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Final day of US championships: Jefferson-Wooden perfect for 200m title

Published

1 month ago

July 27, 2026

Bilal

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden won the 200 metres title in a clean sprint on the final day of the U.S. national championships on Sunday, with world champion Noah Lyles falling short in the men’s event.

Jefferson-Wooden, who completed the sprint double in Tokyo last year, was close to the top of her form as she blitzed through the first half of the race and crossed the line in 21.69 seconds, one hundredth of a second off her personal best.

Camryn Dickson was third in 22.58 and Cambrea Sturgis a distant second in 22.22.I went up to the line and just told myself, ‘Just let each part of the race come to you. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Just go out there and let it fly when the rifle goes off,” Jefferson-Wooden said. “And that is what I did.”

Lyles scared the crowd when he pulled up with a leg cramp down the final straight, gasps going through the stands of Icahn Stadium. The winner of the 100m earlier in the championships later indicated he was okay, given the burden he put on himself.

Garrett Kaalund won in 20.04 seconds with Brandon Hicklin second in 20.29 and Maximilian Thomas two thousandths of a second slower for third.

MISSING ATHLETES HAVE ‘OFF YEAR’

There was no customary intrigue to the tournament in a “off year” with no Olympics or worlds, the first time since 2018 that the U.S. nationals were not a selection meet for the two global competitions.

The New York crowd took some time to warm up to the event — which was staged in the five boroughs for the first time in more than three decades — and low early attendance gave way to a packed house for Sunday’s finale.

Some of the sport’s biggest names were absent including current women’s and men’s 400m hurdles Olympic champions Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who gave birth earlier this month, and Rai Benjamin.

Olympic silver medalist Anna Cockrell ran to the top of the podium in 52.94 with confidence, while Christopher Robinson had his best performance of the season to win the men’s race in 47.61.

Nia Akins (1:59.25) just edged off Addy Wiley (1:59.40) down the final straight to win the women’s 800m. It was the second sorrow in two days for Wiley, who lost the ⁠1,500m by four hundredths of a second to Nikki Hiltz on Saturday.

Cooper Lutkenhaus, 17, had another clinic on the boys’ side, winning in 1:43.48, more than a second ahead of Wes Ferguson (1:44.55).

Cordell Tinch held off Bradley Franklin to win the final track event of the day in 13.00, by barely four-thousandths of a second. Ja’Kobe Tharp, who recently set the world mark, did not compete.

Olympic champion Valarie Sion threw 69.54 meters on her fourth try to win her eighth straight U.S. women’s discus national title, while Jordan Geist won the men’s shot put with a throw of 22.32 meters on his last attempt.

The women’s long jump had a last touch of drama with Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall initially named the winner with her final try before being placed third. The jump was deemed a foul after a protest and Alyssa Jones was given the victory with 6.96, while Monae’ Nichols (6.92) placed second.

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Pakistan suffer severe seven-wicket loss to India in Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026

Published

18 minutes ago

September 6, 2026

Bilal

Pakistan’s batting line-up collapsed for a paltry 55 runs and they suffered a crushing seven-wicket loss to India in the Women’s T20 Asia Cup 2026 in Dubai on Saturday.

Winning the toss and batting first, Pakistan were promisingly placed at 27 for one at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium but could not build on it. India’s spinners then ripped through the rest of the batting order to leave Pakistan with their lowest-ever score in women’s T20 internationals.

The outcome leaves Pakistan with a win and a loss from their first two games of the tournament. They beat Thailand by 35 runs in their opening game but struggled to replicate that against a powerful Indian bowling attack.

Pakistan crumble

Pakistan’s innings got off to a good start as Muneeba Ali and her opening partner carried the team to 27 but wickets then started to fall. Finally India got a break, Pakistan lost 9 wickets for 28 runs and were bowled out for 55 in 18.1 overs.

Shawaal Zulfiqar was Pakistan’s top scorer with 14 off 14 balls while Muneeba Ali contributed 13 off 15 balls. Tuba Hassan scored nine runs but none of the other Pakistan batters could make double figures.

India’s bowlers were on top all the way through the innings. Shree Charani was the star performer with 3 wickets for just 7 runs, Prema Rawat also picked up 3 wickets for 9 runs.

Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma each took a wicket as Pakistan battled to find a way past the Indian attack. Pakistan had lost wickets early on that stopped them from putting up a competitive total and left India needing just 56 runs to win.

India won by 5 wickets

Pakistan needed early wickets to preserve their modest total but India made steady headway toward the finish. India completed the target in 10.4 overs losing three wickets and won by seven wickets.

Indian skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was the highest scorer with 18 runs followed by Shafali Verma and Deepti Sharma with 12 runs each. India, however, kept the chase under control losing three wickets and scored the needed total with few deliveries to spare.

That is Pakistan’s loss after a good start against Thailand in their inaugural match, which they won by 35 runs. Now they turn their attention to another Group A match against Hong Kong on September 7, and Pakistan will need to improve their batting in their upcoming outing.

Meanwhile, India stay unbeaten in the competition, having earlier defeated Thailand and Hong Kong.

Pakistan XI

Muneeba Ali (wk), Shawaal Zulfiqar, Gull Feroza, Ayesha Zafar, Sadaf Shamas, Fatima Sana (c), Eyman Fatima, Tuba Hassan, Nashra Sandhu, Sadia Iqbal, Umm-e-Hani

India XI

Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, Pratika Rawal, Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Bharti Fulmali, Richa Ghosh (wk), Deepti Sharma, Prema Rawat, Shree Charani, Kranti Gaud, Nandani Sharma.

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Israeli military says it struck southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired drones

Published

21 minutes ago

September 6, 2026

Bilal

The Israeli military claimed it launched an attack in southern Lebanon early on Sunday in response to Hezbollah’s launching of two drones at Israeli soldiers in a section of the area it has designated a security zone.

The Israeli army issued a warning to evacuate areas surrounding a structure in Arab Salim town in South Lebanon, stating it will strike it as it is utilized by Hezbollah.

The Israeli military said it bombed weapon storage sites in south Lebanon on Friday that it thought were meant for use by Hezbollah.

Israeli bombings have killed more than 4,300 civilians in Lebanon since March 2.