Category: 6. Sports

Men’s 400m freestyle – Lukas Martens outlasts Sam Short in thriller

After he finally became the first man inside 3:40 earlier this year, Germany’s Lukas Martens followed up the world record and last year’s Olympic gold medal with a World title in 2025. It wasn’t as fast as the 3:39 he swam in April, but the 3:42.35 was good enough to win the first swimming gold of the 22nd World Aquatics Championships.

“There was a lot of pressure,” Martens said of following his world record. “Also as a world record holder, it was not easy to fight these guys. But I tried my best, I gave out everything, and I’m really happy and proud to be a world champion. Now, Germany has a new world champion, and that’s not usual I think. Really proud.”

Martens set the pace on the first 200 meters, turning at 1:48.34 at halfway, off his own world record pace. It was at this point when Samuel Short of Australia moved into the lead, eyeing Martens next to him. Short was looking for a redemption arc – after winning the 2023 World title in 3:40, Short looked to be the clear favorite to win in Paris and break 3:40. But it was not meant to be, as he finished fourth at the Games.

Short and Martens dueled on the back 200 meters. Short, who looked strong in the heats, was building and Martens appeared to be tightening up with Korea’s Kim Woo-min and Bulgaria’s Petar Mitsin in pursuit.

As they flipped for the final 50m, Martens, coached by Bernd Berkhahn in Magdeburg, went into overdrive, and surpassed Short, out-touching the Aussie by 0.02. Martens is the first World champion from Germany in this event since Paul Biedermann won in Rome 2009.

Short, coached by Damien Jones in Rackley, returned to the podium with grace, swimming 3:42.37 for the silver.

“I thought I might’ve done enough,” Short said. “Then I saw Woomin coming on the inside… it was a good race. I put my head down in the last 5 metres. I won two years ago by .02s. Fine margins. Maybe if I were as tall as him, I would’ve won.

“When I was with (Martens) at 100m to go, I knew it was going to be a dog fight. He’s pretty good at everything so I knew I wasn’t going to be pulling away and I was hurting as well. He got a good finish on me and I just wasn’t quite good today.”

Korea’s Kim, who was the World champ in Doha and the Olympic bronze medalist last year, made a move on the final turn and almost looked to steal the gold, but he won the bronze at 3:42.60, just off his lifetime best of 3:42.42.

“It’s been a while since I did 3:42,” Kim said. “If I train harder, I think I’ll break my personal record soon…I want to win Olympic gold, but today I just really wanted to be on the podium. It’s my fourth time in the final. I want to be a swimmer who wins medals every time.”

Mitsin, the 2023 World Junior champ, fell apart on the last 150 meters and faded to seventh at 3:45.28. Sweden’s Victor Johansson, who had a huge swim to get into this final this morning, finished fourth at 3:44.68, ahead of China’s Zhang Zhanshuo (3:44.82) and Italy’s Marco de Tullio (3:44.92).

Germany’s Oliver Klemet (3:46.86), who trains with Martens in Magdeburg, finished eighth in the final.

Women’s 400m freestyle – Summer McIntosh finally grabs the elusive 400m freestyle gold

With everything 18-year-old Summer McIntosh has already achieved in her career, three Olympic gold medals, three world records in one meet, she had yet to win the 400m freestyle at a major championships. After silver at the Commonwealth Games and World Championships in 2022, and the Olympics in 2024, McIntosh finally exorcised those demons, if you can even classify those as such.

McIntosh swam 3:56.26, a bit off her 3:54.18 world record from last month, but enough to win the gold medal in a race that saw four women inside 3:59.

“While preparing mentally for this World Championships, I think tonight is my biggest night of the whole meet,” McIntosh said. “So to come out with a gold medal and a really good, strong semi-final in the 200IM, I’m really happy. I’ve never done a double like that, and I think 400m free, at past World Championships and Olympics, I haven’t been at my best, and I haven’t been where I wanted to be. So to finally stand in the centre of the podium is promising for the rest of the meet.”

McIntosh, coached by Fred Vergnoux, faced plenty of pressure from American Katie Ledecky, who has won this event at the World Championships four times, as it looked for a moment at 250 meters that Ledecky could run her down and make it a fifth. But Ledecky couldn’t match, and was passed by China’s Li Bingjie for the silver.

