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  • Svitolina sees off Gauff to win Italian Open, Sinner in men’s title showdown

    Svitolina sees off Gauff to win Italian Open, Sinner in men’s title showdown

    The 2025 Italian Open delivered two days of dramatic, rain-interrupted tennis on Saturday, capped by Elina Svitolina capturing her third WTA 1000 Rome title and Jannik Sinner extending his historic Masters 1000 winning streak to book a spot in the men’s championship match.

    Ukraine’s Svitolina, the tournament’s seventh seed, outlasted American star Coco Gauff in a topsy-turvy three-set clash, finishing the match 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2 to lift the trophy. Remarkably, the champion’s last WTA 1000 title also came at the Foro Italico, eight years prior, making Saturday’s win a full-circle moment for the veteran.

    Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion and pre-tournament favorite who fell just short of the title last year, entered the match aiming to become the first American woman to claim the Rome crown since Serena Williams in 2016. But the serving errors that have long plagued her game reemerged at the worst possible time on the tournament’s centre court. Gauff was broken three times en route to dropping the opening set, hampered by four double faults – two of which came in the pivotal game that gave Svitolina a permanent lead. At 4-5 down on set point, Gauff produced an unusual misstep, hitting a second serve into the wrong half of the court before gifting Svitolina the set with another double fault.

    A visibly frustrated Gauff struck her own head with her racket before storming off court, though she returned shortly after for a heated discussion with coach Jean-Christophe Faurel. The pep talk appeared to work: Gauff sorted out her serve to force a tense second set filled with dynamic, crowd-pleasing rallies, and clawed back to level the match with a tiebreak win. But Svitolina’s steady, consistent play – a hallmark of her run through the entire tournament – proved too much. Two more breaks of Gauff’s serve in the deciding set sealed the champion’s 20th career tournament title, and dashed Gauff’s hopes of claiming her first trophy of the season just one week ahead of her French Open title defense.

    In the men’s semi-final action, world No. 1 Sinner closed out a rain-paused clash against Daniil Medvedev to secure a spot in Sunday’s final. The match was halted overnight on Friday due to Rome’s wet, volatile weather, after the Italian fell ill mid-clash – even vomiting on court and requiring medical treatment for a tight right thigh, as Medvedev pushed him to his toughest test of the entire tournament.

    When play resumed on Saturday, delayed an extra hour by new rainfall and a preceding men’s doubles semi-final, Sinner looked refreshed: he joked and played casual football with his coaching staff during warm-ups under newly emerged spring sun, and carried his momentum through to the finish. Sinner held onto his 4-2 third-set lead from the paused match, closing out a 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 win after two and a half hours of high-stakes play that stretched across two days. The win marked Sinner’s 33rd consecutive victory in Masters 1000 competition, and puts him in position to claim a record-extending sixth straight Masters 1000 title on Sunday.

    Speaking to reporters after the match, Sinner acknowledged his physical struggles from the day prior. “I think it’s normal that not every day we feel 100 percent,” he said. “I tried to play with the best possible energy I have. Yesterday brought me to a point where I was up today. Today I’m very happy that I finished it.”

    Sinner will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final, after Ruud delivered a dominant 6-1, 6-1 semi-final win over Luciano Darderi – a match also cut short and restarted due to heavy rain. The 2025 Rome final gives Ruud a chance at revenge: last year at the Foro Italico, Sinner delivered one of the most lopsided wins in tournament history, beating Ruud 6-0, 6-1 in the quarter-finals. Ruud has yet to win a single set across his four career matches against Sinner, but will climb back into the world’s top 20 in the ATP rankings on Monday regardless of Sunday’s result.

  • Semenyo’s magic moment fires Man City to FA Cup final win over Chelsea

    Semenyo’s magic moment fires Man City to FA Cup final win over Chelsea

    The 2025 FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium delivered one of the competition’s most memorable individual moments on Saturday, as Ghanaian winger Antoine Semenyo’s audacious late back-flick handed Manchester City a hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea, securing the club’s eighth FA Cup title.

    For much of a cagey, scrappy encounter that reflected both sides’ underwhelming domestic campaigns, neither side could find a breakthrough. Chelsea set up in a deep five-man defensive block, ceding long spells of possession to Pep Guardiola’s side while threatening only on rare counter-attacks. Before half-time, the Blues felt hard done by when referee waved away their penalty appeal after forward Joao Pedro was brought down in the box by City defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

    City carved out several promising chances in the first half, all squandered. Erling Haaland, who would later set up the winning goal, fired wide from a tight angle after stealing possession on the edge of the 18-yard box, and saw a stinging first-half strike parried away by Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez. Just after the break, Semenyo missed a golden opportunity to open the scoring, heading over from six yards out after meeting a well-placed cross from Nico O’Reilly. Chelsea came close to taking the lead just before the hour mark, when Moises Caicedo’s goalbound header was cleared off the line by City holding midfielder Rodri after keeper James Trafford fumbled a corner.

