Sabastian Sawe made history at the London Marathon by becoming the first athlete to run a sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race.

The 30-year-old Kenyan crossed the line to win in one hour 59 minutes 30 seconds, more than one minute faster than the late Kelvin Kiptum’s previous record of 2:00:35, set in 2023.

The great Eliud Kipchoge became the first man to run a marathon in under two hours in 2019, but that was not record-eligible as it was held under controlled conditions.

Already on world record pace as he crossed the halfway mark in 1:00:29, Sawe was able to speed up over the second half of the race to run even faster than Kipchoge’s time.

Sawe made his decisive move before the final 10km, with only debutant Yomif Kejelcha able to cover his surge off the front.

Remarkably, Kejelcha became the second man to run under two hours in race conditions, finishing runner-up in 1:59:41.

Half marathon world record holder Jacob Kiplimo also crossed the line faster than Kiptum’s former record, completing the podium in 2:00:28.

Sawe, speaking on BBC TV, said: “I am feeling good. I am so happy. It is a day to remember for me.”

“We started the race well. Approaching finishing the race, I was feeling strong. Finally reaching the finish line, I saw the time, and I was so excited.”

In the women’s race, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa improved her own world record for a women-only field as she surged clear of Kenyan rivals Hellen Obiri and Joyciline Jepkosgei in a thrilling finish to retain her title in 2:15:41.

Swiss great Marcel Hug cruised to a record-equalling eighth London Marathon victory in the elite men’s wheelchair race, tying level with Great Britain’s David Weir by winning for a fifth successive year.

Catherine Debrunner also retained the elite women’s wheelchair title as the Swiss burst clear of American Tatyana McFadden in the closing stages.

Much of the focus beforehand had been about Sawe – winner of last year’s race in 2:02:27 – targeting Kiptum’s London Marathon course record of 2:01:25.

He told BBC Sport this week that it was “only a matter of time” before he broke Kiptum’s world record, adding “I hope and wish one day [it will be me]” when asked about becoming the first person to run under two hours in a race.

Sawe had targeted Kiptum’s world record in Berlin last September, when he went through halfway in 60:16, before that bid was ultimately undone by the hot weather.

But, in perfect race conditions in London, Sawe stormed down The Mall to achieve the historic feat.

BBC commentator and former world champion Steve Cram said: “There are things that happen in sport and you want to be there to see history being made – if you are watching on TV then well done, but if you’re in London, it is a privilege and it is incredible.

“We said it was a day for records but I don’t think in our wildest dreams we could have foreseen this.”

After covering the first half of the course in 60:29, Sawe moved through the gears to complete the second half in just 59:01.

Only 63 men in history have run a half marathon as quickly as that – with Sawe’s own personal best standing at 58:05.

His splits continued to quicken as he chased down his target, clocking 13:54 for the five kilometres from 30-35km, and 13:42 for the 35-40km stretch – an average pace of 2:45 per kilometre.

“This will reverberate around the world,” said former women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe.

“The goalposts have literally just moved for marathon running and where you benchmark yourself as being world-class.

“It is a lesson to everybody out there. We say ‘don’t go out too fast’ – they went out smartly and paced it really well.”

Kitted out in sponsor Adidas’ latest supershoes, Sawe, who has won all four marathons he has contested, managed to take two minutes and 35 seconds off his marathon personal best.

He has sought to ensure confidence in his performances by undergoing frequent drug tests and was tested 25 times before competing in Berlin.

“I want to thank the crowds for cheering us. I think they help a lot, because if it was not for them, you don’t feel like you are so loved,” Sawe said.

“I think they help a lot because them calling makes you feel so happy and strong and pushing.

“That is why I can say what comes for me today is not for me alone but all of us in London.”

Reacting to Sawe’s record, Britain’s four-time Olympic champion Mo Farah said: “We’ve waited long enough to see a human go sub-two. That’s always been the question that we’ve asked. We’ve just witnessed something incredible.”

