title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On a 2009 episode of "Question Time" episode featuring Nick Griffin of the British National Party (see Immigration section below), Warsi said of same-sex civil partnerships, "I think that people who want to be in a relationship together, in the form of a civil partnership, absolutely have the right to do that." Speaking in December 2013 at a BNP Paribas event in support for the Kaleidoscope Trust, she apologised for her leaflets and said the Conservative Party had been "on the wrong side of history" on gay rights.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On immigration matters, Warsi declared that people who back the British National Party (BNP) may have a point: "They have some very legitimate views. People who say, 'we are concerned about crime and justice in our communities – we are concerned about immigration in our communities'". On 22 October 2009, Warsi represented the Conservatives on a controversial edition of "Question Time" marking the first ever appearance of Nick Griffin, leader of the BNP.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On 30 November 2009, Warsi was pelted with eggs by a group of Muslims during a walkabout in Luton. The protesters accused her of not being a proper Muslim and of supporting the death of Muslims in Afghanistan. Warsi told the BBC that these men were "idiots who did not represent the majority of British Muslims". She later continued her walkabout with a police escort.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In the context of the United Kingdom debate over veils, a Tory MP proposed banning burqas in public in 2010. Warsi responded that the garment does not limit women from engaging in everyday life. Amid critics who say the burqa is divisive and has no place in British society, she argued that the choice of what to wear should be down to the individual.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Warsi argued against following the example of France by banning Muslim women from wearing the veil, as this was "not the British way"; she said "that allowing people to wear what they want was the basis of a free society". She added: "I think I would be as offended if I was told 'actually you must wear a miniskirt to work because that's what we like women to wear' as I would be if somebody came to me and said 'we want you to be covered from head to toe because that's what we like woman to wear'." But she also insisted that those who choose to wear garments such as the full-face veil must accept that there are some situations in which it is not appropriate and some jobs they might not be able to do.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Warsi received support in her stance from Tory colleague and Immigration Minister, Damian Green who said banning the face veil would be "un-British" and would be at odds with Britain's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In 2009, she was named as "Britain's most powerful Muslim woman" by an Equality and Human Rights Commission panel and in 2010 as one of the world's "500 most influential Muslims" by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre, a Middle East think tank.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: She once said: "But today ladies and gentlemen I want to focus on an aspect of my identity that I have rarely mentioned publicly: my Sunni-Shia upbringing. The diversity of my religious teaching and the inquisitive approach to religion that was encouraged in our home. As a child Ashura was as much as part of my life as regular attendance at a Deobandi mosque."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In the April 2016 issue of "Dabiq Magazine", The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant declared her a "murtadd" (or apostate) for being among a group of "overt crusaders" who "directly involve themselves in politics and enforcing the laws of "kufr"".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In September 2010, during the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to England and Scotland, Warsi said the Labour Government appeared to have viewed religion as "essentially a rather quaint relic of our pre-industrial history. They were also too suspicious of faith's potential for contributing to society – behind every faith-based charity, they sensed the whiff of conversion and exclusivity. And because of these prejudices they didn't create policies to unleash the positive power of faith in our society."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: She returned to this theme, as a Cabinet minister, in February 2012, saying "Britain is under threat from a rising tide of militant secularisation", before an official visit to the Vatican to mark the 30th anniversary of the re-establishment of full diplomatic ties between the UK and the Vatican.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: She added, "I am not calling for some kind of 21st century theocracy. Religious faith and its followers do not have the only answer. There will be times when politicians and faith leaders will disagree. What is more, secularism is not intrinsically damaging. My concern is when secularisation is pushed to an extreme, when it requires the complete removal of faith from the public sphere". A Muslim herself, Warsi says that Europe needs to be "more confident and more comfortable in its Christianity".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On the Church of England, she insists she had "no doubts whatsoever" about maintaining its position as the Established Church, describing it as a "bedrock" of society. She believes "the system works": "We have an Established Church", it has "a unique position" and an "obligation to all of its parishioners irrespective of their faith". She thinks "it is an incredibly positive aspect of our life in Britain and long may it continue."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In November 2013, Warsi told an audience at the University of Cambridge that faith was being put back at the "heart of government", as it had been under Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. The Coalition, she argued, is one of the "most pro-faith governments in the West ... More often than not, people who do God do good." She said that religious groups must be allowed to provide public services without the State being "suspicious of their motives". Quoting Thatcher she said, "I wonder whether the State services would have done as much for the man who fell among thieves as the Good Samaritan did for him?"


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On 5 August 2014, Warsi resigned from the Government citing concerns that she was no longer able to support the Cameron Government's policy on the escalation of violence in the Israel–Gaza conflict, describing the Government's position as "morally indefensible". In her resignation letter, Warsi wrote that the UK Government's "approach and language during the current crisis in Gaza is morally indefensible, is not in Britain’s national interest and will have a long-term detrimental impact on our reputation internationally and domestically" and that it was "not consistent with the rule of law and our long support for international justice".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Warsi criticised the British Government by saying it could "only play a constructive role in solving the Middle East crisis if it is an honest broker and at the moment I do not think it is." She explained: "Our position not to recognise Palestinian statehood at the UN in November 2012 placed us on the wrong side of history and is something I deeply regret not speaking out against at the time."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: After resigning she called for an arms embargo against Israel: "It appalls me that the British Government continues to allow the sale of weapons to a country, Israel, that has killed almost 2,000 people, including hundreds of kids, in the past four weeks alone. The arms exports to Israel must stop."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: "The Daily Telegraph" said that her resignation was a blow to the Prime Minister David Cameron as it highlights divisions within Conservative MPs about criticising Israel for the high levels of civilian deaths in Gaza. Her resignation letter praised ministers that had lost their positions in the recent Cabinet reshuffle: William Hague whom she called "one of the finest Foreign Secretaries this country has seen", and Kenneth Clarke and Dominic Grieve as strong upholders of international law. She expressed concern about the way recent decisions were made in the Foreign Office.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: While calling her decision "bold", "Time" magazine wrote that her whole story is rooted in commitment to a higher calling, further adding that "It makes her decision to resign all the more dramatic, and it sends a strong statement that political will requires moral courage". Time quoted Warsi: "I always said that long after life in politics I must be able to live with myself for the decision I took or the decisions I supported ... By staying in Government at this time I do not feel I can be sure of that", she wrote in her resignation letter. The magazine concluded that she may have resigned, but that does not mean her voice had been silenced, and that it might, in fact, grow louder as a result.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: "The Guardian" called her an 'uncomfortable fit in Tory ranks', adding that her appointment to David Cameron's first top team was seen as an attempt to broaden the party's appeal to women and minorities; but from the beginning, Warsi's rapid rise was viewed with suspicion by some in the Party's grassroots and the rightwing press, who regarded her position as tokenistic. The paper claimed that in the early days, Warsi had genuine influence on Conservative policy, helping the party formulate its thinking on extremism and speaking out frequently against what she saw as an increase in prejudice against faith, especially Islamophobia; however, the paper continued, her star began to fall among the Tory hierarchy some years before mainly because of unpopularity with the old guard and a series of outspoken gaffes that annoyed the spin doctors.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In an editorial, Pakistani newspaper "The Express Tribune" admired Warsi's decision to resign on a matter of principle. The paper also stated that her resignation was going to further aggravate internal tensions and that Tory grandees, who had long disliked and resented her, were already briefing against her, accusing her, among other things, of being a Hamas sympathiser. The paper termed her resignation over the Israeli actions in Gaza as having far-reaching implications for the British Government, and that she remained a potent figure on the UK political stage.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Writing in "The Guardian", journalist Michael White claimed that Warsi should gain some support in the British Muslim community for putting her job where her mouth is over Gaza, further adding, "This is the first time that I can recall a senior Muslim politician, even one who is an unelected patronage appointee, throwing some community weight around ..."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In March 2012, Warsi was criticised by a number of Conservative MPs at a meeting of the 1922 Committee for her handling of MEP Roger Helmer's defection to UKIP. A witness to the meeting said, "She had a very very tough time. She got it with both barrels from MPs across the party. For the Party Chairman to get treated like that shows what people think of the Party Chairman." Another is reported to have said, "I just thought she was out of her depth. I have never seen anything like it – other than the last time she was before the 1922 Committee. I genuinely think she is the worst chairman we have ever had."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In May 2012, Warsi apologised for failing to declare rental income in the Lords' Register of Interests. Declaring the fact of income, but not the amount, is necessary for rental income over £5,000.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On 27 May 2012, criticisms of her claims for parliamentary expenses were reported. The Labour Opposition urged a full police investigation into her expenses after it was alleged that she claimed up to £2,000 in rent despite staying rent-free in the London home of a Conservative Party donor, Dr Wafik Moustafa. Moustafa claims that he received no money from Warsi. Though he stated it was not personal, Moustafa was in a political dispute with Warsi concerning the Conservative Arab Network.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Labour MP John Mann expressed his intention to refer these claims to the Lords Commissioner for Standards, but Warsi pre-empted this by referring them herself.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Sir Alex Allan found Warsi to have twice breached the Ministerial Code, though he concluded these were minor and noted that she had apologised. The first was in relation to a trip to Pakistan where she failed to declare that she was being accompanied by a business partner but Sir Alex found that even were Baroness Warsi to have declared the relationship it would not have prevented the trip from going ahead. The second was when she invited her business partner (Abid Hussain) to meet David Cameron at a Number 10 Downing Street Eid event.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: The Conservative Party leadership was criticised in some quarters for holding Baroness Warsi to account on the Ministerial Code while apparently having a more relaxed approach to Jeremy Hunt, who was Culture Secretary at that time. Following the publication of the report, David Cameron said Baroness Warsi would remain in her job.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: On 20 June 2016, three days before the referendum on membership of the European Union, Warsi said that she could no longer support the Leave campaign because of what she claimed was its xenophobia, and would vote to remain within the EU. A spokesman for Vote Leave said that they were not aware that Warsi had ever been a supporter.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In May 2018, Warsi, who had been raising the issue of Islamophobia within the party for more than two years, stated that the Prime Minister, Theresa May should publicly acknowledge that Islamophobia is a problem in the Conservative Party and that the party was in denial about the problem. In a statement she said: "Up to now, sadly, there are certain parts of the party that have been in denial about this issue." She told "Business Insider": "It's very widespread. It exists right from the grassroots, all the way up to the top" and claimed Conservative leaders are not taking the problem seriously because "they don't think it is going to damage them because that community doesn't vote for them in any great numbers."


