British woman claims record run across Australia
Ultra long-distance runner Fran Hurndall completed a 3,800-kilometre (2,360-mile) charity run across Australia in Sydney, claiming the fastest time on record for a woman (DAVID GRAY)
British former footballer Fran Hurndall completed a 3,800-kilometre (2,360-mile) charity run across Australia on Sunday, claiming the fastest time on record for a woman.
Raising money for victims of domestic violence, Hurndall ran the distance from Perth to Sydney in 60 days, her team said, despite suffering from an Achilles tendon injury and infected blisters.
Advertisement
"The run has been a wild ride and the physical and mental struggle has been unbelievable," the 33-year-old said in a statement.
"What I have had to go through is absolutely nothing compared to the struggle of those women who live with the threat of domestic violence every single day."
Hurndall finished 17 days quicker than the previous claimed women's record in 2023, a team spokeswoman said, adding that she planned to lodge her accomplishment with Guinness World Records.
dg-djw/sco
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


News24
33 minutes ago
- News24
Havili, Frizell among All Blacks in Australia-NZ XV to face Lions
David Havili and Shannon Frizell were among four All Blacks named Monday as part of an Australia-New Zealand XV to face the British & Irish Lions. The pair were joined by Shaun Stevenson and Folau Fakatava as the first wave of signings for the combined team that will take on Andy Farrell's men in Adelaide on 12 July. READ | Rassie credits Tony Brown, Libbok's 'determination' as Bok pivot overcomes kicking woes The combined side will be coached by Les Kiss, who will succeed Joe Schmidt as Wallabies coach next year, alongside former All Blacks mentor Ian Foster. Kiss also coaches Super Rugby's Queensland Reds, who face the Lions on Wednesday in Brisbane. 'We are delighted with the quality of the New Zealand contingent announced today and look forward to naming more players as the squad comes together,' said Rugby Australia's high performance director Peter Horne. 'We want this team to entertain the big Adelaide crowd and provide the Lions with a tough contest as they head into their three-Test series with the Wallabies.' Inside centre Havili has appeared 30 times for New Zealand, scoring nine tries, and is fresh from captaining the Crusaders to the Super Rugby title. Flanker Frizell has scored eight tries in his 33 Tests, while fullback Stevenson has been capped once and scrumhalf Fakatava twice. The remainder of the Australia-New Zealand squad is still to be announced for the match, which will be the final Lions outing before the first Test against the Wallabies in Brisbane on 19 July. The Lions will also play Tests at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 July and in Sydney on 2 August. Get your tickets now 📲 #LionsTour2025 — RUGBYcomau (@rugbycomau) June 30, 2025
Yahoo
44 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Farrell keeps us guessing - five Lions talking points
On Sunday evening, the Lions swapped the pleasant climate of Western Australia and headed east, into the rain of Brisbane. Outdoor training was binned and instead they had a walk-through indoors at their base in the grounds of an Anglican church grammar school in the city suburbs, nicknamed Churchie. Advertisement A fitting venue. Former Wallabies David Pocock and Quade Cooper received part of their education here. And on Monday morning it was where Andy Farrell sat down to talk about his team selection for game three, against the Queensland Reds on Wednesday, a Lions side showing 14 changes from Perth last Saturday. The only constant in the starting line-ups from Perth to Brisbane is Finn Russell. Life moves on - the twin emotions of elite sport Tomos Williams' departure leaves only one Welshman in the 38-strong squad - flanker Jac Morgan [Getty Images] Saturday's worst fears were confirmed with Tomos Williams ruled out of the tour, cut down in his prime with a hamstring injury in the act of scoring a terrific try in an exciting performance against the Western Force. Advertisement "He's going to be medium-to-long-termish, so unfortunately he's got some sad news this morning and he'll be leaving camp later on this evening," said Farrell. Ben White is now on his way. One in, one out. Just like that. Despair and joy. Williams will be 34 when the next Lions trip comes around. It's horrible, but his time has come and gone in a blur. With Scotland in Whangarei, the northernmost city in New Zealand, White is at the other end of the emotional spectrum. He would have been devastated to miss out on selection in the first place, especially after such a fine Six Nations. Now he's elated. He scored against Italy, England and Ireland. His understanding with Finn Russell has been telepathic for a number of years now, so he's an interesting customer, full of energy and ambition. He should fit in well with the game the Lions are trying to play. Advertisement Jamison Gibson-Park is the clear favourite for the nine Test jersey, but White's understanding with Russell will make him a very real threat to Alex Mitchell for a bench spot. "He's [got] a bit of a trek, but at least he's in our time zone," said Farrell of White. "He'll be devastated for Tomos, like we all are. But at the same time, he's super-excited." Mr Cohesion changing his thinking, for now Garry Ringrose is a contender for the first Test - but who might he be paired with? [Getty Images] In his coaching with Ireland, Farrell has always put large store in cohesion, hence why so many Leinster partnerships move up into the green jersey, almost as a bloc. Advertisement He's not doing that in Australia, particularly not in what is becoming a really fascinating area - the midfield. There are two ready-made combinations with years worth of cohesion - Ireland's Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose and Scotland's Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones - but Farrell is not putting these guys together. Not yet anyway. Against the Pumas he had Aki and Tuipulotu, against the Force it was Tuipulotu and Ringrose and now it's Aki and Jones. Ringrose is on the bench on Wednesday, so maybe we'll finally get to see a familiar duo at some point - Ringrose and Aki. Or maybe there's a Ringrose-Jones axis coming. He's keeping us guessing. Farrell knows what the Scots and the Irish can do in their usual partnerships. He's now exploring what might happen if you break them up and look for another way. It means we're no nearer in determining which