Tom Kershaw
trlkershaw.bsky.social
Tom Kershaw
@trlkershaw.bsky.social
Sports reporter at The Times & The Sunday Times
Was incredibly moving and humbling to meet Syd Lawrence and his son, Buster, at their home. A fantastic bowler who defied a horrific injury to become a champion bodybuilder before he had MND diagnosed in June.

‘My body is dying but not my spirit’

www.thetimes.com/sport/cricke...
Why do so many sportsmen get motor neurone disease?
The heartbreaking stories of David Lawrence, Marcus Stewart and Ed Slater are just the latest to rock sport. Now scientists hope they are getting nearer to finding some answers
www.thetimes.com
February 17, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Extremely grateful to Syd Lawrence, Marcus Stewart, Ed Slater, and some of the UK's leading neuroscientists, for speaking to me about living with MND and the search for answers as to the potential link between sport and such a terrible disease

www.thetimes.com/article/4aa1...
Why do so many sportsmen get motor neurone disease?
The heartbreaking stories of David Lawrence, Marcus Stewart and Ed Slater are just the latest to rock sport. Now scientists hope they are getting nearer to finding some answers
www.thetimes.com
February 16, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Spent an afternoon at CAA Base during the January transfer window with Leon Angel and Joel Pannick to discuss the real day-to-day life of a football agent.

From organising dog visas to dealmaking in the Vatican:

www.thetimes.com/article/f939...
Inside the secret world of modern football agents
Agents Leon Angel and Joel Pannick lift the lid on making deals, the pressure to secure improved contracts and big transfers, and the lengths they go to help players settle
www.thetimes.com
February 9, 2025 at 9:45 AM
An interview with Rick Shiels on his extraordinary rise from a teaching pro at the Trafford Centre to the world’s most popular YouTube golfer.

‘If you look at the views, I think YouTube golf has eclipsed professional tournament golf for a long time’

www.thetimes.com/article/24ce...
Meet England’s most popular golfer … a YouTuber from Bolton
Rick Shiels has almost three million subscribers, gets invitations to Augusta and is LIV’s latest recruit, having played rounds with everyone from Bryson DeChambeau to Harry Kane
www.thetimes.com
February 4, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Interview with Moses Itauma, British boxing’s next heavyweight superstar, on his rapid rise from Slovakia to Kent and world title contention at 20 years old.

‘I’ve never lost a fight in my life’

www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing...
Moses Itauma: Meet British boxing’s next heavyweight superstar
Born in Slovakia but raised in Kent, Moses Itauma, who has sparred with Anthony Joshua and boxed on Tyson Fury’s undercard, wants Daniel Dubois fight this year
www.thetimes.com
January 21, 2025 at 11:01 AM
And Phil Taylor on Luke Littler’s phenomenal breakthrough, his advice for the teenager (three pairs of shoes and a mattress topper), and darts’ incredible transformation through the decades.

‘At 17 I was a sheet metal worker earning £9-a-week’

www.thetimes.com/sport/darts/...
Phil Taylor on Luke Littler: At 17 I was a sheet metal worker
The darts great has some advice for how the sport’s new star can beat his haul of 16 world titles… including getting a mattress topper and some decent shoes
www.thetimes.com
January 15, 2025 at 12:11 PM
Keep neglecting to post on here… A couple of recent pieces:

Exclusive: Tyson Fury doctor under scrutiny after one of his boxers fails drug test
www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing...
Tyson Fury doctor under scrutiny after one of his boxers fails drug test
British boxing controllers are ‘carefully considering’ activity of Dr Usman Sajjad, a GP who was working with super-bantamweight Dennis McCann at the time of failed test
www.thetimes.com
January 15, 2025 at 12:08 PM
Myles Lewis-Skelly had made a seamless leap to Arsenal’s first team after a decade in the academy.