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In July, a week after the Muslim Council of Britain repeated its call for an independent inquiry into Islamophobia and accused the Conservatives of turning blind eye to Islamophobia claims, Warsi called on the Conservatives to launch a "full independent inquiry" into Islamophobia in the party and warned the Conservatives were pursuing a politically damaging policy of denial about the problem in its own ranks. She accused Conservative Chair Brandon Lewis of a "woefully inept" response to recent complaints and added that MP Zac Goldsmith should receive "mandatory diversity training" following his unsuccessful attempt to beat Sadiq Khan to become Mayor of London.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In January 2015, Warsi was nominated for the Muslim Woman of the Year award at the British Muslim Awards.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: At the age of 15, when on holiday with her extended family in Pakistan, a number of boys were introduced to her, and from them she chose her cousin Naeem. They married in 1990 and had one daughter, Aamna. Naeem later denied that the marriage had been arranged. They divorced in December 2007.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: Warsi describes herself as a "Northern working-class mum". She is a member of the Carlton Club, and a shareholder of "Rupert's Recipes Limited" and "Shire Bed Company". On 20 August 2009, she married Iftikhar Azam in a Nikah ceremony at her parents' house in Dewsbury. The couple live in Wakefield with their five children.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: She set up the Baroness Warsi Foundation to fund projects that seek to improve social mobility, increase gender equality and promote religious understanding.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In December 2016, Warsi took a cameo role in the BBC One sitcom "Citizen Khan". In May 2018, October 2020 and again in May and November 2021she was a panellist on BBC's "Have I Got News For You".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In December 2020 Warsi was featured in the BBC series "Winter Walks", walking along Wharfedale, from Starbotton, through Kettlewell, to Conistone.


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In February 2021 Warsi appeared in the Channel 4 show "Stand Up & Deliver", where she took on the challenge of becoming a stand-up comedian in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. She has also featured in an episode of Channel 4's "Scotland: Escape to the Wilderness".


title: Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi

text: In 2022 she appeared alongside Alistair Campbell as one of the political experts on Channel 4s Make Me Prime Minister, a show in which 12 people compete against each other for a cash prize by creating a policy platform that gets them voted as Britain's alternative Prime Minister.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC), also known as The Race to the Clouds, is an annual automobile hillclimb to the summit of Pikes Peak in Colorado, USA. The track measures and has over 156 turns, climbing from the start at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway, to the finish at , on grades averaging 7.2%. It used to consist of both gravel and paved sections, but as of August 2011, the highway is fully paved; as a result, all subsequent events will be run on asphalt from start to finish.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The race is self-sanctioned and has taken place since 1916. It is currently contested by a variety of vehicle classes. The PPIHC operates as the Pikes Peak Auto Hill Climb Educational Museum to organize the annual motorsports event.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The first Pikes Peak Hill Climb was promoted by Spencer Penrose, who had converted the narrow carriage road into the much wider Pikes Peak Highway.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The first Penrose Trophy was awarded in 1916 to Rea Lentz with a time of 20:55.60. In the same year Floyd Clymer won the motorcycle class with a time of 21:58.41. In 1924 the final Penrose Trophy was awarded to Otto Loesche in his Lexington Special. In the years following, Glen Scultz and Louis Unser shared a rivalry and won the event 12 times between them. In 1929 the popular stock car class was added to the event.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Following World War Two, Louis Unser returned to his winning ways at Pikes Peak, winning three more times between 1946 and 1970; these wins were tightly contended with rival Al Rogers. During this time the event was part of the AAA and USAC IndyCar championship. In 1953, the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) sponsored the event, bringing with it an influx of sports cars. In this period the course record was broken every year from 1953 until 1962, this is the largest string of record breaking runs in the event's history. The majority of these records were set by Louis' nephew, Bobby Unser. In 1954 motorcycles returned to the event, the first time since its inception in 1916. The motorcycle overall victory that year went to Bill Meier riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In 1971 the event was won by the first non-gasoline vehicle (propane), this was also the first overall victory from the stock car class (1970 Ford Mustang), the car was driven by the Danish-American Ak Miller.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In 1984 the first European racers took part in the PPIHC with Norwegian Rallycrosser Martin Schanche (Ford Escort Mk3 4x4) and French Rally driver Michèle Mouton (Audi Sport quattro), thereby starting a new era for European teams in the almost unknown American hillclimb. While Schanche failed to set a new track record, due to a flat right front tire, Mouton (together with her World Rally Championship co-driver Fabrizia Pons from Italy) won the Open Rally category, but failed to win the event overall. Mouton achieved the overall victory and course record of 11:25.39 in the following year.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In 1989, an award-winning short film about the 1988 event was released by French director Jean-Louis Mourey. The film, titled "Climb Dance", captured the efforts of Finnish former World Rally Champion Ari Vatanen, as he won the event in a record-breaking time with his turbocharged Peugeot 405 Turbo 16.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The City of Colorado Springs began to pave the highway in 2002 after losing a lawsuit against the Sierra Club, which sued on account of erosion damage to streams, reservoirs, vegetation and wetlands downstream from the 1.5 million tons of road gravel deposited over several decades. The local authority paved approximately 10% of the route each year after the order. The 2011 event was the last race with dirt sections, comprising approximately 25% of the course.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: During this evolutionary period of the event, the Japanese driver Nobuhiro Tajima with Suzuki cars scored 6 overall victories (2006 - 2011) and two course records. His 2011 record was the first to break the 10 minute barrier.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Hill Climb champion Rod Millen warned at the time that paving the road would put an end to the race. However, the 2012 race saw over 170 racer registrations by December 2011, compared with 46 at the same time the previous year.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The 90th running of the event happened in 2012 and saw a larger field and a longer race day than ever before. This was the first time the race has been run on all asphalt leading to the breaking of several records, notably the overall record, which fell numerous times during the event finally falling to Rhys Millen the son of previous event winner Rod Millen, in the Time Attack Division. During the event Mike Ryan spun his big rig in a hairpin in a section called the "W"s, hitting the guard rail, he then managed to execute a three-point turn and continued on course, at which point he broke his old record by 5 seconds. This highlighted the change that a fully paved course made to the speed of the event. The 2012 event also saw the first motorcycle to achieve a sub 10 minute time with the late Carlin Dunne in the 1205 Division riding a Ducati with a time of 9:52.819 which was only 1.5 seconds slower than the previous year's overall record.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: 2013 saw the nine-minute barrier shattered by WRC legend Sébastien Loeb (Peugeot 208 T16 Pikes Peak), with a time of 8:13.878, while Rhys Millen ended up second with 9:02.192, beating his own record by more than 44 seconds. Jean-Philippe Dayrault finished third with a time of 9:42.740, and Paul Dallenbach fourth with a time of 9:46.001, making it four drivers to beat the overall record set only the previous year.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Electric cars have featured on and off in the PPIHC since the early 1980s. In 1981 Joe Ball took a Sears Electric Car to the top in 32:07.410, in 1994 Katy Endicott brought her Honda to the top in 15:44.710 and in 2013 Nobuhiro Tajima broke the 10 minute barrier with a time of 9:46.530 in his E-RUNNER Pikes Peak Special. In the following years electric entries would become more common, steadily breaking their powertrain records and eventually the overall record in 2018.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: For hill-climb events and this event in particular it is reasonable to suggest that a modern, well designed electric car will be at an advantage over internal combustion engined cars. The issue of limited range does not apply to short sprints and the twisty nature of the Pikes Peak course lends itself well to the almost instant torque delivery of electric motors. In addition to this, the lowering air density of high altitudes does not reduce the power available to the driver as it does with air breathing engines.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Although the 2014 event was won by a gasoline powered car; second (Greg Tracy), third (Hiroshi Masuoka) and fourth (Nobuhiro Tajima) places overall were taken by electric cars.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In 2015, electric cars placed first (Rhys Millen) and second (Nobuhiro Tajima) overall. In an interview with Rhys Millen, he said that he had lost power to the car's rear motor pack before the halfway point. Had this not happened he had expected his run to be 30 seconds faster.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In 2016 gasoline again took top honours but electric completed the podium taking second (Rhys Millen) and third (Tetsuya Yamano) as well as fifth (Nobuhiro Tajima) places overall.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: At the 2018 event, an electric car set a new overall record for the first time in the event's history. Frenchman Romain Dumas completed the course in the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R with a time of 7:57.148, breaking the 8 minute barrier for the first time.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The death of motorcyclist Carlin Dunne during the 2019 race, forced the organisation to postpone all motorcycle racing at the event. This decision will be reviewed following the 2021 running of the event.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Anything goes in the Unlimited Division as long as it passes safety inspection and meets the PPIHC's general rules. The Unlimited Division features the most exotic vehicles, most of them built specifically for this race. These race cars have the best chance of setting a new overall race record. In 2018, Romain Dumas set a new record of 7 minutes 57.148 seconds in the all-electric Volkswagen I.D. R Pikes Peak, beating Sébastien Loeb's previous record by over 15 seconds.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: A division for production based two- and four-wheel drive vehicles. Only closed cockpit four-wheeled vehicles are allowed to participate.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Making its debut at the 2018 event was the first official one-make Porsche category, exclusive to the Porsche Cayman GT4 Clubsport in four variants — Clubsport, Clubsport Trophy Specification, Clubsport MR, and Clubsport 2017 IMSA GS.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The traditional Pikes Peak single-seater race cars with designs ranging from Indy style sprinters to dune buggies. Open-wheel cars have competed in every event since the inaugural race in 1916.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: In keeping with the mission statement of the event, specifically to "demonstrate advancements in the practical application of motor sports technology", the race encourages competitors with vehicles that do not meet the technical specifications of PPIHC sanctioned divisions to enter in the Exhibition Class. While there are no class records for this class because of its exhibition status, entries are eligible for recording an overall course record as well as an attempt at records achieved by former classes.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Below follows all currently recognised records. Records set during the most recent running of the event are in bold type.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: The overall honours have always fallen to vehicles in car divisions, however motorcycles have their own divisions, records and winners. Cars have entered the event every year since its inception in 1916 (with the exception of years during the world wars) whereas motorcycles have only entered in a limited number of years.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Overall winners can compete under any division, although the majority come from the open wheel and more recently the unlimited division. A time in "italics" indicates this was a previous course record, a time in bold indicates the current course record.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: Motorcycle winners can compete under any division, although the majority come from open or large displacement classes. A time in "italics" indicates this was a previous motorcycle record, a time in bold indicates the current motorcycle record.


