Sabastian Sawe achieves first sub-two-hour marathon in London, Tigst Assefa breaks women's world record
via The Namibian6 min read
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon by becoming the first athlete to complete a marathon in under two hours, finishing in 1 hour, 59 minutes, and 30 seconds. This achievement surpassed the previous men's world record of 2:00:35. Ethiopia's Yomif Kejelcha, in his marathon debut, finished second with a time of 1:59:41, and Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo placed third at 2:00:28. Sawe expressed his belief that his performance demonstrates to the new generation that achieving such a record is possible through preparation and discipline. While Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge previously ran a sub-two-hour marathon in 2019, it was not ratified as a world record due to non-standard conditions. Both Sawe and Kejelcha wore Adidas's new Pro Evo 3 supershoes. Kenyan President William Ruto and Kipchoge praised Sawe's historic run. In the women's race, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa broke her own women's-only world record, finishing in 2:15:41. Kenya's Hellen Obiri came in second with a personal best of 2:15:53, followed by compatriot Joyciline Jepkosgei.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Tadej Pogacar is poised to secure a record-equalling fifth Tour de France title after Saturday's stage 20, with Richard Carapaz winning the stage on Alpe d’Huez. Pogacar, 27, will join cycling legends like Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx as a five-time winner, and will be the youngest to achieve this feat. He finished fourth on the stage, riding arm-in-arm with teammate Isaac Del Toro, who secured third place overall and the best young rider's white jersey. Pogacar dedicated his efforts to helping Del Toro maintain his position, stating it was an honor to ride for him. Carapaz, who won his second stage in three days, also claimed the King of the Mountains polkadot jersey, finishing eighth overall. The stage was challenging for American Sepp Kuss, who crashed twice in the final 7km while leading Carapaz, ultimately losing his advantage. Kuss's crashes allowed Carapaz to take the stage win. Dane Mads Pedersen secured the sprinters’ green points jersey. The final stage on Sunday is expected to be a procession into Paris, where Pogacar will officially claim his victory.
Lando Norris of McLaren secured his first pole position of the year at the Hungarian Grand Prix, narrowly beating Lewis Hamilton of Ferrari. Norris, 26, recorded a lap time of 1 minute and 17.207 seconds, just 0.012 seconds faster than Hamilton, who was aiming for his 10th pole at the track. Charles Leclerc, in the second Ferrari, qualified third, followed by world championship leader Kimi Antonelli of Mercedes in fourth. Oscar Piastri of McLaren and four-time champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull completed the top six. Norris expressed his happiness, noting the session was tough but their upgrades helped. Hamilton, 41, acknowledged Norris's achievement and reflected on their qualifying strategy, while Leclerc cited wind changes as a factor in his performance. The qualifying session began in hot conditions with a track temperature of 52C.
The Namibian police and four farmer organizations, including the Namibia Agricultural Union NAU, the Namibia Emerging Commercial Farmers’ Union NECFU, the Namibia National Farmers’ Union NNFU, and the Previously Disadvantaged Namibians’ Farmers’ Union PDNFU, have signed a 10-year agreement to enhance efforts against stock theft and other crimes affecting farmers. The agreement, signed in Windhoek, establishes a framework for preventing, detecting, and reducing crimes, particularly stock theft. This new pact replaces a previous agreement between the police and the NAU that concluded in March 2024. Acting Inspector General Anne-Marie Nainda noted that the prior agreement improved cooperation and communication between law enforcement and the farming community through the national rural safety strategy. Nainda highlighted that crimes in rural areas, such as stock theft, illegal grazing, poaching, and infrastructure vandalism, continue to challenge farmers and the national economy. She also acknowledged the Joint Crime Prevention Forum, established in 2018 by the NAU and NECFU, for strengthening farmer-police cooperation, advising on rural safety, supporting regional initiatives, and facilitating dialogue.