    The match’s decisive magic arrived in the 72nd minute. Haaland made a sharp run down the right flank of the Chelsea penalty area, cutting a low cross back to the edge of the six-yard box. There, Semenyo improvised a sublime, instinctive back-flick that caressed the ball past Sanchez and into the far corner, capping one of the most iconic goals in FA Cup final history.

    The result is especially poetic for Semenyo: the 26-year-old, signed in a January transfer window move from Bournemouth, was born just minutes from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge stadium in west London. His match-winning strike places him alongside legends of the competition including Ricky Villa, Michael Owen, Roberto Di Matteo and Steven Gerrard in the ranks of players who have scored iconic FA Cup final goals.

    For Guardiola, the title adds another entry to his already legendary tenure at the Etihad Stadium. This is the third FA Cup win of his 10-year reign as City manager, and the 20th major trophy of his time at the club. It also ends City’s two-match losing streak in FA Cup finals, following back-to-back final defeats to Crystal Palace and Manchester United. The FA Cup is also the second piece of silverware City has claimed this season, following a League Cup final win over Arsenal back in March.

    Now, Guardiola turns his attention to the club’s outside shot at a miraculous Premier League title comeback. City have gone 21 consecutive domestic matches unbeaten, but they will sit five points behind league leaders Arsenal if the Gunners beat relegated Burnley at home on Monday. A win for City against former club Bournemouth in their penultimate league fixture on Tuesday would cut the gap back to two points, but Arsenal can secure their first top-flight title since 2004 with a win away at Crystal Palace on May 24.

    The result adds another disappointing chapter to a turbulent campaign for Chelsea. Under interim manager Calum McFarlane, the Blues put up a battling performance but ultimately lacked cutting edge in front of goal, a reflection of a season that has seen them win just one of their last seven Premier League matches. Currently sat ninth in the league table, Chelsea have all but locked out their chances of qualifying for next season’s Champions League. Frustrated fans protested against club owners BlueCo before kick-off, chanting “we want our Chelsea back” to voice their discontent with the team’s recent form.

    Off the pitch, uncertainty continues to surround Guardiola’s long-term future at City. The 55-year-old has just 12 months remaining on his current contract, and has yet to confirm whether he will stay at the club beyond the end of this season. Ahead of his 24th trip to Wembley with City, the Catalan manager joked he was “so disappointed” he has not yet had a stand named after him at the home of English football. If this cup triumph proves to be one of the final chapters of his tenure, Semenyo’s moment of magic has ensured Guardiola will leave with at least one more unforgettable golden memory.

  • Sinner completes Medvedev win and passage into Italian Open final

    Sinner completes Medvedev win and passage into Italian Open final

    In a drama-filled, rain-interrupted semi-final clash that stretched across two days at Rome’s Foro Italico, home favorite Jannik Sinner delivered a gritty performance to defeat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 on Saturday, booking his spot in the Italian Open men’s singles final. The world No. 1 will face Norway’s Casper Ruud in Sunday’s title match, where he will chase a historic sixth Masters 1000 crown, a feat that would extend his existing record for the most titles in the elite ATP series this season.

    The semi-final encounter, which spanned two and a half hours of on-court action, had already delivered unprecedented tension on Friday night. During the opening session of the match, Sinner was forced to receive medical attention for a tight right thigh, and even suffered a bout of vomiting mid-match, as Medvedev pushed the Italian to his toughest test of the entire tournament. When persistent rain forced play to be suspended, Sinner held a 4-2 lead in the deciding third set.

    After days of erratic weather, warm spring sunlight finally broke through in Rome on Saturday, but further delays disrupted the schedule. The restart, originally scheduled for 3:00 pm local time, was pushed back an hour by a final late rain shower and the conclusion of the men’s doubles semi-final, which was won by Sinner’s Italian compatriots Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori. When play finally resumed, Sinner looked far fresher than he had on Friday: he had joked and played casual football with his coaching staff during his pre-restart warm-up in the underground spaces of the centre court arena, his good spirits a stark contrast to his physical struggle the previous night.

    Though Medvedev claimed the seventh game of the third set to cut Sinner’s lead, the Italian dominated from that point onward, taking the next game without dropping a point on his own serve before closing out the match in under 20 minutes. The win marks Sinner’s 33rd consecutive victory in ATP Masters 1000 events, extending his incredible unbeaten run in the top-tier tour.