title: Pikes Peak International Hill Climb

text: On 30 June 2019, four-time Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner Carlin Dunne was killed in a crash at the race. He crashed less than a quarter of a mile from the finish line.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma Long (; born 20 October 1988) is a Chinese table tennis player and the reigning Olympic singles champion. Widely regarded as the greatest table tennis player of all time, he is the first and only male player to complete a career Double Grand Slam as the Olympic gold medalist in men's singles in 2016 and 2020. He held the ranking of number 1 for a total of 64 months (and 34 consecutive months from March 2015), the most by any male in the history of table tennis. He is also champion in World Championships in men's singles in 2015, 2017 and 2019. His records led the International Table Tennis Federation to nickname him as "The Dictator" and "The Dragon" (derived from his name, Lóng, which represents the zodiac year of his birth). Since 2014, he has been the captain of the Chinese national table tennis men's team.


title: Ma Long

text: After winning both the Asian and World Junior Championships, Ma became the youngest world champion at the age of 17 after he participated in the 2006 Bremen World Team Championship. He developed his foundations under the tutelage of Wang Hao and former Chinese National Team coach Ma Kai Xuan before studying under Qin Zhijian. Before turning 22, he had great success in singles, reaching the finals of 11 ITTF World Tour tournaments (winning 8). He won the Asian Cup and World Tour Grand Finals twice, and also made it to the final round of the Asian Championships two times (losing to former coach Wang Hao in 2007 and winning in 2009). In addition, he played in the finals of the China National Games and All China Championships, losing both matches to Wang.


title: Ma Long

text: Despite being the No. 1 player in the world for much of 2010–2012 stretch, he was not chosen to represent China at the 2012 Olympics due to his temporary dip in ratings that happened after a 560-day win streak on the ITTF World Tour. He suffered career setback by Japan's Koki Niwa in six games at the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, then lost to Lee Sang-su at the 2012 Korea Open, 4–1. As players were selected based on the ITTF World Rankings, he was not given an opportunity to win an Olympic medal in singles at the time when he was widely accepted as the best table tennis player in the world.


title: Ma Long

text: Chinese National Team coach Liu Guoliang remarked that Ma had all the tools necessary to be the best, yet at major tournaments, he had so far lacked sufficient mental toughness to play to his full ability under pressure. This was evident in his losses to Timo Boll and Vladimir Samsonov in the 2008 and 2009 World Cup semifinals, and to Wang Hao (4–1, 4–2, 4–2) in the semifinals of three consecutive World Championships (2009, 2011, and 2013). Although he performed well on the ITTF World Tour and in domestic competitions, he didn't make it to the final of the World Championships in his first four attempts. This led to many believing he was inferior to compatriot Zhang Jike, who completed his Grand Slam in just over a year.


title: Ma Long

text: After his third defeat to Wang Hao at the WTTC in 2013, Ma had a successful year. He won the China Open at two different locations (beating Wang and then Xu Xin in the final), the Asian Championships (for the third time), and the China National Games in a full-stretch match against Fan Zhendong. However, Xu defeated him 4–3 at the end of the year at the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals.


title: Ma Long

text: In March 2014, he won the Asian Cup for the fourth time, again defeating Fan in seven games. At the 2014 WTTC, he did not lose a single game. In the final against Germany, he played a pivotal role, beating Timo Boll in the opening match and defeating Dimitrij Ovtcharov for the win. For his efforts, he was awarded the Victor Barna Award as the tournament's best player. He then won the China Open for the fifth time, which tied him with Wang Liqin for the most ever. Ma's first encounter with Zhang Jike at a Grand Slam competition came in October 2014, at the World Cup in Düsseldorf. Although he was leading 3–2 in sets, Ma lost the match, saving two match points in the deciding game but still losing 10–12. This led to further criticism of his inability to come through on the biggest stages at the toughest moments. In November, he reached the final of the Chinese National Championships, but was defeated by Fan, 4–2, again ending the year on a sour note.


title: Ma Long

text: However, 2015 would prove to be Ma's year. He won the Kuwait Open, beating Xu Xin 4–1 in the final, and then the German Open, getting revenge on Zhang Jike in an intense final after being down 3–1. But his biggest win came at the 2015 WTTC, where he did not drop more than one set until the final where he defeated tournament sensation Fang Bo in six games. This was a huge breakthrough for him, as his only other major singles title was the 2012 World Cup. After a surprising 4–1 loss to Shang Kun at the Japan Open, Ma won the China Open for a record sixth time, winning 4–1 against Xu Xin. In September, he led Ningbo over Fan Zhendong and Bayi to win the Chinese Super League championship. Injuries prevented him from competing at the Asian Championships, but he participated in the World Cup in Halmstad in October. Following a dropped set to Omar Assar in the round of 16, he did not lose another game in the competition, allowing his opponents to score an average of 6 points per set the rest of the tournament. He did not participate in the last two World Tour tournaments of the year, again due to injuries, but still was seeded first at the World Tour Grand Finals because he had won 3 other World Tour tournaments. In the final, he faced Fan again, winning 11–9 in the last game of a full-stretch match, coming back from being down 3–2 in sets (after being up 2–0), including down 8–6 in the sixth and 6–2 in the decider (when he won 8 points in a row). In 2015, Ma only lost once in international competition and just five times overall.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma long won the German Open in January 2016, going undefeated until the final, where he beat Vladimir Samsonov 4–1. While helping China win the 2016 WTTC over Japan in Kuala Lumpur, he didn't lose a game, which extended his unbeaten streak to three straight World Team Championships. In March, he reached the final of the Kuwait Open, but was defeated 4–1 by Zhang Jike, who had recently defeated him 5–4 in China's Trials for the 2016 WTTC. However, a week later, he won the Qatar Open by defeating Fan in five games, breaking Wang Liqin's record for most ITTF World Tour singles titles by a Chinese player. In April, he directly qualified for the Olympic Singles in Rio by winning his section of the Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, taking down Zhang and then Fan in six and five games respectively. After this, Ma remained world No. 1, despite not participating in another international competition until the middle of June. Within a span of two weeks, Xu Xin beat him twice, first in the semi-finals of the Japan Open (his second consecutive loss at that station dating back to last year) in six games, and then in the full-stretch final of the Korea Open (Xu had also beaten him the last time he participated at Korea, in the final in 2013). This was the shortest time between international losses for Ma since 2012 (when he lost to Niwa and Lee).


title: Ma Long

text: At the Olympics in Rio, he automatically qualified to third round in the singles due to his No. 1 ranking. He swept Denmark's Jonathan Groth, but experienced a scare in the next round when he went down 2–0 to Korea's Jeoung Young-sik. However, he recovered and won the next four games to advance to the quarterfinals. His next opponent was Quadri Aruna from Nigeria, who had upset Timo Boll and Chuang Chih-yuan to become the first African player to make it to the singles quarterfinals at the Olympics. Ma beat him in four straight games to face Jun Mizutani, Japan's top player, in the semi-finals. The first three games were all 11–5 wins by Ma, but Mizutani took the next game 11–7 and the fifth 12–10. Ma won the sixth, again 11–5, to set up a historic final match against reigning Olympic champion Zhang Jike. Their second meeting at a Grand Slam final was very unexpected: Ma took the gold by overpowering Zhang in a 4–0 rout (14–12, 11–5, 11–4, 11–4), the first four-game sweep in an Olympic singles final.


title: Ma Long

text: By winning the gold medal in Rio, Ma etched himself a place as an immortal figure in table tennis history. He became the fifth male player to complete the Grand Slam, and the second male to be the defending champion of all three Grand Slam competitions simultaneously (Zhang being the first). He was the second male (after Kong Linghui) to win the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals and the three Grand Slam titles (dubbed a "Full House" in an ITTF article), being the first to win them all consecutively (therefore being the first male to be the reigning champion of all four at the same time) and the fastest to complete it (in just 467 days). In addition, he became the first male to have won every important singles competition possible, from majors to the ITTF World Tour to domestic competitions. The only other player who has done so is Deng Yaping.


