Injury forces Farah to pull out of London marathon Verstappen on verge of second world title ahead of Singapore GP Boxing’s Olympic future under fresh scrutiny
LONDON:MO Farah has been forced to withdraw from Sunday’s London marathon due to a hip injury with this latest setback raising doubts over the 39-year-old’s future in competitive racing.
The four-time Olympic gold medallist was due to run the race for the first time since 2019 ater making a return to the track in a failed atempt to compete at last year’s Olympics in Tokyo.
Farah did return to form on the road by winning the “Big Half” -- a London half marathon -- earlier this month.
“I’ve been training really hard over the past few months and I’d got myself back into good shape and was feeling prety optimistic about being able to put in a good performance,” said Farah in a statement issued by London marathon organisers on Wednesday.
“However, over the past 10 days I’ve been feeling pain and tightness in my right hip. I’ve had extensive physio and treatment and done everything I can to be on the start line but it hasn’t improved enough to compete on Sunday.”
He added: “It’s really disappointing to have to withdraw ater a good last few months and ater my win at The Big Half but also because I love racing in front of my home crowd in London who always give all of us athletes such amazing support.”
Farah has never won the London marathon in three previous atempts, with his best finish coming in 2018 when he was third.
Ethiopian reigning champion Sisay Lemma and his compatriot Kenenisa Bekele, the secondfastest marathon runner of all time, are among the favourites for the men’s race.
Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge is not running ater smashing his own world record by 30 seconds at the Berlin marathon last Sunday.
Meanwhile, world record-holder and two-time winner Brigid Kosgei has pulled out of Sunday’s London Marathon with a hamstring injury.
The Kenyan triumphed in the British capital in 2020 and 2021 before finishing fourth last year.
“I have been struggling over the past month with an issue in the hamstring of my right leg,” Kosgei, 28, said in a statement on Monday.
“My training has been up and down and not the way I would like to prepare to be in top condition for the 2022 London Marathon.
“We’ve decided it’s best I withdraw from this year’s race and get further treatment on my injuries in order to enter 2023 stronger than ever.” singapore:red Bull’s dominant Max Verstappen can clinch a second world championship when the Singapore Grand Prix returns this weekend ater a three-year absence because of Covid.
The flying Dutchman has a mathematical chance to seal back-to-back world titles under lights around the spectacular and demanding Marina Bay street circuit.
To do so, the 24-year-old must win the race -- something he has never done in Singapore -- and needs his closest rivals to falter badly.
If that does not happen, the championship fight will move on to the Japanese Grand Prix a week later. It looks a case of when, not if.
“You need a bit of luck for that as well,” Verstappen told Sky Sports of retaining his crown in Singapore.
“I don’t think about it.” Verstappen opened up a 116-point lead in the drivers’ standings over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc following his victory at the Italian Grand Prix. He is 125 clear of third-placed Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez.
He needs to extend his lead to 138 points by Sunday’s chequered flag to be crowned with five races to spare -- the earliest championship win since Michael Schumacher’s in 2002 with six GPS remaining.
Monza was Verstappen’s 11th victory in 16 races of a potentially record-breaking season.
He needs two more wins to equal the singleseason mark of 13 jointly held by Schumacher (2004) and Sebastian Vetel (2013).
“I want to go to Singapore and try to win that race as well,” Verstappen said.
“We are having a great season, so we should really try and appreciate it and enjoy the moment.”
To take the title this weekend, he must win the race with Leclerc finishing no higher than eighth or ninth -- depending on who claims the extra point for the fastest lap -- and Perez outside the podium places.
Much will depend on Saturday night’s qualifying for a grand prix that has been won from pole position seven times in its last 11 runnings.
The night race around the tight street track affords precious few overtaking opportunities and the stifling heat and humidity provide a test of stamina and reliability as much as driving ability.
Singapore’s climate always carries a threat of rain-induced chaos, as happened in 2017, when Vetel and Verstappen started on the front row only to crash out before the first bend.
Lausanne:the International Olympic Committee’s patience with boxing’s troubled governing body looks to be wearing thin following “disturbing developments” at the IBA’S extraordinary congress last weekend.
An IOC spokesperson told AFP on Thursday the Olympic rulers were “extremely concerned” with the lack of a new election for the IBA presidency, and the suspension in the run-up to the congress in Yerevan of the Ukrainian boxing federation.
In consequence the IOC’S executive board “will have to fully review the situation” at its next meeting in December, the spokesperson said.
This raises the stakes over the future of boxing as one of the staple sports on the Olympic menu.
Boxing’s corruption-tainted world governing body is already excluded from organising its own events at the Paris 2024 Games, just as it had been at Tokyo’s delayed 2020 Games last year.
Boxing’s presence in the 2028 Los Angeles Games is also far from assured. It was excluded from the initial programme, with the IOC leaving the door open to its reinstatement in 2023 given necessary reforms by the IBA.
Beset by judging scandals from Athens 2004 to Rio 2016, a debt mountain, and an ex-president considered by the US to be “one of the leader’s of organisedcrime”fromuzbekistan,theibaappointed Russian Umar Kremlev as its new chief in 2020.
But despite seting up an independent inquiry undercanadianlawyerrichardmclaren,the39-yearold former head of a private security firm has done litle to reassure the IOC that boxing is in safe hands.
The association’s “financial dependency” on the giant Russian gas company Gazprom has also caused disquiet.
In May last year Kremlov was reelected uncontested ater his Dutch rival, Boris Van der Vorst, was banned from the election on grounds that were dismissedbysport’shighestcourt,cas,amonthlater.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport’s verdict triggered the need for a new election but the IOC spokesperson pointed out that that failed to take place last Sunday.
Instead, “only a vote not to hold an election” was staged in chaotic circumstances with a power outage in the middle of the voting process.
The IOC was also troubled by the kicking out of the Ukrainian federation at a time when sport in Ukraine is facing a tough struggle following Russia’s invasion of the country in February, an invasion that has seen Russia hit with a slew of sanctions.