■ ATHLETICS
101-year-old to run marathon
Already Britain's oldest employee, 101-year-old Buster Martin now aims to become the world's oldest marathon runner by completing the London Marathon and celebrating with a pint of beer and a cigarette. Sprightly and bearded, he completed a half marathon last weekend in 5 hours, 13 minutes. The former Army physical training instructor works three days a week for a London plumbing company. "I've said I'll attempt it," he said. "I haven't said I'll complete it. If I do make it, all the better." His sponsorship money will go to the Rhys Daniels Trust, which provides temporary accommodation for the families of patients in specialist children's hospitals. "If I finish, I'll do what I always do and have a pint and a fag," he said. "People ask what is my secret but I haven't got one. They say fags and booze are bad for you -- but I'm still here, aren't I?"
■ SOCCER
Sheffield hero Dooley dies
Derek Dooley, a hero to fans of both Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United, has died at the age of 78, it was announced on Wednesday. Dooley, born in Sheffield, had the unusual distinction of being a popular figure with supporters of both the northern English city's two major clubs, having starred for Wednesday as a striker before his playing career was ended prematurely by a broken leg, which later had to be amputated. After a couple of appearances for Lincoln City, Dooley joined Wednesday in 1947 and became a prolific scorer for the Owls. But in 1953 he broke his leg in a collision during a game and his career was over. He returned to Hillsborough as manager between 1971 and 1973 before being controversially sacked on Christmas Eve 1973. Dooley then joined Sheffield United, initially as commercial manager and carried out a number of backroom roles at Bramall Lane, including that of chairman, before retiring in 2006.
■ ROWING
Oldest rower set for race
Former US rowing champion Michael Wherley will become the oldest rower to take part in the Oxford and Cambridge University Boat Race when he competes for Oxford later this month. A triple world champion in the Men's Eight, Wherley will be 36 when Britain's oldest universities meet for the 154th time on the Thames on March 29. Wherley told reporters on Wednesday he was not quite at his physical peak. However, he put this down to a lack of sleep and a three-year break from competing rather than to his age. "Sometimes it's just harder to recover from the training, but it's not necessarily harder to do it," he said.
■ SKIING
Bauer takes World Cup title
Czech cross country skier Lukas Bauer has won the overall nordic skiing World Cup title this season despite missing Wednesday's sprint in Drammen, Norway. Olympic 15km classic silver medalist Bauer cannot be caught by his leading rival Rene Sommerfeldt after the German also withdrew.
■ SAILING
Bad weather hits race
Pelting rain and gusting winds forced the cancelation of Wednesday's racing at the 81st Bacardi Cup Star Class Regatta on Biscayne Bay. With three of six races completed, Iain Percy, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the Finn class, and Andrew Simpson of Britain remain in first place overall. "We just got caught in a nasty storm and by the time it cleared up a bit, the fleet had scattered over a 16km radius," Percy said.
Shohei Ohtani and Clayton Kershaw on Friday joined their Los Angeles Dodgers teammates in sticking their fists out to show off their glittering World Series rings at a ceremony. “There’s just a lot of excitement, probably more than I can ever recall with the Dodger fan base and our players,” manager Dave Roberts said before Los Angeles rallied to beat the Detroit Tigers 8-5 in 10 innings. “What a way to cap off the first two days of celebrations,” Roberts said afterward. “By far the best opening week I’ve ever experienced. I just couldn’t have scripted it any better.” A choir in the
After fleeing Sudan when civil war erupted, Al-Hilal captain Mohamed Abdelrahman and his teammates have defied the odds to reach the CAF Champions League quarter-finals. They are today to face title-holders Al-Ahly of Egypt in Cairo, with the return match in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott, on Tuesday next week. Al-Hilal and biggest domestic rivals Al-Merrikh relocated to Mauritania after a power struggle broke out in April 2023 between the Sudanese army and a paramilitary force. The civil war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced more than 12 million people, according to the UN. The Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Al-Hilal
The famously raucous Hong Kong Sevens are to start today in a big test for a shiny new stadium at the heart of a major US$3.85 billion sports park in the territory. Officials are keeping their fingers crossed that the premier event in Hong Kong’s sporting and social calendar goes off without a hitch at the 50,000-seat Kai Tak Stadium. They hope to entice major European soccer teams to visit in the next few months, with reports in December last year saying that Liverpool were in talks about a pre-season tour. Coldplay are to perform there next month, all part of Hong Kong’s
Shohei Ohtani, Teoscar Hernandez and Tommy Edman on Thursday smashed home runs to give the reigning World Series champions the Los Angeles Dodgers a 5-4 victory over Detroit on the MLB’s opening day in the US. The Dodgers, who won two season-opening games in Tokyo last week, raised their championship banner on a day when 28 clubs launched the season in the US. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts shuffled his batting lineup with all four leadoff hitters finally healthy as Ohtani was followed by Mookie Betts, then Hernandez and Freddie Freeman in the cleanup spot, switching places with Hernandez. “There’s a Teoscar tax to
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