News in Twickenham

Moe Sbihi MBE, alumnus of St Mary's University Twickenham, has been selected as one of the two flag bearers for Team GB at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

The ceremony, hosted in the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, marks the official opening of the games.

Japan will be hoping to use the Tokyo Olympic Games to project the image of innovation and their power in Asia. Now, the questions about the sporting integrity of the Olympics keep growing as athletes arrive in Tokyo, test positive, and have to pull out. The host city is in a state of emergency. Fans are barred from most venues and athletes must follow a strict protocol.

Mohamed Sbihi, a proud St Mary's University graduate, is the first practising Muslim to row for Britain and will be the first Muslim Olympic flag bearer for Great Britain. This is a significant moment for ethic minorities in the UK, but the biggest victory for the athletes could be to participate at the Tokyo Olympics.

A BBC One documentary starring Olympic sporting stars like Sir Mo Farah and Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill will also feature Twickenham's St Mary's University in tonight's episode.

The episode airs at 9pm and is the third in a three-part series called Gold Rush: Our Race to Olympic Glory, which explores how Britain turned its sporting reputation around over 16 years to triumph at the London 2012 Olympics.

A galaxy of former British Olympian stars including gold medal winners will appear on a panel in Teddington to discuss their own careers and the upcoming Games in Tokyo next Tuesday night (July 20).

The four panellists will be Christine Ohuruogu MBE, who has won Olympic gold, silver and bronze in the 400 metres, Roger Black MBE and Olympic and World Championship 400 meter silver medallist, Mark Hunter MBE, an Olympic gold and silver medal winning rower, and swimmer Mark Foster, who represented Britain in the Olympics and won six World Championship titles.

St Mary's University based in Twickenham's Strawberry Hill has been awarded over £4,000 to spend on parasport facilities.

Sport St Mary's applied for the The Toyota Parasport Fund to support their project to combat inactivity within the student and local communities.

"I feel like my stomach has been ripped out" were the words of England Manager Gareth Southgate following last night's defeat in the Euro 2020 final.

Many fans across Twickenham can surely empathise with him after the emotional rollercoaster of an early goal for England at three minutes in followed by a heartbreaking Italy equaliser in the 67th minute leading to a tense penalty shoot out.

York House was lit up in red, white and blue last night in a celebration of England's part in the final match of Euro 2020 against Italy.

Despite giant support from Twickenham and surrounding areas including over 200 flags erected over in Feltham, the night ended in disappointment for many fans.

Last week it was announced that parkrun events would be restarting in Twickenham and across the borough when lockdown restrictions are lifted which means the next runs could take place on Saturday July 24.

Twickenham has one parkrun event over in Crane Park, but we also have plenty of nearby events including Old Deer Park, Richmond Park, Kingston Riverside, and Bushy Park where the parkrun story began.

Twickenham has really united in support of England ahead of Euro 2020 and flags can be seen flying everywhere.

Two hundred St George's flags are currently flying on, over and between the flats at nearby Towfield Court in Feltham.

In homes and pubs across Twickenham on Wednesday the joyous cheer of England fans could be heard.

It was, in the words of Times writer Matt Dickinson, "a roar of euphoria 55 years in the making" as the final whistle blew at Wembley - putting England into their first international final since 1966.