NEW YORK -- The sister of former NBA player Sebastian Telfair was accused on Monday of threatening a woman who testified against him at his New York City gun-possession trial.

Octavia Telfair was charged in federal court in Brooklyn with transmitting an interstate threat. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from her lawyer.

Sebastian Telfair, a once-highly-touted point guard with a disappointing NBA career and a history of brushes with the law, was convicted last month of carrying loaded guns in his pickup truck. Witnesses included his estranged wife and a girlfriend.

Shortly after the guilty verdict, Octavia Telfair made threatening phone calls to one of the witnesses in California, according to a criminal complaint that didn't identify the alleged victim. The sister told the woman she either was "gonna die'' or going to have to live with a "rearranged face,'' the complaint says.

The Brooklyn-born Sebastian Telfair was a first-round draft pick out of high school in 2004. He started with the Portland Trail Blazers and spent time with the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves and other teams before ending his career in China in 2014.

Telfair and a friend were arrested in 2007 after a traffic stop during which police found a loaded handgun in the vehicle. He pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to three years' probation.

Telfair faces 3 ½ to 15 years in prison at his sentencing next month for his current gun case.

ATHENS, Greece -- Greek NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has agreed to fund the construction of an indoor basketball court in a fire-ravaged area outside Athens where at least 100 people were killed last year.

The mayor of the Rafina area where the fire occurred last July said on Monday the local authority received the offer from the Milwaukee Bucks player to build the court at a new recycling park that is being planned in the area. The mayor, Vangelis Bournous, gave no details of the construction cost but said the venue would be ready at the end of this summer.

The blaze gutted the seaside resort of Mati, east of Athens, and other coastal areas, destroying more than a thousand homes.

"Antetokounmpo, the well-known Giannis Antetokounmpo, has made a donation at the site to build an indoor court -- I'm announcing this for the first time,'' Bournous said at a campaign event ahead of local elections on Sunday.

"It will be built with a modern method using a steel building frame so it can be ready by the end of the summer.''

Antetokounmpo's Bucks are leading in the NBA Eastern Conference finals 2-1 over the Toronto Raptors.

The forward, the son of immigrants from Nigeria, was born and grew up in Athens and moved to the United States in 2013 to join the Bucks. He has a huge fan base in his home country, with fans following his games in the middle of the night.

Antetokounmpo maintains close ties with Greece and has taken part in campaigns to promote a Greek airline and tourism, as well as recycling. His older brother, Thanasis Antetokounmpo, lives in Athens and plays for local club Panathinaikos, coached by Rick Pitino, formerly of the Boston Celtics and the Louisville Cardinals.

Interim coach Ryan Saunders is finalizing a multiyear deal to become head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves, league sources told ESPN.

The deal could be completed as soon as Monday, sources told ESPN. Saunders is working on assembling a staff.

Gersson Rosas, the Timberwolves' new president of basketball operations, met with candidates at the NBA draft combine, but the search turned back to Saunders.

Saunders, 33, finished the Timberwolves' season as interim coach after the midseason firing of Tom Thibodeau and earned the endorsement of All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns.

Saunders has made a strong impression on ownership and senior management, including Rosas, who has spent a dozen or so hours meeting with him since Rosas' recent appointment to run the Wolves' basketball operations.

He is the son of late Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders, who died in 2015 at the age of 60 after battling cancer.

Minnesota is also hiring Brooklyn's Gianluca Pascucci as an assistant GM, league sources told ESPN. Pascucci was the Nets' director of global scouting and had previously worked closely with Rosas in Houston.

Tim Connelly, the Denver Nuggets' president of basketball operations, has turned down an offer to run the Washington Wizards' front office, league sources told ESPN.

Josh Kroenke, the Nuggets' president and governor, made an aggressive and compelling case to Connelly over the weekend to keep him with the team, which the two have helped build into a Western Conference contender.

Connelly's deep family roots in the mid-Atlantic region and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis' franchise vision gave Connelly significant pause, but ultimately, the chance to continue building the Nuggets into contenders kept Connelly in Denver, league sources said.