Li, who was second in Doha 2024 and bronze back in Budapest 2017, swam 28.67 on the final 50 meters to surpass her idol Ledecky, breaking the Asian record in the process at 3:58.21 to move up to fourth all-time in the process.

“It was a surprise for me,” Li said. “I wasn’t expecting to be able to overtake Katie. I went about the race according to my strategy. In the last 100m, I saw that the gap between myself and her wasn’t too big, so I thought, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”

“I’ve looked up to her since I was a young athlete. I’ve had this dream since 2017, and Katie has always been someone I view as a great athlete. I’ve learnt so much from watching her swim. This result today…it’s given me a lot to think about. It’s very emotional, because it’s been so many years… something that I’ve thought about for so many years. Still, I still want to make improvements so that I will have even more chances to swim against her in the years to come.”

Ledecky, coached by Anthony Nesty, won her seventh career medal in the 400m freestyle alone, winning the bronze at 3:58.49, a bit slower than her 3:56 from May.

“I would’ve liked to be a little faster,” Ledecky said. “I was a little faster earlier this year, so there’s always that slight bit of wanting to be better than that. But I can’t complain with the medal. Fourth place was a 3:58 so that could have easily been me.

“I think the first day is sometimes a hit or miss for me at these Worlds. I’m really excited for the distance races, I mean that’s kind of my thing. The 400 is too I guess, but I’m really excited for the 1500 tomorrow.”

Australia’s Lani Pallister was between Ledecky and McIntosh and was with the both of them for 200 meters as the World Short Course champion couldn’t hang on to Ledecky and Li on the final 50m, finishing fourth at 3:58.87. It is a best time for Pallister, who is now fifth all-time.

“It’s been a fun journey so far, but I’m keen to kick on with the rest of the week,” Pallister said. “If I can drop three seconds in a season, imagine what I can do in three years’ time.”

Germany’s Isabel Gose finished fifth at 4:02.90 ahead of Australia’s Jamie Perkins (4:03.20), China’s Yang Peiqi (4:06.47) and Germany’s Maya Werner (4:09.38).

Women’s 4x100m freestyle – Next Woman Up! Australia stays golden once more

Year after year, the Australian women continue to stay dominant in the 4x100m freestyle relay. Even without 2020 Olympic champion Emma McKeon or Shayna Jack, the team reloads with more talent.

The team of Mollie O’Callaghan (52.79), Meg Harris (51.87), Milla Jansen (52.89), and Olivia Wunsch (53.05) out-raced the United States, with the Australians winning gold at 3:30.60 and the Americans winning the silver at 3:31.04 in a thrilling race.

Harris and O’Callaghan held each other’s hands during Wunsch’s anchor leg as the finish was thrilling.

“We were just screaming, I’ve never screamed that hard!” Harris said. “I think I cut the circulation off (in O’Callaghan’s hands) – it was a very exciting race to watch.”

This is the sixth World title for the Australians and the seventh straight year the team has had the fastest in the world.

“I think it’s amazing, we have a pretty rookie-dominated team at the moment, so it’s nice to see the younger swimmers lift up,” O’Callaghan said. “After the Olympics, we had a lot of people take breaks and retire, and it’s great to see (the new athletes) getting the experience and putting down so much effort and determination into this meet.”

O’Callaghan and Harris set the tone on the front end as they were on the Olympic gold winning team and the 2022 and 2023 World title teams, paving the way for two women who were on the World Junior team that won in 2023 in Jansen and Wunsch.

“We’ve kind of grown up together and it’s just amazing that we’re both on this relay together,”  Jansen said. “It’s something we’ve always dreamed of being a part of, and just to do it together is amazing.”

“We’ve all challenged each other through the age group ranks, so it’s just really special to be able to stand up here together and share this moment,” Wunsch said.

The American team put up a valiant effort in winning the silver as it looked like the team was on its way to its first World title since 2017 as the team of Simone Manuel (53.09), Kate Douglass (51.90), Erin Gemmell (53.17) and Torri Huske (52.88) had the pedigree to take down the mighty Australians. The team originally had Gretchen Walsh slated to swim the third leg, but was switched out for Gemmell during the session.

“I mean, they kind of told me that I needed to be ready,” Gemmell said. “And when someone tells you that you’re going to be on a final relay for Team USA, I feel like you sort of ‘lock in’, and you get in the zone. I’m really proud of what I was able to do with that.”

