CRUFTS, the world’s most prestigious dog show, is hosted by The Kennel Club every year.

The 2024 edition saw an Australian Shepherd take home Best in Show. Here’s everything you need to know.

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Crufts 2024 was yet another successful year for the event, with Viking (pictured) taking home Best in Show[/caption]

Who won Crufts 2024?

Viking, an Australian shepherd co-owned by Melanie Raymond, John Shaw and Kerry Kirtley, was crowned Best in Show at Crufts 2024 after winning the Pastoral group.

The three-year-old from Solihull, Birmingham came out as top dog from the 24,000 entrant from around the globe.

Melanie said: “We all dream of winning best in show at Crufts.”

Asked whether he lived up to their expectations, she added: “He did actually, I should never doubt him because he always gives me everything and you come in and he’s like ‘yep, come on let’s do this’, so he loves every minute of it.”

Who won the Crufts 2024 groups?

Gundog

The judges announced Hendricks the Weimaraner as the 2024 Gundog group winner.

Owned by David Alcorn and Gavin Ingram, the four-year-old was praised for his calm demeanour and love for the spotlight.

David described Hendricks as a “consummate show dog” who “thrives” in high-pressure events.

Working

It was Neville the Leonberger took the spoils in the Working category.

The three-year-old is co-owned by Kerry Rushby and Lee Studholme from Great Yarmouth.

Kennel Club even described him as a “good lad” for his service as a beloved companion to foster children.

Terriers

Zen the Jack Russell won the Terrier group at Crufts 2024.

Co-owned by Hiroshi Tsuyuki and Kao Miichi, he also earned the title of Reserve Best in Show.

Hiroshi, who’s also Zen’s handler, expressed his joy over the win, saying he focused on “doing my handling and doing my best.”

Hounds

Grand the Basset Griffon Vendéen from the Netherlands won the Hound group.

Co-owner and handler Anouk Huikeshoven said: “We were just doing our best, I was surprised that we won.

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Crufts is held at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham[/caption]

“Getme [Grand] is a very loyal, easy-going dog. This was such a surprise!”

Toys

Raffa the Papillon took home the Toy group title.

He is owned by Asta Maria Gudbergsdottir from Sweden, who also handled Raffa during the competition.

She said: “I could not believe it when the judge picked us. It has always been a dream to win at Crufts!”

Utility

Elton the French Bulldog from Birmingham came out on top in the Utilities group.

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Crufts kicks off on Thursday, March 6, 2025[/caption]

He is owned by Abbie and Dean Cund, and Alex and Linda Harrop.

Abbie, who also handled Elton during the competition, expressed her excitement after the win, saying: “I’m completely lost for words! It’s just beyond a dream come true.

“There is no way you can describe the feeling. It’s something you always dream of, but you never think it’s going to be you.

“I just can’t believe it’s us, I’m so proud.”

Can I enter my dog in Crufts 2025?

The application process for Crufts 2025 is officially closed.

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Enter your best friend in Crufts 2026 by visiting the competition’s website[/caption]

However, applications for 2026 are open and you can apply on the Crufts website.

There is certain criteria your dog must reach to be entered into the legendary Crufts competition.

The most important thing is that your dog is Kennel Club registered — that is a record of your puppy being born.

Owners receive Registration Certificate with micro chip number and DNA tests for the dog.

If you wanted to go one step further you can get a Pedigree Certificate which has all the details of the breed, a pedigree name and five generations of your dog’s ancestors.

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Orca the lagotto romagnolo won the Gundog Group and went on to win Best In Show at Crufts 2023[/caption]

If your dog is not Kennel Club registered you can enter with an authority to compete number (ATC) but you need to apply for this by the December before Crufts begins.

Who won Crufts 2023?

Orca the lagotto romagnolo scooped Best In Show at Crufts 2023, making history as the first of its breed to win the award.

One of Orca’s owners, Ante Lucin, said: “This is the first lagotto romagnolo to win at Crufts, so this is so great for the breed.”

Crufts 2023 started on March 9, and ended on March 12.

The Best In Show competition is hugely popular and has been running since 1928.

It is split into seven different categories over the four day competition.

SARAH LAVIN will take to the track this evening at the European Indoor Championships in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.

The Limerick runner — who won her seventh Irish national indoor title last month — will compete in the women’s 60m hurdles.

The race is live on RTÉ2 at 7.50pm.

Should the Emerald AC star advance, she will run a semi-final and potential final tomorrow.

Joining her in Euro action tonight is Cathal Doyle in the first round of the men’s 1500m.

The Clonliffe Harriers man, 27, claimed national glory at Abbotstown last month. The final takes place tomorrow.

Ireland’s mixed 4x400m relay team are fancied to make the podium this evening, with the final at 8.50pm.

Sharlene Mawdsley and Phil Healy are both expected to line out for Team Ireland.

