Berlin
The 50th Berlin Marathon broke the world record for most finishers last Sunday, Sept. 29, with 54,280 runners completing the race. It surpassed the previous record held by the 2024 Paris Marathon in April with 54,175 finishers.
Ethiopian runners Milkesa Mengesha and Tigist Ketema won the marathon, making it the first time in three years that Ethiopia has taken both the women’s and men’s titles of any annual major world marathon.
24-year-old Mengesha ran a personal-best time of two hours, three minutes and 17 seconds, beating Kenyan Cybrian Kotut to the win. Ketema, 26, finished in two hours, sixteen minutes and 42 seconds — the third-fastest time ever recorded in Berlin for the women’s event. The current female world record is held by Ketema’s fellow countrywoman Tigst Assefa at 2:11:53, set last year in the same marathon.
Twelve records were set or broken during the marathon as well, including fastest male marathon dressed as a mobile phone, fastest male marathon in a onesie, fastest marathon by a married couple in traditional Thai dress, fastest female marathon wearing a dirndl, and fastest female marathon dressed in an inflatable costume.
The 2024 New York Marathon could soon break the record for most finishers in November, with 165,000 signups already and 50,000 expected to start the race.
London
Wimbledon received the go-ahead for a 39-court expansion this week, despite multiple objections. The All England Lawn Tennis Club said that Wimbledon has fallen behind in the Grand Slam scene, and that the new practice and qualifying tournament facilities, along with an 8,000-seat arena, will bring the tournament back up to speed.
These courts will replace the 104 acres of Wimbledon Park, including the Heritage Golf Course and would break a 1993 agreement between the London borough and the All England Lawn Tennis Club to protect the golf course.
The group Save Wimbledon Park was created to prevent the expansion. It has argued that outside of the annual tournament, the space will not be used, and that the tournament will not shrink to include fewer players or matches due to its abundant history and reputation as the premier grass court tournament in tennis. Furthermore, the group warns “the proposals will cause ‘corporate ecocide’, including the loss of 300 trees, as well as 10 years of disruption to the local area,” according to The Guardian.
“When we decided to sell this land, we did so ensuring it would be kept as open space and we did so determined that the next owner and any future owner would be denied forever the opportunity to use this space for any development,” said Tony Colman, leader of Merton council, in a statement.
Madrid
Champions League title holder Real Madrid lost 0-1 against Lille Olympique Sporting Club on Wednesday, Oct. 2, breaking their 36-game undefeated record in all competitions and losing in the Champions League for the first time since their 4-0 loss to Manchester City at the end of the 2022-23 season.
The 15-time winners of the Champions League last lost in January to neighbors Atletico Madrid, but have since won the 2023-34 Champions League and the Spanish LaLiga.
In the second round of this year’s new Champions League format, Real Madrid conceded a first-half stoppage time penalty, which was scored by Lille striker Jonathan David. Even with the newly signed Kylian Mbappe coming off the bench to try to play savior, Madrid was unable to find an equalizer.
Madrid currently sits in 17th in the Champions League table, but the impact of the loss on the team’s qualification hopes is yet to be determined. Madrid is held to high standards by everyone at the club and by fans who are not used to losing, so the team needs to secure a spot within the top-eight and automatically qualify for the knockout rounds, especially with match congestion dominating soccer headlines as of late.
Madrid will have to fight for their spot as they face last year’s finalist Borussia Dortmund next in the competition, followed by AC Milan at the Santiago Bernabéu and Liverpool at Anfield.
Contact Jonathan Mak at [email protected].
