Sports
Sabastian Sawe shatters 2-hour barrier to win London Marathon
Apr 23, 2023; London, UK; Participants of the London Marathon seen in the finish area after completing the race. Mandatory Credit: Peter van den Berg-Imagn Images Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe became the first runner to complete an official marathon in less than two hours as he broke the world record at the London Marathon on Sunday.
On a calm, sunny morning, the 31-year-old finished the marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. That crushed the previous record — set by Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum in the 2023 Chicago Marathon — by 65 seconds.
“I am feeling good,” Sawe told BBC Sport. “I am happy. It is a day to remember for me.”
Not only did Sawe blast through a psychological and physiological barrier akin to the four-minute mile, he set the pace for Ethiopia’s Yomif Kejelcha to go under two hours as well. Kejelcha finished in 1:59.41.
“We started the race well and approaching the end of the race, I was feeling strong and I remember (Kejelcha) was so competitive,” Sawe said. “I think he helped me a lot. Finally, reaching the finish line, I saw the time. I was so excited.”
Pushed by Kejelcha, Sawe ran a reverse split to defend his London Marathon title. After reaching the halfway point in 1:00.29, he needed just 59:01 to complete his second 13.1 miles.
Sawe wasn’t the only racer to set a world record in London on Sunday. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa needed just 2:15.41 to break the tape, which placed her in the record books — again — for a marathon run only by women. Last year in London, she ran the marathon in a record 2:15:50.
–Field Level Media
Sports
BetBoom Team advances to grand final of PGL Wallachia 8
YMCA member Austin Manengu works the keyboard as he plays a game of Fortnite during the unveiling of the new gaming lab at the Maplewood Family YMCA in Rochester Thursday, June 20, 2024. YMCA of Greater Rochester in partnership with Metro Sports & Entertainment Group will open two gaming labs for youth and teens this year. BetBoom Team downed Aurora Gaming 2-1 on Saturday to advance to the grand final of the PGL Wallachia Season 8 event at Bucharest, Romania.
Aurora Gaming could earn a rematch in Sunday’s grand final if they can defeat Team Falcons in the lower-bracket final earlier in the day.
Sixteen teams began the $1 million Dota 2 tournament with the top eight advancing from the Swiss-system group stage. The double-elimination playoffs continue with all matches best-of-three until the best-of-five grand final on Sunday. The winning side will take home $300,000.
On Saturday, BetBoom Team opened the upper-bracket final with a marathon 82-minute victory on red, then Aurora Gaming drew level with a win in 40 minutes on red, before BetBoom emerged with a 37-minute win on green.
Russian Danil “gpk” Skutin paced BetBoom with a 32-7-44 kill-death-assist ratio over three games.
Team Liquid swept the South America Rejects in one lower-bracket quarterfinal, winning in 38 minutes on green and 49 minutes on red.
Poland’s Michal “Nisha” Jankowski led Team Liquid with a 22-6-28 K-D-A ratio.
In the other lower-bracket quarterfinal, Team Falcons swept PARIVISION by winning in 45 minutes on red and 43 minutes on green.
Jordan’s Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf paced Team Falcons with a 21-11-17 K-D-A ratio.
Team Falcons outlasted Team Liquid 2-1 in the lower-bracket semifinals. The Falcons won the opener in 53 minutes on green, Liquid drew even in 38 minutes on green and Team Falcons won a 74-minute battle on green in the deciding faceoff.
Oliver “skiter” Lepko of Slovakia helped Team Falcons’ cause with a 30-9-35 K-D-A ratio.
Sunday’s schedule
Lower-bracket final — Team Falcons vs. Aurora Gaming
Grand final — BetBoom Team vs. lower-bracket final winner
PGL Wallachia Season 8 prize pool
1. $300,000 — TBD
2. $175,000 — TBD
3. $120,000 — TBD
4. $80,000 — Team Liquid
5-6. $60,000 — South America Rejects, PARIVISION
7-8. $40,000 — HEROIC, Team Spirit
9-11. $20,000 — GamerLegion, Xtreme Gaming, MOUZ
12-14. $15,000 — Vici Gaming, Virtus.pro, Natus Vincere
15-16. $10,000 — Team Yandex, Tundra Esports
–Field Level Media
Sports
OpTic Texas, Los Angeles Thieves in semifinals at CDL Stage 3 Minor
OpTic Texas, the Los Angeles Thieves, FaZe Vegas and the Miami Heretics won their quarterfinal matches on Saturday at the Call of Duty League Stage 3 Minor.