Assefa, the third-fastest woman in history, lined up as favourite to repeat her 2025 triumph in London after injuries forced Olympic gold medallist Sifan Hassan and world champion Peres Jepchirchir to withdraw.

The leading trio in Sunday’s race remained inseparable until the closing kilometres, as Obiri and Jepkosgei accompanied Assefa inside the Ethiopian’s record pace set in London 12 months ago.

But it was Assefa who summoned the energy to push on for victory, going nine seconds faster than her previous women-only record.

The women’s elite runners begin 30 minutes before the elite men in the London Marathon, meaning the event is classed as a women-only race.

Obiri, a six-time global medallist on the track, crossed the line 12 seconds after Assefa, closely followed by Kenya’s 2021 winner Jepkosgei.

Eilish McColgan was the first British woman across the line, placing seventh overall in 2:24:51, while Rose Harvey was ninth in 2:26:14.

Mahamed Mahamed was the best-placed home athlete in the men’s event, finishing 10th in 2:06:14 and replacing Alex Yee as the second-fastest Briton in history.

Hug produced another dominant performance to tie Weir’s record for the most victories in London Marathon history.

Hug, 40, crossed the line in 1:24:13, more than four and a half minutes clear of Chinese 23-year-old Luo Xingchuan.

Briton Weir completed the podium in 1:29:23 in his 27th consecutive appearance at the event.

Debrunner celebrated her fourth London Marathon win after outlasting McFadden, finishing just five seconds ahead of the American in clocking 1:38:29.

Briton Eden Rainbow-Cooper went into the race with podium aspirations after finishing fourth last year and regaining her Boston Marathon title on Monday, but those hopes were dashed by a pre-race puncture which caused her to start the race late.

Police say they are aware of a video circulating online that appears to show a York City player punching a fan during celebrations after the club’s dramatic 1-1 draw with Rochdale on Saturday.

York were promoted back to the Football League after a 10-year absence thanks to Josh Stones’ equaliser in the 13th minute of stoppage time.

The club’s triumph was followed by a pitch invasion, with footage appearing to show a fan putting his hands on a York player who was celebrating the moment on his knees with his head against the ground.

After an intervention by two stewards, the player stood up and broke free before appearing to punch the fan in the face.

“We are aware of a video that is circulating of a possible assault involving a player and we have linked in with both clubs and the National League,” Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

“We will be further assessing the video and reviewing CCTV of the incident.”

The pitch invasion was the second of the match following one when Rochdale, who needed a victory to top the table and gain automatic promotion themselves, went ahead in the 96th minute.

Police said four Rochdale fans were arrested following the incidents, with one on suspicion of assault and pitch incursion, one on suspicion of a public order offence and two on suspicion of pitch incursion.

One male York City fan was arrested on suspicion of assault, with police saying he would be interviewed at a later date.

The incidents are also under investigation by the Football Association.

BBC Sport has approached York and Rochdale for comment.

York and Rochdale had amassed 212 points between them heading into the final-day showdown, with York needing to avoid defeat to secure a return to League Two.

British tight end Seydou Traore was a late-round pick in the NFL Draft along with Uar Bernard, a Nigerian yet to play a game of American football.

Traore is the first graduate of the UK-based NFL Academy to be drafted, having been selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 180th overall pick.

The 23-year-old has French-Algerian and Ivorian heritage and was born and raised in London, where he played for the London Warriors as a teenager.

He was part of the NFL Academy’s first intake in 2019 and spent five years in college football in the USA before showcasing his talent through the NFL’s International Player Pathway (IPP) programme this year.

Former Warriors player Efe Obada was the first IPP product to play in the NFL and he went on stage in Pittsburgh to announce the Dolphins’ pick.

“This isn’t just another name on a card, this is living proof that the dream is possible,” said British defensive end Obada, who has witnessed Traore’s development having helped the academy from its inception.

Traore became the third IPP product to be selected in an NFL Draft, after Australia’s Jordan Mailata in 2018 and Britain’s Travis Clayton in 2024.

Clayton was also part of the NFL Academy’s first intake in London but only spent a brief period with the programme, now based in Loughborough, before coming through the IPP.