Conor Kelly, who set a new national Under-20 record in the 400m at the championships 12 days ago, is set to join them.

But the Dutch are favourites to claim gold on home soil.

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The man at the centre of the mysterious death of Amy Wensley has been released from jail after having a serious charge dropped.

ROB CROSS has urged his fellow darts’ elite not to fear Luke Littler – and take the fight to the teenage sensation.

Voltage will line up alongside The Nuke for Week 5 of the Premier League Darts on Thursday.

Russell Lanning

Rob Cross has revealed how best to beat Luke Littler[/caption]

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The 18-year-old sensation is currently defending his Premier League Darts title[/caption]

Sportsfile

Littler, the defending champion, became the youngest ever player to win the world title in January.

But Cross – himself a former Ally Pally champ – believes he can beat anyone on his day.

Cross told SunSport: “I believe I can beat anyone when I’m on.

“Look, we’re not talking about God’s here are we?

“I don’t think that is disrespectful.

“Realistically, if you put it on people, depending on which stage, they don’t have the answer for it all the time.

“At the moment we see [Littler] put leg-on-leg pressure on all the time [when he’s ahead].

“I was 5-1 up against him in the Premier League – he did well to win, but I had match darts. I probably faded.

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“That’s more on me. I probably averaged 93/94 through those five legs and that was my undoing.

“I don’t think he’s God like. Realistically, on any given day if you put it on them, everyone will crumble at certain times.”

Cross faces a tough test against World No. 1 Luke Humphries in his Premier League opener in Brighton.

The Sussex-born star is back on familiar territory as the competition heads to the South Coast.

And he’s ready to put down his marker on the competition after a slow start.

Cross continued: “I think it’s important I get that statement performance.

“I’ve not quite got there at the minute. Going back to Brighton, I’ll have a lot of friends there who will come and support men.

“It’s going to be fantastic to go and enjoy the crowd. I should get a lot of support.

“I almost can’t wait to go back. I think this year I’ve got everyone in their home town.

“[Stephen] Bunting in Liverpool, [Nathan] Aspinall in Manchester. They are tough nights when there’s 10,000 watching.

“You just have to rise above it and do your job.”

JOSHUA KIMMICH is not interested in joining Arsenal, according to reports.

The Bayern Munich star, 30, is set to be out of contract this summer.

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Joshua Kimmich remains a key man at Bayern Munich[/caption]

Kimmich’s impending free agency has attracted plenty of transfer interest, including from North London.

Arsenal are said to be keen on bringing the midfielder to the Emirates.

But according to German outlet Bild, Kimmich is not enthusiastic about a potential move to the Gunners.

They add that Bayern remain hopeful of keeping their stalwart at Allianz Arena.

Club chiefs have offered Kimmich a new contract, but have not been impressed with his response.

It’s said that staying at Bayern is a more likely outcome than moving to Arsenal, however.

Liverpool are also said to have taken a look at Kimmich.

But the most concrete interest has come from Paris Saint-Germain.

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The French champions have tabled a serious offer for the German international.

Despite interest from Arsenal and Liverpool, as it stands Kimmich’s future appears to lie either in Paris or Munich.

The 97-cap star has remained an important player for Vincent Kompany despite his contract status.

He has started all but one match in all competitions this season, including last night’s 3-0 drubbing of Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.

Kimmich has made 427 appearances for Bayern since joining from RB Leipzig in 2015.

The all-action midfielder has won eight Bundesliga titles, three German domestic cups and the Champions League.

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STANDING in front of a removal truck loaded to the brim with cardboard boxes, Lauryn Goodman appeared to breathe new life into a sex scandal being read the last rites.

She had teased a move abroad in the pages of a glossy magazine just days earlier, of course.

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Lauryn Goodman was spotted with packing boxes after Kyle Walker moved to Italy[/caption]

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The love rat recently hit the town with two party girls in Milan — 24 hours after wife Annie flew home to England[/caption]

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Celebs Go Dating star Lauryn has two children with the footballer[/caption]

It was to be a “life reset”, she said, an escape route away from the chaos, mimicking the very same reasons behind Kyle Walker‘s decision to quit Manchester City for a new chapter in Italy only weeks before.

It was perhaps an understandable exit strategy, given the scale of public interest in a saga of betrayal that resulted in her giving birth to not one – but two – of the married England star’s children.

She must have been hugely frustrated then, when a photographer suddenly appeared at her £2.4million home in West Sussex and began snapping away at the very moment Moving Buddies Removals were placing boxes on the back.

Dreadful timing.

If she was frustrated, Lauryn didn’t show it.

She smiled broadly, shared a joke with one of the ‘buddies’, put on her sunglasses and even helped load one of the boxes onto the back of the truck.

In a seismic and, arguably, disturbing development, sources close to the Instagram influencer told how she was moving to Italy to be closer to Kyle as he embarked on the next chapter of his footballing career with AC Milan.

