Olympic cheers fill the air as fans return for a 10,000-meter masterpiece and more at the track

Olympic cheers fill the air as fans return for a 10,000-meter masterpiece and more at the track
Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda crosses the finish line to win the men’s 10,000m final in an Olympic record at the Paris 2024 Olympics athletics competition Friday. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 03 August 2024
Follow

Olympic cheers fill the air as fans return for a 10,000-meter masterpiece and more at the track

Olympic cheers fill the air as fans return for a 10,000-meter masterpiece and more at the track
  • Cheptegei adds this to the silver medal he won in Tokyo and the world titles he took in 2019, 2022 and 2023
  • The US mixed 4x400 meter relay team set a world record in an event that is only 5 years old

SAINT-DENIS: The ear-splitting roars raining down on the track and field stars in the Stade de France felt like eight years of pent-up energy flowing out at once.

They were for distance runner Joshua Cheptegei, who stamped his mark on a masterpiece of a 10,000-meter race to set an Olympic record and win a gold medal.

They were for Sha’Carri Richardson, who opened the meet in the afternoon Friday with a first-round 100-meter sprint that kept her own gold-medal dreams in tact.

They were for decathletes, who were showered throughout the afternoon and into the night as they worked their way through their first five events, garnering a show of support that’s “not too typical for decathlon,” Canada’s defending champion Damian Warner said.

They were even for swimming.

The start of one decathlon heat was delayed about five minutes while the public address announcer begged for quiet and fans waving the French tricolor chanted and cheered for Leon Marchand’s latest gold medal at the pool.

Cheptegei, who won in an Olympic-record time of 26 minutes, 43.14 seconds, loved every minute of it.

“It’s the most rewarding that I am winning today in Paris, the most amazing crowd,” he said. “The crowd was wild. And I knew that when I was going to the front, at the last two laps, I knew that this was going to be amazing for me.”

Three years ago in Tokyo, the COVID-19 pandemic kept crowds out of the mix, leaving most of the 2,200 track and field athletes to compete in eerie silence.

Cheptegei’s gold was the first won in front of a crowd on the track since the Games in Rio de Janeiro eight years ago. For that, he also got $50,000 and a chance to clang the bell at the end of the stadium, which is reserved for champions only.

The crowd went crazy for that, too.

“I think the 10K doesn’t get a lot of love sometimes,” said Grant Fisher, whose bronze medal marked America’s first podium appearance in this event since 2012. “But that crowd felt like we were the best show in town.”

From start to finish, the night’s biggest race was a barnburner.

It featured 15 runners who had broken 27 minutes in their careers, meaning the 27:01 Olympic record was in peril before the starting gun even went off.

Then, a trio of Ethiopians — Yomif Kejelcha, Selemon Barega and Berihu Aregawi — made it happen. They set a blistering pace early, stringing out the field and taking turns in the lead through 7,500 meters.

For a few laps after that, things got bunched up and the runners were racing three- and four-wide.

“I was surprised how many people were around given how fast the pace was,” Fisher said.

Then, it strung out again. Fisher, the 27-year-old American champion trying to join Billy Mills as the second US 10,000-meter champion, stayed in that mix.

Out of nowhere, with 500 meters left, surged Cheptegei.

He was in the lead when the bell lap started, and he never gave anyone hope. Fisher lost a lung-searing sprint to Aregawi for second. Cheptegei gave Uganda its first gold medal in the 112-year history of the longest Olympic event on the track.

“Every athlete there was special,” he said.

Cheptegei adds this to the silver medal he won in Tokyo and the world titles he took in 2019, 2022 and 2023.

“Now, my collection is complete,” he said. “I was the world champion. Now, I win the Olympic title. I’m so excited.”

5K down and 57 left to go for Sifan Hassan

Iron woman Sifan Hassan completed the first leg of what is shaping up as a long Olympics. She finished second in the first round of the 5,000 meters.

Hassan also plans to run in the 10,000 meters and the marathon. At the Tokyo Olympics three years ago, the Ethiopian-born Dutch runner became the first person to win medals in the 1,500, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.

She realizes that going 3 for 3 might not be in the cards this time, but she plans on trying.

“When I’m at the start line, I always ask myself: ‘Why? Why? What is wrong with you?’ But when I go home, I want to do it. It’s a lot about curiosity,” Hassan said.

Americans set world record in one of track’s newest events

The US mixed 4x400 meter relay team set a world record in an event that is only 5 years old.

The team of Vernon Norwood, Shamier Little, Bryce Deadmon and Kaylyn Brown finished the four laps in 3 minutes, 7.41 seconds to break a mark set at the world championships last year.

All the record did was place the Americans in Saturday’s final, where the record will be in jeopardy again.

Crouser, Kovacs advance to shot put final

Ryan Crouser and Joe Kovacs of the US and Tom Walsh of New Zealand all advanced to the shot put final, giving them a chance at finishing 1-2-3 — in that exact order — for the third straight Games.