Reports of a virus that circulated through the American team at training camp in Thailand have clouded the conversations around the Americans this week in Singapore, but the team took it in stride, getting within eight tenths of its national record.

“It means a lot,” Manuel said of the silver under the circumstances. “I think the team definitely had to be adaptable and resilient, and for us to still post a solid time and put together really good splits is something that we can be really proud of, given the circumstances we’ve had to deal with.”

The Netherlands won the bronze at 3:33.89, running down China (3:34.17) to finish third. The team of Milou Van Wijk (53.27), Tessa Giele (54.13), Sam Van Nunen (54.85) and Marrit Steenbergen (51.64) won bronze, the 11th medal for the nation in this relay at the World Championships.

France (3:34.62), Neutral Athletes B (3:34.69), Italy (3:35.18), and Hungary (3:36.34) also competed in the championship final.

The quickest splits outside the top three came from Daria Klepikova (52.68), China’s Wu Qingfeng (52.94), France’s Marie Wattel (52.97) and Italy’s Sara Curtis (53.29).

Men’s 4x100m freestyle – Kyle Chalmers rips heroic effort once more on anchor

The final race of the night certainly delivered, as Australia followed up the women’s relay with a gold in the men’s at 3:08.97. It was the fastest time ever swum at a World Championships and the fastest ever swum by an Australian team. Flynn Southam (47.77), Kai Taylor (47.04), Max  Giuliani (47.63), and Kyle Chalmers (46.53) won Australia’s second gold of the night and its fourth World title in the event.

“It’s unreal, so happy to be here with these boys. Felt so much team bonding and (I’m) stoked,” Taylor said. “Australia’s got a big week ahead of them.”

Chalmers is known to step up on relays, most notably at the 2022 World Short Course Championships and the 2023 Worlds in this same spot. Chalmers had his second fastest relay split tonight in running down the teams from Italy (3:09.58) and the United States (3:09.64).

“I’m just desperate to have success every time I jump in the relay and do my job for the boys,” Chalmers said in the team press conference. “They set me up and made my job very easy tonight. Honestly, my mouth was dry after watching Flynn go 47.7 and then Kai 47.0. I’m just desperate every single time I race to win and (I’m) super competitive. I love nothing more than a dog fight in that last 50 and getting a hand on the wall first. It’s an honour to represent your country and swim your best for the relay.”

The Italians won silver with a national record with the team of Carlos D’Ambrosio (47.78), Thomas Ceccon (47.10), Lorenzo Zazzeri (47.36), and Manuel Frigo (47.36). This is the fourth straight medal for the Italians in this event at the World Championships.

“It’s very difficult after an Olympics. Someone is here, someone is not here,” Ceccon said. “It’s tough for everyone. We’re pretty fine. We changed one member of the relay. The young guy (Carlos D’AMBROSIO), (born in) 2007, he did pretty good, 47.7. Pretty happy.”

The Americans were leading for 300 meters before falling to bronze. Despite being plagued by the aforementioned illness, the team of Jack Alexy (47.24), Patrick Sammon (47.03), Chris Guiliano (47.43) and Jonny Kulow (47.94) allowed the team to win its fifth straight medal in the event at the World Championships.

“It’s a testament to Team USA’s resilience,” Alexy said. “Not everything’s going to go perfect. We’ve been training really hard, not only in the past month, but the whole year. To get that done, and obviously we’d like to be on the top of the podium, but can’t complain with bronze going into the next three years. Really proud of these guys, not a bad start for USA.”

“We’re tough,” Guiliano said. “We got some studs on the stands. It’s just day one, just getting the meet started. We got some dogs on this team.”

Great Britain broke its national record in getting fourth at 3:10.73, finishing ahead of China (3:11.15), Hungary (3:12.75), Lithuania (3:12.84) and Canada (3:12.89).

The quickest splits outside the top three came from China’s Pan Zhanle (46.63), Canada’s Joshua Liendo (47.08), Great Britain’s Duncan Scott (47.23), and Matthew Richards (47.32).

Semis Wrap

Women’s 100m butterfly – Gretchen Walsh’s pursuit of first individual gold

After a monstrous nine world records in individual events at December’s World Short Course Championships, American Gretchen Walsh shared the fastest semi-final time in the 100m butterfly with Belgium’s Roos van Otterdijk at 56.07.