The semifinals on Sunday will pit Texas against Los Angeles, then Vegas against Miami with the winners in the grand final later in the day.
All 12 CDL teams are competing in the tournament, which will reward $20,000 and 30 CDL points to the champion. The single-elimination bracket is seeded based on teams’ standing following Major 2. All matches are best-of-five.
On Saturday, OpTic Texas started fast, then took a loss before eliminating Toronto KOI. Texas won 250-219 on Den Hardpoint and 6-3 on Gridlock Search and Destroy. Toronto stayed alive with a 5-1 victory on Scar Overload before OpTic secured the match with a 250-81 triumph on Scar Hardpoint.
The Los Angeles Thieves swept G2 Minnesota 3-0, winning 250-229 on Sake Hardpoint, 6-3 on Scar Search and Destroy and 6-0 on Scar Overload.
FaZe Vegas ousted the Riyadh Falcons 3-1, opening with a 250-146 win on Den Hardpoint and 6-2 decision on Fringe Search and Destroy. The Falcons forced a fourth map by taking Scar Overload 5-3, but Vegas emerged with a 250-187 triumph on Sake Hardpoint to finish the match.
The Miami Heretics dropped the opener to the Paris Gentle Mates, 250-236 on Sake Hardpoint. Then it was all Heretics, winning 6-3 on Fringe Search and Destroy, 4-3 on Scar Overload and 250-203 on Colossus Hardpoint.
Call of Duty League’s Stage 3 Minor prize pool
1. $20,000, 30 CDL points
2. no money, 20 CDL points
3-4. no money, 10 CDL points
5-8. no money, no CDL points — Toronto KOI, G2 Minnesota, Riyadh Falcons, Paris Gentle Mates
9-12. no money, no CDL points — Carolina Royal Ravens, Cloud9 New York, Vancouver Surge, Boston Breach
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cloud9 remains unbeaten at LCS Spring
A backlit keyboard is part of the gear online video game streamer Jordan Woodruff uses in his Gilbert home.
Jordan Woodruff
Cloud9 and FlyQuest each swept their Week 4 matches Saturday to remain in playoff position at the LCS Spring event.
Cloud9, one of two remaining unbeatens, became the first team to reach 4-0 in the regular season with a 2-0 defeat of Shopify Rebellion. FlyQuest held firm at fourth in the standings with its 2-0 win over Dignitas, which remains the only team still searching for its first win.
Eight teams will compete in best-of-three matches in the round-robin regular season before advancing to the playoffs of the League of Legends event, which will be contested in best-of-five matches in a double-elimination format. The top two teams will qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational.
Cloud9 won in 36 minutes on red and 24 minutes on blue. Jesper “Zven” Svenningsen of Denmark led the victory with a 13-2-19 kill-death-assist ratio. South Korea’s Yoo “Zinie” Baek-jin was Shopify Rebellion’s most effective player with a 5-5-5 K-D-A.
FlyQuest completed its sweep with a 26-minute win on red and a 43-minute triumph on blue. Turkey’s Ibrahim “GaKGoS” Samet Bulut and Song “Quad” Soo-hyung of South Korea earned MVP honors in FlyQuest’s wins, posting K-D-As of 11-2-15 and 11-4-20, respectively. Australia’s Ian Victor “FBI” Huang led Dignitas with an 8-7-9 K-D-A ratio.
Week 4 schedule
Sunday
LYON vs. Disguised
Team Liquid vs. Sentinels
Regular-season standings (Win-loss total, map differential)
T1. Cloud9, 4-0, 8-2
2. Team Liquid, 3-0, 6-2
3. LYON, 2-1, 5-3
4. FlyQuest, 2-2, 6-4
5. Sentinels, 1-2, 4-5
6. Disguised, 1-2, 2-5
7. Shopify Rebellion, 1-3, 2-6
8. Dignitas, 0-4, 2-8
–Field Level Media
Creative Assembly drops first look at the Alien: Isolation sequel
BetBoom Team advances to grand final of PGL Wallachia 8