Crouser, who has been dealing with an elbow injury this year, needed only one throw to advance with a mark of 21.49 meters.

Also in the mix is Leonardo Fabbri of Italy, whose throw of 21.76 was the evening’s biggest.

Jasmine Moore goes one and done in triple jump

Jasmine Moore, the first American woman to qualify for the Olympics in both the triple jump and the long jump, kept her work to a minimum. She needed just one jump — a season-best 14.43 meters — to lock down her spot in the triple jump finals.

Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba had the night’s best jump (14.68) in an event that has been thrown wide open because of an Achilles tendon injury that ended the season for defending champion and world-record holder Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela this spring.


Newcastle strike back to win at Wolves, move into Premier League top four

Newcastle strike back to win at Wolves, move into Premier League top four
Updated 43 min 3 sec ago
Follow

Newcastle strike back to win at Wolves, move into Premier League top four

Newcastle strike back to win at Wolves, move into Premier League top four
  • Eddie Howe’s men have picked up 10 points from possible 12

WOLVERHAMPTON: Harvey Barnes’ stunning strike sent Newcastle third in the Premier League on Sunday after coming from behind to win 2-1 at Wolves.
Mario Lemina had swept the home side into a first-half lead at the end of a swift counter-attack.
However, Wolves remain without a win in the Premier League this season as Newcastle’s greater quality proved decisive after the break.
The Magpies’ performances have been far from convincing so far this season.
Yet, Eddie Howe’s men have still picked up 10 points from a possible 12.
Howe responded to another lacklustre opening 45 minutes with a triple half-time change with Alexander Isak among those to come off at the break.
Newcastle could have found themselves 2-0 down before the fightback started when Jorgen Strand Larsen smashed off the post.
Instead, fortune favored the visitors when Schar’s speculative shot flicked off the head of Craig Dawson and flew beyond Sam Johnstone.
Barnes needed no such luck as he arrowed a rocket into the top corner 10 minutes from time to snatch all three points.
Newcastle still required a brilliant save from Nick Pope to deny Matheus Cunha in stoppage time and leave Wolves in the bottom three.
However, they survived to move level with second-placed Arsenal, just two points behind Manchester City.


Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby

Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby
Updated 15 September 2024
Follow

Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby

Gabriel strikes as Arsenal hit wasteful Spurs with sucker punch in north London derby
  • Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing

LONDON: Gabriel Magalhaes headed Arsenal to a 1-0 win at Tottenham on Sunday as the Gunners overcame the absence of key midfielders Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard to extend their north London derby dominance.
Mikel Arteta’s side were without skipper Odegaard due to an ankle injury suffered on Norway duty, while Rice served a suspension for his red card against Brighton.
Losing two such influential players appeared to make Arsenal vulnerable on their trip up the Seven Sisters Road to face their bitter rivals.
But the Premier League title contenders dug deep with a combative display, benefitting from Tottenham’s latest display of wasteful finishing before Gabriel bagged the winner in the second half.
The Brazilian defender’s first goal since February made it three wins from four league games for unbeaten Arsenal as they chase a first title since 2004 after two successive runners-up finishes.
Arsenal have now won on their last three visits to Tottenham, losing just once, in May 2022, in their last eight meetings with their hated neighbors.
The second placed Gunners are two points behind Manchester City as they turn their attention to their Champions League opener at Atalanta on Thursday before traveling to face Pep Guardiola’s champions next weekend.
The 196th north London derby showed Arsenal have steel and spirit aplenty, but they also needed a dose of good fortune as Tottenham let them off the hook in the first half.
Failing to turn dominant spells into goals has been a familiar story for Tottenham this season and once again Ange Postecoglou’s men were let down by their lack of cutting edge.
Tottenham’s second successive defeat leaves them with only one win from four games in a worrying start to the season for Postecoglou after their late swoon last term cost them a top four place.
Turning to Jorginho and Gabriel Martinelli to replace Rice and Odegaard, Arteta had urged his team to show the “resilience, depth and hunger” needed to overcome their selection issues.
Arsenal had to call on all those qualities during a vibrant start from Tottenham, with David Raya making a fine save at his near post after Son Heung-min’s pass picked out Dejan Kulusevski for an instinctive strike.
Raya had to make an even more agile stop when Kulusevski’s cross flashed through a crowd of players toward the far corner until the Spaniard clawed it away at full stretch.
William Saliba had to make a crucial, last-ditch tackle to deny the unmarked Dominic Solanke, who took too long to shoot inside the area after Son pressured Arsenal into conceding possession.
Tottenham’s profligacy gave Arsenal encouragement and Kai Havertz rose highest for a close-range header that forced a superb save from Guglielmo Vicario, who was also equal to Martinelli’s curler moments late.
Picked out by James Maddison’s cross, Solanke did well to hold off Gabriel but his looping header dropped narrowly wide.
Amid a flurry of aggressive challenges, the simmering derby tension boiled over after Jurrien Timber’s tackle on Pedro Porro left the Tottenham right-back writhing on the turf.
Vicario confronted the Arsenal defender, with both players booked after a melee featuring a plastic bottle thrown from the stands.
By the time Kulusevski crudely up-ended Jorginho on the stroke of half-time, seven players had been booked in a fractious clash, including five from Tottenham.
Micky van de Ven’s glancing tested Raya soon after the interval, but toothless Tottenham were hit with a brutal sucker punch in the 64th minute.
With 23 goals from set-pieces since the start of last season, Arsenal have become dead-ball specialists this was another expertly worked routine.
Saka’s in-swinging corner arrowed toward Gabriel, who got away with a push on Cristian Romero before powering his header past Vicario from five yards.
Tottenham penned Arsenal back in the closing stages, but couldn’t find a way through as Kulusevski blasted just over.


Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo diagnosed with viral infection, misses Iraq trip

Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo diagnosed with viral infection, misses Iraq trip
Updated 15 September 2024
Follow

Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo diagnosed with viral infection, misses Iraq trip

Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo diagnosed with viral infection, misses Iraq trip
  • After a medical evaluation by the team's doctor, it was determined that Ronaldo requires rest

RIYADH: Al-Nassr’s captain Cristiano Ronaldo is unwell due to a viral infection, according to an official statement released by his club.

The team’s doctor said that Ronaldo requires rest and will not accompany the side on their trip to Iraq today for their Asian Champions League clash.

He will now miss the AFC Champions League match against Al-Shorta in Baghdad on Monday night.
The club’s statement confirmed that Ronaldo’s condition is being closely monitored and that Al-Nassr extended their wishes for a speedy recovery.

Ronaldo’s absence is a significant one for the team as they prepare for their upcoming match with Iraq’s Al-Shorta.


Kuwait football board quits after match chaos

Kuwait football board quits after match chaos
Updated 15 September 2024
Follow

Kuwait football board quits after match chaos

Kuwait football board quits after match chaos
  • Board members quit after an inquiry into ticketing and logistical problems that marred Tuesday’s match

Kuwait City: The entire board of Kuwait’s football governing body has resigned after fans were left in sweltering temperatures for hours during a World Cup qualifier against Iraq.
Board members quit after an inquiry into ticketing and logistical problems that marred Tuesday’s match at the 60,000-capacity Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium, the Kuwait Football Association said in a statement late Saturday.
“The board members of the Kuwait Football Association tendered resignations en masse,” Kuwait’s official KUNA news agency reported, citing the statement.
According to the association website, the board had seven members.
The association also accepted the resignation of its secretary-general, Salah Al-Qanai, and public relations boss Mohamed Bou Abbas, it said.
They had been suspended since Wednesday over what the association called “unacceptable events.”
Fans fainted in temperatures of above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) as they pleaded with staff for water.
Some fans without tickets were meanwhile allowed in, while others who had purchased tickets were refused entry.


Jordan’s Al-Hayassat not fazed by partisan Al-Qahtani crowd in Riyadh

Jordan’s Al-Hayassat not fazed by partisan Al-Qahtani crowd in Riyadh
Updated 15 September 2024
Follow

Jordan’s Al-Hayassat not fazed by partisan Al-Qahtani crowd in Riyadh

Jordan’s Al-Hayassat not fazed by partisan Al-Qahtani crowd in Riyadh
  • PFL MENA 3 will take place in Riyadh on Sept. 20

RIYADH: Jordan’s Abdelrahman Al-Hayassat won’t just be facing title favorite Abdullah Al-Qahtani from Saudi Arabia, but he’ll also be going against a partisan hometown crowd at the PFL MENA 3 in Riyadh on Sept. 20.

The two featherweight contenders will meet in next Friday’s semifinal main event with a chance at moving on to the PFL MENA 3 Championships on the line.

The Saudi fighter, nicknamed “The Reaper,” is undefeated in his PFL career and has been impressive in PFL MENA so far. Facing him in his hometown makes it an even bigger challenge for his opponent.

Al-Hayassat, however, says that he isn’t faced by the hostile crowd.

“Even though the fight is on my opponent’s turf and in front of his crowd, this won’t affect my morale,” he said. “The semifinal match is very important to me. Winning it will take me to the final and bring me closer to achieving the title.”

To prepare for the biggest fight of his life, Al-Hayassat took his training to another hotbed for combat sports: Thailand.

“I’ve prepared well for the fight with a 70-day training camp in Thailand, one of the best camps I’ve had. I focused on the strategy that will enable me to defeat Al-Qahtani,” he shared.

When Al-Hayassat and Al-Qahtani step inside the SmartCage, the former plans on shocking the world and silencing the Saudi fans in attendance.

“I’ve worked hard on the necessary techniques for the fight. My Saudi opponent will be surprised by my level,” Al-Hayassat said.

“He will face a different Abdulrahman than the one he knows. I’m confident that I’ll win and make it to my first final because I’ve prepared everything necessary to achieve victory,” he added.