title: Ma Long

text: As the current World Champion, he was slated to participate in the 2016 World Cup in Saarbrücken, Germany, but withdrew a month before the competition, citing exhaustion in addition to waist and knee pain. He did, however, play in the China Open in Chengdu, where his reasons for withdrawing from the World Cup were brought to light: he barely survived a seven-game semifinal with Zhang Jike and was crushed in a sweep by Fan Zhendong in the finals. This marked the first time since the 2008 China Open that Ma lost in four games on the ITTF World Tour, excluding a withdraw from the 2014 Qatar Open due to injury. In December, Ma participated in the ITTF World Tour Grand Finals in Doha, Qatar, his last international event of the year. Although he entered as the first seed, he received a scare in the round of 16 from host nation's Li Ping, a former Chinese National Team member, going down 1–2. However, he won the next three games to take the match in six games, and beat both Wong Chun Ting and Jeoung Young-sik 4–0 to face Fan in the final for the second straight year. Just like the previous year, Ma clearly started better, winning the first three, before Fan won the next two, including three championship points, to stay in the match. But despite displaying wonderful resilience and brilliance under pressure, the 19-year-old could not extend the match to seven games. The Dragon closed the year by winning the 2016 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals, his record 5th title in the event, more than any other player. This accomplishment also marked his fifth consecutive major title won. However, that success did not carry over to domestic competitions. Despite his team, Shandong Weiqiao, being ranked No. 1 for much of the 2016 Chinese Super League, they were defeated 3–1 in the semi-finals by Bazhou and rising star Liang Jingkun, who beat Ma 3–1 to decide the match. For his accomplishments in 2016, Ma was named male athlete of the year at the China Central Television (CCTV) Sports Awards Gala in Beijing.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma began 2017 by winning the Qatar Open in February for the second year in a row, defeating Fan Zhendong 4–1 in the final. However, Fan would get his revenge at China's trials for the 2017 WTTC, dubbed "the Marvellous 12." Ma and Fan, No. 1 and No. 2 in the world respectively, each had 9 wins after the first 11-round stage, but Fan beat Ma in their head-to-head in an exciting three-game match that went down to the wire (6–11, 11–5, 12–14). Unfortunately, Ma injured his waist during his final match against Lin Gaoyuan and had to withdraw from the trials, missing out on one of the three guaranteed spots in the 2017 WTTC. The Dragon looked to bounce back at the Asian Championships held in Wuxi in April and, while he did contribute to a Chinese victory in the team competition, he lost to Korea's Jeong Sang-eun 3–1 in the men's singles round of 32, which was the biggest upset of the tournament.


title: Ma Long

text: Despite his up-and-down start to 2017, Ma was given the chance to participate at the world championships held in Düsseldorf from late May to early June. Entering as the No. 1 seed, Ma progressed through the first four rounds without too much trouble, except for a tough six-game match against Sweden's Anton Källberg, who he had never played before. In the quarterfinals, he faced the host nation's Timo Boll, who had played an excellent tournament in front of his home crowd. He then quickly booked his place in the final by sweeping teammate Xu Xin, who was making his second appearance in a WTTC singles semi-final (he was also swept by Zhang Jike in 2013). The 2017 WTTC men's singles final did not disappoint. Ma and Fan faced off once again in a major competition, having played each other at least once in every major within the last two years except the Olympics. Fan raced to a 7-1 lead in the first set and took it 11-7. However, Ma quickly came back to win the next three games (11-3, 11-6, 11-8) and it looked like another five or six game win for the World Champion. But as he had done in their past encounters, the fearless 20-year old rose to the occasion. He won the fifth and sixth games (11-5, 11-7) to push the match to a seventh game, the first seven game WTTC men's singles final since Ma Lin's and Wang Liqin's legendary clash in 2007. Fan won the first two points of the set, but Ma raced to a 6-3 lead. Unwilling to give in, Fan leveled it at 7-7, then won the next two points on Ma's serve. Down 7-9 with Fan serving, things did not look good for the Dragon, but he reeled off three in a row to have match point. Afterwards, China's head coach Liu Guoliang remarked that if Fan had chosen a different serve at that crucial juncture at 9-7, he would have had a better chance. But unlike the 2015 Grand Finals, Ma was not able to capitalize with his serve at 10-9 in the seventh. After two loops, Fan hit a big smash to Ma's wide forehand, which tied it at 10-10. Unfortunately for Fan, he was not able to capitalize with his serve either; his third ball banana flick hit the net and went long. Leading 11-10, Ma served short to Fan's wide backhand, then smashed it wide down the line to his forehand, securing the point and the title.The win put him on par with Zhang Jike and Ma Lin for the most Grand Slam titles (5) and he became the first male with 10 major titles. This also marked his sixth consecutive major title won. Since 2015, he had won every major competition he had participated in.


title: Ma Long

text: In June, Ma won the Japan Open in Tokyo, beating Xu (who had defeated him there last year) in 6 games and Fan in 5 on his way to the title. This was the first time he won in Japan, meaning he has won at every major station on the ITTF World Tour (Kuwait, Germany, China, Qatar, Japan, and Korea).


title: Ma Long

text: From late August to early September, Ma represented Beijing at the 2017 China National Games in three events: singles, doubles, and team. In the team event group stage, Ma and Beijing were put in the same division as defending champions PLA, led by Fan Zhendong. When Beijing and PLA went head to head, Ma beat Zhou Yu 3–1, but was brutally swept by Fan as PLA took the match 3–1 and finished first in the division. However, Beijing still qualified for the knockout stage by winning their other two matches and finishing second in the group. In the team quarterfinals, they faced Lin Gaoyuan and Guangdong. Ma beat Zhou Qihao 3–0, but Beijing still found themselves on the brink of elimination going into the fourth match. Ma lost to Lin in five games (9–11, 12–10, 11–5, 12–14, 4–11) and Beijing bowed out of the team tournament, a disappointing result considering they had finished 3rd in the team event in the last two National Games. The 2011 World Champion men's doubles partnership was reunited as Ma and Xu Xin were paired together in the doubles event. They cruised to the final, sweeping all of their opponents along the way, to face defending champions Fan and Zhou Yu from PLA. The match was epic and went the full seven games. Ma and Xu narrowly lost the final game by the smallest margin (9–11), settling for silver as Fan and Zhou defended their title. After the match, both pairs acknowledged that Xu had been affected by injuries sustained from playing deep into the team event, which he won with Shanghai.


title: Ma Long

text: The injuries eventually caused Xu to withdraw from the singles event the next day. Similarly to the doubles, Ma navigated the singles pretty easily, never dropping more than a game until the final. There, he met Fan yet again, who had received a walk over in the semi-finals due to Xu's injuries. After winning the first game, Ma found himself down 2–1, as Fan controlled the rallies with his backhand receive and backhand punch. However, Ma adjusted his tactics and Fan was unable to respond appropriately, leading to a 4–2 win and a successful defense of the men's singles title for the Dragon. With the win, he became the second male to win two singles titles at the China National Games (Wang Tao in 1987 and 1997) and is the first to win two in a row. He has played in the last three singles finals at the National Games, the first player to do so.


title: Ma Long

text: The next major competition that Ma participated in was 2017 World Cup, held in Liège in October. As the first seed, Ma automatically advanced to the knockout stage, where he recorded consecutive five-game wins over Omar Assar and Koki Niwa. In the semi-finals, he faced Timo Boll, who had defeated Lin Gaoyuan in an epic seven-game thriller where the German had won despite being down 10–4 in the final game. The match between Boll and Ma was significant because the two had played each other in the 2008 World Cup semi-finals, also in Liège. Even more coincidentally, the match mirrored their encounter nine years before, with Ma taking a 3–1 lead, then Boll taking the next two games to force a seventh. Just like his match with Zhang Jike in 2014 World Cup final, Ma found himself down 10–8 in the deciding game, but managed to tie it up at 10–10. Multiple histories repeated themselves, as Boll took the next two points to add to his legendary track record in Liège (where he had consecutively defeated the Chinese trio of Ma Lin, Wang Liqin, and Wang Hao to win the 2005 World Cup and reached the final in 2008 by beating Ma). The loss was a devastating blow to Ma, and that was visible during the third-place match against France's Simon Gauzy. Ma lost two of the first three games before recovering to win the match in six games. This was his last international competition in 2017, because his wife was expecting a baby. He still played in the Chinese Super League, but did not travel outside of China to play any tournaments. His son was born on 9 December 2017.


title: Ma Long

text: At the beginning of 2018, Ma's world ranking dropped to 9th as a result of being inactive. The ITTF had previously announced that they were implementing a new ranking system at the start of the new year, and the new system gave more weight to activity than to a player's playing strength. Because of this, the Dragon not only lost his number 1 ranking, which he had held for the last 34 months, but he also dropped out of the top five in the ITTF world ranking for the first time since 2011. Despite being lower ranked, Ma made his presence felt at the 2018 World Team Cup held in London in late February. He went undefeated in both singles and doubles throughout the entire tournament and helped China sweep Japan in the final. In March, Ma won the German Open for the fifth time over a very strong field. He defeated Maharu Yoshimura, Jun Mizutani, Timo Boll, Wong Chun Ting, and compatriot Xu Xin en route to his 25th ITTF World Tour singles title, which brought his world ranking up to 6th.


title: Ma Long

text: Due to the new ITTF ranking system, Team China was not seeded first at the 2018 WTTC held in Halmstad from late April to early May. Nevertheless, Ma and his Chinese teammates did not experience any difficulties in the group stage, collectively going 15–0 to finish first in Group B. However, he survived a scare in the quarterfinals when Austria's Robert Gardos took the Dragon to a full five games in their first ever encounter. Ma reasserted his dominance throughout the rest of the tournament, defeating Sweden's Mattias Karlsson in straight sets in front of the latter's home crowd and then sweeping Timo Boll in the final as China swept top-seeded Germany to claim their 21st title in the event.


