ATHLETICS: Kenyan pacemaker Noah Bor ran away with the Athens Marathon yesterday in a dream debut at the distance.
On the original marathon course from the village of Marathon to Athens, the 27-year-old crossed the line in 2:19.26 to repeat the success of Kenyan pacemakers in the recent Berlin and Chicago marathons.
Sonja Krolik-Oberem of Germany won the women's race, as expected, in 2:36.15, more than four minutes ahead of Albina Ivanova of Russia after battling against heavy rain and strong winds which spoiled organisers' hopes of fast times in a race upgraded with the Athens Olympics three years away.
Krolik-Oberem, who placed fifth in the World Championships in Edmonton in August, said: "Those are the hardest conditions I've ever experienced. It was hell out there."
Bor beat fellow Kenyan Frederick Cheruiyot into second place.
Cheruiyot said his compatriot was not supposed to complete the race after setting the early pace. "I thought he was supposed to drop out at 30km," he said.
ATHLETICS: Tesfaye Jifar of Ethiopia and Margaret Okayo of Kenya ran the fastest-ever New York City Marathons in an emotional 32nd running of the race through all five boroughs of the city yesterday.
Cheered on by crowds estimated at more than two million, Jifar and Okayo were in record form on a sunny, cool day. Jifar put on a burst with three miles to go to leave 2000 runner-up Japhet Kosgei of Kenya behind and win the race in 2:07.43.
It marked the first marathon victory for the 25-year-old Jifar, who was seventh at this year's world championships, and earned the Ethiopian a first prize of $80,000, a $50,000 bonus for breaking the course record, and a new car.
Dick Hooper of Raheny Shamrocks was second in the over 45 category in a time of 2:28.00, and ended up 54th overall.
Okayo surged into the lead just after the halfway point and never looked back as she won the women's race in 2:24.21, 19 seconds faster than the 1992 mark set by Australian Lisa Ondieki.
The 25-year-old Okayo claimed the $80,000 top prize, a bonus of $35,000 for setting a course record, and a new car. Susan Chepkemei of Kenya sprinted past Russian Svetlana Zakharov in the last few metres to claim second place.
BASEBALL: New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani flew 25 relations of the rescue workers who died on September 11th to the Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix to game six of the World Series expecting to see the Yankees clinch their 27th title.
Instead, they endured a record 15-2 roasting that ensured the scrap would go the distance to bring the 97th Series to a riveting climax.
The penultimate chapter was over by the end of the fourth inning as the Diamondbacks surged into a 15-0 lead, Danny Bautista driving in five runs and Matt Williams becoming the first man in Series annals to collect two doubles in an inning.
The home side's final tally of 22 hits constituted a Series high.
Remarkably, not one of the blows was a home run. On a night when Randy Johnson, Arizona's starter, overhauled Sandy Koufax's 36-year-old record of 411 strikeouts in a season, the sufferer-in-chief was Jay Witasick, the Yankees' relief pitcher, who gave up eight earned runs in the third inning.
--(Guardian Service)