Walsh, who holds the seven fastest times in history, will not have it easy in tomorrow’s final with van Otterdijk, who improved her best of 56.66 to now sit tied for ninth all-time. Van Otterdijk, age 20, has a lot of people excited in Europe about her future after a successful junior career as she was the European U23 champion this year in this event.

Australia’s Alexandria Perkins qualified third at 56.19 as she is in line for her first career individual medal at a Worlds or Olympics at age 25. She was sixth in Doha last year.

Last year’s champion from Doha, Germany’s Angelina Kohler (56.75) advanced to the final in fifth ahead of the 2023 World champ Zhang Yufei (56.84) in sixth. 2022 World Junior champ Mizuki Hirai (56.86) also advanced to the final along with Daria Klepikova (56.42) and China’s  Yu Yiting (57.11).

Men’s 50m butterfly – Maxime Grousset leads the chase for the world record

France’s Maxime Grousset swam the top time in the semis with a 22.61 as he leads a group of men chasing the world record of 22.27 from 2018. Grousset moved up to fifth all-time with his swim as he leads short course world record holder Noe Ponti (22.72) of Switzerland, and 2017 World champ Ben Proud (22.74) of Great Britain.

This event will make its Olympic debut in three years in Los Angeles 2028 as there is new vigor around this event at these championships. Nyls Korstanje (22.79) of the Netherlands sits fourth for tomorrow, ahead of last year’s champ Diogo Ribeiro (22.83) of Portugal and the 2023 champ Thomas Ceccon (22.84) of Italy.

“I want to win it,” Ceccon said. “But I have the 100 back like 15 minutes before, so we’ll see tomorrow.”

Brazil’s Gui Caribe (22.91) and Germany’s Luca Armbruster (22.91) tied for seventh, locking out the top ranked swimmer from 2025 in Canada’s Ilya Kharun (22.92), who finished ninth and out of the final.

Men’s 100m breaststroke – Qin Haiyang’s redemption arc

China’s Qin Haiyang looked determined in his 100m breaststroke semi, grabbing the top seed for tomorrow at 58.24. The 2023 World champ is looking for his redemption after seventh in last year’s Paris final as he is six tenths ahead of Italy’s Ludovico Viberti (58.89) and Germany’s Lucas Matzerath (58.93).

Italy’s Nicolo Martinenghi, last year’s Olympic champion and the 2022 World champion, was originally disqualified but reinstated to second seed at 58.62.

The United States advanced Josh Matheny (59.15) through to fourth as he swam his lifetime best.

Caspar Corbeau (59.17), Denis Petrashov (59.20) and Kirill Prigoda (59.36) also advanced to the championship final, along with Danil Semianinov (59.39), who finished ninth but will swim in the final due to Martinenghi’s overturned disqualification.

Notably, Campbell McKean, who had the second fastest time in the world this year, finished 15th and out of the final at 59.74.

Women’s 200m IM – Summer McIntosh handles the double with ease

Canada’s Summer McIntosh, fresh off her gold in the 400m freestyle, eased through her 200m IM semi at 2:07.39, sitting a second ahead of 2022 World champ Alex Walsh (2:08.45) of the United States.

Walsh, who touched third in the Paris final last year but wound up disqualified, is looking to get back on the podium in a redemption swim.

Japan’s Mio Narita, who was the World Junior champion in 2022, swam her lifetime best for third seed at 2:09.16 ahead of Israel’s Anastasia Gorbenko (2:09.68).

Great Britain’s Abbie Wood (2:10.12) and Canada’s Mary-Sophie Harvey (2:10.19) advanced to the championship final ahead of China’s Yu Zidi (2:10.22), who has made headlines at these championships competing as a 12-year-old. Yu was born October 16, 2012, after the London Olympics and swam her best time in qualifying seventh. Yu is also racing in the 200m butterfly and 400m IM this week.

Ireland’s Ellen Walshe (2:10.49) also advanced to the final in eighth.