Connelly met with Leonsis on Friday in suburban Maryland, sources said, and Washington extended an offer over the weekend.

The Wizards' search is now expected to return to the three finalists, including Oklahoma City's Troy Weaver, former Atlanta and Cleveland GM Danny Ferry and interim general manager Tommy Sheppard. Weaver and Ferry have each met twice with Leonsis, and Weaver's candidacy had gained momentum before Connelly agreed to talk with the Wizards.

Connelly, an NBA Executive of the Year candidate, methodically constructed a Western Conference contender that earned the No. 2 seed and advanced to a Game 7 against Portland in the West semifinals.

Connelly is a Baltimore native and broke into the NBA in the Wizards' front office as an intern in 1996. He rose to video coordinator, scout and personnel director before becoming an assistant GM in New Orleans in 2010. His wife is from Washington, D.C., and the couple's extended family resides in the region.

The Wizards are replacing former president Ernie Grunfeld, who was fired after 16 years on the job. Sheppard, a candidate to earn the permanent job, is running the team now. Weaver and Ferry have both had multiple conversations with the Wizards and also remain candidates for the job, league sources said.

Connelly drafted a core of talent, including All-Star center Nikola Jokic and guards Jamal Murray and Gary Harris, and signed former All-Star Paul Millsap to a free-agent contract.

Using the word "betrayal," Magic Johnson made it clear that general manager Rob Pelinka was the one "backstabbing" him, telling people that Johnson wasn't working hard and wanting to take his job with the Los Angeles Lakers.

In an appearance on First Take on Monday morning, Johnson did not hold back, identifying Pelinka as the person to whom he was alluding when he mentioned that he was tired of the "backstabbing" and "the whispering" that was going on behind his back when he suddenly stepped down as Lakers president of basketball operations on April 9.

"I start hearing, 'Magic, you are not working hard enough. Magic's not in the office,'" Johnson told First Take. "People around the Lakers office were telling me Rob was saying things, Rob Pelinka, and I didn't like those things being said behind my back, that I wasn't in the office enough. So I started getting calls from my friends outside of basketball saying those things now were said to them outside of basketball now, just not in the Lakers office anymore."

Johnson later added, when asked who had betrayed him in the Lakers organization: "If you are going to talk betrayal, it's only with Rob."

Pelinka answered several questions about Johnson's explosive comments while introducing new Lakers coach Frank Vogel to the Los Angeles media on Monday morning. Pelinka said Johnson's allegations weren't true and that he had just spoken with his former boss "two days ago" about the Lakers landing the fourth pick in the lottery.

"I think the most important thing for me is the two years of being able to work side by side with Earvin are the some of the greatest memories I have in sports and work," Pelinka said. "He is an unbelievable person to work with. He fills the room with joy and vision. It's really saddening and disheartening to think he believes things are in this perception. I think all of us in life probably have been through things where maybe there's third party, there's he said, she said things that aren't true. I have talked to him several times since he decided to step away and we had many joyous conversations."

He added: "So these things are surprising to hear and disheartening but I look forward to the opportunity to talk with him and sit down with him and work through them just like in any relationship. They're just simply not true. I stand beside him. I stand with him as a colleague, as a partner. I've always supported everything he's done and will continue to."

Johnson's departure stunned the NBA, with star LeBron James saying he would have appreciated at least a phone call.

"I respect LeBron for what he just said," Johnson said after watching a clip of James' comments on HBO's "The Shop." "I love LeBron, I love his family ... but sometimes as a man, you have to make decisions based on your well-being. And I made that decision."

A source close to James told ESPN that he thought Johnson "did well" during his appearance on Monday morning.

Johnson explained that the other reason he ultimately stepped down before the Lakers' regular-season finale was that he felt he no longer had the power to make decisions, having previously answered just to controlling owner Jeanie Buss. Johnson said he wasn't allowed to fire then-head coach Luke Walton after Tim Harris, Lakers president of basketball operations/NBA alternate governor, became too involved in basketball decisions.