    In the other semi-final held Saturday, Ruud produced a stunning 6-1, 6-1 demolition of Italian wildcard Luciano Darderi, a result that also was interrupted by heavy rain. For Ruud, the final presents a rare opportunity for revenge: he has never taken a single set off Sinner in four previous head-to-head encounters, including a humiliating 6-0, 6-1 defeat in the 2025 Italian Open quarter-finals, one of the most one-sided matches in the venue’s history.

    The women’s singles final will follow the men’s decider on Sunday, with 2024 runner-up Coco Gauff of the United States aiming to go one step further and claim her first Italian Open title against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina. Gauff, who is preparing to defend her French Open crown at Roland Garros next month, fell short against Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in last year’s Rome final.

  • Teenage captain Celebrini scores 2 and Canada shuts out Italy at ice hockey worlds

    Teenage captain Celebrini scores 2 and Canada shuts out Italy at ice hockey worlds

    The IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship continued its group stage play across Swiss host cities on Saturday, with 19-year-old captain Macklin Celebrini emerging as the breakout star of the day, leading Canada to a dominant 6-0 shutout victory over Italy in Fribourg.

    Celebrini, the tournament’s youngest Canadian captain in recent memory, notched a three-point performance, headlined by two clinical goals that underscored his rising status as one of hockey’s most promising young talents. His first marker of the tournament came with just over three minutes left in the opening frame: after a sharp cross-ice feed from Porter Martone, Celebrini fired a rapid one-timer from the right circle to push Canada’s lead to 3-0. He doubled his personal tally just over two minutes into the second period, lifting a smooth backhand shot into the top corner of the net to extend Canada’s advantage to 4-0, with newly minted post-NHL playoff addition Sidney Crosby picking up the primary assist on the play.

    The lopsided result marked Canada’s second consecutive win to open its Group B campaign, following a tight 5-3 victory over defending contender Sweden on Friday. Other goals came from Dylan Holloway, Fraser Minten, Evan Bouchard and Ryan O’Reilly, while goaltender Cam Talbot turned away all 19 shots Italy sent his way to secure the clean sheet.

    Canada’s scoring surge got started early in the first period, when Holloway and Minten found the back of the net just 47 seconds apart. Holloway converted a cross-crease pass from John Tavares to beat Italian starting goaltender Davide Fadani, before Minten slammed home a rebound to double the lead. Late in the second period, Bouchard scored on a power play, and O’Reilly added another goal 25 seconds later to cap the rout, wrapping up the 6-0 scoreline. Italy, the tournament’s returning competitor that made its way back to the top division for the first time since 2022, was unable to find a breakthrough against Canada’s tight defensive structure.

    In other Group A action held in Zurich, Finland notched its second straight win of the tournament with a 4-1 defeat of Hungary. Florida Panthers star Aleksander Barkov, who made his return to competitive play after missing the entire NHL season through injury, earned two assists to anchor Finland’s offensive push. Another opening-day match in Zurich saw newcomer Britain fall 5-2 to Austria, after the Austrian side jumped out to a commanding three-goal lead within the first 10 minutes of play. Britain fought back with two goals from David Clements and Liam Kirk, scored 37 seconds apart in the first period, but Austria extended its lead with two second-period goals, while limiting Britain to just two total shots on goal in the frame. Peter Schneider led Austria’s offense with two goals on the day.

    Back in Fribourg, Slovakia secured a narrow 2-1 win over Norway, courtesy of Marek Hrivik’s game-winning goal scored midway through the final period. Saturday’s slate of games concluded with two primetime matchups: host Switzerland faced off against Latvia in Zurich, while the Czech Republic took on Slovenia in Fribourg. Canada is set to return to Group B play on Monday, where they will face Denmark.

    This report was compiled from Associated Press sports coverage.

  • SA clubs could withdraw from European competitions

    SA clubs could withdraw from European competitions

    South Africa’s national rugby governing body is set to launch a wide-ranging review of its national teams’ competitive calendar, a process that could reshape both domestic and international rugby schedules across the continent and Europe. The South African Rugby Union (Saru) confirmed it will hold a formal strategic planning session before the end of July to evaluate current scheduling arrangements. While officials note that it is too early to confirm any concrete changes, one of the most significant outcomes under discussion is the potential withdrawal of South Africa’s top professional club sides from the European Rugby Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup.

    Under the current structure, elite South African rugby players face a grueling 12-month competitive season. Since 2020, the country’s four top professional clubs — the Stormers, Bulls, Sharks and Lions — have competed in the United Rugby Championship (URC), a cross-continental league that runs from September through June each year. After wrapping up their URC commitments, elite players who represent the South African national side, the Springboks, enter the annual Rugby Championship — the southern hemisphere’s flagship international tournament held in July and August — leaving little to no time for rest and recovery. Only a small number of Springboks, who play their club rugby in Japan, avoid this packed annual schedule.

