Sports
Gliders battle thunderstorms and wildfire smoke at women's world championship
Anne Soltow’s glider was leading the field all day. Now it is in an actual field and a kilometre short of the finish. The single-seater sailplane looks like a giant alien bug: long slender fuselage, a canopy encasing the cockpit like a single eye, epic wings, 15 metres tip to tip. They were all that was keeping Soltow’s engineless aircraft in the sky – until 10 minutes ago.
The pilot is furious with herself. She had been in the air for nearly four hours and in first place before running out of altitude on the final run back to the airfield. “Landing out” is common in gliding, where testing courses are spread across hundreds of kilometres (think orienteering in the sky). You stay airborne by climbing naturally occurring, upward-spiralling cylinders of warm air known as thermals. Fail to find these and the ground comes to meet you a lot earlier than you would like.
The farmer’s field in which Soltow is standing is in the Czech Republic, host to the Women’s World Gliding Championships. The 27-year-old discovered the sport in 2019 when she moved from Germany to London to study aeronautical engineering. A day win here would, she says, have helped her to finally feel she belonged on the British team. Instead she is so disappointed she can not bring herself to join her teammates for dinner.
With one day of the competition left, the Czechs look set for a clean sweep in all three classes. Seventeen countries are competing, although some – such as Ukraine and the US – can muster a single pilot. Comparatively few women race gliders: in June’s open world championships, three of 115 athletes were women. A women-only championship has run since 1979 to serve (and expand) the female talent pool.
Gliding can be a tough sport to get into for all sorts of reasons, the most obvious being that you need a licence to fly solo. It is completely weather-dependent and immensely time-consuming, a good flight might keep you in the air for eight hours. Once you are competing at an elite level, the quality of your aircraft and equipment can make all the difference – a racing glider can cost anything from £10,000 to £300,000.
So the sense of solidarity at the women’s worlds is notable. Most athletes have been camping on the airfield in Zbraslavice for the entire three weeks of competition; one evening there is a quirky initiation ceremony, where everyone dresses in witches’ costumes and first-timers pledge an oath to their gliding “godmother”, then pretend to ride around on a broomstick.
It is a genuine family event: an athlete’s crew – the person who helps to launch the glider and fetch it if need be – is frequently often their spouse and more than one woman has mounted the podium here accompanied by a dog or a baby.
All the pilots have battled wretched conditions, with local thunderstorms and smoke from Canadian wildfires. Nine flying days – more than half the event – have been scrubbedlost. Even this week’s clear blue skies were bad news because a lack of clouds makes thermals harder to find. No team has struggled more than Great Britain, who have failed to take a podium in any class and are bottom of the team cup rankings.
Britain have a healthy track record at the women’s world championships – one team member, Ayala Truelove, has been overall runner-up twice and took bronze in 2019. But here they have been shown up by the youthful vigour and vibrant spirit of the Czech women and the deep-pocketed professionalism of the French.
Liz Sparrow, Truelove’s flying partner with an international career spanning 22 years, has one word for it: “nightmare”. While each individual is competing for position, flying as a pair or in a group can help tactical decision-making and the hunt for “good air”. One of the GB crew borrows from Star Trek: The Next Generation and describes the Czech team as “a collective consciousness, like the Borg”. By comparison, Soltow has struggled to pair with any British teammates because her borrowed glider, a Standard Cirrus, cannot match theirs for performance. Now, near the end of the tournament, she has formed an alliance with the American Sylvia Grandstaff, a former test pilot for the US Navy, and another, Danish, pilot – a casual agreement to help each other around the course.
It takes 45 minutes to launch all 50 gliders on the grid thanks to the clutch of tug planes operating on a loop, trailing cable like fish poop. A large gaggle of sailplanes hovers in a thermal near the starting position, but as soon as the task begins, Soltow and her “ragtag group” break away and chart their own course.
Under a small pop-up awning on the airfield, Tim Taylor – Grandstaff’s crew – hunkers over his laptop. He watches their progress and suggests strategy over the radio, his communication clear and precise. Sometimes they lose signal – teams bring their own equipment and the US have a smaller radio mast than most. They lose the Dane, too, at the bottom of a bubble of warm air that fades mid-climb. Neither Soltow nor Grandstaff want to leave her behind – she has to insist.
On the run back home, Grandstaff is in second, and Soltow, once again, in first. Following close behind is Olena Yakymchuk, from Ukraine, who has been living and training in Germany since Russia’s invasion. All Ukrainian gliders have been grounded for the past three years and Russian drones have destroyed and targeted many. Under martial law, Yakymchuk’s husband, Anton, may only leave their home country to crew for her at major competitions: he describes their past three weeks in a caravan as “like a honeymoon”.