"The straw that broke the camel's back was I wanted to fire Luke Walton," Johnson said. "I showed her the things he did well and the things he didn't do well. I said, listen, we got to get a better coach. First day, well, let's think about it. Second day, OK, you can fire him. Then the next day, no, we should try to work it out.

"So we went back and forth like that, and then she brought Tim Harris into the meeting, some of the guys, and Tim wanted to keep him because he was friends with him. I said, when I looked up, I only really answer to Jeanie Buss. Now I got Tim involved. It's time for me to go. I got things happening that were being said behind my back. I don't have the power I thought I had to make decisions. And I told them, when it is not fun for me, when I think I don't have the decision-making power I thought I had, I got to step aside."

Johnson said he had no problem with trying to help Joey Buss, co-owner/team president of the South Bay Lakers, and Jesse Buss, co-owner/director scouting and assistant GM, to eventually move up in the front office. But Johnson also explained that there are too many people in the Lakers organization trying to have a say in basketball matters.

"[Harris] is supposed to run Lakers business but he was trying to come over to our side," Johnson said. "Have everybody who has a role with the Lakers, stay in that role. OK, Tim Harris, you're the president of business, stay over there in business. Jesse and Joey [Buss], hey, you're the general manager assistant to Rob. Joey, you run the G League team. Then do that and do it well. Once you show you can drive excellence, now maybe you can move to another department. But right now, everybody has a voice."

Johnson said that Jeanie Buss is listening to those closest to her, including longtime friend and Lakers executive director/special projects Linda Rambis and former Lakers head coach and her ex-fiancé, Phil Jackson.

Johnson said stepping down was not related to being unable to fire Pelinka.

Johnson said he was prepared to help elevate Pelinka to eventually replace him, but that he could no longer work alongside someone he felt was trying to undercut him.

When asked if anyone else had backstabbed him, Johnson said it was just Pelinka.

"Just Rob," Johnson said. "Other people didn't bother me ... what happened was I wasn't having fun coming to work anymore, especially when I got to work beside you, knowing that you want my position."

With the Lakers mired in controversy, there has been speculation that the team should consider trading James.

Johnson said "that's not going to happen."

"Listen, this guy is special," Johnson said of James, whose first season with the Lakers was sidetracked by a groin injury that cost him 17 consecutive games in the middle of the season. "He has helped our young players so much. He's made Kyle Kuzma better, Brandon Ingram better. The way he approaches the game ... and I'll tell you who he really took aside, Lonzo Ball. He has been a great influence."

James will need more help this coming season, and the Lakers could have $32.5 million in salary-cap space this summer to potentially sign a max free agent.

Johnson was asked to name his top free agent. He laughed that he doesn't have to worry about tampering anymore and can say whatever he wants.

"With speculation that KD [Kevin Durant] is going somewhere else ... speculation that he is going to New York ... I love Kevin," Johnson said. "Or he might stay in Golden State. I would say Kawhi [Leonard] and Kyrie [Irving] are the two guys, one of those two."

ATLANTA -- The Braves have added veteran help for their patchwork bullpen by acquiring right-hander Anthony Swarzak from Seattle for left-hander Jesse Biddle and right-hander Arodys Vizcaino.

As part of Monday's trade, Seattle is sending Atlanta $1,788,172 to cover about one-third of the $5,677,419 remaining in Swarzak's $8 million salary this year.

Vizcaino opened the season as Atlanta's closer, then had season-ending surgery on his right shoulder on April 17. His replacement, A.J. Minter, struggled and was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on May 10.

The 27-year-old Biddle was designated for assignment by the Braves on Wednesday after walking 10 batters in 11 ⅔ innings. He had a 5.40 ERA as he failed to repeat his success from 2018, when he was 6-1 with a 3.11 ERA. He will report to the Mariners.

Luke Jackson has six saves in nine chances as the Braves' latest closer.

The 33-year-old Swarzak has a 5.27 ERA and three saves in six chances this season for the Mariners. He had an 8.64 ERA in his last nine appearances. Swarzak was successful in four of five save chances and had a 6.15 ERA with the Mets in 2018.