    Saru made clear in an official statement that the review was launched to address growing calls for a balanced calendar that protects both player welfare and competitive team performance. “The views of all internal stakeholders will be canvassed and workshopped on the domestic and international playing calendar for South African players,” the statement added.

    South African rugby’s shift into Northern Hemisphere-focused club competition is a relatively recent change. For more than two decades after the founding of Super Rugby in 1996, South African sides competed exclusively in the southern hemisphere-based domestic competition. But Saru officials long pushed for a move to European competitions, citing more aligned time zones that reduce cross-continental travel burdens, and the shift to the URC was completed in 2020. Two years later, South African teams gained entry to the Champions and Challenge Cups, European club rugby’s top two competitions.

    The integration of South African sides into the URC has been widely viewed as a success for both the league and the South African franchises. The Stormers won the URC title in their first full season in the league in 2022, while the Bulls have reached three of the last four tournament finals. All four South African sides are now permanent shareholders in the URC, with league chief executive Martin Anayi confirming in 2025 that the addition of South African teams has been overwhelmingly positive for the competition.

    However, South African participation in the Champions Cup has been far more problematic, both on and off the pitch. While the Sharks claimed the Challenge Cup title in 2024, no South African side has advanced past the quarter-final stage of the top-tier Champions Cup. Constant logistical and travel challenges between South Africa and Europe have also created persistent disruptions for both South African teams and their European opponents.

    The Saru review comes at a time of widespread uncertainty across European club rugby, with multiple major competitions set for potential restructuring. European rugby bosses are already weighing a major overhaul of the Champions Cup, with one leading proposal cutting the tournament field to around 16 teams and holding the entire competition in a single block at the end of the regular season. The long-term structure of the URC is also unresolved, as the Welsh Rugby Union plans to reduce its number of professional franchises from four to three, a shift that will alter the league’s makeup.

    Currently, South Africa’s EPCR shareholder agreement is locked in through 2030, though Saru notes that changes would be possible if all relevant stakeholders reach a consensus. “Should consensus be reached on a potential revision of the calendar, any contractual or constitutional requirements to affect such a revision will be observed,” the Saru statement said.

    If South African sides do withdraw from European club competitions, one widely discussed alternative is expanding and strengthening the country’s historic domestic competition, the Currie Cup, which was first launched in 1891 and remains a beloved part of South African rugby’s sporting identity.

  • Veteran star Son Heung-min will lead South Korea’s World Cup campaign

    Veteran star Son Heung-min will lead South Korea’s World Cup campaign

    South Korea’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign will be fronted by veteran talisman Son Heung-min, head coach Hong Myung-bo confirmed Saturday when he announced his final 26-man squad for the expanded 48-team tournament, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

    For 31-year-old Son, this World Cup marks a historic fourth appearance at football’s biggest global stage. The forward ended his decade-long stay in England’s Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur last summer, making the move to Major League Soccer side Los Angeles FC, a change of scenery that has kept him in peak form to lead the Taeguk Warriors once again.

    South Korea’s qualification for 2026 extends an unprecedented run for the East Asian nation: this will be its 11th consecutive World Cup appearance, an unbroken streak dating all the way back to the 1986 tournament in Mexico. Alongside Son, star names including Paris Saint-Germain playmaker Lee Kang-in and Bayern Munich elite defender Kim Min-jae all earned spots in Hong’s final selection. In a show of confidence in his impact, the coach also included Feyenoord influential midfielder Hwang In-beom, despite the star currently managing a nagging ankle injury.

    Speaking to reporters in Seoul, Hong laid out the team’s clear competitive ambitions for the tournament. “Our primary goal is to reach the round of 32,” Hong said. “We do not know what will happen after that. We could go even further than we could have imagined. Our World Cup goal is not the round of 32; our primary goal is the round of 32.”

    South Korea has a history of punching above its weight at recent World Cups. Four years ago in Qatar, the side advanced to the knockout round after a stunning final group stage win over Portugal, before bowing out to five-time tournament champion Brazil. Hong brings unique World Cup pedigree to the role: he captained the iconic 2002 South Korean side that made a historic semi-final run on home soil, and also led the national team at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where the side picked up just one point from three group matches.

    All three of South Korea’s Group A matches will be held in Mexican cities, with the side kicking off its campaign on June 11 against the Czech Republic. Seven days later, it will face host nation Mexico, before wrapping up group play against South Africa on June 24. The team heads into the tournament with inconsistent recent form, however, suffering a 4-0 thrashing by Ivory Coast in March followed by a narrow 1-0 loss to Austria. To sharpen up ahead of the opener, South Korea will travel to Salt Lake City on Monday to begin final preparations, with warm-up friendlies scheduled against Trinidad and Tobago and El Salvador before the tournament gets underway.