Balaton Park.
Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) dominated the premiere of the FIM
Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) at the brand-new Balaton
Park Circuit in Hungary. Just like at Misano (ITA) and Donington
Park (GBR), ‘El Turco’ was unstoppable on his BMW M 1000 RR from the
ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team at Lake Balaton. He secured pole
position and won all three races – often with a commanding lead and
with the fastest lap each time. His victory in the Superpole Race on
Sunday morning was historic as it marked the 1000th race in WorldSBK
history. In the riders’ championship, Razgatlioglu extended his lead
from four to 26 points. In the manufacturers’ standings, BMW,
currently in second, reduced the gap to leader Ducati to just 16 points.

 

His teammate Michael van der Mark (NED) finished 12th in the first
main race. In the Superpole Race under changing conditions, he was
unlucky in the tyre lottery and ended up 15th. He was 16th in the
second main race. Van der Mark is travelling directly from Hungary to
Japan, where he will compete in next weekend’s Suzuka 8 Hours, the
third round of the 2025 FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC),
with the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team. WorldSBK now heads into
the summer break, with round nine of the season scheduled for the
first weekend of September at Magny-Cours (FRA).

 

Reactions after the Balaton Park Circuit round.

 

Sven Blusch, Head of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “It was
a truly historic weekend for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. Celebrating a
win in the 1000th WorldSBK race with Toprak at the debut of the new
Balaton Park Circuit, achieving another triple victory, and extending
the championship lead – this is simply fantastic for us. Huge thanks
to the entire team on site, the crews in Munich and Berlin, and all
BMW employees and fans who supported us. We’re on track and already
looking forward to Magny-Cours. We’ll also use the summer break to
intensively support Michael van der Mark and bring him back into the
top ten. But first, our full focus together is now on the Suzuka 8
Hours, where we’re already heading. We are confident that Mickey, with
his experience as a four-time winner of that race, will be a great
asset to our FIM EWC team.”

 

Christian Gonschor, Technical Director BMW Motorrad
Motorsport: “It was a wonderful weekend – not only because of
our success, but also because of the great atmosphere here. It was
fantastic to race in Hungary again after such a long time. Great
people, a great track, and excellent infrastructure: we really enjoyed
it. The circuit suited Toprak well; there’s a lot of stop-and-go,
which plays to his strengths and those of the bike. His skill,
combined with the strengths of our BMW M 1000 RR in braking and
acceleration, created a perfect combination. We celebrated another
triple win, and the championship battle remains tight. It’s also
important that we made significant progress in the manufacturers’
standings and are just 16 points behind now. We’re very happy and
looking forward to a short but intense summer break, to come back
all-in at Magny-Cours.”

 

Toprak Razgatlioglu, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “For me, it has been an amazing weekend. That was a new
track for everyone and we started the weekend strongly on Friday. I
quickly adapted to the circuit and we did a very good job. I am very
happy for that! The Superpole Race was a little bit difficult because
there were many wet patches, we had just one dry line and some corners
were also still wet. But we did a very good job, no mistake, I was
just riding and focused on the pace. That race was very important for
me because I had won the 800th and the 900th and now also the 1000th
WorldSBK race so this was a very special race for me to win. I am not
focused on the championship, I just focus in every race to win it. The
next races will be at Magny-Cours. Last year I did not ride there, and
I am looking forward to go there. I will try to get another hat-trick
there. Like Portugal, this is one of my favourite tracks. We need to
win there, in France, and at Estoril, as I think that Ducati will be
very strong at Aragón and Jerez. Now we have a longer break and I will
enjoy some holiday but I also need to work a lot. We have increased
our lead in the championship but everything is possible in the races
so we need to try to get as many wins as possible.”

 

Michael van der Mark, ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK
Team: “I was looking forward to racing here in Hungary as it
is always exciting to enter uncharted territory and it’s fun to learn
new circuits. Race one was pretty solid and that made me confident for
Sunday. Unfortunately, the unpredictable weather in the Superpole Race
made the tyre choice a real gamble. We opted for intermediates, but
could see during the race that everyone who made the same choice
seemed to struggle. In race two, I unfortunately had a small crash
that dropped me to the back of the field but it’s time to put that
Sunday behind me. I am on my way now to Suzuka, to a race that I
really love. I will give my very best to help BMW Motorrad Motorsport
and the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team to achieve their big goal:
to win the Suzuka 8 Hours as the first European manufacturer.”

 

 

Facts and figures.

 

Superpole.

Air temperature: 27°, track temperature: 37°, humidity: 56%,
conditions: dry.