Soltow’s glider slides to a gentle stop on the airfield and is quickly towed back to its trailer like a reluctant child. As she begins the process of derigging – removing the wings by pulling them out manually, just like you might a model aircraft – her fellow competitors walk by and ask if she has seen the result. Britain’s last-day win is official – and the sisterhood wants to celebrate with her.
Sports
Kentucky Track and Field Opens 2025-26 Indoor Season at Commodore Winter Challenge – UK Athletics
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats track and field team is set for the start of a new indoor season this Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. at the Commodore Winter Challenge, hosted by Vanderbilt University.
For the first event of the new season, the Wildcats will send 45 total athletes to Nashville, competing across 21 separate events. The travel list for the weekend’s event is highlighted by returners Camden Bentley, Hannah Douglas, Sharmelle Holmes, Stacey Onyepunuka, Kate Powers and Emmi Scales on the women’s side and Grayson Brashear, Patrick Faust, Miles Jones, Devin Sealey and Anthony Waterman on the men’s side.
The Wildcats welcome 40 total newcomers to the 2025-26 roster, including 22 on the men’s side and 18 on the women’s side. Of the 40 new additions, 30 feature as true freshman, looking to make their collegiate debut this weekend for the Wildcats.
During the indoor portion of the 2025-26 schedule, the Wildcats will compete in eight meets, beginning with tomorrow’s event in Nashville. Following the turn of the calendar, Kentucky will host the Rod McCravy Memorial on Jan. 9-10 at the Norton Center in Louisville, Ky.
The final stretch of the regular season for the Cats consists of the Crossroads of America Invitational (Jan. 23-24), Razorback Invitational (Jan. 30-31) and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational and the Tiger Paw Invitational on Feb. 13-14.
For the second consecutive season, the Texas A&M Aggies will play host to the 2026 SEC Indoor Championships at the Fasken Indoor Track & Field Facility in College Station, Texas on Feb. 26-28. The 2025-26 indoor season will conclude on Mar. 13-14 in the Cats’ second trip to Fayetteville, Ark. for the NCAA Championships.
On Saturday in Nashville, Kentucky will compete against fellow SEC programs Tennessee and host Vanderbilt, as well as Arkansas State, Austin Peay, Belmont, Chattanooga, Lipscomb, Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky.
Competition for the Commodore Winter Challenge in Nashville is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. ET, starting with Meagan Ewers, Gwyneth Lori, Kate Powers and Addison Stadsholt representing the Wildcats in the women’s weight throw event.
Event Schedule
| Commodore Winter Challenge: Saturday, December 6: ALL TIMES IN EASTERN TIME | |||
| Women’s Weight Throw | 9:30 a.m. | FINAL | Meagan Ewers, Gwyneth Lori, Kate Powers, Addison Stadsholt |
| Women’s High Jump | 9:30 a.m. | FINAL | Kemarah Howard |
| Men’s High Jump | 9:30 a.m. | FINAL | Devin Sealey |
| Men’s Long Jump | 11:00 a.m. | FINAL | Kingi McNair |
| Men’s Pole Vault | 11:00 a.m. | FINAL | Grant Harrison, Jack Marek |
| Men’s Weight Throw | 11:30 a.m. | FINAL | Grayson Brashear, Brock Conrad, Cian Crampton |
| Women’s Long Jump | 12:30 p.m. | FINAL | Dahlia Beasley, Julia Gunnell, Kemarah Howard, Skyler Reynolds |
| Women’s 60m Hurdles | 1:00 p.m. | PRELIMS | Dahlia Beasley, Camden Bentley, Julia Gunnell, Kashia Hoo, Kori Martin, Rukia Nusra Omulisia, Emmi Scales, Alene Washington |
| Men’s 60m Hurdles | 1:25 p.m. | PRELIMS | Anthony Waterman |
| Women’s Shot Put | 1:30 p.m. | FINAL | Dahlia Beasley, Meagan Ewers, Julia Gunnell, Gwyneth Lori, Addison Stadsholt |
| Women’s 60m | 1:45 p.m. | PRELIMS | Briley Cline, Sharmelle Holmes, Naseera Efua Quansah, Briana St. Louis |
| Women’s Pole Vault | 2:00 p.m. | FINAL | Kaylee Daniel, Annie Murphy, Chelsea Wetzel |
| Men’s 60m | 2:00 p.m. | PRELIMS | Coy Hyre, Miles Jones, Jack Marek, Zyrie Stewart-McLaren, Oscar Baltan Vivero |
| Men’s 60m Hurdles | 2:45 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Women’s 60m Hurdles | 2:55 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Men’s 60m | 3:05 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Women’s 60m | 3:15 p.m. | FINAL | TBD |
