Dos Santos, Bednarek and Pathirage shine at Ultimate Championship

Doha, Qatar: Brazil’s Alison dos Santos was crowned Ultimate champion in the men’s 400m hurdles after producing a sensational 45.98 as the World Athletics Ultimate Championship Budapest 26 concluded in emphatic fashion yesterday. freshyourfeel.org

The 26-year-old world record-holder pulled away from USA’s world and Olympic champion Rai Benjamin approaching the final barrier to clock the third-fastest time in history. Benjamin finished second in 46.40, completing his 400m and 400m hurdles double, while Norway’s Karsten Warholm took third in 46.78. Germany’s Emil Agyekum set a national record of 47.10, while Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba finished fifth in 47.78.

The victory capped a remarkable season for Dos Santos, who set a world record of 45.80 in Zurich earlier this year.

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USA’s Kenny Bednarek completed the sprint double by winning the 200m, 24 hours after taking the 100m title. He stormed to a lifetime best of 19.52, finishing ahead of Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo (19.76) and Courtney Lindsey (19.79).

Sri Lanka’s Rumesh Pathirage continued his breakthrough season by winning the men’s javelin with a stunning 91.09m. After a slow opening throw of 75.89m, Pathirage improved to 85.69m and then 87.11m before producing his winning effort in the final round. The throw was the first-ever 90m-plus mark recorded in Hungary.

Pathirage, who had won 11 of his previous 12 competitions, defeated Grenada’s Anderson Peters (86.18m) and Germany’s Julian Weber (85.89m). Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem finished fifth with a season’s best 81.49m.

Italy’s Gianmarco Tamberi claimed the high jump title with a world-leading 2.37m, beating JuVaughn Harrison (2.30m) and Erick Portillo (2.26m).

Britain’s Josh Kerr won the 1500m in 3:29.35, edging Australia’s Cameron Myers (3:29.68) and improving his own Hungarian all-comers’ record.

Omar Marmoush has backed Tottenham to improve as players adapt to De Zerbi, with the team still seeking their first league victory.

Tottenham host Everton on Saturday with one point from three matches. The Egyptian forward believes greater understanding between the summer signings will help the team overcome their slow start.

“I’ve only been here for a few weeks, but the feeling has been great,” Marmoush said.

He went on to praise De Zerbi’s passion and said the players were working to understand his demands and put them into practice on the pitch.

The forward remained optimistic about their prospects, explaining that several recent arrivals were still settling into the side. He expects their combinations to improve as they spend more time playing together.

Marmoush joined Tottenham from Manchester City on August 27 on a season-long loan, with an obligation to make the transfer permanent next summer, as KingFut previously reported.

The 27-year-old has started both matches since his arrival. He completed 90 minutes against Newcastle United before playing 83 minutes away to Nottingham Forest, without scoring or providing an assist.

Tottenham lost their opening two league matches, 3-0 at Brentford and 2-0 against Newcastle, before drawing 0-0 at Forest.

De Zerbi nevertheless backed his attacking options after the match, saying Marmoush possessed the qualities to score regularly while acknowledging the need for better decisions near goal.

“I think we played well, but in the last third we have to improve,” the Italian said.

Tottenham could receive an attacking boost against Everton, with James Maddison back in contention after missing three matches through a shoulder problem.

Saturday’s match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium kicks off at 7.30 pm Cairo time.

The post Marmoush Backs Tottenham Attack to Improve Under De Zerbi appeared first on KingFut.

Quito: The Ecuadorian Football Federation announced today the appointment of Argentine Marcelo Gallardo as head coach of the national team, succeeding his compatriot Sebastián Beccacece, whose contract was not renewed following Ecuador's exit against Mexico in the Round of 32 at the 2026 World Cup.

The Federation stated in a press release on its official social media accounts that Gallardo will take charge of the national team, emphasizing that Ecuador possesses the talent, organizational structure, and ambition necessary for the upcoming stage.

Marcelo Gallardo, 50 years old, returns to coaching after concluding his second tenure with Argentina's River Plate in February, having led the club in his first tenure to win the Copa Libertadores title twice. He has also previously coached Uruguay's Nacional and Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad.

Gallardo will begin his mission with the Ecuadorian national team in a friendly match against South Korea on September 24.

Berlin: The United States secured a record-extending 12th FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup title after defeating France 97-79 in the final in Berlin on Sunday. The USA delivered a dominant second-half performance to overcome a spirited French side and claim another Women’s Basketball World Cup championship.

The US are perennial red-hot favourites at this tournament and had not lost a World Cup match since 2006, but they were below their best for much of the competition.

They trailed by two points at half-time to an energetic France side but turned it on when it mattered, outscoring the Europeans 30-12 in the third quarter.

American veteran Breanna Stewart once again led from the front, scoring a game-high 22 points along with 10 rebounds and four assists as she became the first player to be named World Cup MVP a second time.

"I'm really happy the way we let the rest of the world know our goal is always gold," she told reporters, while describing the country's World Cup record as "an insane stat".

Coach Kara Lawson called Stewart "the greatest winner that we've had probably".

Jackie Young hit four crucial threes and finished with 18 points to extend the US record to 36 wins in a row at the tournament.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark scored just one point in the semi-final but chipped in with some crucial buckets down the stretch, scoring 12 points including two threes as the Americans silenced the pro-France crowd.

"We kind of got in a little bit of a hole there," Clark told reporters of the second-quarter.

"And then we came back in and kind of dug ourselves out of it.

"That run we went on into halftime and then came out in the second half and really just dominated from there."

Playing in their first ever World Cup final, France were seeking revenge for their one-point loss in the gold medal match at the 2024 Paris Olympics but lost their composure as the Americans turned on the afterburners in the second half, committing 16 turnovers.

France's Gabby Williams, the player of the match in their semi-final win over Germany, scored an impressive 16 points in the opening half but added just four more after that.

- Americans vulnerable -

The US, huge favourites who are used to dominating World Cups and the Olympics, came into Sunday's game looking vulnerable, having come close to defeats against unheralded Italy and again against Spain in the semi-finals.

No team had come within 20 points of France as they cruised into a maiden World Cup final and started strongly, ending the opening quarter with a three-point lead and running out to a 14-point gap midway through the second.

Forced to up the ante, the US fought back with Young hitting two quick-fire threes and Clark grabbing one of her own seconds before half-time, cutting France's lead to two points.

The US were far more composed after that, with Clark finding her range from the field.

The favourites took the steam out of the match in the fourth as they kept the French at bay.

Earlier on Sunday, Spain soothed the disappointment of their narrow semi-final loss to the US by claiming bronze with an 81-58 win over Germany.

The Spanish went close to a major boilover on Saturday, pushing the heavily favoured Americans all the way in their semi-final, levelling the scores at 58-58 three-quarters of the way through the match, before the US pulled away.

On Sunday, Spain were in control throughout against the spirited but limited hosts, who had never reached the final four of the tournament as a unified country.

Top-scorer Iyana Martin was one assist away from a double-double, with 20 points while grabbing a game-best nine dimes.