MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: It was a witch-hunt, we were glibly informed. The truth would out. Well, now it has and it transpires the witches were real.

Mo Farah finished a disappointing four minutes behind winner Lawrence Cherono in Sunday's Chicago marathon after posting his worst ever time over the distance, one year after winning event.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI IN CHICAGO: Mo Farah finished a disappointing eighth in the Chicago Marathon - his worst ever time in the event while Paula Radcliffe's 16-year world record was beaten.

Leading athletes from Team GB have taken the extraordinary step of launching legal action against the British Olympic Association over 'ridiculous' marketing rules.

RIATH AL-SAMARRAI: Sir Mo Farah has put the brakes on his marathon career to target a fifth Olympic 10,000m gold in Tokyo next summer.

The British Olympic Association have said they are 'dismayed' by the legal challenge being pursued by a group of leading athletes against their marketing rules and have issued a robust comeback.

Ahmed Farah, 30, was sent to his birthplace by British authorities after he was freed from jail for a knife raid in Southall, West London in 2010. He would now like the chance to return to the UK.

Distance legend Kenenisa Bekele has revealed he will go head to head with Eliud Kipchoge in a fascinating clash of the titans at the London Marathon in April.

Mo Farah will launch his 2020 season in London after confirming he will run the Vitality Big Half on March 1. Sportsmail reported last week that Farah was in talks to run in the capital.

EXCLUSIVE REPORT BY ROB DRAPER: A former elite athlete believes her thyroid medication was mishandled by Rob Chakraverty, leading to issues which ended her career at the top level.

In 2017, Ed Warner noted Dr Rob Chakraverty's sloppy documentation of an injection to Sir Mo Farah had been logged in his annual appraisal. It looks now to be a matter for his permanent record.

Tokyo 2020 organisers have been forced to act in the face of serious warnings over the risk to the athletes in summer temperatures that regular exceed 35 degrees and 80 per cent humidity.

It's Hot or Not time again as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's been leaving him cold this week.

Britain's top sports stars including Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sir Mo Farah and Ben Stokes have encouraged the nation to stay fit during the coronavirus lockown.

Northern Ireland's Euro 2020 qualifying hopes survived a scare as substitutes Conor Washington and Josh Magennis scored twice in four minutes to snatch a 2-1 win in Estonia.

The 28-year-old midfielder made the announcement on Monday, wanting to concentrate on his club career with Sheffield United - who are back in the Premier League after a 12-year absence.

There is no place for Lafferty, nor his former Rangers team-mate Gareth McAuley, who is without a club after be released at the end of the season.

Norwich full-back Jamal Lewis has been included in the Northern Ireland squad for the their games against Netherlands and Crech Republic despite suffering an elbow injury.

With Holland due in Belfast next month, both teams are viewing the double-header as a head-to-head battle for a ticket to Euro 2020, and Koeman is wary of the threat posed by Michael O'Neill's side.

CHRIS WHEELER AT WINDSOR PARK: A goalless draw was enough to send Holland through to Euro 2020 and render Northern Ireland's final Group C game against Germany meaningless.

Captain Steven Davis skied his spot-kick just after the half-hour mark. Northern Ireland manager O'Neill said: 'It was a big moment for him, he knows that. You sense his disappointment.'

Steve Clarke's team flopped in the Euro 2020 qualifiers, but their performance in last season's Nations League was enough to give them a second chance of reaching next summer's finals.

Former Manchester United and Northern Ireland goalkeeper Harry Gregg died on February 16, 2020 at the age of 87. He gave his final interview to Sportsmail's Ian Ladyman back in 2017.

Davis has yet to take any steps towards a new career in the technical area. However, the idea of giving up the game when he can no longer dictate play on the pitch is not one he is willing to entertain.

Dean Ray scored a deal with Sony Music after he was declared the runner-up on  The X Factor Australia in 2014. 

She's currently looking for her soulmate in the Love Island Australia villa.

She left Love Island Australia alongside her hunky co-star Luke Packham last week.  

Natalie Bassingthwaighte appears to have sustained a nasty injury while in self-isolation with her family.

A group of cars said to have been racing through west London crashed into the pensioners' car in the early hours of Saturday morning, killing a man in his 70s and seriously injuring his wife.

Paddy todl told how he won't look at what people say about his performance because he will be tempted to answer every negative comment.

Paddy McGuinness, 45, joined Freddie Flintoff and Chris Harris in Top Gear all-new presenting lineup on Sunday night. Viewers have taken to Twitter to reveal how impressed they were with the trio.

CHRISTOPHER STEVENS: Every few years Doctor Who regenerates. Killing Eve (BBC1) has regenerated too, but no one remembered to change the cast.

The Queen's eldest granddaughter, 38, can add Top Gear driver to her long list of credentials as she is the first royal to ever take part in the BBC motoring show - that is set to air on Sunday night.

The couple raced each other around a Surrey race track in a Toyota GT86 for the show's A Reasonably Priced Car Segment, with Zara at one stage hurtling off the gravel and onto the grass.

She's a busy mother-of-three who is always on the go.  So Christine McGuinness enjoyed a well-deserved break on a girls' holiday in Majorca over the weekend,

A stomach-churning 122,133 tests were performed on the Farnborough, Hampshire, centrifuge which operated from 1955 until its decommissioning in March 2019.

The RHOC star, 31, appeared in great spirits as she treated herself to a hair salon visit at The Style Lounge in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, on Wednesday afternoon.

Chris Evans didn't even make the top ten in a vote on iconic British motoring show Top Gear's best-ever presenters. Instead Jeremy Clarkson topped a Radio Times poll of almost 5,000 viewers.

Paddy McGuinness has been banned from swearing by his wife Christine after their daughter Felicity, two, repeatedly yelled 's**t' at nursery.

During the game, which ended in a 1-1 draw, Leicester's James Maddison missed a golden opportunity to put his side ahead and Clarkson was quick to stick the boot in on social media.

Jeremy Clarkson, 59, posted a series of clips of his Oxfordshire farm, including one where he aims his tractor at a group of seagulls, to Instagram.

Rodney Lynn, head of Coffs Harbour Christian Community School, wrote a letter to pupils and parents on September 26. He did not mention Greta by name but told pupils not to pay attention to her.

The aviation community lashed out at Jeremy Clarkson, sharing coordinates for his Oxfordshire residence and recommending swoops down to the legal limit of 500ft.

Neighbours say the plans could impact the village store and butcher. They also claim development would blight an area of outstanding natural beauty in West Oxfordshire.

The former Top Gear host accused BBC director general Lord Hall of undermining his standards chief David Jordan, who he said had always been 'fair'.

The former Top Gear host and his wife Mindy have submitted plans to upgrade a barn at their property that dates back to the 15th Century - with five luxury bedrooms, a bar and a pool for friends.

Paddy McGuinness was involved in a war of words on Sunday after a man questioned why he had parked in a disabled bay.

The luxury estate in Surrey dates back to the 16th century and borders Dunsfold Aerodrome. The airfield was used during the Second World War and has more recently been home to the hit BBC show.

Richard Hammon, Jermey Clarkson and James May explore the waterways of Cambodia and Vietnam in a new episode of The Grand Tour Presents: Seamen, available on Amazon Prime.

The BBC released a first look trailer for the exciting special show on Tuesday.