Now, his mother, Marcia, is trying to help other children navigate that ‘minefield’ - from dealing with agents to finding a new club after being released

www.thetimes.com/article/f68b...
How mum of Arsenal rising star is protecting youngsters from dodgy agents
Myles Lewis-Skelly, 18, has made the leap from academy graduate to first-team regular — now mum Marcia wants to help other parents navigate the “minefield” that is raising a young footballer
www.thetimes.com
December 29, 2024 at 4:41 PM
Once a shy character, Daniel Dubois is a different man as heavyweight champion here in Riyadh. After sending Anthony Joshua to his “retirement home”, he is eyeing a rematch - and backing - Oleksandr Usyk.

He also wants to buy a helicopter.

www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing...
Daniel Dubois: I can’t find Anthony Joshua. I put him in a retirement home
IBF heavyweight boxing champion Daniel Dubois predicts Oleksandr Usyk will defeat Tyson Fury and wants to buy a helicopter – if it will fit in his Essex garden
www.thetimes.com
December 20, 2024 at 7:56 AM
Year of the Turki – the man who turned Riyadh into boxing’s capital

www.thetimes.com/article/33f7...
Year of the Turki – the man who turned Riyadh into boxing’s capital
Turki Al-Sheikh ended wait for undisputed heavyweight champion and brought together warring rivals as he delivered series of generation-defining fights in 2024
www.thetimes.com
December 20, 2024 at 5:41 AM
An extremely long stare down between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury
December 19, 2024 at 5:01 PM
Oleksandr Usyk's victory over Tyson Fury sparked celebrations on the frontline in Ukraine in May. In Riyadh yesterday, he was as disarmingly relaxed and raw about his life as ever. A true great.

Interview:

www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing...
Oleksandr Usyk: God helps me overcome sins – like punching people in face
As Riyadh rematch against Tyson Fury nears, Ukraine’s heavyweight champion opens up on how faith helped him in first bout and his reluctant status as an icon
www.thetimes.com
December 18, 2024 at 10:18 AM
The extraordinary double life of boxing trailblazer Christy Martin is being made into a major film starring Sydney Sweeney.

Interview with one of sport’s great, often unsung heroines, from starring on Mike Tyson’s undercards to surviving her attempted murder

www.thetimes.com/article/f9af...
‘My husband almost killed me – now Sydney Sweeney is playing me in a film’
Christy Martin was the first star of women’s boxing but the domestic violence she suffered in silence only emerged years later when her spouse left her for dead
www.thetimes.com
December 15, 2024 at 11:05 AM
Enjoyed speaking to Johnny Fisher, the history graduate turned heavyweight contender, with a little help from his unexpectedly famous father, 'Big John'.

'Every few months I stop and think how surreal it all is'

www.thetimes.com/sport/boxing...
From dad’s ‘Big John’ takeaway fame to Tyson Fury’s undercard
A history graduate with a father who has become a TikTok sensation by eating huge portions of Chinese food, Johnny Fisher is not your typical heavyweight boxer
www.thetimes.com
December 13, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Exclusive: Charlton Athletic are being taken to High Court over an alleged £500k unpaid debt to Paul Elliott

www.thetimes.com/article/aee5...
Charlton Athletic taken to High Court over alleged £500k unpaid debt
Claim states Paul Elliott lent club the sum after agreeing takeover, but that he was never reimbursed after his consortium failed EFL’s owners’ and directors’ test
www.thetimes.com
December 6, 2024 at 4:51 PM
Reposted by Tom Kershaw
Special Report: The Misunderstood Life of Grayson Murray.

In the painful aftermath of suicide, the people who loved him describe a man with immense talent, a kind heart and a burden he couldn’t shed www.golfdigest.com/story/the-mi... #golf
The Misunderstood Life of Grayson Murray
www.golfdigest.com
November 26, 2024 at 2:11 PM
Going to start posting on here with similar ineffectiveness to X.

Interview with Eddie Hearn in this week’s Sunday Times.

www.thetimes.com/article/23de...
Eddie Hearn: Kids are on streets with machetes – don’t expect me to stay
Boxing promoter on his despair at the state of the country, how he thinks we can learn a lot from the Saudis, and why this could be Anthony Joshua’s final year in the sport
www.thetimes.com
November 24, 2024 at 1:28 PM