    The full 26-man South Korea squad is as follows:
    Goalkeepers: Jo Hyeon-woo, Kim Seung-gyu, Song Bum-keun
    Defenders: Kim Min-jae, Cho Yu-min, Lee Han-beom, Kim Tae-hyeon, Park Jin-seob, Lee Gi-hyuk, Lee Tae-seok, Seol Young-woo, Jens Castrop, Kim Moon-hwan
    Midfielders: Yang Hyun-jun, Paik Seung-ho, Hwang In-beom, Kim Jin-gyu, Bae Jun-ho, Eom Ji-sung, Hwang Hee-chan, Lee Dong-gyeong, Lee Jae-sung, Lee Kang-in
    Forwards: Oh Hyeon-gyu, Son Heung-min, Cho Gue-sung

  • These women are training to represent the US in an Olympic sport they’d never heard of

    These women are training to represent the US in an Olympic sport they’d never heard of

    When 27-year-old Los Angeles screenwriter Rylee White first stumbled across a TikTok about open tryouts for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Handball Team — a sport she had never even heard of — with no prior experience required, she knew immediately she had to show up. White was far from alone. Buoyed by the video’s viral spread across the platform, more than 150 aspiring female athletes turned out for the January tryouts, marking a five-fold jump in turnout compared to previous recruitment cycles.

    Five months after that fateful open call, White is one of a small group of recruits who have relocated to Florida to join USA Handball’s national residency program, putting everything on hold in pursuit of a spot on the 2028 Summer Olympics roster, to be held right in her home city of Los Angeles.

    Unlike in much of Europe, where handball ranks among the most watched, high-participation competitive sports, it has remained largely obscure in the United States for decades. The fast-paced full-contact sport pits two teams of six outfield players plus a goalkeeper against each other, with athletes using a resin-coated ball to pass and score. Introduced to the Olympic program for men in 1936 and women in 1976, it regularly draws tens of thousands of fans to top matches in powerhouses like Germany, France, Norway, Denmark, and the Balkan nations of Southeastern Europe, which almost always claim the top Olympic medals in the sport.

    As the 2028 host nation, the U.S. automatically qualifies for a spot in every Olympic event, meaning the women’s handball team will return to the Games for the first time since Atlanta 1996. But building a competitive roster from a tiny domestic talent pool has long been a steep challenge; for years, the U.S. team has primarily relied on dual citizens who play professional handball in Europe to fill its ranks. Unlike most Olympic sports where athletes begin training in childhood, U.S. handball recruits almost always switch to the sport later in life, often coming from other competitive athletic backgrounds.

    For White, that switch came after injuries derailed her planned college career playing basketball and lacrosse, requiring multiple knee surgeries that kept her sidelined from high-level competition. Handball offered a second chance to pursue elite sport. “I think a lot of people would describe me as the most competitive person they’d ever met,” White said. “I definitely was raised in a house where we had big, big dreams.” After her tryout, she told head coach Sarah Gascon she was ready to commit fully, telling her partner she would bring him along to Europe if she earned a professional contract overseas, the end goal for many residency athletes. The final 2028 Olympic roster won’t be finalized until a few months before the Games, and only 14 to 18 spots are available out of dozens of current training athletes — making the entire journey a high-stakes gamble.

    Gascon, a long-time veteran of the U.S. women’s national handball team who recently took over as head coach, has made rebuilding the struggling program her top priority. “We’ve had great successes in my career and some really great moments but still didn’t get an opportunity to play in the Olympic Games because we just weren’t good enough,” she explained. Gascon has found that multi-sport athletes make the strongest handball recruits, as the sport borrows core skills from other popular games: basketball builds ball handling, volleyball teaches blocking, and softball or rugby develop throwing technique. “It’s really about their athleticism,” she said. “Do they have a good foundation that we could build upon? And how are they able to adapt with learning something new at 22 or 23 years old?”

    Despite the wave of new enthusiasm sparked by the viral TikTok, the biggest barrier to the program’s success remains a crippling lack of funding. Gascon confirmed that USA Handball is the only national governing body for an Olympic sport that receives no funding from the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee, and the women’s team is entirely cut off from core support including elite athlete health insurance. The USOPC did not respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press on the matter. Gascon and all her coaching staff are unpaid volunteers, and athletes must hold full-time jobs while balancing the demands of elite training. “Some of our best athletes haven’t been able to go to tournaments or go to events because they can’t afford it,” Gascon said.