Swarzak was acquired by Seattle on Dec. 8 along with outfielder Jay Bruce, right fielder Gerson Bautista and a pair of minor leaguers for second baseman Robinson Cano and All-Star closer Edwin Diaz.

TAMPA, Fla. -- New York Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius played five innings of defense and went 2-for-4 with a walk Monday at extended spring training in his first game action since Tommy John surgery on Oct. 17.

"It was good," Gregorius said.

Playing against Detroit Tigers minor leaguers and in front of Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, Gregorius singled twice and cleanly fielded three grounders but made an error on a throw to first base.

Gregorius is coming back from surgery to repair a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He appears on track to start a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment in a week or two and rejoin the Yankees in late June.

Gregorius had an eventful first inning.

He charged to field a one-hopper and then made an accurate throw to first to retire the second batter.

After fouling a ball off his foot and breaking a bat on a pop foul, Gregorius drew a walk in the bottom half. He slid feetfirst into second base on a grounder, then slid headfirst into third on an infield single.

Gregorius hit .268 with a career-high 27 homers and 86 RBIs last season. He injured the elbow while making a throw from left field after a ball bounced off Fenway Park's Green Monster during Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Boston.

Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton was scheduled to start an injury rehab assignment for Class-A Tampa on Monday night. He has not played since March 31 because of a strained left biceps and then a strained left shoulder.

Shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, sidelined since April 3 by a strained left calf, resumed on-field batting practice Monday and continued taking grounders at shortstop and third base.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Tommy La Stella had compiled 947 plate appearances across five major league seasons by the time he turned 30, a sample representative enough to typecast. The numbers described him as a slap hitter with no power, and La Stella could've been fine with that. His strengths -- putting pitches in play, differentiating balls from strikes, getting on base -- were enough for sustained employment in his line of work. Change seemed unnecessary. Imprudent, even.

But La Stella remained firm in his belief that there was more in him. Now he stands among the great statistical marvels of the 2019 season, as he has hit more home runs through seven weeks than he managed through five seasons.

"It is weird," La Stella said. "And it's crazy that it's seemingly coming right away, at the beginning of the season. But I always felt like I had the ability to drive the baseball."

La Stella has gone deep more times than Mike Trout and Albert Pujols. He belted his team-leading 11th home run in his 109th at-bat of 2019 after managing only 10 of them in 828 at-bats from 2014 through 2018. The Los Angeles Angels' confounding second baseman has three multi-homer games, despite entering this season with only one, and he trails just eight major league players in home run percentage.

There is no logical explanation. La Stella, listed generously at 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, hit one home run in 169 at-bats while serving mostly as a pinch-hit specialist for the Chicago Cubs last season. He has since increased his launch angle significantly, from 8.1 degrees to 14.1 degrees, but La Stella displayed similar launch angles in seasons prior. He should theoretically see more fastballs by hitting in front of Trout, but La Stella didn't start batting leadoff until May.

"I can't explain it, and I'm not really going to search for the answers," Angels manager Brad Ausmus said. "I'll just stay out of the way."

La Stella will tell you that he's back to who he always was -- or, more accurately, who he always wanted to be. He spent his first five seasons molding himself for the role laid out for him and along the way lost sight of who he was.

It began with the Atlanta Braves in 2014. Dan Uggla, a pull-happy, power-hitting second baseman, was struggling badly. The Braves called La Stella up because they liked how consistently he reached base in the minor leagues. They wanted someone to set the table for the next guy and nothing more. La Stella complied.

"I gradually shifted my sights toward the left side of the field," he said, "and I started to lose the ability to pull the ball."

It continued in the Midwest on loaded Cubs teams. Through four seasons, La Stella made 32 percent of his plate appearances as a pinch hitter, never getting the opportunity to build any semblance of a rhythm. His at-bats were merely about survival, about not wasting strikes and using his hands and doing everything possible to reach base. It was, in La Stella's mind, a different skill set altogether.

"I wanted to be really good at pinch-hitting because I knew that was going to be my role," La Stella said. "After a while, I kind of forgot that I at one point planned to be a very different hitter."

