More than 100,000 fun runners from at least 100 countries competed in The MA RA TH ON Worldwide Team Relay races.
A record 106,000 professional and amateur runners competed at The MA RA TH ON Worldwide Team Relay contest spread across the world at the weekend.
The Ethiopian ran his 10.5km in 32:57 on his own track that he built in Sululta, 25 minutes outside the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The 5,000m and 10,000m World record-holder built a six-lane all-weather track which is home to many athletes training and dreaming of Olympic glory.
They call it Bekele’s ‘field of dreams’. “It was a great pleasure to run my 10.5k as part of the MA RA TH ON challenge on my own track in Sululta,” Bekele posted.
The event was organised by NN Running Team, an international team of elite long-distance runners managed by a company in the Netherlands.
World marathon record holder Eliud Kipchoge topped the billing as 100,000 plus people in 100 plus countries ran 1,000,000 plus kilometres as part of the ‘Run as One’ virtual team marathon.
Kipchoge, Geoffrey Kamworor Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele and Joshua Uganda’s world 10,000m champion Cheptegei – athletes of the NN Running team formation – were among a host of world beating stars that competed.
The athletes combined for a staggering 21 laps around the world combined by recording a total of 842.658 kilometers. Many of them shared their experience proudly on social through #RunAsOne, a hashgtag which was used over 3000 times in the buildup and during the even.
The event also received support from the broader sporting community as Tottenham Hotspur FC cheered on Kipchoge and cheered on their fans on the challenge while ultra-running legend Killian Jornet set out to complete the 10.5km for his part of the challenge.
Kenenisa and Kipchoge virtual race excites the sports world
WBC Champion Tyson Fury Vs Anthony Joshua for two fights in 2021
Promoter Eddie Hearn says terms have been reached for two clashes between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. The first fight could take place in summer of 2021.
“There is still a lot to overcome. We are looking at venues and dates,” Hearn told Sky Sports News. “We have the Dillian Whyte mandatory which is due before this fight…we have not signed contracts because there are still things to be worked out. We’re pushing towards a place where they can be drafted, for 2021. Both guys are in agreement. The structure of the deal has been put forward, and agreed to by both parties.”
Fury confirmed the deal on social media. “Two-fight deal, Fury vs Joshua next year. One problem? I’ve got to smash Wilder. Then we go into the Joshua fight. It’s on, next year, but there is a hurdle in the road called Wilder.”
According to Henry Van Vledder’s suggestion it does not matter how much people want to write off Wilder, he could be as dangerous as ever, even if he can’t box, he stays dangerous. Earlier years boxers used to win and lose and it was part of the sport. For some reason a loss now days a boxer just gets written off.
Raheem Sterling calls for more Black Coaches
Progress in the fight against racism will only come in football when more black players become managers, England and Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling says.
“The protest is a great starting point, to make your voice be heard, but just protesting alone is not going to make a change in this country.” The 25-year-old suggested. It’s about highlighting things, the society that needs changing, and then acting upon it. We’ve done a lot of talking, and it’s time now to act.” He added
Sterling said there needs to be greater black, Asian and minority ethnic representation among administrators and coaching staff in British football, and that equal opportunities should be given to former BAME players.
As an example, he compared four former England internationals making their way in management: Chelsea’s Frank Lampard and Rangers’ Steven Gerrard, both white, and Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole, both black.
Campbell’s two management jobs to date have been in lower-league football, at Macclesfield and Southend, while Cole started coaching Chelsea’s Under-15s after ending his playing career last year.
Sterling said: “The coaching staff that you see around football clubs: there’s Steven Gerrard, your Frank Lampards, your Sol Campbells and your Ashley Coles. All had great careers, all played for England.
“At the same time, they’ve all respectfully done their coaching badges to coach at the highest level and the two that haven’t been given the right opportunities are the two black former players.
“Give black coaches, not just coaches but people in their respective fields, the right opportunity. It’s not just taking the knee; it is about giving people the chance they deserve. “Sterling added.”Once we do see those numbers shifting, that’s when I’ll be happy and the people will be happy.”
Ethiopian running legend Haile took part in the final day of the virtual 5km run
Ethiopia’s running legend Haile Gebrselassie took part in the final day of the virtual 5km run in Addis Ababa over the weekend.
The 47-year-old two-time Olympic 10,000m gold medalist Haile joined two current Ethiopian world champions, Muktar Idris and Netsanet Gudeta, and former world champion Gete Wami in the charity-driven event.
Haile, Muktar, Netsanet, and Gete took part in a “champions’ relay” over 5km to close the event which had opened on June 1, and has raised more than 100,000 Ethiopian birr (2925 US dollars) for Ethiopia’s fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic.
More than 500 participants including runners from around the world took part in the run which was organized by the Great Ethiopian Run.
The champions’ relay took place at the Addis Ababa Stadium and saw Haile teaming up with Gudeta, the 2018 world half marathon champion, against the Muktar and Gete, respectively the 2019 world 5000m champion and 1999 world 10 000m champion.
Haile and Netsanet covered their 5km in 16:57.26 while Muktar and Gete ran 18:56.49. The event was broadcast live in Ethiopia on Fana TV.
Haile said: “This is a difficult time not only for athletes in Ethiopia, but for the whole country. Our hope is that this race will motivate our citizens to stay fit and keep exercising while we fight the disease.”
Haile still trains daily on his treadmill at home. He has been a prominent campaigner on national media during Ethiopia’s fight against the disease. In April he featured in a campaign video to encourage Ethiopians to stay at home and practice physical distancing and spoke again to the public about the importance of measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