    For new recruits like 30-year-old Devyn Holbrook, who had also never heard of handball before the viral tryout announcement, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is worth the risk. A self-described “queen of side quests” who trained in ballet, soccer, basketball, softball, and javelin throw growing up, Holbrook became obsessed with the sport after just a few days of play. “I just loved it and then I couldn’t stop watching videos online of past Olympic Games,” she said. “You don’t get a lot of chances to do like women’s team sports later in life. There will never be a chance again that I could go to the Olympics in this capacity. So why not give it everything that I have? And if I don’t make it, then I don’t make it.”

  • A record-breaking race and Catholic blessing highlight the role of faith for Kenyan runners

    A record-breaking race and Catholic blessing highlight the role of faith for Kenyan runners

    In the heart of Kenya’s Rift Valley, the small town of Eldoret has long been known as the global cradle of elite long-distance running, turning out dozens of the world’s top champions over decades. Now, this quiet running hub is drawing new global attention for an unexpected reason: a historic record-breaking win that has put the deep connection between Kenyan elite runners and their Christian faith front and center.

    Thirty-one-year-old Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe entered the 2025 London Marathon as one to watch, but few predicted the magnitude of what he would achieve on April 26. Maintaining a searing, nearly unheard-of pace from start to finish, Sawe crossed the line in a stunning 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds, making history as the first athlete ever to complete the official 26.2-mile marathon distance in under two hours. The feat shattered a milestone many in the running community had long considered unachievable in an official, mass-participation race. Ethiopian rival Yomif Kejelcha finished just 11 seconds behind Sawe, also clocking a sub-two-hour time. For Sawe, the historic win comes just months after his 2024 marathon debut in Valencia, Spain, where he claimed victory with an already impressive time of 2:02:05.

    News of Sawe’s groundbreaking win sparked widespread, joyful celebrations across Kenya, a nation that has dominated international middle- and long-distance running for generations, earning its reputation as the undisputed home of long-distance running. In the days following the win, new details about Sawe’s pre-race routine emerged that shifted the conversation to the role faith plays in many Kenyan runners’ success: the devout Catholic had stopped at his home parish, Holy Family Catholic Church in Eldoret’s St. Josephine Bakhita Lower Moiben Parish, to attend Mass and ask for prayers from his parish priest just before heading to London.

    Parish priest Rev. Pius Tuwei told Religion News Service that when he blessed Sawe ahead of the race, he had no idea the runner would pull off such a historic, world-altering victory. “I was just blessing him like any other athlete or any other person,” Tuwei said. “It was really a surprise for me when I heard he had won.”

    Sawe’s faith and commitment to his parish are well-known among his community. Tuwei added that Sawe has long been generous to the church, a trait he likely inherited from his grandmother, a deeply charitable and active member of the congregation. “That could have really given him a very strong foundation on morals, the church and discipline— this could have contributed to his success,” Tuwei explained. “I think giving back to society is also holding him to his faith.”

    This link between running success and spiritual belief is not unique to Sawe. Christianity is the dominant religion in Kenya, and public displays of faith are a common sight in international races, where Kenyan runners often make the sign of the cross before starting and after finishing competitions. Many of the nation’s most legendary running champions have openly spoken about how their faith shapes their training and competition. Eliud Kipchoge, the global running icon who first broke the two-hour marathon barrier in a 2019 custom-designed exhibition event in Vienna (a feat that was never ratified as an official marathon record), told a running blog in 2019 that his Catholic faith is a core part of his athletic life. “It keeps me from doing things that could keep me away from my goals. On Sundays, I go to church with my family and pray regularly, even in the morning before a race,” Kipchoge said.

    For years, sports analysts have attributed Kenya’s unmatched long-distance running success to a combination of natural genetic advantage, early childhood training on rugged rural terrain, and years of high-altitude intensive training. Now, after Sawe’s historic win, athletes and religious leaders are bringing the role of faith forward as an underdiscussed contributing factor to consistent championship success.

    Patrick Makau Musyoki, a former world marathon record holder from Kenya, says that while elite talent is the starting point, spiritual belief drives Christian athletes to push past their limits. “We are able to train very well, but at the end of the day, for us to manage to go to a race and a winner to run the world record, we should have faith in God, who gave us the talent,” Makau said. “And he helps you to keep on improving talent.”

    Tuwei echoed this perspective, noting that faith reinforces moral discipline and keeps runners connected to what many see as the divine source of their ability. “When I look at Sawe, it seems his talent is real — not acquired,” he said.

