Latest news with #Ethi
BBC News
07-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Love to see more spectators' - was Grand Slam Track a success?
From empty stands and absent superstars to innovative formats and unusual match-ups - did the inaugural Grand Slam Track meeting deliver?The 12 athletes who left Kingston, Jamaica this weekend with an additional $100,000 (£77,500) after competing in just two events might suggest it was a huge huge swathes of empty seats at the National Stadium led to the feeling that the innovative new format, the brainchild of four-time Olympic champion Michael Johnson, has work to do in order to capture an audience."Obviously, look, let's be honest. We would love to see more spectators here, you know?" Johnson said."We think we'll get that, we think that'll happen. But the crowd was engaged, and that's what's really important. People were really engaged with what's happening here."American Johnson said he launched the concept, broadcast on TNT Sports in the UK, in a bid to maintain the attention and excitement athletics generates every four years at the event in Jamaica was the first of four scheduled three-day events - each of the next three take place in the United States - and Johnson was pleased with how it played out, although he admitted there are issues to iron out."Everything went smooth from a competition standpoint," Johnson added. "But we had a few things behind the scenes that we didn't like."Other people probably didn't notice it, but we did. We will look at everything. We noticed lots of different things. But those aren't the things we're going to get into right now."Right now we're just celebrating that we had a great event, athletes and fans enjoyed it. We'll continue to improve." How does Grand Slam Track work? A total of 96 athletes competed across three days in Jamaica, with 48 of those signed up to the four-meet season as 'Racers' while the remaining half are 'Challengers', who will swap in and male and female competitors are subdivided into six categories - each containing eight athletes - such as Short Sprints, with the eight featuring in that group competing in the 100m and 200m each win points for their finishing position in both races, with their combined tally determining the champion at each slam and securing the winner $100,000 (£79,500). Britain's Olympic medallist Matthew Hudson-Smith, who won 400m silver at Paris 2024, is one of the 'Racers' signed up for the Jamaica, he won the 200m race and came second in the 400m to top the combined standings and claim the top the 12 champions, nine were 'Racers' with the victors from the 'Challengers', including Emmanuel Kenyan specialises in the 800m but stunned a high-calibre 1500m field, beating Yared Nuguse and Olympic gold medallist Cole Hocker, who finished second and third respectively, while Britain's Josh Kerr, the reigning 1500m world champion finished came second in the 800m to amass 20 overall points and finish top of the Short Distance Danielle Williams and Ethiopian Ejgayehu Taye were the other two 'Challengers' to cause an upset. Jury still out for some elite contenders Olympic medallists Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Gabby Thomas, Kenny Bednarek, Fred Kerley, Daryll Neita and Dina Asher-Smith are among the high-profile names signed up, but some of the biggest stars from the 2024 Olympics were notably Noah Lyles, who won 100m gold in Paris, British 1500m Olympic gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson and double gold medallist Jakob Ingebrigtsen opted to steer clear of the event.A growing calendar could be the reason some are yet to have a third World Championships in the space of four years to prepare for in Tokyo in September, while many were involved in the World Indoor Championships in China in Diamond League will also once again hold 15 meetings across 2025 with record prize money totalling $9.2m (£7.3m) on Grand Slam Track format has a prize pot of $12.6m (£10m) with the 48 contracted 'Racers' also receiving a base salary to compete at all four slams."I heard them on the home stretch - '$100,000 on the line' - and so it really motivated me," Thomas, who finished as the Long Sprints champion, next meet runs from 2-4 May in Miami before moving to Philadelphia between 30 May and 1 June and the final event takes place in Los Angeles from 27-29 June.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
Burglary team sought for breaking into at least 10 NYC pharmacies, stealing cash, opioids
