Letesenbet Gidey, world-record holder in 5000m, 10,000m, sets marathon debut

By OlympicTalkMay 11, 2022, 9:45 AM EDT

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Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey, the world-record holder at 5000m, 10,000m and the half marathon, will make her marathon debut in Valencia, Spain, on Dec. 4.

Gidey, 24, broke the 5000m world record in Valencia in October 2020, then broke the half marathon world record in Valencia last October.

In between, she took 10,000m bronze in the Olympics, two months after breaking the world record in that distance.

Valencia is one of the best marathons for producing fast times. In 2020, Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir won in 2:17:16, which is the sixth-fastest time in history. Also that year, the top four men’s finishers produced times that all currently rank in the top 21 in history.

Last month, Yalemzerf Yehualaw ran the fastest debut marathon in history, a 2:17:23 in Hamburg, Germany, to break the Ethiopian record.

Neither of the two preceding world-record holders in the 10,000m — Ethiopian Almaz Ayana and Dutchwoman Sifan Hassan — have run a marathon.

Ethiopian Tirunesh Dibaba, who preceded Gidey as 5000m world-record holder, won the 2017 Chicago Marathon and last raced in 2018.

Kenyan women, once in a rivalry with Ethiopians, have recently dominated, winning eight of the last nine World Marathon Majors.

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Coco Gauff into French Open quarterfinals, where Iga Swiatek may await

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 11:52 AM EDT

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Coco Gauff swept into the French Open quarterfinals, where she could play Iga Swiatek in a rematch of last year’s final.

Gauff, the sixth seed, beat 100th-ranked Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 7-5, 6-2 in the fourth round. She next plays Swiatek or 66th-ranked Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko, who meet later Monday.

Gauff earned a 37th consecutive win over a player ranked outside the top 50, dating to February 2022. She hasn’t faced a player in the world top 60 in four matches at Roland Garros, but the degree of difficulty is likely to ratchet up in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.

Swiatek won all 12 sets she’s played against Gauff, who at 19 is the only teenager in the top 49 in the world.

FRENCH OPEN DRAWS: Women | Men | Broadcast Schedule

Also Monday, No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia dispatched 36th-ranked American Bernarda Pera 6-3, 6-1, breaking all eight of Pera’s service games.

Jabeur, runner-up at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, has now reached the quarterfinals of all four majors.

Jabeur next faces 14th-seeded Beatriz Haddad Maia, who won 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5 over Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo, who played on a protected ranking of 68. Haddad Maia became the second Brazilian woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal in the Open Era (since 1968) after Maria Bueno, who won seven majors from 1959-1966.

Pera, a 28 year-old born in Croatia, was the oldest U.S. singles player to make the fourth round of a major for the first time since Jill Craybas at 2005 Wimbledon. Her defeat left Gauff as the lone American singles player remaining out of the 35 entered in the main draws.

The last American to win a major singles title was Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open. The 11-major drought matches the longest in history (since 1877) for American men and women combined.

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U.S. earns first three-peat in Para hockey world championship history

By OlympicTalkJun 5, 2023, 8:49 AM EDT

International Paralympic Committee

The U.S. trounced rival Canada 6-1 to become the first nation to three-peat in world Para hockey championship history.

Tournament MVP Declan Farmer scored twice, and Josh Misiewicz, David Eustace, Jack Wallace and Kevin McKee added goals. Jen Lee made eight saves in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, on Sunday.

Farmer, who had nine goals in five games for the tournament, also scored twice in Paralympic final wins over Canada in 2018 and 2022 and the last world championship final against Canada in 2021. Farmer, 25, already owns the career national team record of more than 250 points.

The U.S. beat Canada in a third consecutive world final dating to 2019, but this was the most lopsided gold-medal game in championship history. The U.S. also won the last four Paralympic titles dating to 2010.

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