A trade to the Angels in late November brought the opportunity for more playing time. La Stella also saw it as a path to rediscovering himself. He arrived in spring training with intentions of swinging harder.

"It was a disaster," La Stella said.

He was either way out in front or swinging over the top of pitches that he used to drive, and he managed only eight hits in 48 at-bats.

Along the way, though, he found something. With the Cubs, La Stella constantly tinkered with batting stances that worked only to free up his hands. In search of a more consistent, sustainable approach, he went back to the stance he used at Coastal Carolina University, where he hit 28 home runs in 125 games -- legs straight, hands still, swing free. Suddenly, the ball was jumping off his bat again.

"It wasn't about tapping into the power. It was about getting back to who I was as a hitter pretty much my whole career," La Stella said. "Because I never had a problem driving the ball."

Only three players since 1900 have hit 20 or more home runs in a season after managing no more than 20 home runs in 800 or more at-bats prior, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The list includes Kirby Puckett (31 in 1986), Al Cowens (23 in 1977) and Brady Anderson (21 in 1992). Soon, La Stella will probably join them.

He has an OPS of .952 for the season, 241 points higher than his career mark before 2019. And he has accumulated 28 hits over his last 76 at-bats. In an industry that continually skews young, La Stella is proof that veteran players can still reinvent themselves and that all at-bats should not be evaluated equally.

La Stella doesn't lament his days as a pinch hitter. He credits the role with helping him condense his focus into two-minute intervals and forcing him to "be the simplest version of myself as a hitter, even if it wasn't the hitter I ultimately wanted to be."

He is, in a sense, a prodigious slugger now, the thought of which still makes him uncomfortable.

"To be honest with you, I feel a little strange talking about it because it is early," La Stella said. "It's just a start, and, you know, anybody can have a hot couple of months. But I feel more like myself again, which is comforting."

American clocks 19.84 200m at Golden Grand Prix, while Jodie Williams and Zharnel Hughes run World Champs qualifying standards in Guadeloupe

Find links to individual reports for various events on a busy weekend below, while other recent highlights are also listed.

Shanghai Diamond League

BMAF Road Relay Championships

Great Manchester Run

Loughborough International Athletics

European Race Walking Cup

Seiko Golden Grand Prix Osaka, Japan, May 19

USA’s Michael Norman dominated the 200m, clocking 19.84 (-0.4m/sec) to equal his PB and take 0.03 off the meeting record. Chinese Taipei’s Chun-Han Yang was second in 20.50.

Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova-Collio won the women’s 200m, also breaking the meeting record with 22.55 (+0.5m/sec).

A third meeting record was broken by China’s Wang Zheng as she won the hammer by more than a metre with 75.27m.

USA’s Justin Gatlin won the 100m in 10.00 ahead of Japan’s Yoshihide Kiryu in 10.01. World under-20 champion Lalu Muhammad Zohri of Indonesia improved his own national record by clocking 10.03 in third.

Japan’s men’s 4x100m team returned after their IAAF World Relays disqualification and ran a world-leading 38.00 ahead of USA with 38.73.

Japan’s world under-20 bronze medallist Shunsuke Izumiya ran a winning windy 13.26 (+2.9m/sec) for the third-fastest ever 110m hurdles time by a junior athlete over senior-height hurdles in any conditions.

セイコーゴールデングランプリ
13.26+2.9?
追い風参考が悔しいですが、この記録を公認で超えていけるようにこれからも頑張ります?
応援ありがとうございました！！ pic.twitter.com/ZcroMdCsyz

— 泉谷 駿介 (@izumiya12388) May 19, 2019

USA’s Sharika Nelvis won the 100m hurdles ahead of Australia’s world champion Sally Pearson as both clocked 12.70 (0.4m/sec). Olympic champion Dalilah Muhammad had a clear 400m hurdles win in 53.88.

Kenya’s Jonathan Kitilit won the 800m in 1:46.37 as Britain’s Guy Learmonth was second in 1:46.81. Shara Proctor finished fourth in the long jump with 6.29m (-0.5m/sec).

