More than one million people sign up for 2026 London Marathon
The number of applications for the 2026 race's ballot shattered last year's world record of 840,300 entries for the 2025 London Marathon.
'This is an absolutely staggering total which reaffirms London as by far the most popular marathon on the planet,' said Hugh Brasher, CEO of organisers London Marathon Events.
Applications for the 2026 race are nearly double the total for the 2024 London Marathon, organisers said after the ballot closed on Friday.
Last Sunday's 45th renewal also snatched the Guinness World Records title for largest number of finishers from the 2024 New York Marathon.
Over 56,500 athletes crossed the finish line in blazing sunshine in the British capital, from the elite field through to those in fancy dress.
New York had some 55,600 finishers. Last month's Paris Marathon had 56,950 starters but fewer finishers.
The women's elite race also provided the spectators with a memory to treasure, Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa setting a new women's only world record of 2hr 15min 50sec.
According to organisers, the 2025 race raised over £75 million ($99.5 million) for charities, with participants fundraising for various causes.
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Time of India
5 hours ago
- Time of India
Alcaraz to face defending champ Sinner in Cincinnati ATP final
World number one Jannik Sinner and hot rival Carlos Alcaraz will face off in a major final for the fourth time this season after both booked straight-set wins into the title match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. Independence Day 2025 Modi signals new push for tech independence with local chips Before Trump, British used tariffs to kill Indian textile Bank of Azad Hind: When Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave India its own currency Defending champion Sinner ruthlessly subdued 136th-ranked qualifier Terence Atmane 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 while Spanish second seed Alcaraz defeated an ailing Alexander Zverev, who was suffering badly from the 32 Celsius heat and humidity, by 6-4, 6-3. Alcaraz and Sinner have played for trophies this season in Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with the Italian winning their most recent at the All England Club last month. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cardiologist Reveals: The Simple Morning Habit for a Flatter Belly After 50! Lulutox Undo Sinner, celebrating his 24th birthday, ended Frenchman Atmane's dream run and will now try to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2014-15 to win back-to-back titles in Cincinnati. Sinner, tuning up for the US Open in his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, hasn't dropped a set en route to the final. Live Events "It's a very, very tough challenge every time you play a new opponent," Sinner said. "In the later stages of the tournament,the pressure is on, they deserve to be there." Alcaraz will also be playing in his second Cincy final after losing to Novak Djokovic in 2023. The Spaniard increased his ATP season match win lead to 53 in a year of five titles. Alcaraz broke Zverev once in the opening set to claim it before the German, who is diabetic, began feeling poorly and took a medical timeout off court after the third game of the second set. Zverev, who has retired in only two matches since 2014, came back out to finish what was a patchy match from Alcaraz, who double-faulted for times in the second game of the second set but won the last 12 points with Zverev running on fumes. "We started well with good rallies, a good level," Alcaraz said. "All of a sudden he felt bad and I was thinking more about how he was feeling instead of playing good tennis. "It was tough and I just wish him all the best." Alcaraz said he is keen to try and take his Wimbledon revenge on Sinner in the unorthodox Monday final. "We always bring our best tennis. We raise each other's level. I'm ready to take the challenge," Alcaraz said. "I will try and adjust my game better and correct what I did wrong in our last match. I want to be ready with my 100%. Mentally I'll be ready -- I'm excited for Monday." 'Pressure was on me' Atmane gave birthday boy Sinner a Pokemon card shortly before they went on court, but he was in a less giving mood once they were underway. But Sinner surrendered just three points in his first six service games as they went to the tiebreaker with neither man facing a break point. Atmane double faulted on the first point of the decider and Sinner was away, powering to a 5-2 lead and pocketing the set at his second opportunity. "My experience helped in the first set," he said. "I'm very happy to go through to another final. "I tried to focus on myself, how I usually play, and then try to adapt a little bit to his game style," Sinner said. "And that's exactly what I did today. "The pressure was on me. That's normal in the position where I am in -- he was ready to fight." "My goal has always been the US Open, But we have put in the work here, in the gym and in practice. I just hope to be ready for New York." Sinner showed a first sign of vulnerability as he needed five game points to hold serve in the opening game of the second set. But that was the closest look Atmane got at his serve, and Sinner broke the Frenchman for a 3-1 lead and again to seal the match. Atmane, who is projected to crack the top 70 in the world rankings, became Sinner's 22nd straight French victim since May 2021, when he lost to Arthur Rinderknech in Lyon.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
On India's first Test tour, how a mutiny was quelled
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Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Australia coach Schmidt hails 'great bunch of young men'
Australia coach Joe Schmidt said on Saturday he hoped a phenomenal 38-22 Rugby Championship comeback win over South Africa in Johannesburg showed his team are on the road toward earning respect. HT Image The Wallabies, who had not beaten South Africa at Ellis Park since 1963, recovered from trailing 22-0 to beat the reigning World champions and Championship title-holders. Following a torrid last few years, the victory continues Australia's resurgence after being well beaten in the first Test against the British and Irish Lions, losing the second by just three points and then winning the dead rubber 22-12. "This has got to rank very highly in terms of wins and for me personally, since usually you get absolutely swamped here in the last quarter," said Schmidt. "The players had to hang in there and I am really proud of the way they did that." "You have got to earn respect every time you (play), you have to be really competitive in every game. "We are still building our strength in depth and our game shape, but this is a great bunch of young men who have shown the ability to roll their sleeves up and earn that support. "They deserve it and I hope there was really good support for them back in Australia." "When the Springboks get their game going, when they are accurate, they are very hard to stop. In the first 40 minutes there was just wave after wave coming. "But Fraser McReight stole the ball a few times, and the determination the team showed was very pleasing. "This is a really tight group, they get on very well together. We have had a chance to gel and a real collective resilience was in evidence tonight." "We were not always on the front foot." "There were some fantastic diving tackles where we just got a boot or half a jersey. We needed a little bit of luck as well," added Schmidt. Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus called the performance "really awful", blaming poor game management after a brilliant opening quarter. "When you are 22-0 up, you tend to take chances, but you still need to build an innings or you can end up losing by nearly 20 points like tonight. "There were so many breaks when Grant Williams, Manie Libbok or Edwill van der Merwe almost got away, but sometimes you have to realise that you are not quite going to get it. "Their kick-to-ruck ratio was much better than ours -- we only kicked nine times in the second half. It's definitely not wrong to say we overplayed. "But they did not just tactically outsmart us, but physically too. The longer the game went on, the stronger the Wallabies were. "It was a bad loss and at some stage our heads and shoulders were down. It was sad that there was no fightback so we gave them a bonus point and did not get one ourselves." str-dl/pb