Traore completed the programme before moving to the US to play high school football in Florida.

He played college football for five years, earning a scholarship with Arkansas State in 2021 before transferring to Mississippi State in 2023.

Now 6ft 4in and weighing 244lb (111kg), he caught a total of 131 passes for 1,482 yards and 10 touchdowns from 48 college games, scoring five of those TDs last season.

“He’s kind of a raw, athletic ball of clay, if you will,” said Miami’s general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan. “He should only get better.

“He hasn’t been playing football real long, so that was what was intriguing to us, especially at that value [fifth round].

“We felt he’s a player who’s ascending, whose best ball is in front of him, and who can be a problem for defences in time. We had our eyes on [him] for a while and he fell to us at the right value, so we took a shot.”

Obada, who was born in Nigeria, returned to the draft stage near the end of the seventh and final round to say: “Pittsburgh, you are now witnessing history being made.”

He then announced that with the 251st overall pick, the Philadelphia Eagles had selected Bernard, making him the second player from this year’s IPP class to be drafted.

The 21-year-old, who has been working as a personal trainer, has not yet played organised football but his potential was identified during NFL training camps in Africa.

He earned a spot on the IPP programme, where his athleticism astounded NFL scouts and thrust him into contention for a late-round pick.

“It’s a dream come true for me because I’ve worked hard for this,” Bernard said. “I’ve not played football, but I’ve gone through some drills that made me believe that I’m going to get better every day.”

Bernard is 6ft 4in and weighs 306lb (139kg), and has been earmarked as a defensive tackle.

He is said to have just 6% body fat and in pre-draft tests he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds and had a 39-inch vertical jump – exceptional figures for a defensive player of his size.

Mailata had a similar impact on NFL scouts in 2018. The former rugby league player had also never played football, but the Eagles felt they could mould him into an NFL player.

Mailata spent two seasons developing on their practice squad before making his first start in 2020. He then helped them win the Super Bowl in 2025 and is now one of the best offensive tackles in the league.

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman was willing to take on the challenge of doing the same with Bernard.

“We wanted to take the chance on the kid,” he said. “We’ve had great success with that programme. We spent a lot of time with him, worked him out.

“For us, it was a passion project. He’s got a lot of tools in his body. [We] understand it’s going to take time. It was pretty cool. [It’s] certainly unusual with that guy.”

LeBron James made a three-pointer to force overtime before the Los Angeles Lakers moved to the brink of a series victory in the NBA play-offs.

The NBA’s four-time Most Valuable Player levelled the score with 13 seconds left against the Houston Rockets and almost clinched victory as he hit the rim with a three-pointer on the buzzer.

But the Lakers went on to win 112-108 in overtime to claim a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round of the play-offs.

James, 41, again stepped up in the absence of the injured Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, claiming a team-high 29 points and 13 rebounds.

Marcus Smart also recorded a double-double, scoring eight of his 21 points in overtime and adding a team-high 10 assists.

“With two of our best players down, we’ve got to play desperate,” said Smart. “We’ve got to be the most desperate team.

“That’s how we’ve been playing, and that’s how we’re winning, right? The chemistry has been good, and you’re starting to see guys’ confidence go up because of that.”

An ankle sprain ruled out Houston’s leading scorer Kevin Durant for the second time in the series.

The Rockets also host game four on Sunday and must win to prevent the Lakers earning a sweep of the series and booking their place in the Western Conference semi-finals.

Conference rivals San Antonio lead the Portland Trail Blazers 2-1 after fighting back to claim a 120-108 win on the road.

Stephon Castle scored 33 points for the Spurs while rookie reserve Dylan Harper added career bests of 27 points and 10 rebounds.

Victor Wembanyama was on the Spurs bench but could not play as this season’s defensive player of the year remained in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in game two on Tuesday.

The Boston Celtics took a 2-1 lead over Eastern Conference rivals Philadelphia as they claimed a 108-100 win at the 76ers.

Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter while Jaylen Brown also scored 25 points for Boston.

“They haven’t played against any team like this.”

This was not the Newcastle United that a frustrated Mikel Arteta was used to facing at Emirates Stadium, as the Arsenal manager reflected on a goalless draw in January 2023.

Newcastle have had far more memorable results under Eddie Howe against the Premier League title challengers.

But this particular stalemate was viewed as a significant step forward internally, after dogged Newcastle refused to roll over, as they had previously, in north London.

It was a night when Newcastle ruffled one or two feathers.

Such was the visitors’ determination to get a result, unused substitute Jamaal Lascelles was booked for obstructing an Arsenal throw-in late on, while the usually measured Howe confronted Arteta on the touchline after growing tired of the Spaniard’s incessant complaints to the fourth official.

Just a few days later, the Newcastle head coach declared: “We’re not here to be popular and get other teams to like us – we’re here to compete.”

However, his side have lost that edge as they prepare to return to the same ground on Saturday (17:30 BST).

With Newcastle languishing in 14th, and his future coming under increased scrutiny, Howe accepts they have become too easy to beat.

So what’s going wrong?

It was just last month that Newcastle defeated Manchester United with 10 men, recorded a rare away win at Chelsea and came within seconds of a famous victory against Barcelona at St James’ Park.

But this flaky team have since suffered a series of damaging losses, including a 2-1 home defeat by in-form Bournemouth last week.

The momentum of that game should have been with the hosts following William Osula’s equaliser midway through the second half.

However, fragile Newcastle have conceded the most goals after the 75-minute mark (19) in the Premier League for a reason.

The sight of so many Newcastle players jogging back as goalscorer Adrien Truffert drifted into the box undetected in the 85th minute summed up the listlessness that has gripped them.

So, too, did the bowing of heads after the ball hit the net as this side’s confidence plummeted further.

Kieran Trippier was the only player to visibly recoil before the substitute grabbed the ball and beckoned his dazed team-mates forward in an attempt to quickly get the game back under way.

Trippier felt it was his down to him to front up and speak to reporters in the immediate aftermath of the defeat, and he did so again in a separate round of interviews before the trip to Arsenal.

The former England international is leaving the club at the end of the season, but he remains one of the few vocal leaders in the building.

“It’s tough,” Trippier said. “Especially at home, since I’ve been at the club, we have been a real force. We have been tough to beat. We have been feared.

“I just feel we have come away from that a little bit. I don’t know why.

“I’m not going to stand here and make excuses. We have conceded too many goals late on and it’s us players who need to take responsibility – nobody else.”

So many of these players made history by ending a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy, and qualifying for the Champions League.

But this side currently look a pale imitation of the team who won the Carabao Cup at Wembley last season.

The number of games drained Newcastle have played, the uncertainty surrounding the futures of key players and the consequences of a turbulent window last summer should not completely excuse a run of eight defeats in 11 in the Premier League.

Newcastle once “bullied teams”, in the words of defender Dan Burn, but recent defeats against Bournemouth and Crystal Palace were all the more striking given the increased recovery and training time Howe has been afforded this month, after a relentless schedule eased.

The head coach recognised on Friday that “we have to find ways to get the players to respond better to us”.

Just as Newcastle struggle to build on goals, they are also leaky at the back – which is a dangerous combination.

No wonder, then, no other team has thrown away more points from winning positions (25) in the top flight this season.

That is a sobering statistic for any manager – regardless of previous achievements.

The system, the substitutions and the seemingly inevitable drop-off are now becoming a little too predictable.

By contrast, Newcastle‘s once trademark ability to bounce back from a bruising defeat has deserted them under Howe in recent weeks.

How the head coach needs to summon a response and oversee a battling performance at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

“The team always performs in line with the individuals within it,” Howe said. “I think we have lost a little bit of our experience, a little bit of our know-how.

“The duel aspect, we certainly haven’t performed as well as we have in previous seasons, so they’re things that we’re fully aware of.

“Our hallmark in previous seasons was that and we need to retain that to be successful.”