title: Ma Long

text: After China's victory in Halmstad, Ma won the China Open, defeating Lin Yun-Ju, Wang Chuqin, Liang Jingkun, Lim Jong-hoon, and Fan Zhendong to win his 26th ITTF World Tour singles title. However, this would be his last successful singles event for nine months. At the Japan Open, he was defeated in six games by rising Japanese star Tomokazu Harimoto and although he won the doubles title with Xu Xin at the Bulgaria Open in August, he lost to Liam Pitchford in the men's singles round of 32. It was discovered that Ma had a knee injury, something that would keep him out of all tournaments for the rest of 2018. These included the Austrian Open, the World Cup, the Swedish Open, and the World Tour Grand Finals.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma's injuries persisted into 2019, preventing him from participating in the Marvellous 12, the Chinese qualifier for the 2019 WTTC in Budapest in April. Despite this, he was still included in the Chinese lineup for the championships in both singles and doubles. His long-awaited return to international competition came at the Qatar Open in late March. It wasn't clear how well he would play due to his seven-month absence from the game, and it showed when he needed six games to defeat Tristan Flore in his opening match. But after that, he appeared to be in good form. He swept Timo Boll and Jun Mizutani consecutively, then won a hard-fought six-game match against Xu Xin in the semi-finals. In the final against compatriot Lin Gaoyuan, he overcame a 0–2 deficit, including 2–7 in the fifth game, to win in six games. Immediately after winning the match, he posed in front of the camera, appearing to wipe the dust off his racket to indicate he was fine even after being inactive for so long. The victory tied him with Vladimir Samsonov for the most ITTF World Tour singles titles by a male player with 27.


title: Ma Long

text: However, not all was going perfectly for Ma Long, as he suffered his first loss to Fan Zhendong in international competition in years in the final of the 2019 Asian Cup, which led many to believe the Dragon's reign would soon come to an end. Though it was possible that they could soon play each other again at the World Championships, this proved not to be the case as Fan was defeated 4–2 by lower-ranked compatriot Liang Jingkun in one of the many upsets of the tournament, who was then subsequently defeated by Ma Long 4–1 in the semifinals; the second Chinese player he'd eliminated in the tournament in addition to Lin Gaoyuan. In the final, the Dragon overpowered Sweden's Mattias Falck 4–1 to win his third consecutive World Championship, becoming the first player since Wang Liqin to win three such titles and the first since Zhuang Zedong (in 1961, 1963, and 1965) to win them consecutively.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma won runner-up in the 2020 World Cup, losing to Fan Zhendong in the finals. In the semi-finals, Ma was trailing 3–1 against Harimoto before he called a time-out in game 5 and switched to a high-toss serve that Harimoto had trouble reading. As a result, Ma was able to come back for a 4–3 victory. However, Ma closed this year by winning to Fan Zhendong 4–1 in the finals of ITTF World Tour finals extending his record to the 6th title in the event.


title: Ma Long

text: In May, Ma played in the China Olympic scrimmages. He lost 4–3 to Zhou Qihao in the semi-finals of the first leg of scrimmage. In mid-May, Ma was selected alongside Fan Zhendong to represent China in the men's singles event of the Tokyo Olympics. Shortly after, Ma was upset 4–2 by Xu Chenhao in the quarter-finals of the second leg of the scrimmage.


title: Ma Long

text: In June, Ma sat down with WTT to conduct an interview on his Olympic preparations. He stated that the most important preparation for him going into Tokyo was mental preparation and that he had to be even better mentally prepared than he was in London 2012 and Rio 2016.


title: Ma Long

text: At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Ma beat compatriot Fan Zhendong 4–2 in the final, making him the first player in history to win consecutive gold medals in the men's singles event. After the match, Fan called Ma the greatest player of this generation. During the 2020 Summer Olympics, he also became the first male table tennis player to have won five Olympic gold medals after beating Timo Boll 3-1, maintaining China's 100% win rate for the men's teams event.


title: Ma Long

text: In September, Ma withdrew from the men's singles event at the China National Games, citing the tight schedule due to the Tokyo Olympics and mandatory 21-day quarantine. Ma led Beijing to the silver medal in the team event, losing deuce in the fifth game to Fan Zhendong in the finals. Ma held six match points against Fan, but Fan came back with the help of four net balls in the last eight points.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma Long married his girlfriend Xia Lu, from Nanjing, Jiangsu. On 10 December 2017, he disclosed the birth of his son on Sina Weibo.