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Time
1.	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	1:38.357*
2.	Sam Lowes (GBR)	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	Ducati	1:38.834
3.	Andrea Locatelli (ITA)	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha	1:38.843
4.	Nicolò Bulega (ITA)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	1:38.969
5.	Danilo Petrucci (ITA)	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati	1:39.080
19.	Michael van der Mark (NED)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	1:40.150

* New all-time lap record

 

Race 1.

Air temperature: 32°, track temperature: 41°, humidity: 45%,
conditions: dry, laps: 20 (after red flag).

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Gap
1.	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	–
2.	Nicolò Bulega (ITA)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	3.738
3.	Álvaro Bautista (ESP)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	6.002
4.	Andrea Locatelli (ITA)	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha	13.993
5.	Danilo Petrucci (ITA)	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati	16.174
11.	Michael van der Mark (NED)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	33.236

Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 7, 1:39.732 (new record)

 

Superpole Race.

Air temperature: 21°, track temperature: 27°, humidity: 83%,
conditions: wet, laps: 10.

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Gap
1.	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	–
2.	Sam Lowes (GBR)	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	Ducati	2,810
3.	Álvaro Bautista (ESP)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	7,251
4.	Andrea Locatelli (ITA)	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha	10,216
5.	Xavi Vierge (ESP)	Honda HRC	Honda	10,509
15.	Michael van der Mark (NED)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	30,438

Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 9, 1:40.649

 

Race 2.

Air temperature: 22°, track temperature: 30°, humidity: 79%,
conditions: dry, laps: 21.

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Gap
1.	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	–
2.	Nicolò Bulega (ITA)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	10.317
3.	Sam Lowes (GBR)	Elf Marc VDS Racing Team	Ducati	13.154
4.	Danilo Petrucci (ITA)	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati	18.297
5.	Andrea Locatelli (ITA)	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha	18.752
16.	Michael van der Mark (NED)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	1:17. 954

Fastest race lap: Toprak Razgatlioglu, lap 7, 1:39.384 (new record)

 

 

Current riders’ classification (R08/12, after 24 of 36 races).

 

Pos.	Rider	Team	Manufacturer	Points
1.	Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	407
2.	Nicolò Bulega (ITA)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	381 (-26)
3.	Danilo Petrucci (ITA)	Barni Spark Racing Team	Ducati	233 (-148)
4.	Andrea Locatelli (ITA)	Pata Maxus Yamaha	Yamaha	218 (-189)
5.	Alvaro Bautista (ESP)	Aruba.it Racing – Ducati	Ducati	217 (-190)
15.	Michael van der Mark (NED)	ROKiT BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team	BMW	70 (-337)

 

Current manufacturers’ classification (R08/12, after 24 of 36 races).

 

Pos.	Manufacturer	Points
1.	Ducati	425
2.	BMW	409 (-16)
3.	Yamaha	238 (-187)
4.	Honda	151 (-274)
5.	Bimota	139 (-286)
6.	Kawasaki	67 (-358)

 

Ben Stokes’ latest injury-defying act failed to inspire England as just a second draw of the Bazball era following stubborn India resistance kept the Rothesay series alive.

A troublesome left leg and a fresh problem in his right shoulder failed to deter Stokes, who snared KL Rahul for 90 on the last morning of the fourth Test to give England hope of moving into an unassailable 3-1 series lead.

Jofra Archer then dismissed Shubman Gill for 103 on the stroke of lunch but Joe Root dropping Ravindra Jadeja from the next ball proved crucial as he and Washington Sundar batted out the rest of the day.

However, there were farcical scenes at the finish when it became clear there would be no winner as India’s batters elected against shaking hands with 15 overs left – the earliest opportunity a draw could be agreed – so both could get their hundreds.

Root and Harry Brook provided buffet bowling to speed things along, with Jadeja getting to his ton first and and Sundar followed to signal the end of proceedings, with India on 425 for four with a lead of 114.

It was unnecessary distraction to what had been a brilliant India rearguard, with England barely acknowledging either century, as the tourists head to the Kia Oval still only trailing 2-1.

With the fifth Test getting under way on Thursday, much of the focus will likely centre on Stokes’ availability after he was left weary and wounded in Manchester.