| Men’s/Women’s Triple Jump | 3:30 p.m. | FINAL | Theo Mudzengerere |
| Men’s Shot Put | 3:30 p.m. | FINAL | Grayson Brashear, Brock Conrad |
| Women’s 300m | 3:35 p.m. | FINAL | Dahlia Beasley, A’Laji Bradley, Briley Cline, Tressia Davis, Hannah Douglas, Julia Gunnell, Kashia Hoo, JahQueen McClellan, Rukia Nusra Omulisia, Emmi Scales, Briana St. Louis, Alene Washington |
| Men’s 300m | 3:55 p.m. | FINAL | Tyrique Johnson, Brandon Nyandoro, TK Pahuwa, Zyrie Stewart-McLaren, Oscar Baltan Vivero |
| Women’s 600m | 4:15 p.m. | FINAL | Vanice Kerubo Nyagisera |
| Men’s 600m | 4:35 p.m. | FINAL | Patrick Faust |
| Women’s 4x400m | 5:05 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky |
| Men’s 4x400m | 5:20 p.m. | FINAL | Kentucky |
Follow Kentucky Track and Field and Cross Country on Facebook, Instagram, X, and UKathletics.com.
The Iowa State volleyball team will return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. The No. 23 Cyclones (22-7, 12-6 Big 12) will face the St. Thomas Tommies (21-9, 11-5 Summit League) in the opening round.
“This is the first time I get to experience something like this, and I’m just really happy I get to experience it with this group of girls in this program,” senior middle blocker Tierney Jackson said. “I’m ready to have a long run in Minnesota.”
Iowa State will be participating in its 18th NCAA Tournament, while the Tommies are making their first appearance in program history.
This is the first postseason St. Thomas is eligible to compete in after elevating to the Division I level for the 2021 season. The Tommies won their first Summit League Tournament, making them undefeated in Division I postseason play.
The Tommies secured their NCAA Tournament berth by claiming the Summit League title. St. Thomas defeated No. 1 seed South Dakota State in the Summit League Tournament championship.
The Tommies are the only team to defeat the Jackrabbits over the past two seasons, winning in 2024 and 2025.
The Summit League champion has not won an NCAA Tournament match for 28 seasons. The last tournament victory for the conference came in 1977 — a five-set win for Oral Roberts over Arizona.
The Big 12 does not hold a conference tournament, giving its automatic NCAA bid to the regular-season champion.
No. 8 Arizona State (26-3, 17-1 Big 12) had a near-perfect conference schedule, their one loss coming to the Cyclones on Oct. 31. The Halloween victory was Iowa State’s biggest win of the season.
“I am super excited to make the tournament and continue on our run with my favorite group of girls, and we’re excited to go to Minnesota,” senior setter Morgan Brandt said.
Brandt was the Big 12 Setter of the Year and leads all active Big 12 players with 3,736 career assists. She also led a Cyclone offense that topped the conference in assists at 13.03 per set.
Iowa State occasionally switched from a 5-1 to give sophomore setter Ava Martin opportunities.
St. Thomas had an impressive nonconference schedule, with its best win coming against Big Ten opponent Northwestern. The Tommies won seven straight matches after defeating Northwestern, a program best since joining Division I.
The match will be played at Minnesota’s Maturi Pavilion, a venue where St. Thomas has already taken a set this season. The Tommies took a set from then-No. 11 Minnesota on Aug. 31, the first set victory against a ranked opponent in program history.
While the Cyclones are favored in this matchup, they have lost their last two matches, while the Tommies have won five straight.
These teams have met once before. In 2021, Iowa State swept St. Thomas in the same building as part of the Diet Coke Classic. The only active player from that match is Iowa State redshirt senior defensive specialist Paula Krzeslak. She has appeared in 94 matches across her Cyclone career.
Both head coaches have led their programs for more than 20 years. Christy Johnson-Lynch is in her 21st season with Iowa State, and Thanh Pham is in his 23rd season at St. Thomas. Pham coached the Tommies to a Division III national championship in 2012, while Johnson-Lynch has guided Iowa State to two Division I regional finals (2008, 2011).
“We never want to take the day for granted,” Johnson-Lynch said. “So we’re excited to get up there and get going.”
