WATCH LIVE: Ironman World Championships Utah

By OlympicTalkMay 7, 2022, 8:30 AM EDT

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The first Ironman World Championships to be held outside of Hawaii air live from St. George, Utah, on Peacock on Saturday from 8 a.m. ET through the elite race finishes.

The Ironman, held annually in Hawaii since 1978, and in Kailua-Kona since 1981, was not held in 2020 or 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Last September, organizers announced that St. George would replace Kailua-Kona as host for one edition only.

“The ongoing uncertainty regarding Kailua-Kona, Hawaii`s ability to host the event in February required a change in venue to outside of Hawaii,” organizers said in September.

WATCH LIVE: Ironman World Championships, Saturday, 8 a.m. ET — STREAM LINK

The St. George event is branded as the 2021 Ironman World Championships, and then Kailua-Kona hosts the 2022 edition in its usual October window, with a new two-day race format on Oct. 6 and Oct. 8.

St. George was chosen in part because it hosted Ironman events before, including the 70.3 World Championships (Half Ironman) last September.

The full Ironman includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike and a marathon. It takes top triathletes eight hours to complete. Very arguably, it crowns the world’s fittest man and woman.

This year’s women’s race includes reigning 2019 World champion Anne Haug of Germany and Swiss Daniela Ryf, who won four in a row from 2015-18.

Six of the most accomplished men are absent: three-time world champion Jan Frodeno (Achilles), two-time world champion Patrick Lange (shoulder), two-time half Ironman world champion Javier Gomez (Covid) and, on Friday, a double whammy: reigning half Ironman world champion Gustav Iden reportedly bowed out with an illness, as did two-time Olympic gold medalist Alistair Brownlee.

Norwegian Kristian Blummenfelt, who last year won the Tokyo Olympics and then debuted at the Ironman distance with the fastest time in history, makes his world championships debut after overcoming an illness.

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Faith Kipyegon breaks second world record in eight days

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 4:10 PM EDT

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Kenyan Faith Kipyegon broke her second world record in as many Fridays, following her 1500m record by running the fastest 5000m in history at a Diamond League meet in Paris.

Kipyegon clocked 14 minutes, 5.20 seconds, pulling away from now former world record holder Letesenbet Gidey of Ethiopia, who ran 14:07.94 for the third-fastest time in history. Gidey’s world record was 14:06.62.

Kipyegon, a 29-year-old mom, was running her first 5000m in eight years. In the 1500m, her primary event, she broke an eight-year-old world record at the last Diamond League meet in Italy last Friday.

Next year in the 1500m, Kipyegon can bid to become the second person to win the same individual Olympic track and field event three times (joining Usain Bolt). After that, she has said she may move up to the 5000m en route to the marathon.

Kipyegon is the first woman to break world records in both the 1500m and the 5000m since Italian Paola Pigni, who reset them in the 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m over a nine-month stretch in 1969 and 1970.

Full Paris meet results are here. The Diamond League moves to Oslo next Thursday, live on Peacock.

Also Friday, Olympic 1500m champion Jakob Ingebrigtsen of Norway ran the fastest two-mile race in history, clocking 7:54.10. Kenyan Daniel Komen previously had the fastest time of 7:58.61 from 1997 in an event that’s not on the Olympic program and is rarely contested at top meets. Ingebrigtsen, 22, is sixth-fastest in history in the mile and eighth-fastest in the 1500m.

Olympic and world silver medalist Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic won the 400m in 49.12 seconds over Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who ran her first serious flat 400m in four years. McLaughlin-Levrone clocked a personal best 49.71 seconds, a time that would have earned bronze at last year’s world championships.

McLaughlin-Levrone will race the flat 400m at July’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, where the top three are in line to make the world team in the individual 400m. She also has a bye into August’s worlds in the 400m hurdles and is expected to announce after USATF Outdoors which race she will contest at worlds.

Olympic and world silver medalist Keely Hodgkinson won the 800m in 1:55.77, a British record. American Athing Mu, the Olympic and world champion with a personal best of 1:55.04, is expected to make her season debut later this month.

World champion Grant Holloway won the 110m hurdles in 12.98 seconds, becoming the first man to break 13 seconds this year. Holloway has the world’s four best times in 2023.

American Valarie Allman won the discus over Czech Sandra Perkovic in a meeting of the last two Olympic champions. Allman threw 69.04 meters and has the world’s 12 best throws this year.

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BACK-TO-BACK WORLD RECORDS! 🙌

Faith Kipyegon runs a 14:05.20 in the 5000m!#ParisDL | 📺: @peacock pic.twitter.com/4qgd7poJpe

— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) June 9, 2023

Novak Djokovic tops cramped Carlos Alcaraz, into French Open final with records at stake

By OlympicTalkJun 9, 2023, 3:20 PM EDT

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Novak Djokovic is headed to a French Open final with all sorts of history at stake after eliminating a cramping Carlos Alcaraz in a showdown semifinal.

Djokovic, a 22-time major champion, took out the top seed Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, but the match was even when Alcaraz began showing signs of right leg cramping. The 20-year-old Spaniard attributed it to the “tension” of the match, saying he was nervous for his first time facing Djokovic at a major.

“I have never felt something like I did today,” he said, adding that it was full-body cramps. “If someone says that he get into the court with no nerves playing against Novak, he lies.”

Alcaraz stopped play at 1-all in the third set and had trouble walking. He forfeited the next game, stipulated by the rules for receiving medical treatment for severe muscle cramping when not at a change of ends or end of a set.

Djokovic then won the next nine games. Alcaraz played with limited mobility and without the charismatic magic that’s charmed the tennis world.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

“First and foremost, I have to say tough luck for Carlos. I feel for him. I feel sorry,” Djokovic said to begin an on-court interview. “I told him at the net he knows how young he is. He’s got plenty of time ahead of him, so he’s going to win this tournament, I’m sure, many, many times.”

Djokovic was told of Alcaraz’s reasoning for the cramps.

“I have experienced that several times,” he said. “Early in my career I was struggling quite a bit physically. I can understand the emotions and circumstances that affect you mentally and emotionally.”

The semi was billed as perhaps the greatest inter-generational match in men’s tennis history, the first time that Alcaraz played a member of the Big Three at a major.

Their 16-year age gap was the largest to take place for men this deep in a major since the 1991 U.S. Open (Jim Courier d. Jimmy Connors) and the largest age gap for any major match between Slam champs since 2006 Wimbledon (Rafael Nadal d. Andre Agassi).

Unlike Friday, most of the previous torch-passing meetings took place when one man was not yet at his peak or the other was past his prime.

Typically, the younger player wins these types of duels. Djokovic, by prevailing over a foe 16 years younger this late in a major, broke the Open Era men’s age gap record of 14-plus years set by Roger Federer, who beat Hyeon Chung at the 2018 Australian Open.

Now, Djokovic heads to Sunday’s final as an overwhelming favorite against Norwegian Casper Ruud, a 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 winner over German Alexander Zverev in the later semifinal. Ruud was runner-up to Nadal at last year’s French Open and runner-up to Alcaraz at last year’s U.S. Open.

Djokovic can break his tie with Nadal for the most men’s major titles. He can become the first man to win all four majors at least three times. He can break Nadal’s record as the oldest French Open singles champion.

“I’ve been very fortunate that most of the matches in tournaments I’ve played in the last few years, there is history on the line,” he said. “The motivation is very high, as you can imagine.”

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