Whereas players in sports like football earn a salary based on a contract with the team that employs them, and athletes in individual sports like tennis and golf can earn a great deal from prize money at major tournaments, athletics competitors rely much more heavily on personal sponsorships and endorsements.

That is because they are paid no direct annual salary, and the only standardised prize money on offer is $50,000 (£37,000) for winning gold in one of the 48 track and field events at the Olympics.

That prize money was only introduced at the 2024 Games in Paris, and is paltry compared to the potential millions in winnings on offer in other major sports.

Some nations – including the USA – also choose to pay athletes who win medals from their own resources, but Britain does not.

Instead, athletes are awarded funding and grants by UK Sport, with the majority of the money coming from the National Lottery.

UK Sport ranks athletes by how likely they are to win medals at major events, and gives more funding to those whose chances it believes are better.

Athletes typically use that funding to pay for training camps, equipment, travel and, in some cases, personal support staff like physiotherapists, nutritionists and chefs.

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So why would athletes be instructed to wear national team kit at the Ultimates?

The Ultimate Championship is billed as three fast-paced evenings with a record $10m (£7.4m) prize pot on offer for the biggest stars in athletics.

The condensed schedule and focus on star names is designed to appeal to viewers on television and social media – the latter likely playing a role in the focus on short, sharp bursts of action which can capture attention online.

Most viewers of athletics are used to watching athletes compete while wearing national kit at the Olympics and World Championships. Put simply, the use of a national kit makes it easier for the casual viewer to quickly spot who they should be rooting for and feel invested in the action.

But Kerr’s comments have highlighted the fact that something which may well improve the viewing experience can be felt as a direct financial negative by the athletes themselves.

With the next edition of the Ultimate Championship set to take place in September 2028, shortly after the Olympics in Los Angeles, the battle between brands and country could continue to heat up.

Former West Ham, QPR and Czech Republic goalkeeper Ludek Miklosko has died at the age of 64.

Miklosko made almost 400 appearances for the Hammers from 1990 to 1998 and was much loved by supporters, who regularly sang his name long after he left the club.

He later returned as a goalkeeping coach.

Miklosko withdrew from cancer treatment in December 2024, three years after his diagnosis.

Days later he returned to West Ham’s London Stadium for a Premier League match against Liverpool to a hero’s reception.

A West Ham statement read: “It is with deep and profound sadness that West Ham United announces the passing of legendary former goalkeeper and coach, Luděk Miklosko.

“Rest in peace Ludek, our beloved, inspirational goalkeeper and gentle giant of a man.”

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More to follow.

Going into the 2026 season, few people would have backed Zverev to win two Grand Slam tournaments, with the German having already lost three major finals in a career which looked in danger of not living up to expectation.

But injuries to his biggest rivals – Alcaraz missing the French Open and Wimbledon, with Sinner ruled out of the US Open – opened the door for Zverev.

A below-par Zverev scraped through the opening rounds at Flushing Meadows in a series of early-morning finishes, but he gradually improved over a fortnight where he did not play a top-20 opponent until Shelton.

Zverev had not lost to Shelton in their five previous meetings and immediately capitalised on a nervy start by his opponent.

Shelton double-faulted on break point in the first game of the match, handing over the type of initiative that opponents often struggle to wrestle back from Zverev.

Through the strength of his first serve, and his ability to unpick Shelton’s weaker backhand in the baseline exchanges, Zverev rolled through the opening set and clinched it when Shelton hit another double fault on set point.

Zverev continued to patiently draw mistakes from Shelton in the second set, but without being gifted a break when his only opportunity arrived in the fourth game.

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He instead showed why he has a strong tie-break record with another nerveless display and, unlike in the 2020 US Open final when he lost from a two-set lead, kept his composure in the pressure moments to secure a commanding victory.

Addressing his team which is led by his father Alexander senior and brother Mischa, Zverev said: “We went 30 years without winning a Grand Slam title and now won two in the span of three months.

“I think God has seen how hard we have worked, how hard we have suffered and how much pain we went through.

“I think 2026 is the outcome of all the years that happened before.”