St. Thomas will play Iowa State at 4:30 p.m. Friday at Maturi Pavilion and will stream on ESPN+. The winner will advance to face either No. 4 seed Minnesota or Fairfield in the second round Saturday.
Event: BU Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener
Host: Boston University
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2024
Location: Boston University Track and Tennis Center (Boston, Mass.)
Live Results: PortlandPilots.com
Live Video: PortlandPilots.com
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS & PILOTS’ ENTRIES
• Women’s Mile: 9 a.m (PT) | Rose Perotin
• Men’s 3000m: 11:40 a.m (PT) | Mark Milner
• Men’s 5000m: 4:15 p.m (PT) | Jonas Price
THIS WEEK
• The Pilots are set to compete at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener, hosted by Boston University in Boston. They will be represented in three events.
• Live results and video streaming are available on PortlandPilots.com.
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ROCK HILL, S.C. — Winthrop Track & Field Head Coach Raffael Craig has unveiled the Eagles 2025-26 indoor and outdoor schedule on Friday, outlining a slate that begins in early December and runs through the end of May.
“I’m proud of the work they have all put in,” said Craig. “This first meet will be a good opportunity to see where we are at heading into the holiday season.”
The Eagles open the indoor season on Dec. 7 at the Visit Winston-Salem College Kick-Off in Winston-Salem, N.C. Winthrop continues at the Gamecock Opener on Jan. 10 in Columbia, S.C., followed by three meets in Tryon, the Tryon International Classic (Jan. 16-17), the Tryon College Banked Invitational – East Coast Elite (Jan. 30), and the Tryon Mid-Winter Collegiate Invite (Feb. 13-14).
The Big South Conference Indoor Championship is scheduled for Feb. 27-28 in Tryon.
Outdoor competition begins with the Big South vs. Southern Conference Challenge on Mar. 20-21 in Asheville, N.C. Winthrop will also compete at the Raleigh Relays (Mar. 26-27) and the VertKlasse Meeting (Apr. 2-3) in High Point, N.C.
The program will host the annual Winthrop Invitational on Apr. 17-18 at the Irwin Belk Complex. The regular season concludes at the Lenoir-Rhyne Open on Apr. 25 in Hickory, N.C.
The Big South Conference Outdoor Championship is set for May 11-13 in High Point, N.C. Qualifiers will advance to the NCAA Championships East First Round, held on May 27-30 in Lexington, Ky.
ALLENDALE, Mich. — Despite having just four student-athletes in action, the Western Michigan track and field team was able to post some strong results at the GVSU Holiday Open earlier today.
Laurine Elisa Marimon stole the show, earning the sixth best triple jump mark in program history. She finished the meet with a top leap of 12.07 meters. The meet was her first in the Brown and Gold.
Sierra Sommers also impressed in her college debut, competing in both the shot put and weight throw. She opened the meet with a weight throw mark of 12.87 meters. She followed that up with a throw of 14.14 meters in the shot put. That was good enough to win the event and just missed a top-10 mark in program history.
Mickaliliah Vassell made her WMU debut by racing in both the 60-meter dash and 60-meter hurdles. She crossed the finish line in a time of 7.89 in the 60m and earned a time of 9.19 in the 60m hurdles.
To conclude the meet, Shannon Gillahan was great in her season debut. She was able to produce a time of 11:07.28 in the 3000-meter run.
UP NEXT
The Broncos will be off until the start of the new year. WMU will be back in action at the Wolverine Invite on Jan. 10.
HONOLULU – The Hawai’i track and field team announced its schedule for the 2026 indoor season Friday, starting with a trio of meets in Seattle and ending with the MPSF and NCAA Championships in March.
UH begins the season at the UW Preview, Jan. 16-17 in Seattle before returning to the Pacific Northwest for the UW Invite, Jan. 30-31. The Rainbow Wahine then have a split-squad weekend, Feb. 13-14, sending athletes to both the Husky Classic in Seattle and the Battle Born Classic in Reno, Nev.
Hawai’i then begins postseason action with the MPSF Championships, Mar. 1-2 before sending any qualifiers to the NCAA Championships, Mar. 13-14 in Fayettevile, Ark.
The Rainbow Wahine are coming off of a fourth-place finish at last year’s MPSF Championships, and return a pair of individual conference champions from a year ago in Lilian Turban (high jump) and Tara Wyllie (triple jump).
The ‘Bows also welcome back last season’s pentathlon bronze medalist Catherine Touchette, who also sits in third all-time at UH in the event. Lucy Milliner also returns for her sophomore season after setting the school indoor mile record and moving into second in school history in the indoor 800m.
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