■ 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.
US national team star Folarin Balogun was among the scorers as AS Monaco on Friday won 3-1 at Paris Saint-Germain, dealing a blow to the side from the French capital before they face Chelsea in a crunch UEFA Champions League round-of-16 tie. Maghnes Akliouche gave Monaco a first-half lead at the Parc des Princes, and Aleksandr Golovin doubled their advantage early in the second half of the French Ligue 1 clash. Bradley Barcola pulled one back for the reigning European champions, but Balogun struck shortly after with a fifth goal in his last five games as Monaco claimed a precious
Teenage star Lamine Yamal’s superbly-taken goal on Saturday earned Barcelona a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in Spanish La Liga. The champions restored their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid, who had on Friday temporarily closed the gap by beating Celta Vigo. Atletico Madrid tightened their grip on third with an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Sociedad. Yamal, 18, curled into the top corner after 68 minutes to split the sides at Athletic’s San Mames stadium. “We’re already seeing what Lamine can do — he puts it right in the top corner, and there’s nothing the keeper can do,” Barca
Liverpool on Tuesday suffered an embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers as Andre’s stoppage-time strike sealed a dramatic victory for the English Premier League’s bottom club. Arne Slot’s side fell behind to Rodrigo Gomes’ strike in the closing stages at Molineux. Mohamed Salah hauled Liverpool level with his first goal in 11 top-flight games dating back to November last year. However, Andre’s first goal for Wolves inflicted the latest humbling loss in a chastening season for Liverpool. It was the first time the Premier League’s bottom club had beaten the reigning champions since Crystal Palace defeated Chelsea in 2017. Liverpool
Taiwan yesterday defeated the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks’ farm team 5-1 in their final warm-up game ahead of their World Baseball Classic (WBC) Pool C opener. Taiwan’s bullpen used an unconventional rotation, with a different pitcher throwing each inning for the first seven innings. Together, they combined for eight strikeouts while allowing only four hits. The lone run surrendered came in the bottom of the eighth inning after a pitcher from Japan’s independent league took the mound. The pitching strategy was designed to preserve the arms of the Taiwanese ahead of their game against Australia at the Tokyo Dome tomorrow morning. Taiwanese-American Stuart Fairchild
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