title: Ma Long

text: Ma has a close platonic relationship with fellow teammate Liu Shiwen and cried when she won the 2019 World Championships.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, CBE (born 25 May 1979) is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: He played club rugby for twelve seasons in the English Premiership with Newcastle Falcons. In 2009 he moved to Toulon, where he won two Heineken Cups and one Top 14 championship in five seasons.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson won 91 caps for England. He was an integral member of the England squad which won the 2003 World Cup, scoring the winning drop goal in the last minute of extra time against Australia in the final. He came back from several injuries and was part of the England team which reached the final of the 2007 World Cup. He toured twice with the British & Irish Lions, in 2001 to Australia and 2005 to New Zealand, winning 6 caps.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: He retired from rugby after the end of the 2013–14 season. In 2016, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. Wilkinson is currently a studio pundit for ITV Sport, working on their coverage of the Six Nations Championship, Rugby World Cup and other rugby events.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson was born on 25 May 1979 at Frimley Park Hospital in Frimley, Surrey and grew up in Farnham. He attended Pierrepont School, Frensham and Lord Wandsworth College near Hook, Hampshire, and played at youth level for Farnham Rugby Club.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: He gained a place at the University of Durham, but gave his place up in 1997 to become a professional rugby union player with the Newcastle Falcons.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson started his career at Newcastle School of Rugby as an inside centre, competing for a place with international veterans such as Inga Tuigamala, and Lion Alan Tait. He became a fixture in a side that went on to win the 1997-98 Allied Dunbar Premiership title. By March 1998 he was in the full England Test squad. Wilkinson began his international career as an unused replacement against Scotland, before coming off the bench, replacing Mike Catt, to play on the wing against Ireland at Twickenham on 4 April 1998; he was only 18.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: He then participated in England's "Tour of Hell" in June 1998 that saw them suffer heavy defeats to both New Zealand and Australia (who defeated them 76–0). Wilkinson returned to domestic duties by taking over from Rob Andrew, who was made Falcons head coach (later Director of Rugby), as both their fly-half and goal kicker. Wilkinson became a fixture in the England team, and started in all their matches in the 1999 Five Nations Championship. He played for the Falcons in their 1999 Tetley's Bitter Cup final defeat to London Wasps.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson played for England in matches against Australia, the United States and Canada as the 1999 Rugby World Cup approached. He made his Rugby World Cup debut against Italy, scoring one try, converting another six and landing five penalty goals to rack up 32 individual points in the 67–7 win. After playing another pool game against the All Blacks, which England lost 30–16, he was rested against Tonga, a match won by England 101–10. Following the quarter-final playoff win against Fiji, Wilkinson was relegated to the bench for the quarter-final against South Africa. England lost the match by 44–21 and exited the tournament. Clive Woodward refused to expand on his selection choice at the time, and following the match some commentators blamed the head coach's lack of consistency in team selection as harming England's World Cup bid.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: The following year Wilkinson played in all five of England's 2000 Six Nations Championship matches. England won the championship, however they missed a Grand Slam after losing their final match against Scotland. Wilkinson then toured South Africa with England in June 2000, kicking all of the points in their 27–22 win in Bloemfontein. He was then capped another three times for England during the end of year internationals.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In 2001, England again won the Six Nations Championship. After the opening win over Wales, Wilkinson set an individual Six Nations Championship points scoring record with 35 points against Italy at Twickenham on 17 February, to overtake the record of his Newcastle Falcons mentor, Rob Andrew. England won all their subsequent matches during the tournament, with the exception of the Irish match, which was postponed until October.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: More success followed for Wilkinson after the Six Nations, as the Falcons won the Powergen Cup: a late Newcastle try saw them defeat Harlequins by three points, by 30–27. As a result of Neil Jenkins suffering a number of injuries and a dip in form, Wilkinson was picked as the first choice fly-half and goal kicker for the 2001 British Lions tour to Australia in July. The Lions won the first test over Australia by 29–13 in Brisbane, in which Wilkinson scored nine points through his kicking.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: The second test, on 7 July, saw the Lions lose 35–14 at the Docklands Stadium. Wilkinson was blamed by many for throwing a long pass inside his 22 that was intercepted by Joe Roff: this was seen as the turning point in the match, and probably the test series. During the match, Wilkinson injured his leg and was stretchered off the pitch. The injury was thought to be particularly serious, but he made a full recovery before the Third and final test on 14 July. Wilkinson's try at the start of the second half ensured that, along with his kicking scores, he equalled the Lions' best individual scoring total in a Test, with 18 points.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: The incomplete 2001 Six Nations Championship was concluded in October, with England playing Ireland. England lost 20–14 at Lansdowne Road. Both Ireland and England had won four out of the five Six Nations fixtures, but England's superior points difference ensured they clinched the title although, for the second year running, not the Grand Slam. In a match against Australia for the Cook Cup in November, Wilkinson scored all of England's points in their 21–15 victory at Twickenham. After being rested as an unused bench replacement in the subsequent match against Romania, he then played a large role in a win over the Springboks, in which he kicked seven penalty goals in the 29–9 victory. Going for a third Six Nations title in a row, England got off to a good start in their 2002 Six Nations Championship with wins over Scotland and Ireland, before losing to France at the Stade de France. England won their remaining fixtures against Wales and Italy but France went on to complete a Grand Slam. The Falcons were in Pool 6 in the 2001–02 Heineken Cup, and won one match, finishing fourth in the pool.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In the November 2002 end-of-year tests England faced Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in subsequent weekends. Wilkinson played a large role in England's win over the All Blacks. He scored a try (although he commented later that the chip he kicked over the New Zealand defence was in fact meant for Jason Robinson to receive), and kicked two conversions and three penalty goals, as well as a drop goal. England then faced the 2002 Tri Nations Series champions Australia, who came to Twickenham on the back of a loss to Ireland. Two tries by winger Ben Cohen and Wilkinson's kicking accuracy saw England come back from a 19–31 deficit to defeat Australia by a single point in a 32–31 victory. England went into the last test against South Africa with the possibility of beating the Big Three rugby nations of the Southern Hemisphere on subsequent weekends, and defeated the Springboks by 53–3. Springbok Jannes Labuschagne was red-carded after 23 minutes for a late tackle on Wilkinson. The very physical match later saw Wilkinson leave the pitch with a dislocated left shoulder. The England camp believed that Wilkinson was targeted by South Africa during the game. His half-back partner Matt Dawson, who had also been forced off that match with an injury after being rammed by a Springbok player, later wrote in his autobiography "Nine Lives" that he felt South Africa had started out the match with the intent of injuring England players.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: The opening match of the 2003 Six Nations Championship saw France, the reigning champions and Grand Slam winners, play England. Both teams were high in confidence, following successes in their end of year tests against nations from the Southern hemisphere. Many saw this game as the tournament decider and England won the match 25–17. Now considered favourites to win the tournament, as well as a Grand Slam, England defeated Wales, Italy and Scotland. For the game against Italy, Wilkinson was chosen as the captain of the squad for the first time in his England career, as Martin Johnson was unavailable due to the birth of his first child. The final match was against Ireland at Lansdowne Road and would determine the tournament, and Grand Slam winner of 2003. By winning 42–6, England became the 2003 champions and serious contenders for the upcoming 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Wilkinson was named Man of the Match.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: After the Six Nations, England commenced a tour to the Southern Hemisphere, to play New Zealand and Australia in June. On 14 June and in difficult weather conditions, Wilkinson scored all 15 points as England beat New Zealand 15–13 in Wellington. He was also a major force in their 25–14 win over Australia a week later, which was their first ever victory on Australian soil. With England's 45–14 win over France in September, in which Wilkinson scored 18 points, England were now considered one of the favourites at the World Cup, set to start in October. Wilkinson was the youngest member of England's World Cup squad.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: England's first match at the 2003 World Cup was at Subiaco Oval in Perth, where they defeated Georgia 84–6, with Wilkinson scoring 16 points from his goal kicking. He played a major role in the pool match against the Springboks, in which he scored 20 of England's 25 points, in the victory which held their opponents to just six. The subsequent match against Samoa in Melbourne was surprisingly close for the number-one-ranked rugby nation against a supposed "minnow" of international competition, but England pulled off a 35–22 win. Wilkinson was rested for England's final win against Uruguay. England finished at the top of Pool D, four points ahead of South Africa.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: England moved into the quarter finals, where they met Wales at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. Aided by the arrival of Catt at half-time, Wilkinson went on to score 23 points in the match, which England won 28–17 to proceed to the semi-finals. England met France, whom they had beaten earlier that year on two occasions. England won 24–7, with Wilkinson scoring all of England's points through his kicking. In the final versus Australia, with the scores level at 17–17, Wilkinson received a pass and kicked a drop goal in extra time with just 26 seconds remaining; England won 20–17. The last time Australia had lost a World Cup match was eight years earlier in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, when Wilkinson's mentor Rob Andrew scored a drop goal at the stroke of full-time to win the game for England. After the match, Wilkinson expressed his relief at converting the winning drop goal, as it was his first success in four attempts during the match. The win gave England its first Rugby World Cup, and broke the Southern Hemisphere's dominance of the tournament. Wilkinson became the tournament's leading points scorer with 113 points. He was voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year and also named the 2003 IRB International Player of the Year.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Within a couple of weeks of winning the World Cup, Wilkinson was found to have had a broken facet in his shoulder and missed the 2004 Six Nations Championship and the disastrous tour of New Zealand and Australia. He was named captain of the England team on 4 October 2004, replacing Lawrence Dallaglio, who had resigned five weeks earlier. However, he was kept out of the 2004 autumn internationals by a haematoma in his upper right arm, the captaincy being taken over by Jason Robinson and then Martin Corry. In January 2005, he injured his medial knee ligament in a match against Perpignan. He missed the opening matches of the 2005 Six Nations Championship and on his return to Newcastle on 13 March 2005 he injured the same knee again.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In almost 18 months, he had played a total of only 937.5 minutes of competitive rugby union, but was nonetheless given a chance to prove his fitness for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Initially Wilkinson was left out of the 44-strong squad which was announced by Clive Woodward on 11 April 2005. However, on 8 May Woodward announced he had added the fly-half to the squad after Wilkinson had proved he was injury-free and fit. Wilkinson made his first international appearance since the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final on 23 May at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as the Lions played Argentina. Wilkinson, along with the rest of the team, played poorly, but he kicked a conversion and six penalties and salvaged a 25–25 draw with the last kick of the game.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson's next international appearance was in the Lions' first test against New Zealand, starting at inside centre. Wilkinson scored the Lions' only points in their comprehensive 21–3 defeat. In the second test, another heavy loss, he started in his normal fly-half position, but suffered a stinger injury, which ruled him out of the third test. Wilkinson was replaced by Stephen Jones in the final test.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson had to forgo participation in the Falcons' August pre-season games in Japan due to appendicitis. Then, after having appeared in five successive matches for Newcastle, the injury litany continued in late November with surgery for a sportsman's hernia, which he himself associated with the strain of his heavy training sessions, often involving long kicking sessions.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Rob Andrew, then Director of Rugby at Falcons, said that there was no chance of Wilkinson going on England's summer tour and that he would be taking the summer off. Despite missing two conversions, he demonstrated his playmaker skills in the game against the Worcester Warriors on 30 April, in which he played the whole second half. Afterwards, Andrew reiterated that Wilkinson should not tour during the summer to prolong his recovery period. Wilkinson started as captain in the Falcons last 2005-06 Guinness Premiership game of the season on Saturday, 6 May 2006, converting six of his team's eight tries in their 54–19 victory over Leeds Tykes.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Rob Andrew stated in July, pre-season to the 2006-07 Guinness Premiership, that Wilkinson would be ready to challenge for an England position come the November internationals. Captaincy of the Falcons was also given to former Wallabies fullback Matt Burke, a move that Andrew believed would allow Wilkinson to concentrate more on his game and a full return to rugby. In early August head coach of England, Andy Robinson announced the Elite Player Squad for the 2006–07 season, in which Wilkinson was included.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: During the second game of the 2006-07 Guinness Premiership season against Worcester Warriors on Friday, 8 September, Wilkinson was helped from the pitch after 47 minutes with a knee injury incurred when one of his team members fell on him after he was tackled. A scan confirmed that he had torn the medial ligament of his right knee. He returned to play a full 80 minutes in the 26–21 win against leaders Bristol on Friday, 3 November, kicking a conversion, a drop-goal and two penalties. It was reported on 9 November that Wilkinson suffered a lacerated kidney during the match. He returned from this injury in the Premiership game against Leicester Tigers on 27 January 2007, coming off the bench after 37 minutes. On 29 January 2007, Wilkinson was selected at fly-half in the starting line up for England in their 2007 Six Nations Championship opener against Scotland. England comprehensively beat Scotland 42–20 to regain the Calcutta Cup, Wilkinson making an impressive return, scoring 27 points with five penalties, two conversions, a drop goal, and a try. This broke the previous Calcutta Cup individual record of 24, set by Rob Andrew. Wilkinson was awarded the RBS Man of the Match as adjudicated by BBC commentator, Brian Moore.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In the following match against Italy at Twickenham, Wilkinson scored 15 points to become the highest individual point scorer in the history of the Five/Six Nations with 421 points.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Despite another injury scare just before the match against Ireland on 26 February at Croke Park, Wilkinson started, scoring 8 points in the game which England lost 43–13. Wilkinson did not play in the two remaining Six Nations games against France and Wales due to the effects of a cramp that forced him off in the Premiership 38–12 defeat to London Irish on 3 March. On 13 April, he suffered a rib injury that forced him off during his fourth consecutive appearance for Newcastle in their 19–12 win over Gloucester.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Despite missing the season's last Premiership game against Bath, Wilkinson made the England squad for the summer tour and scored 5 points in the first test's record 58–10 loss to South Africa. He scored 17 points in the second test, which England lost 55–22. In the first of three warm up tests before the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, Wilkinson had an impressive game, scoring 17 points (seven conversions and a penalty) in the 62–5 demolition of Wales.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Due to a non-contact ankle injury sustained in training, Wilkinson was not included in the teams for the opening games of the 2007 Rugby World Cup against the United States and then South Africa. He returned to score 24 points in the 44–22 win over Samoa. He helped England to victory against Tonga which put them through to the quarter-finals. During England's 12–10 quarter final win against Australia, in which he scored all of England's points, Wilkinson became the Rugby World Cup's leading point scorer with 231 points, surpassing Gavin Hastings of Scotland. He continued to play a major role in England's defence of the World Cup by kicking 9 points, including a 40-metre drop goal in the dying minutes, in their 14–9 semi-final victory over France.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final, on 20 October at the Stade de France, South Africa won the Webb Ellis Cup in a game where Wilkinson slotted home 2 penalties, but missed 2 drop kick attempts. He was one of only four players to have started both the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cup Finals, the other three being Phil Vickery, Jason Robinson and Ben Kay.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Going into the 2008 Six Nations Championship, Wilkinson was the obvious choice as England's number 10 and started the first four matches. Against Wales on 2 February 2008, Wilkinson scored 14 points, but England put in a poor display to fall 19–26 after squandering a 10-point lead at half-time. Wilkinson then amassed 27 points in England's next two wins against Italy and France. A disappointing loss against Scotland on 8 March, in which a number of the England squad put in poor performances, raised questions about Wilkinson's inclusion in the starting line-up given the emerging English talents at the number 10 position. 20-year-old Danny Cipriani was the main back up stand-off throughout the tournament (along with Charlie Hodgson), and replaced Wilkinson in the starting line-up for the last match of the tournament against Ireland. This was only the second time in his England career that Wilkinson was dropped to the bench (the first time being for the 1999 Rugby World Cup quarter final match with South Africa for which Paul Grayson was preferred). However, close to the start of the second half during the Ireland match on 15 March, Wilkinson was brought off the bench to replace Toby Flood, thus playing alongside Cipriani at inside centre. This suggests a possible synthesis to the balance of nurturing up-and-coming fly-halves while incorporating the leading player in the position in recent years into the squad.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Following the Ireland match and speculation about Wilkinson's future as the England number 10, Lawrence Dallaglio expressed his opinion that Wilkinson is unlikely to let the position be handed to Cipriani from now on: the element of competition which exists for the place is likely to inspire Wilkinson, rather than discourage him.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Despite competition over his position, Wilkinson ended the 2008 Six Nations as the tournament's top points scorer, compiling 50 points. He was not considered for Martin Johnson's first England squad (the 2008 summer tour of New Zealand) due to a shoulder injury. He was joined by Danny Cipriani on the sidelines after the Wasps player also missed out due to injury. On 1 July 2008, Wilkinson was named in Martin Johnson's Elite Player Squad and was the only specialist fly-half in the squad.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson made his recovery from shoulder surgery to score 22 points on his return game against Northampton on 14 September 2008, including a 45-metre last minute drop goal. Further sparkling performances and robust play indicated Wilkinson was playing injury free and back to his best. Unfortunately, the injury jinx struck again in the Guinness Premiership fixture against Gloucester on 30 September 2008. Wilkinson was forced off the field with a dislocated knee, which left him unavailable for England's autumn internationals and for the rest of the 2008-09 Guinness Premiership season. Wilkinson's injury facilitated a recall to the England squad for the Autumn Internationals for Danny Cipriani, who had returned from a serious ankle injury on 1 October 2008. In May 2009, it was confirmed that Wilkinson had ended his 12 years with the Falcons to join the French team Toulon for the 2009-10 Top 14 season.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson made a successful injury free comeback to international test rugby on 7 November against Australia after an 18-month absence. He then went on to play consecutive games against Argentina on 14 November and New Zealand on 21 November. Wilkinson along with Lewis Moody were England's most consistent performers as they lost to Australia and New Zealand and narrowly beat Argentina. During the first two games he was partnered with Shane Geraghty at inside centre for the third game he was partnered with Ayoola Erinle at inside centre.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Because of a succession of injuries – affecting his knee ligaments, arm, shoulder and kidney – Wilkinson's international career was severely disrupted. He did not appear again for England until 1,169 days after the 2003 Rugby World Cup triumph, for the opening game of the 2007 Six Nations Championship against Scotland on 3 February 2007. In his comeback international match, Wilkinson scored 27 points (a record in the Calcutta Cup) in a full house (scoring points by all four possible methods), and was proclaimed Man of the Match.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: The following week against Italy, he became the highest point-scorer in the history of the Five/Six Nations Championship (he has since been overtaken by Ronan O'Gara of Ireland). On 6 October 2007, he also became the highest point-scorer in the history of the Rugby World Cup, kicking four penalties to overtake Scotland's Gavin Hastings in a quarter-final against Australia.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In a 2008 Six Nations Championship match against Italy, Wilkinson became the first English player (and third overall) to score Test points.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: He is also the world record drop goal scorer in international rugby with a total of 36. In March 2008, he became the highest international point-scorer, overtaking Neil Jenkins of Wales. In September 2008 he was injured again, ending his 2008-09 Guinness Premiership season.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In July 2009 he was recalled into the England Elite Squad for the first time since the 2008 Six Nations Championship and was confirmed in the squad for the 2009 Autumn internationals after a successful run of games with Toulon. Wilkinson was then selected to tour Australia with the elite squad but was not selected as first choice fly half, nevertheless Wilkinson landed the winning points in the second test between England and Australia. Injury forced him to miss out on the 2010 autumn internationals, in the process losing his position as the all-time leading points scorer in test rugby to Dan Carter. However, Wilkinson reclaimed the record during the 2011 Six Nations Championship, a tournament during which he came off the bench in each of England's five games. He again lost the record to Carter in July 2011. On 12 December 2011, he announced his retirement from Test Rugby.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In May 2009 Wilkinson agreed to join French club Toulon on a two-year contract, leaving Newcastle after 12 years.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In April 2013 Wilkinson played the full 80 minutes in Toulon's Heineken Cup Quarter-Final, scoring all 21 points against Leicester Tigers. Wilkinson then landed 7 penalties and a drop goal to defeat Owen Farrell's Saracens.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In May 2013 he scored 11 points as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16–15 against Clermont Auvergne. Wilkinson finished as the ERC European Player of the Year for the 2013 tournament, having not missed a single place kick in the knockouts with 17 from 17 attempts and finished with 56 points in the knockouts alone and 108 points in the entire tournament.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: On 24 May 2014, he led Toulon to a decisive 23–6 win against Saracens in the 2014 Heineken Cup Final. He scored 13 points in the game. One week later on 31 May 2014, he led Toulon once again to another win in a final, this time the Top 14 Final against Castres in which Toulon won 18–10. Wilkinson kicked 15 points. This was the last match of his career. After the final whistle, supporters from both clubs sang "God Save the Queen" in tribute to him.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wikinson's contribution to Toulon's success, as well as his historic strengths, increased experience and very high kicking success rate, included his leadership role within a superstar and multi-cultural team;


