTS, the sports retailer, issued its second profits warning in three months yesterday when it said last year's pounds 290m acquisition of rival Sports Division had caused disruptions on deliveries.

The price of cool is eternal vigilance! Advertisers with a young audience play a difficult game, constantly having to update their advertising and demonstrate their knowledge of new people, new looks and new music, but still maintain a "consistent attitude".

Head to head Like them or loathe them, trainers are here to stay, but not everyone thinks they look cool. Aficionado Adam Halford has a run in with style guru Peter York