A three-man burglary team has spent the last three months targeting mom-and-pop pharmacies throughout New York City, stealing cash and opioids — but NYPD detectives may have scored a break in the case after their last heist, officials said Saturday. Cops recovered clear surveillance images of one of the men responsible for the 10 heists that have occurred mostly in Queens, but have also spread to Brooklyn and the Bronx, police said. More than $3,500 in cash, as well as Oxycodone and other opioids, have been taken, cops said. No injuries have been reported. Police on Saturday released the image in the hopes someone recognizes him. The crew has been targeting independent pharmacies since Dec. 6, when they smashed the roll-down security gate to the Shalom Pharmacy on Main St. near 72nd Drive in Kew Gardens Hills during a 5 a.m. break-in. Once inside, the suspects stole $200 in cash and $35 worth of lottery tickets, officials said. Less than an hour later the suspects struck again, this time hitting the True Care Pharmacy on 69th Ave. near 164th St. in Flushing, where they smashed the glass door and removed $100 from the register. The crew resurfaced on Dec. 12, where they tried to break open a security roll-down gate at Mercy Pharmacy and Surgical Supplies on 51st St. in Astoria, but they abandoned the attempt before they could get inside. Surveillance cameras in the area recorded a gray Infiniti sedan leaving the scene. On Saturday, workers at Mercy Pharmacy said they were never informed of the attempted break-in. 'Nobody even told me,' a store clerk, who would only identify herself as Ethi, told the Daily News. At around the time the break-in occurred, store owners added several more locks to the roll down gate and front door, Ethi, 29, recalled. 'We did put three more locks,' she said. 'It's hard for us to even open when we come here. There's more on the gate and the door.' Pharmacy workers said that shoplifters usually steal formula, aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs. But prescription medication thefts were rare. 'They're definitely selling [the stolen drugs],' she said. 'I'm not surprised they'd be stealing over the counters and stuff, but drugs? I'm surprised.' 'As a pharmacy we get paid through insurances, Medicaid, Medicare, it goes directly [to us],' said part-time pharmacist Nihad Arama. 'So anyone who wants to steal from a pharmacy they're gonna steal products. 'I'm sure it's someone that already worked in a pharmacy and they know where things are,' Arama surmised. The thieves also hit the Hyatt Pharmacy on 30th Ave. near Crescent St. in Astoria on Dec. 12, but were again unable to get inside, cops said. 'Somehow they got the electronic gate opened. I think they picked the lock or something,' pharmacy employee Sammy, 32, told The News Saturday. 'They opened it and with a big rock they tried to throw it at the glass door. Miraculously it didn't break, even though it's just normal glass.' The two thieves had masks covering their noses and mouths, Sammy said. 'It's kind of worrying,' he said. 'We don't want them taking [anything], especially the narcotics. They probably give it to people [and] assist in their addiction.' Since the break-in, Sammy's boss has fortified the store's security system. 'The alarm is now quicker,' he said. 'If anyone's trying to touch the door or picklock the metal gate like they did last time [it'll] send a signal to police.' Three days after the Hyatt Pharmacy heist, the thieves struck again, this time hitting three Queens pharmacies in a single morning before the stores opened. They either shattered the locked front glass doors or used a crowbar to pry open a security gate. During the heists they removed $400 in cash from one store and various narcotics from another, according to police. Cops recovered surveillance footage of one of the thieves, who sported a mask was dressed head to toe in black, and was holding a crowbar. By Dec. 20, the thieves switched up their game and moved their operation to Brooklyn, where they snapped the locks to a roll-down gate at the Dyker Heights Pharmacy on 13th Ave. near 80th St. The Brooklyn store was their biggest heist yet, cops said. After forcing open the gate they used a crowbar to smash a window to get inside and steal $2,400 in cash and an assortment of drugs. This time, the thieves had a getaway driver in the Infiniti sedan waiting to take them out of the neighborhood, cops discovered. The burglars laid low in January, but resurfaced on Feb. 5 in the Bronx where they smashed a glass door to the Purple Specialty Pharmacy on West Farms Road near E. 173rd St. in Crotona Park East, across the street from Starlight Park. They fled the scene with $448 worth of prescription drugs and opioids. The burglary spree continued through Monday. The thieves returned to Queens and were caught on camera trying to break into the LV RX Pharmacy on Woodhaven Blvd. right outside Forest Park at Park Lane South. One of the suspects was seen cutting the surveillance camera to the store during the 5 a.m. heist, cops said. He then used a crowbar to force open the front door, but the door wouldn't budge. The hooded thief, who was caught on surveillance footage smoking a cigarette outside the store, is described as a man with a thin build between 25 to 35 years old. He fled the scene in a gray Hyundai, cops said. As police prepare for more break-ins, they're hoping someone recognizes the thief from the most recent burglary. Once cops nab this suspect, more arrests could follow, officials said. Anyone with information regarding this burglary spree is urged to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
