■ Germany
Wodajo wins in Cologne
Teferi Wodajo of Ethiopia won the Cologne Marathon in Germany on Sunday in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 18 seconds. Wodajo, the pre-race favorite, finished well ahead of Benjamin Itok, who finished in 2:12:08, and Francis Kiprop, who crossed in 2:12:59. Luminita Zaituc of Germany, a former European Championships silver medalist, won the women's race in 2:28:24. Sun Weiwei of China was second in 2:29:38, followed by Yelena Tichonova of Russia in third in 2:45:54.
■ United States
Kibet wins Rock 'n' Roll
Kenya's Duncan Kibet won the Rock 'n' Roll half-marathon in San Jose, California, on Sunday in 1 hour, 22 seconds, the second-fastest time in the 21.1km event ever in the US. The 28-year-old Kibet's time is second only to Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia, who set the world record of 58:55 on Jan. 15 in Tempe, Arizona. "I expected to run fast here, but I was worried that the pack would catch me," Kibet said of his fast pace early. "I was happy with my time and the course was very fast." Russia's Silvia Skvortsova won the women's race, pulling away over the final kilometer to edge Edna Kiplagat of Kenya in a personal-best 1:09:17.
■ United States
Ndereba triumphs in Boston
After waiting too long to make his final charge at last year's Boston Athletic Association half marathon, Kenyan Samuel Ndereba learned his lesson. Ndereba won the race on Sunday, beating Richard Kiplagat by more than 12 seconds. Ireland's Marie Davenport won the women's race. Each winner earned US$5,000. Last year, Ndereba -- whose sister Catherine is a four-time women's champion of the Boston Marathon -- waited until the final kilometer to make his push but finished second, 12 seconds behind Celedonio Rodriguez. This time, Rodriguez led a pack of six for much of the first part of the race. Ndereba, Kiplagat and third-place Michael Misoi remained close before leaving Rodriguez behind 8km into the race.
■ Australia
Smith, Carlos attend funeral
Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who gave the historic black power salutes at the 1968 Olympics, have reunited for the final time with the third man on the podium that year. Smith and Carlos attended the funeral yesterday of Peter Norman, the Australian sprinter who died last week of a heart attack at the age of 64. The two Americans acted as pallbearers at the funeral attended by about 800 people at a town hall at Williamstown, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. Norman won the silver medal in the 200m at the Mexico City Games, his time of 20.06 seconds still a national record. Smith set a world record in winning the gold medal and Carlos took the bronze, and their civil rights protest became a flash point of the Olympics.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
When details from a scientific experiment that could have helped clear Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva landed at the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the leader of the organization’s reaction was unequivocal: “We have to stop that urgently,” he wrote. No mention of the test ever became public and Valieva’s defense at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) went on without it. What effect the information could have had on Valieva’s case is unclear, but without it, the skater, then 15 years old, was eventually disqualified from the 2022 Winter Olympics after testing positive for a banned heart medication that would later