Sports

Kenyan runners sweep Boston Marathon on 10th anniversary of bombing

Published

2 years ago

April 18, 2023

Kenyan athletes, Evans Chebet and Hellen Obiri, on Monday, made a clean sweep at the Boston Marathon on the 10th anniversary of a bombing at the races that killed three people and wounded hundreds more in 2013.

Chebet who is the defending champion in the male event, won a time of 2:05:54 in a strong field that included world record holder, Eliud Kipchoge, Gabriel Geay of Tanzania, who took second, and 2021 winner, Benson Kipruto of Kenya, who finished third, among the top stars on parade.

The 38-year-old Kipchoge, a 12-time major marathon winner who was hoping to add a Boston Marathon victory to his unprecedented running resume, fell to the sixth position.

Kipchoge, who has won two Olympic gold medals and four of the six major marathons, and was competing in Boston for the first time, said after the race:

“It’s never guaranteed, it’s never easy. Today was a tough day for me. I pushed myself as hard as I could, but sometimes, we must accept that today wasn’t the day to push the barrier to a greater height”.

“I live for the moments where I get to challenge the limits,” Kipchoge added in a statement distributed by the race organizers.

In the women’s race, Hellen Obiri, a two-time Olympic silver medalist in the 5,000m, won in a sprint to finish in an unofficial 2:21:38 and complete the Kenyan sweep.

The memorial Boston Marathon, for the first time, included a nonbinary division, with 27 athletes registered.

A dozen former champions and participants from 120 countries and all 50 US states were in the field of 30,000, in a race that also included 264 members of the One Fund community made up of those injured by the 2013 attack, their friends and family and charities associated with them.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, a robotic dog named Stompy belonging to the Department of Homeland Security patrolled the start line before the race began, trailed by photographers capturing the peculiar sight.

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Sports

Coach of Mamelodi Sundowns female team suspended over sexual harassment allegations

Published

16 minutes ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The head coach of Mamelodi Sundowns women’s team, Jerry Tshabalala, has been suspended indefinitely amid allegations of sexual harassment of players.

A statement by the management of the top South African team said the 44-year-old Tshabalala, who has been in charge of Sundowns’s women’s team for over a decade, has been accused of a number of allegations, including making inappropriate sexual comments to his players, as well as entering the dressing room and refusing to leave while players are completely naked.

In a statement released on Saturday, Sundowns said they had appointed a law firm to investigate the allegations against the coach with specific instructions to unravel allegations of improper conduct by the Tshabalala.

The club said it views the allegations in a very serious light and has relieved the coach of his appointment pending when the investigations are concluded.

“Sundowns has, in the interim, put Coach Jerry Tshabalala on special leave pending the outcome of the investigation,” the club statement said.

“This is not done to pre-empt the outcome of the investigation, but to ensure that the investigation can proceed expeditiously and protect the rights of all parties.

“In the event that the investigation establishes facts that warrant action, the Board will immediately take such steps as are appropriate.

“Mamelodi Sundowns will in due course make announcements on the findings of the investigation and the action to be taken,” the statement concluded.

The Sundowns female team have been a dominant force in women’s football in South Africa and on the continent since Tshabalala took over in 2012, winning seven domestic league titles, as well as two CAF Women’s Champions League crowns.

Sports

FIFA Ranking: Nigeria ends 2024 as fifth best team in Africa

Published

2 days ago

December 20, 2024

Isaac Dachen

Nigeria’s men’s football national team, the Super Eagles, ended the year 2024 as the fifth best team in Africa in the latest FIFA world ranking for the month of December.

According to the rankings published by the world football governing body, Nigeria remains unchanged from its previous position, despite having a challenging international break.

The FIFA rankings also reveal that Nigeria suffered a significant decline this year, dropping eight places to end 2024 ranked 44th globally.

The decline follows disappointing performances during the final AFCON qualifiers for 2025, where the Super Eagles struggled against the Benin Republic and Rwanda, resulting in a lack of wins.

However, some of the Super Eagles bitter rivals like South Africa’s Bafana Bafana experienced a resurgence, climbing three positions to finish the year ranked 57th in the world, showing a marked improvement in their recent form and successful matches during the qualifiers.

It was a woeful year for West African rivals Ghana who ended the year in 77th position, which highlights the challenges the Black Stars have encountered in the outgoing year in its bid to maintain its positions among Africa’s elite teams.

Meanwhile, the Moroccan national football team, the Atlas Lion, retained its 14th position in the in the world while still maintaining its number one spot in Africa, holding the first position for the third year in a row.

In the world ranking, Morocco is followed by Senegal on 17th position, Egypt, 33rd, Algeria 37th, Nigeria, 44th, Côte d’Ivoire, 46th, Cameroon, 49th, Mali, 51st, and Tunisia in the 52nd position.

Top 10 African teams in 2024

1. Morocco – (14th)

2. Senegal – (17th)

3. Egypt – (33rd)

4. Algeria – (37th)

5. Nigeria – (44th)

6. Côte d’Ivoire – (46th)

7. Cameroon – (49th)

8. Mali – (51st )

9. Tunisia – (52nd)

10. South Africa – (57th)