Meeting Guadeloupe Grande Caraibe, Guadeloupe, May 18

Fresh from a 100m PB at the beginning of the month, GB’s Jodie Williams achieved a 200m qualifying standard for the World Championships in Doha, clocking a winning time of 22.92 (+0.3m/sec).

Zharnel Hughes won the 100m in 10.03 (-0.9m/sec) to improve the Worlds standard for that event.

USA’s world record-holder Keni Harrison clocked a world-leading 12.47 (0.0m/s) in the 100m hurdles.

NJCAA Division 1 Championships, USA, May 17-18

Kenny Bednarek ran 19.49 for the fastest ever wind-assisted 200m, as the wind reading was +6.1m/sec.

He went on to clock 19.82 into a headwind of -0.8m/sec and a 44.73 400m, becoming just the second athlete to break both 20 seconds for 200m and 45 seconds for 400m on a single day.

Bryn Meadows Caerphilly 10K, Wales, May 19

Matt Clowes and Rachel Felton both ran event records to claim victory, Alex Donald reports.

Cardiff Man Clowes was a convincing winner over the undulating course in a race which forms the first fixture in the 2019 Welsh 10k Series.

With the halfway mark passed in 15:06 and despite a stiff climb at the 9km point, Clowes came home in 30:22, 11 seconds ahead of his mark from last year.

James Hunt was second in 31:09 followed by Dan Bodman in third.

“It’s a hilly course,” said Clowes. “I enjoyed it, though. It was a good test and it was good to run faster than I did last year because that was run on tired legs, following the London Marathon.

“My main aim for later in the year will be the BMW Berlin Marathon.”

Felton was equally convincing in her victory which came nearly two minutes ahead of Lucy Marland. Her winning 35:01 sliced a second of the previous record set by track specialist Rhianwedd Price in 2016.

Alaw Beynon-Thomas was third just weeks after her marathon debut in Newport.

TCS World 10K Bengaluru, India, May 19

Kenya’s Agnes Tirop retained her title, clocking 33:55 as just two seconds covered the top five. Ethiopia’s Senbere Teferi was second and Letesenbet Gidey third and they were also both given a finishing time of 33:55.

Ethiopia’s Andamlak Belihu won the men’s race, adding this title to the Delhi Half Marathon crown he won seven months ago, crossing the line in 27:56.

Uganda’s Mande Bushendich finished second in 28:03.

City Of Gloucester 10K Run, May 19

Britain’s 2007 world 10,000m bronze medallist Jo Pavey raced for the first time this year and finished fourth overall, winning the women’s title in 34:39.

Had a nice time at the City of Gloucester 10K. I have really missed racing. Nice to get one done. I’m attempting to race myself back to fitness!??‍♀️? Well done to everyone who took park & a huge thanks to all the volunteers. #WeWhoRun Photos @NickParford @GlosLiveOnline pic.twitter.com/iVLboedCnO

— Jo Pavey (@jopavey) May 19, 2019

Kate Malthy was second with 36:29 and Emily Chandler third in 40:27.

Harry Bishop won the men’s title in 32:20, ahead of Charlie Jones with 33:04 and Marcus England with 33:06.

British Wheelchair Racing Association Track Championships, Stoke Mandeville, May 18-19 

Five-time Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft won the T34 100m, 400m and 800m, respectively clocking 17.58 (+1.9m/sec), 59.49 and 2:10.15.

Nathan Maguire won the T54 100m ahead of Richard Chiassaro, 14.63 to 14.81.

In the 200m, Chiassaro won in 25.64 to Maguire’s 26.13.

Stephen Miller threw 29.79m in the F32 club throw, while Gemma Prescott recorded 20.49m to win the women’s event.

Belgian Inter-Club Championships, Gaurain-Ramecroix, May 18

Continuing her comeback after injury, Olympic, world and European heptathlon champion Nafissatou Thiam improved her 200m PB to 24.37 into a headwind of 1.5 m/sec.

