2 months ago
A runner-up last year in the Sydney Marathon, Ethiopian Addisu Gobena won the event on Saturday, emerging from a field that featured the 2025 winner, fellow Ethiopian Hailemaryam Kiros, and the reigning world champion, Tanzania's Alphonce Simbu.
Gobena smashed Kiros' course record of 2:06:06 with a time of 2:04:42.
Although Simbu was taken down, the 2025 world champion on the women's side, Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir, wasn't defeated in Australia. Jepchirchir, a 2021 Olympic gold medalist, finished just nine seconds shy of the course record, clocking in at 2:18:31.
In its second year as a World Marathon major — there are currently seven (the others are Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City) — the Sydney Marathon hosted around 40,000 expected runners who raced from North Sydney, across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and to the finish line, which was located in front of the city's iconic Opera House.
The Sydney Marathon marked the fourth event on this year's Marathon Major calendar. With a more demanding course than some of the majors, there was once again plenty of intrigue in Sydney. Last year, Kiros finished first among the men, while Sifan Hassan, a three-time Olympic gold medalist representing the Netherlands, took home the women's in 2:18:22. She didn't take part in Saturday's race, however.
#sydney #ethiopian
Gobena smashed Kiros' course record of 2:06:06 with a time of 2:04:42.
Although Simbu was taken down, the 2025 world champion on the women's side, Kenya's Peres Jepchirchir, wasn't defeated in Australia. Jepchirchir, a 2021 Olympic gold medalist, finished just nine seconds shy of the course record, clocking in at 2:18:31.
In its second year as a World Marathon major — there are currently seven (the others are Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City) — the Sydney Marathon hosted around 40,000 expected runners who raced from North Sydney, across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and to the finish line, which was located in front of the city's iconic Opera House.
The Sydney Marathon marked the fourth event on this year's Marathon Major calendar. With a more demanding course than some of the majors, there was once again plenty of intrigue in Sydney. Last year, Kiros finished first among the men, while Sifan Hassan, a three-time Olympic gold medalist representing the Netherlands, took home the women's in 2:18:22. She didn't take part in Saturday's race, however.
#sydney #ethiopian
3 months ago
The World Athletics U20 Championships meet is back in Eugene for the second time in 12 years and though the gates at Hayward Field don't open until Aug. 5, the first record of the meet has already been set.
Approximately 1,800 athletes from 147 countries are expected to compete Wednesday through Sunday, breaking the previous high of 1,558 competitors for the 2024 meet in Lima, Peru.
Among them are current Oregon track athlete Juan Gonzalez (men's 5,000 meters), and future Ducks Jaslene Massey (women's discus and shot put), Ellery Lincoln (women's 1,500), Simon Rosselli (men's discus) and Estonian heptathlete Mia Uusorg.
Get tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships
The 2014 U20 championships at Hayward Field featured many young athletes who have gone on to have tremendous success on the world stage, including American women's discus star Valarie (Allman) Sion and men's sprinter Trayvon Bromell; Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei, who owns world records in the men's 5,000 and 10,000; Ethiopian men's distance star Yomif Kejelcha; sprinter Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain; and Croatia's Sara Kolak, who two years after the 2014 meet would win Olympic gold in the women's javelin.
#meet
Approximately 1,800 athletes from 147 countries are expected to compete Wednesday through Sunday, breaking the previous high of 1,558 competitors for the 2024 meet in Lima, Peru.
Among them are current Oregon track athlete Juan Gonzalez (men's 5,000 meters), and future Ducks Jaslene Massey (women's discus and shot put), Ellery Lincoln (women's 1,500), Simon Rosselli (men's discus) and Estonian heptathlete Mia Uusorg.
Get tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships
The 2014 U20 championships at Hayward Field featured many young athletes who have gone on to have tremendous success on the world stage, including American women's discus star Valarie (Allman) Sion and men's sprinter Trayvon Bromell; Uganda's Joshua Cheptegei, who owns world records in the men's 5,000 and 10,000; Ethiopian men's distance star Yomif Kejelcha; sprinter Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain; and Croatia's Sara Kolak, who two years after the 2014 meet would win Olympic gold in the women's javelin.
#meet
3 months ago
July is National Ice Cream Month so TODAY's Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones celebrate with two women-owned businesses who are serving sweet treats. Pooja Bavishi, founder and CEO of Malai showcases ice cream made with South Asian ingredients, including a cardamom pistachio crumble and a mango and cream flavor. Then, Ashley Marrero, founder of Kente Cones, shares Afro-American inspired frozen treats crafted with cocoa from Ghana, Ethiopian coffee and Madagascar vanilla.
#treats #founder #national #bush
#treats #founder #national #bush
4 months ago
Belgian Tim Merlier dominated a bunch sprint finish for the second day running to claim victory in the eighth stage of the Tour de France on Saturday.
Merlier seemed out of contention when he was caught out of position in the last few hundred metres but launched a long range charge to reel in all of his rivals and beat Ethiopian Biniam Girmay into second with Dutchman Olav Kooij third.
It was Merlier's fifth stage victory in his third Tour appearance and also brought him to within 15 points of Dane Mads Pedersen in the sprinters' green jersey competition.
"If you win one, you can win a second, and I'm happy," said Merlier.
"Three (sprint) stages, I won two.
Merlier seemed out of contention when he was caught out of position in the last few hundred metres but launched a long range charge to reel in all of his rivals and beat Ethiopian Biniam Girmay into second with Dutchman Olav Kooij third.
It was Merlier's fifth stage victory in his third Tour appearance and also brought him to within 15 points of Dane Mads Pedersen in the sprinters' green jersey competition.
"If you win one, you can win a second, and I'm happy," said Merlier.
"Three (sprint) stages, I won two.
4 months ago
WASHINGTON, June 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department announced visa restrictions targeting people it said were undermining peace in Ethiopia on Thursday, focused on hardliners in the Tigray People's Liberation Front and their immediate family members.
"Rising tensions between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) hardliners and the Ethiopian government have threatened to reignite the conflict in northern Ethiopia and undermine peace and security across the entire region," the State Department said in a statement.
The State Department cited clashes between TPLF forces and Ethiopian government forces earlier this year.
"This visa restriction policy targets individuals who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution to the crisis in the Tigray region," it said.
Tigray's main political party reasserted control over the northern Ethiopian region's political administration in May, following through on a threat to violate a key provision of the deal that ended a civil war with the federal government.
"Rising tensions between Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) hardliners and the Ethiopian government have threatened to reignite the conflict in northern Ethiopia and undermine peace and security across the entire region," the State Department said in a statement.
The State Department cited clashes between TPLF forces and Ethiopian government forces earlier this year.
"This visa restriction policy targets individuals who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining resolution to the crisis in the Tigray region," it said.
Tigray's main political party reasserted control over the northern Ethiopian region's political administration in May, following through on a threat to violate a key provision of the deal that ended a civil war with the federal government.