    Not all experts agree that faith plays a direct role in race outcomes, however. Brother Colm O’Connell, an Irish missionary and legendary athletics coach widely known as the “godfather of Kenyan running,” said he was not surprised to hear Sawe sought a priest’s blessing before the London Marathon, but argued spiritual intervention had little to do with his record win. “If that was the case, then marathon runners might spend more time in the church than on the road,” O’Connell told Religion News Service. “I think that God helps those who help themselves. So, you know, he gave you a talent, and then you have to get out and use it, and not hide it.”

    O’Connell added that incremental improvements to training methods, nutrition, and sports technology will continue to push marathon boundaries lower over time, regardless of spiritual belief. “It’s 1 hour, 59 (minutes) now,” he said. “Then it will be 1 hour, 58, and then it will be 1 hour, 57.”

    For his part, Sawe summed up his historic achievement simply after crossing the finish line in London: “Nothing is impossible.”

  • Zaha omitted from Ivory Coast World Cup squad

    Zaha omitted from Ivory Coast World Cup squad

    As the 2026 FIFA World Cup fast approaches, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, African powerhouse Ivory Coast has become the latest nation to confirm its final roster for the tournament, delivering several surprise selections and omissions for football fans across the globe.

    Head coach Emerse Fae has named four current English Premier League players in his 26-man squad, a group headlined by Wolverhampton Wanderers center-back Emmanuel Agbadou, Nottingham Forest holding midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, Manchester United winger Amad Diallo, and Aston Villa striker Evann Guessand. Beyond these active top-flight English players, a number of other squad members bring prior Premier League experience to the side, including Al Ahli midfielder Franck Kessie, Stade Rennais captain Seko Fofana, NK Maribor playmaker Jean Michael Seri, AS Monaco winger Simon Adingra, and Villarreal winger Nicolas Pepe.

    One of the most eye-catching exclusions from the roster is 33-year-old winger Wilfried Zaha, a veteran of the Ivorian national team with 36 senior caps to his name. Zaha, who recently featured for Ivory Coast at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and is currently on loan at Major League Soccer side Charlotte FC from Turkey’s Galatasaray, failed to secure a spot in Fae’s final selection for the World Cup finals.

    Other notable absentees include Nottingham Forest veteran defender Willy Boly and 2024 Afcon final match-winner Sebastien Haller, the former West Ham United striker. Haller, however, has been named among five standby players who could be called up to the squad in the event of last-minute injuries before the tournament kicks off.

    Among the most exciting new additions to the squad is 22-year-old Inter Milan striker Ange-Yoan Bonny, who completed his nationality switch just one week before the squad announcement. Previously a French youth international who represented France at the Under-21 level, Bonny is uncapped at the senior level for Ivory Coast, and follows in the footsteps of teammate Elye Wahi, who earned his first Ivorian cap in a 1-0 friendly victory over Scotland back in March. Another highly anticipated inclusion is RB Leipzig forward Yan Diomande, who has been the subject of widespread transfer speculation linking him with a move to the Premier League in the upcoming summer window.

    For Pepe, the 30-year-old winger’s inclusion marks a return to the national side after being left off Fae’s roster for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, where Ivory Coast entered the tournament as defending champions but were eliminated in the quarter-final stage.

    Ivory Coast will make its fourth appearance at the men’s World Cup this summer, having previously qualified for three consecutive tournaments between 2006 and 2014 before missing out on the 2018 and 2022 editions. Drawn into Group E, the Elephants will kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign on 14 June against Ecuador, before facing off against four-time World Cup champions Germany and tournament debutants Curacao in the group stage.

    The expanded 48-team 2026 World Cup will run from 11 June to 19 July across 16 host cities spread across the three North American host nations.

  • What next for Chelsea & Kerr as striker exits?

    What next for Chelsea & Kerr as striker exits?

    When Sam Kerr swapped the Chicago Red Stars for Chelsea in a landmark January 2020 transfer — then the most expensive move in Women’s Super League history — the 31-year-old Australian striker carried the weight of unprecedented expectation on her shoulders. Six and a half years later, as the 32-year-old prepares to hang up her Chelsea boots at the end of the current season, it is clear she has not only met those expectations but surpassed every possible benchmark, cementing her legacy as one of the greatest players to ever grace both the Blues and the WSL.

    Kerr’s goalscoring pedigree long preceded her arrival in London. Even after leaving the National Women’s Soccer League six years ago, she retains her status as the competition’s all-time leading goal scorer. When she joined Chelsea, she already held the all-time goal record in Australia’s W-League, and still sits third on that list today. In the NWSL, she claimed three consecutive Golden Boot awards, with her 18-goal single-season tally standing as a league record until 2024, when Temwa Chawinga hit 21.