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: England won 67 of the 91 games Wilkinson played in. Wilkinson scored a record 29th Test drop goal against France in the 2008 Six Nations Championship. His first converted penalty against Scotland on 8 March 2008, took him 3 points past Wales's Neil Jenkins tally of 1090 Test rugby points. This achievement came due to the IRB (now known as World Rugby) retroactively granting full Test status to the 2005 British & Irish Lions warm-up test against Argentina, in which he scored 20 points, without which he would have remained behind Jenkins on that day. Two more penalties in the second half took his tally to 1099 points.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: On 26 February 2011, Wilkinson regained the record for the highest tally of International points, overtaking Dan Carter of New Zealand by scoring a penalty against France in a Six Nations match at Twickenham. Carter then reclaimed the record on 30 July 2011 in the second 2011 Tri Nations Series match against South Africa. Wilkinson passed Ronan O'Gara (522) to regain the overall points record total of 526 in the 2010 Six Nations Championship, on 13 March 2010. Wilkinson holds the Rugby World Cup points record with 277 and is the only player to score points in two Rugby World Cup Finals.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In 2002, Wilkinson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In the 2004 New Year Honours, he was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). In the 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) 'for services to Rugby Union'.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: On 3 April 2009 at Guildford Cathedral, Wilkinson was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Surrey for services to the sports industry. Wilkinson announced his retirement from the English national squad in early December 2011.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: On 17 November 2016, he was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame at the opening ceremony for the Hall's first physical location in Rugby, Warwickshire.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson wrote a column for "The Times" occasionally until 2011, often during periods of high media focus on rugby, such as Six Nations tournaments and Rugby World Cups. He has also written five books, which have been published by Headline. The first, "Lions and Falcons: My Diary of a Remarkable Year", written with ghostwriter Neil Squires who also helped Wilkinson in a few other books, was released in 2001, and followed a turbulent rugby year for him. The diary documented the England rugby player's strike, the Newcastle Falcons winning the Powergen Cup, the 2001 Six Nations Championship and the British & Irish Lions tour at the end of the year. After helping England win the Rugby World Cup with his last-ditch effort in 2003, he released his second book in 2004. The book, "My World", was largely picture-based, with less writing than in his previous publication. The writing that it did contain was focused on his experience of the 2003 World Cup, and how his life had altered following the winning drop goal.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: In 2005 "How To Play Rugby My Way", which accompanied the BBC series "Jonny's Hotshots", was released. It was largely a coaching/instruction manual, with tips and techniques for rugby playing. It also included small insights to Wilkinson's family life and the relationships which have allowed his rugby playing to flourish. Wilkinson's book "Tackling Life", was released in 2008. This book focuses on how his aspect on life changed after his injury woes, and how he overcame them. His fifth book, "Jonny: My Autobiography" was released in 2011.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Since his retirement from playing, Wilkinson has appeared as a studio pundit for Sky Sports and ITV Sport, working on coverage of the Champions Cup, Six Nations Championship, Rugby World Cup and England Internationals.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Steve Black, the Newcastle Falcons' fitness trainer, was particularly influential on Wilkinson's rugby career. Wilkinson has previously stated that he respects Black a great deal, and that Black taught him a lot about "values and ethics".