Only, here’s the thing, it turns out the boxes were empty…

The plot twist was delivered by Lauryn herself in her latest blogpost – now deleted – but was not altogether unexpected.

Cynical fans had suspected something was off as soon as they spied the pictures.

There was no furniture on the back of the removal truck, no kids’ toys, no needless junk she couldn’t yet be parted from, no stray baskets or planters, no ironing board, washing machine or drier.

In her blogpost, Lauryn rolled her eyes and tutted: “It’s been reported that I am moving to Italy because I was seen with ’empty boxes’ which I was sorting items to and from storage.”

She went on: “It’s been a process moving in especially with two little ones and I’ve been needing to sort it out for some time.

“I still haven’t finished and if I decide to move I’ll have to do it all over again.”

It was merely a coincidence then that she decided to sort out those pesky packing boxes at the same time she was rumoured to be leaving these shores.

And, at the same time Kyle had moved to Italy without wife Annie Kilner, and at the very moment a photographer was lurking in the vicinity.

‘A life reset’

Dubai is still a possibility, she says. So too is Portugal.

But Italy? Following Kyle? No chance. For now, moving abroad is off. 

Or is it?

Take her magazine interview, printed on February 1, which breathlessly screamed: “Lauryn Goodman invites OK! into her home and opens up about family life and what the truth is behind those rumours she’s following ex Kyle Walker to Italy.”

This was surely the perfect moment to dispel those rumours.

Yet, in the words that shone off the pages, she did anything but – revealing: “For the last year I wished to have the option to move abroad because, with all of the drama, I’d like a life reset, but I’m not sure how that looks for us at the minute or what that entails.

“It makes no difference to me where Kyle is, he could be on Mars right now for all I care.”

OK, yes, but what about Italy and the rumours? 

About that, Lauryn is uncharacteristically coy and says: “I’m just hoping to build our own life – me and the kids – so that we’re not dependent on anyone else.”

The interview ends: “And how does she intend to do that? Lauryn looks over at her babies and smiles, ‘Watch this space’.”

The dear reader, desperate for some insight, perhaps a tangible development, was left with another will-she-won’t-she cliffhanger.

A golden opportunity to put everyone straight had somehow gone begging.

So even though everyone would love to jump on a weird bandwagon I’m not ‘following him’ or doing anything like that. I’ve never done that in my life

Lauryn Goodman

Five days later, on February 6, she was pictured helping to pack boxes onto the removal van.  

A source at the time revealed: “Lauryn was happy when Kyle signed for Italy as Saudi would’ve been a bit too far and would feel more final, but Italy was a stone’s throw away.

“It felt a lot closer than her commute to Cheshire with how busy the roads can be.

“Italy is much more aesthetically pleasing.

“Lauryn is excited for new adventures with her children.”

Missed opportunity

The goal was once again at her mercy. 

Time, surely, to put to bed the unedifying inaccuracies that were making her life hell?

Given her platform on Instagram, with 250,000 followers, she could have killed it instantly.

It wouldn’t have been the first time she had taken a screenshot of a news article about her and plastered “fake news” across it. 

This time, there was silence. No reaction and no cries of fake news. Indeed, no complaints either.

In fact, we were forced to wait nearly a month for the first clarification to drop via her blogpost which was aptly-entitled ‘February Fakes’ (readers will need to pay a £2.99 subscription for a full rundown).

In summary, she hates the weather in the UK, wants to move abroad sometime, likes travelling and might end up in Dubai or Portugal.

Maybe one day. Maybe not.

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Lauryn has said she wants to build a life for her and her kids so ‘we’re not dependent on anyone else’[/caption]

Fuelling the flames

She goes on: “So even though everyone would love to jump on a weird bandwagon I’m not ‘following him’ or doing anything like that.

“I’ve never done that in my life.

“I have put in a formal request to move and I’ve requested this from Kyle. 

“I’ve already looked at a few places. People keep writing it’s Dubai, but it’s not.

“I had thought about Dubai all of last year and I was very vocal about it before ANY move was discussed.

“But the reality of living somewhere is different to holidaying.

“The reality is my Nan and Grandad are older and wouldn’t be close by and it’s super important to me that Kairo and Kinara’s relationship with them stays close.

“Grandad is really their only male influence and guidance and we’re all super close.

“They also adore them and I could never take my children away from them distance wise because it would really upset them.”

So, there you have it: After a month of intrigue, Lauryn’s going nowhere.

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Annie Kilner with husband Kyle Walker[/caption]

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The Walkers at the 2024 Euros[/caption]

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George Clooney’s wife is reportedly happy about the actor’s friendship with Brad Pitt turning cold. Fans are aware that the two Hollywood legends have shared a camaraderie that goes back decades. They have also started in multiple big-budget projects together that fans seemed to love. However, reports suggest that they have recently drifted apart, and […]

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