theSIGNAL SPORT
24 October 2026
"Health is not valued till sickness comes."
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Sport

Kimi Antonelli: The Smiling Champion-Elect

He is 20, still in his second Formula One season, and a world title is almost within reach. Kimi Antonelli could clinch it in Austin this Sunday, in Mexico the week after, or later still. Yet in the paddock he still looks like the tousled, wide-eyed kid who, at three, grabbed the wheel of a simulator while his father Marco worked the pedals in their Bologna home. That joy never left. It runs from karting at five, through Mercedes signing him as a junior at 12, to a sudden F1 debut in 2025 in the seat Lewis Hamilton vacated. Toto Wolff argues the sport once believed winners had to be ruthless. Antonelli, who opened this season with five straight wins, seems to be proving otherwise.…
  • Can a driver win championships through warmth and joy rather than ruthlessness?
Sport

Olympic Champion Jepchirchir Suspended Over EPO

Days after winning in Sydney, Peres Jepchirchir, the Olympic and world marathon champion, is provisionally suspended. An out-of-competition sample taken in Kenya reportedly showed EPO. More than 140 Kenyans have been sanctioned since 2017, and Nairobi, hosting the 2029 world championships, now faces fierce scrutiny.
  • Can Kenya convince the world its champions are clean before hosting the 2029 championships?
"
Vincent Kompany's health is our top priority, and we will do everything we can to ensure he makes a speedy recovery.
Max Eberl, Bayern Munich sporting director
Photo: Jean-François JOUET / Unsplash
Bayern Munich's training ground, where the club's head coach collapsed during a reserve team session on Friday.
Sport

Kompany Collapses at Training, Rushed to Hospital

Bayern Munich's head coach falls ill while watching the reserves, just two days after sitting on the bench against Arsenal while unwell.

Friday, Bayern Munich's training ground. Vincent Kompany is standing at the side of a pitch, watching the club's reserve team work. Then, suddenly, he collapses. Within minutes, the head coach of one of the biggest clubs in world football is on his way to hospital.

The warning signs were there. Kompany, the Belgian who took charge at Bayern, had been fighting a virus for several days. He did not step back. On Wednesday he stood on the bench for the Champions League clash with Arsenal in Munich, a game that finished 2-2, still unwell.

Whether he should have been there at all is a question that will now be asked, even if nobody at the club is pointing fingers. Bayern's statement was short and careful. Kompany is undergoing a thorough examination and will stay under medical care. His coaching staff will run all training and match preparations for now.

⚽
2-2
Score against Arsenal, two days before the collapse
Discuss
  • Should a coach who is visibly unwell be allowed to work a major match, or should clubs insist on rest?
  • Why does elite sport often reward people who push through illness instead of stepping back to recover?
  • How much responsibility does a club carry for the health of its head coach, compared with the coach himself?
  • Bayern said Kompany will be given as much time as he needs. Is that realistic in a title race?
  • Can a team perform normally when its leader is suddenly absent, or does the disruption always show?
ASIA · Sport
Sri Lanka stun England by chasing down 430 to win as ODI records tumble – as it happened
AFRICA · Sport
Coach banned until 2048 for training children in DR Congo while suspended for sexual abuse
EUROPE · Sport
Bournemouth enjoy night to remember as 10-man Milan fail to weather storm
AMERICAS · Sport
LeBron James' 76ers beat Knicks on NBA opening night
theSIGNAL IN THE LAB
1VOCABULARY
collapsesvirus
clashdugoutprovisionally suspended
scrutinyclinch
2GRAMMAR FOCUS
Passive voice — full range (simple, continuous, perfect, modal passive)
The passive is formed with a form of 'be' + past participle, and the form of 'be' changes to show tense or modality (is/was, is being, has been, must be, could be). We use it when the action or the person affected matters more than who did it.
was · is being · has been · will be · must be · were · been
  1. Vincent Kompany rushed to hospital after he collapsed at the training ground.
  2. Kompany is undergoing a thorough examination, and a full medical report is expected to studied by doctors.
  3. The Bayern coach given as much time as he needs to recover, according to the club.
  4. Whether Kompany should have stood on the bench against Arsenal is a question that asked in the coming days.
  5. While the Bayern squad prepares for Freiburg, all training run by the coaching staff.
  6. More than 140 Kenyans sanctioned since 2017 for doping offences.
3DEPENDENT PREPOSITIONS
Complete each phrase with the correct preposition. All from today’s articles.
  1. Kompany had been fighting ___ a virus for several days.
  2. Bayern's coach is now ___ medical care.
  3. Whether he should have been there at all is a question that will now be asked, even if nobody is pointing fingers ___ anyone.
  4. The champion-elect still looks like the wide-eyed kid who grabbed the wheel ___ a simulator at three.
  5. Toto Wolff argues ___ the old belief that winners have to be ruthless.
4CRITICAL THINKING
Three very different stories appear on this page: a collapse, a smiling champion and a doping suspension. What do they suggest about the pressures placed on people at the top of sport, and who benefits when those pressures are ignored? Consider whether the way athletes and coaches are portrayed in the media shapes what they feel able to admit or hide.
5CREATIVE · HEADLINES
Write a headline for the top story in each of the following styles. One line each, no explanation:
  • TABLOID NEWSPAPER
  • LUXURY MAGAZINE
  • ACTIVIST BLOG
6WRITING
Imagine you are Kimi Antonelli's father, Marco, writing a short letter to your son on the eve of a possible world title. What would you want him to remember about where it all began?
7DEGREES OF EXTREMITY
Complete each ladder from mild to strong.
  • unwell→→
  • worried→→
  • surprised→→
  • talented→→
  • criticised→→
  • tired→→
8SPEAKING
  1. Is it fair that a twenty-year-old carries a whole nation's hopes?
  2. Would you rather be a gifted prodigy or a late bloomer? Why?
  3. Why do some athletes cheat when they already have everything?
  4. What would be a fair punishment for a champion who dopes?