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson's brother, Mark, was also a Newcastle player who made 16 appearances in the Premiership for the side between 2002 and 2005, predominantly as a centre. His father, Phil, was a rugby player and cricketer, and his mother, Philippa, played squash at county level.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: On 28 October 2013, Wilkinson married his girlfriend of eight years, scaffolding company heiress Shelley Jenkins, in a private ceremony at the town hall of the French resort of Bandol, to the west of Toulon. Only two guests, one of them Wilkinson's mother, were present at the ceremony officiated by Bandol mayor Christian Palix, who said that "both [are] viewed with great respect" in the community.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson followed Buddhist principles and teachings to help control his perfectionist tendencies, according to an interview he gave with "The Times" newspaper in 2009.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson seeks to live consciously rather than reactively, and to embrace all the positive aspects of humanity such as acceptance, compassion and a true connection with others.


title: Jonny Wilkinson

text: Wilkinson is widely known as a teetotaler, but broke that habit after England lost to South Africa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final. Wilkinson seeks to eat natural foods, avoiding toxins.


title: Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster

text: The Landkreuzer P 1500 Monster was a purported German pre-prototype super-heavy self-propelled gun designed during World War II. While mentioned in some popular works, there is no solid documentation for the program’s existence, and it may be an engineer’s amusement or an outright hoax.


title: Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster

text: On 23 June 1942 the German Ministry of Armaments proposed a 1,000-tonne tank — the "Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte". Adolf Hitler expressed interest in the project and the go-ahead was granted. In December, Krupp designed an even larger 1,500 tonne vehicle — the P. 1500 Monster. The P. 1500 was to be 25 m (82 ft) long, weighing 1800 tonnes, with a 250 mm hull front armour, four Daimler-Benz MB.501 diesel aero engines, and an operating crew of over 100 men. This "land cruiser” would have been a self-propelled platform for the 800mm Dora/Schwerer Gustav K (E) gun artillery piece also made by Krupp – the heaviest artillery weapon ever constructed by shell weight and total gun weight, and the largest rifled cannon by calibre.


title: Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster

text: The Schwerer Gustav fired a 7-tonne projectile up to and was designed for use against heavily fortified targets. The main armament could have been mounted without a rotating turret. Such a configuration would have allowed the P. 1500 to operate in a similar manner to the original 800mm railroad gun and Karl 600mm self-propelled mortars, launching shells without engaging the enemy with direct fire.


title: Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster

text: Development of the Panzer VIII Maus had highlighted significant problems associated with very large vehicles, such as their destruction of roads/rails, their inability to use bridges and the difficulty of strategic transportation by road or rail. The bigger the vehicle, the bigger these problems became. In 1943, Albert Speer, the Minister for Armaments, cancelled both the Ratte and Monster projects.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Bhupesh Baghel (born 23 August 1961) is an Indian politician serving as the third and current Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. He was president of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress. He has been member of legislative assembly five times from Patan. He had been cabinet minister in undivided Madhya Pradesh in Digvijaya Singh government in late nineties. He was first Minister for Revenue, Public Health Engineering and Relief Work of Chhattisgarh.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Bhupesh Baghel was born on 23 August 1961 in Durg district. He is the son of Nand Kumar Baghel and Bindeshwari Baghel. His family's primary occupation is agriculture.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: He is married to Mukteshwari Baghel. They have one son and three daughters. Baghel belongs to Other Backward Class Kurmi community and he had been an OBC face of the Congress for long in the state of Chhattisgarh. His wife, Mukteshwari Baghel, is the daughter of famous Hindi writer Dr. Narendra Dev Verma and niece of spiritual leader Swami Atmanand.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Bhupesh Baghel started his political career from Indian Youth Congress and became member of All India Congress Committee, he was also the General Secretary, and Program Coordinator of Pradesh Congress Committee. He was elected to Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1993 for the first time from Patan, and was later elected five times from same seat.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Baghel was appointed as Minister of State, Chief Minister related, Public Grievances Redressal (Independent Charge), M.P. Governance in Digvijay Singh’s cabinet in December 1998 and became Minister of Transport in December 1999.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: After the state of Chhattisgarh was formed in November 2000, he became member of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly, and appointed as Minister, Revenue Rehabilitation, Relief Work, Public Health Mechanics under CG Governance. He again became MLA in 2003 state election from same seat. He lost the Patan assembly seat in 2008 elections. He also lost Parliamentary elections in 2009 from Raipur .


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: He again won Patan Vidhan Sabha seat in 2013 election, and became Member of Working Committee, Chhattisgarh Assembly. In 2014-15, he became Member of Public Accounts Committee, CG Government.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: He was President of state unit of Indian National Congress from October 2014 to June 2019. After the state's top Congress leaders like Mahendra Karma, Vidya Charan Shukla, Nand Kumar Patel and 28 others were killed in the 2013 Naxal attack in Darbha valley, Baghel played a very important role in reviving the party in the state. He managed to sideline ex-Chief Minister Ajit Jogi and his son Amit Jogi in state congress after Antagarh Assembly by-election audio tape row.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Under his presidency Chhattisgarh Congress won the 2018 Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly election by a thumping majority.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Baghel became MLA from Patan assembly seat again and became the Chief Minister of the state defeating BJP’s Raman Singh, after leading the opposition in Chhattisgarh State Assembly for 15 years. He took oath as chief minister on 17 December 2018. He was replaced by Kondagaon MLA Mohan Markam as PCC President in June 2019.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Baghel fulfilled two major poll promises farm loan waiver and raising paddy support price by 50% in relatively quicker way, the order letter was released dramatically, within hours of oath taking ceremony, though actual money transfer to farmers took days, weeks and months in some cases. "Tendu patta" collection prices were increased. Government took a major step away from "shiksha-karmi" (temporary teacher) policy and vacancy for posts of 15,000 permanent teachers was announced.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Bhupesh Baghel is the architect of this innovative scheme. The objective of this scheme is to revive the agricultural economy by striking a balance between modernity and traditions. The scheme has been launched to ensure water conservation, livestock protection and development, use of organic compost through household waste and cultivation of fruits and vegetables in backyards for self consumption and earning additional income.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: Rural Development, Water Resources Development Department, Forest Department is being taken for "Narva" (rivulets and streams) related work. As of February, about 30,000 "Narva" have been identified and the development of about 5,000 "Narva" has already been completed. As of September 2022, under "Garva" (livestock) project, a total of 10,624 villages in the state have received approval for the construction of "gauthan", of which 8,408 are already operational and 1758 are in the planning stages. Under "Ghurva" (compost) project, until this year, about 20 lakh quintal vermi compost has been produced by the individuals of women self-help groups in "Gothans". An amount of Rs 166.84 crore has been paid as dividend to "Gauthan" committees and women self-help groups. At the same time, vegetable seeds and plants are being distributed under the nutrition scheme under "Bari" Yojana.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: In the state budget presented by the Chhattisgarh government, a provision of Rs 5700 crore was made for the welfare of farmers through which "Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana" was launched on 21 May, the martyrdom day of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: In Chhattisgarh, the total cultivable land area is 46.77 lakh hectare. 70% population of the state is engaged in agriculture and around 37.46 Lakh are farm families.The objective of this scheme is to encourage crop production and increase agricultural acreage. An amount of Rs 5750 crores is transferred to the accounts of farmers in four installments under the scheme in a year. Chhattisgarh is the only state that has been procuring paddy from farmers at Rs 2,500 per quintal, which is higher than what the Centre has set. More than 23.99 lakh farmers of the state are benefiting from this scheme. Under the scheme, a provision was made to give input subsidy to farmers producing paddy, sugarcane, maize, soyabean, pulses and oilseeds in the Kharif season 2021-22. Later, the provision of this scheme was modified to include "Kodo, Kutki" and "Ragi""," and an input subsidy of Rs.9,000 per acre is also being provided to millet farmers. The government of Chhattisgarh has also decided to include the landless agricultural laborers of the state in the second phase of the "Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana".


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: On 17 October 2022, Farmers received a total of Rs.1,745 crores to prepare for the upcoming Rabi season under this scheme. Amount as input subsidy transferred directly into the bank accounts of 23.99 lakh farmers in the state. The state government has given farmers Rs.16,416.10 crores since its commencement. Farmers who plant trees in the fields will also be given an input subsidy of Rs.10 thousand per year. Chief Minister said Chhattisgarh is the first state in the country, which has ensured social and economic rights for all through its 'Nyay' schemes, namely Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana (RGKNY), Godhan Nyay Yojana and Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Bhumiheen Krishi Mazdoor Nyay Yojana (RGGBKMNY).


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: On 21 July 2020, the Baghel led Chhattisgarh government launched the "Godhan Nyay Yojana" to promote organic farming, create new employment opportunities at the rural and urban levels, promote cow rearing and cow protection, as well as to benefit cattle farmers financially. As per the scheme, the government will procure cow dung at 2 per kilogram from farmers and cattle rearers. After the procurement, the cow dung will be converted to vermicompost and other products by members of the Women Self-Help Group, which will be sold to farmers as organic manure for 8 per kilogram, thus discouraging use of chemical fertilisers.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: As per a October 2022 report, 5.59 crores have been paid to the livestock owners under "Godhan Nyay Yojana". Under the scheme, 1,62,497 cattle rearers of the state are benefiting, which includes 70,299 landless villagers and 44.55 percent of the beneficiaries of the "Godhan Nyay Yojana" are women.3,12,647 registered cow dung traders were registered in 2021–22, up from 2,45,831 in 2020–21.


title: Bhupesh Baghel

text: On the occasion of "Hareli", a traditional festival of Chhattisgarh, Chief Minister started the purchase of "gaumutra" (cow urine) under the scheme. The government has fixed a minimum rate of Rs 4 per liter for the purchase of cow urine. According to a Chhattisgarh government official, the procured cow urine will be used to make pest control products and natural liquid fertilizer, A total of 24,547 liters of pest controller "Brahmastra" and 16,722 liters of "Jeevamrit" have been prepared from 70,889 liters of cow urine purchased in "Gauthans". Beneficiaries earned Rs.14.75 lakh from the sale of 34,085 liters of "Brahmastra" and "Jeevamrit".