■ 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.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care