She also threw 52.71m in the javelin and formed part of a winning 4x100m team which clocked 47.97.

USATF Distance Classic, Los Angeles, USA, May 16

Josh Kerr ran 13:28.66 to finish second on his 5000m debut, with his fellow Scot Chris O’Hare running a PB of 13:33.99.

Kyle Langford clocked 1:47.31 for the runner-up spot in the 800m and Neil Gourley was sixth in 1:48.42.

There was a 4:09.31 1500m PB by Amy Eloise-Neale for fourth in the women’s race.

World Schools Cup, Split, Croatia, May 15-16 

Jasmine Jolly won the 300m hurdles with a time of 42.73, while Dominic Ogbechie jumped 7.36m to win the long jump

Serena Vincent won the shot put with a 16.79m throw, while there was a big PB of 13.74 for Jenna Blundell to take third in the 100m hurdles.

The elite orienteer on discovering a love of running through orienteering

Ralph Street was born and raised in London and admits that to have ended up among the world’s elite in a sport that has its origins in the Scandinavian wilderness is probably fairly unexpected.

He first competed for Great Britain in 2007 and since then orienteering has taken up more and more of his life. After finishing university in 2012 he moved to Scandinavia to really chase his orienteering dreams and last year finished 13th in the middle distance at the World Championships which is his best individual result so far.

Ahead of August’s World Orienteering Championships in Norway and as part of World Orienteering Week, Street shares some insight into his sport and its crossover with running.

Athletics Weekly: What was your route into orienteering? Were you a runner, or an orienteer, first?

Ralph Street: I was an orienteer first as both my parents were involved in the sport so I started competing as a youngster. Orienteering gave me a love of running, particularly cross country, so I took that up at school when it was on offer.

AW: What do you love most about orienteering?

RS: I like the challenge that orienteering presents: it is always different. The forests vary as well as the courses; sometimes there are short straight legs or longer routes that are more complex. You have to keep thinking and concentrating the whole time, so the key is to match your physical ability and mental alertness. I like the sense of adventure in orienteering, it’s no exaggeration to say you are heading off into the unknown and even at a big race you can find yourself completely alone in the terrain.

AW: How do you prepare for major championships? Do you have an ‘average’ training week?

RS: At the start of the year I sit down with my coaches and we set a plan a for the year filling in the races, training camps and key sessions. I usually follow a single peak periodisation plan focused towards the World Championships where, like all other athletes, I am trying to be in the best possible shape both physically, technically and mentally. On the physical side I have found that focusing on threshold training is the best way for me to hit my peak, so this forms a key part of my taper. For mental and technical training, I try and work out what kind of challenges I am likely to face while out in the forest and how I can overcome them in the best possible way.

As I am based in Oslo my training varies a lot from winter to summer; I do a lot more cross training (mostly cross country skiing) and gym work when the snow is here. On a snow-free average week I will fit in two hard sessions, two gym sessions and a long run. I then fill in the rest with as much running and orienteering as my body can sensibly tolerate.

AW: Can you talk about the crossover between the two sports and the necessary skillsets?

RS: All the top orienteers have to be very good runners. The main difference is that orienteers have to prepare for a great variety of terrain: hills, marshes, forest, rocks, so we learn to be most efficient over rough terrain. Even running on a forest trail can be different from a tartan track. Another big difference is most orienteering competitions are run as a time trial which means that you are alone in the forest and have judge the pace and effort yourself; there is no lead pack to hang on to.

AW: What are your key 2019 targets in both running and orienteering?

RS: My main focus this year is the World Championships in Norway in August. Before then I hope to go to Finland in June for some World Cup races and I will also compete in the big Scandinavian club races (think National Road Relays but along with about 20,000 other orienteers at the largest race) which is good for dealing with pressure but also great fun. The key for me now is managing the transition back into a high running volume after a winter largely on the cross country skis so that I avoid any injury setbacks.

AW: What are you most proud of having achieved in your elite career so far?

RS: Fourth place in the World Championships relay when it was held in Scotland in 2015 was a great result in front of a home crowd.