one of these partnerships is going to begin the first Test. It's intriguing. This will be Jones' first game from the start on tour, having had some minutes off the bench on Saturday in Perth. Advertisement As a Scot, he's won two of his three Tests against the Wallabies, scoring three tries in the process. Through injury, he's only played two and a bit games since the end of the Six Nations, which featured a hat-trick against Italy and a try against England. He's a thoroughbred attacker and he needs a big game against the Reds. Ringrose, in the words of Tuipulotu, was like a "missile" against the Force. Tuipulotu was impressed, to say the least. The battle for the midfield spots is getting more compelling with every passing game. Kiss calls on the Reds to rip into the Lions The Queensland Reds will have 11 Test players, including nine Wallabies and two All Blacks, in their squad to face the Lions. Advertisement Coach Les Kiss named his team on Monday and there's some star quality in it. Wallaby hooker Matt Faessler is in as is his fellow Test player, Hunter Paisami, the centre. Lachie Anderson, the exciting wing, is part of a backline that could pose plenty of threat to the Lions. "Excitement is high, that's for sure," said Kiss. "It's a one-off match but we've had a line of sight with their games against Argentina and the Western Force. They are an incredibly good and talented team. They have taken on some of the DNA of the Irish team. "They've shown their attacking side, too. We have to meet those challenges but we'll put our brand of rugby out there as well. We'll keep backing ourselves. Why can't we put our best foot forward, rip in and see what happens?" Keenan gets his shot, Kinghorn on his way Hugo Keenan was absent as Leinster beat Bulls to win the URC Grand Final on 14 June [Getty Images] Fair play to Elliot Daly. He's had a tremendous beginning to his tour and he's piled the pressure on Hugo Keenan and Blair Kinghorn for the 15 jersey. It was supposed to be a straight shootout between the Irishman and the Scot, but Daly has given his coaches plenty to think about. He's been class in both of his appearances so far. Advertisement Leinster's Keenan starts at 15 against the Reds. He's not played since the United Rugby Championship quarter-final in late May, missing the semi-final and final. A sore one for him. He can't really afford to be rusty and Kinghorn - who was pictured in Toulouse-branded pants in the mixed zone on Saturday night after winning a second Top 14 in two years - needs to hit the ground running, too. Kinghorn is versatile and has played five of his last six games for Toulouse on the wing. He's in excellent form and will arrive in Brisbane tired but also elated. Keenan vs Kinghorn vs Daly is going to be a hell of a tussle. Wrinkle-free Maro returns with a smile on his face Maro Itoje has played almost 2,200 minutes this season [Getty Images] A few eyebrows were raised when the captain didn't feature in the first game on Australian soil last weekend, but there was a reason to rest him. Two reasons, actually. Advertisement Farrell needed to see his other locks, for one, and, for another, Itoje looked as if he needed a rest when putting in a pretty low-key performance in the defeat against Argentina. It wouldn't have been a huge shock had Farrell given him another rest day on Wednesday, but he hasn't. Itoje has played a huge number of minutes - almost 2,200 - this season for club and country. That's 1,000 minutes more than Ollie Chessum and Scott Cummings and between 700-800 more than Joe McCarthy and James Ryan. The captain is among the most-played Lions this season, but in Brisbane he declared himself fresh and ready to roll again. "Often when you talk about game minutes and load, part of it is the physical load, but a lot of it is the mental load," he said. Advertisement "Coming into this new environment, spending time with new players, new systems, new coaches, everything, has been really refreshing for me. In my career, I've had a lot of consistency with club and country, so just to have a different stimulus has been great." In some banter at the top table, Farrell said that Itoje, 30, looked good despite all those minutes played. "Looks great, look at the smile," said the coach. "No wrinkles, skin is fresh," replied the lock. "Botox?" asked Farrell. "No botox," laughed Itoje. Game number three is around the corner. More amusement in the aftermath and they'll have done their job.


Forbes
an hour ago
- Forbes
Spain's Bonmati Discharged From Hospital Ahead Of UEFA Women's Euro
LAS ROZAS, SPAIN - JUNE 24: Aitana Bonmati of Spain attends during the Media day of the Spanish ... More women's team ahead UEFA Women's Euro 2025 at Ciudad del Futbol on June 24, 2025, in Las Rozas, Madrid, Spain. (Photo By Dennis Agyeman/Europa Press via Getty Images) Spain's two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati has been discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for viral meningitis and is expected to rejoin the squad in 'the coming days', the federation has announced. Bonmati's participation at the upcoming Women's Euro had been under doubt after the midfielder did not train on Thursday and was taken to a hospital in Madrid on Friday after being diagnosed with viral meningitis, an infection that causes inflammation near the brain and spinal cord. "Thanks to everyone for the messages I've received and to those who have helped me these past few days. Fortunately, everything is going well. I hope to return soon,' Bonmati said on Instagram on Sunday, sharing a photo of herself in a hospital bed with a thumbs-up. The 27-year-old missed Spain's final warm-up game ahead of the Euro – a friendly game with Japan on Friday in Leganes which the world champions won 3-1. The Spain squad headed to Switzerland on Sunday afternoon, with the Euro due to begin there from Wednesday. La Roja are scheduled to open their campaign against Portugal on Thursday, with Belgium and Italy their other opponents in Group B. Bonmati, winner of the Ballon d'Or in 2023 and 2024, is a key player of the Spain squad with 30 goals in 78 appearances. She played an important role in their 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup-winning campaign and the UEFA Nations League last year. Spain are playing at the Euro for only the fifth time, having enjoyed their best performance in 1997 when they reached the semi-finals. They reached the quarter-finals in their other three editions. Spain are one of the pre-tournament favorites, alongside defending champions England and record eight-time winners Germany.