    That elite goalscoring touch translated seamlessly to the WSL. Over her Chelsea career, Kerr has lifted 11 major trophies: five WSL titles, three FA Cups, three League Cups, and one Community Shield, missing out on the league title only in her final partial season. This campaign alone, she has netted 16 goals across 29 appearances in all competitions, pushing her to 64 WSL goals for the club — enough to make her Chelsea’s all-time leading WSL scorer. A two-time WSL Golden Boot winner, she was named 2022 WSL Player of the Season and PFA Fans’ Player of the Year in both 2021 and 2022. In 2023, after hitting 29 goals in 38 appearances to lead Chelsea to a WSL and FA Cup double, she finished second in Ballon d’Or voting.

    What has made Kerr such an irreplaceable asset for Chelsea goes beyond just her raw goal tally. Her knack for stepping up in high-stakes moments is unmatched: 22 of her WSL strikes have been game-winning goals, she has found the back of the net in five FA Cup finals, and five League Cup finals. With one regular season game remaining against Manchester United at Chelsea’s home ground on Saturday, Kerr could make her 158th and final appearance for the club, and a goal would see her draw level with Fran Kirby as Chelsea’s all-time leading top scorer across all competitions, with 112. She currently stands as the fourth-highest appearance maker in Chelsea women’s history.

    Off the pitch, Kerr’s tenure in London has been marked by both professional milestones and personal upheaval. Her undisputed status as the leader of Chelsea’s attack came to an abrupt halt in January 2024, when she suffered a devastating anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept her sidelined for more than 18 months. She only regained full match fitness in the second half of the current 2025-26 season, long after Chelsea’s title challenge had fallen off pace. In Kerr’s absence, new manager Sonia Bompastor led the squad to an unbeaten domestic treble in her debut 2024-25 campaign, but the club has struggled with a gap in the number nine role this term.

    Kerr also weathered intense public controversy off the pitch in 2025, when she stood trial for racially aggravated harassment against a Metropolitan Police officer. She was ultimately found not guilty, but the high-profile case sparked calls in Australia for her to be stripped of the national team captaincy, pushing her to step back from the public eye in England. Amid this turbulent period, Kerr also welcomed major personal changes: she married former West Ham midfielder Kristie Mewis, and the couple welcomed their first son in May 2025.

    With Kerr out of action for most of the past 18 months, Bompastor has turned to other attacking options to fill the gap: England international Lauren James stepped up to lead the line, and the signing of USA winger Alyssa Thompson added further attacking quality this season. Young England striker Aggie Beever-Jones, one of the club’s most natural finishers, has seen her campaign disrupted by recurring injuries, while Colombian star Mayra Ramirez has not made a single appearance in 2025-26. These gaps have left the number nine position a persistent problem for the Blues, even as Kerr worked her way back to fitness. This season, Kerr has started just four WSL matches, notching six goals and two assists across 17 appearances in all competitions — a return that made her impending exit increasingly likely.

    Even coming off a long injury layoff, Kerr proved she still has elite quality when she led the line for Australia at the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup in March. She scored four goals in six matches as Australia reached the final, where they fell to runners-up behind Japan. On her return to Chelsea, she started six consecutive matches, including the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City, where she found the net despite Chelsea’s eventual defeat. The performance confirmed what many have long known: even at 32, Kerr remains one of the most prolific and dangerous strikers in the world.

    As Kerr prepares to leave Stamford Bridge, her next move remains unconfirmed, but multiple reports point to a potential return to the NWSL in the United States. Australian broadcaster 10 News recently reported that Kerr had agreed a deal to join expansion side Denver Summit, though the striker quickly refuted the claim on social media.

    For Chelsea, replacing Kerr will be one of the most challenging tasks the club has faced in recent years, and Bompastor has already confirmed that signing a elite starting striker is the club’s top summer transfer priority. This summer already marks a major transitional period for the Blues, with several key senior players including captain Millie Bright, midfielder Guro Reiten and striker Catarina Macario all set to depart alongside Kerr. After a season plagued by injury problems and shallow attacking depth that has seen the club underperform relative to its own high standards, Chelsea is targeting a proven, established goalscorer to reinforce their frontline.

    Manchester City’s WSL leading scorer Khadija Shaw currently tops Chelsea’s transfer wishlist, but whoever the club signs will face an enormous challenge to fill Kerr’s shoes. Remarkably, even after missing more than a year of action with injury, Kerr will still finish this season as Chelsea’s top goalscorer across all competitions, and the only Chelsea player to hit double figures for goals. Since the start of the 2024-25 WSL season, Beever-Jones leads all remaining Chelsea strikers with 13 goals, James is next with eight, while Kerr has notched six despite being sidelined for 18 months of that stretch. The numbers speak for themselves: Chelsea has a huge rebuild job on their hands to reestablish a competitive frontline capable of challenging the top clubs in England and Europe.