Uplifting home-grown exploits in rugby, football and tennis have shown the value of our emotional connection to sport
There is nothing in sport quite like the unexpected emergence of an unaffected new star. It is the novelty that never wears off: the wide-eyed smile of the young athlete who can scarcely believe their wildest dreams are being realised, a captivated audience enjoying a first glimpse of talent and poise from beyond the tramlines of ordinariness. As of this weekend, this phenomenon can now be retitled the Emma Raducanu Effect.
Related: ‘I’m having a blast’: Emma Raducanu vows to enjoy wildcard Wimbledon run
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