He battled cramp in his left leg when batting on Friday and reported general soreness on Saturday, which meant he did not bowl as Rahul and Gill took India from nought for two to 174 for two overnight.

More fitness problems emerged almost as soon as he started bowling from the Sir James Anderson End, as he grimaced and repeatedly rubbed his right shoulder after sending down the second over of the day.

Despite being in visible discomfort, straightening his arm after every delivery in an eight-over spell, Stokes caused problems, with Gill’s drive on 81 bursting through a leaping Ollie Pope’s hands close in.

England burned their final review as the ineffective Liam Dawson erroneously thought Rahul had gloved down the leg-side, but the India opener was lbw as Stokes made the breakthrough with his 20th delivery.

With variable bounce in play at Stokes’ end, Rahul was beaten by a nip-backer that thudded into his knee roll in front of middle stump, with the England captain immediately celebrating.

Gill wore a painful blow to a right hand already heavily bandaged after one leapt off a length and struck him in the glove and helmet but the India captain soldiered on.

Having moved on to a titanic 700 runs for the series, Gill brought up a fourth three-figure score of the trip off 228 balls with a push into the offside for a single.

By then, England had the second new ball, taken 40 minutes before lunch, and Archer claimed the prize wicket of Gill, who fiddled outside off down the wrong line and feathered through to Jamie Smith.

England should have ended the session with a spring in their step but Root parried then dropped the rebound at head height after Jadeja flirted at a rising delivery from Archer first up.

Dawson was tidy but nonthreatening at the beginning of the afternoon, with the slow left-armer unable to take advantage of the footholes outside the off-stump of India’s left-handed pair.

Against an old ball and with the pitch flattening out, Sundar and Jadeja grew increasingly confident.

This was evident in the way they went after Stokes in his three-over burst from the Brian Statham End, which culminated in Sundar belting a six then a four and Jadeja cutting away to the boundary to take both batters to fifty and India into the lead.

Having conceded 15 from his allotment, Stokes seemed to accept one last moment of magic was beyond him and he hooked himself from the attack – finishing with 11-2-33-1 – to seemingly end England’s flickering hopes of victory.

It seemed Dawson, who finished with nought for 95 from 47 overs, and Root would administer the last rites after tea but India were in no hurry to get off the field when the match ticked over into the last hour.

Both teams must agree on the draw and England were clearly unhappy at Jadeja and Sundar continuing, with Brook eventually called upon to send down some floaty off-spin while Root was kept on.

Jadeja got to his hundred in a blizzard of boundaries, eventually finishing on 107 not out, before Washington brought up his first Test century in Brook’s next over before hands were shaken five overs after England had first offered them.

Double Olympic champion Tom Pidcock claimed his second continental mountain bike cross-country title in Melgaço, Portugal, on Sunday (27 July), adding to his victory from 2022.

Pidcock dominated the men’s final at the 2025 European Mountain Bike Championships, crossing the line in one hour, 21 minutes and two seconds (1:21.02). He finished 36 seconds ahead of teammate Charlie Aldridge in second place.

Simon Andreassen of Denmark completed the podium in third place with a time of 1:22.16.

Pidcock and Aldridge took control of the race in the third lap after Filippo Colombo of Switzerland led over the opening two.

The British duo opened a gap on the chasing pack with Pidcock taking control at the front of the race and Aldridge riding on his wheel. Pidcock then dropped his countryman to race to victory.

whether their Hundreds from Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar kept India’s hopes alive in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy after the fourth Test against England in Manchester ended in a draw on Sunday. With England leading the series 2-1, India still have a chance to draw the series by winning the fifth and final Test, starting on July 31 at The Oval.

After conceding a first-innings lead of 311, India were in a spot of bother with an aim to save the Test match. The visitors didn’t get the start they wanted with the dismissals of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan without a single run on the board.

But captain Shubman Gill (103) led from the front with a hundred and forged a 188-run stand with KL Rahul (90) to save the sinking ship with more than five sessions to go in the game. While Rahul missed on a hundred on the final day, Gill made sure India frustrate the English bowlers with their defensive approach throughout the day.

With vice-captain Rishabh Pant not in a position to bat, the pressure was on all-rounders Sundar and Jadeja to do the rest of the job. The duo put up a mammoth 203-run stand for the unbroken fifth wicket in 334 balls to save India’s day.

England captain Ben Stokes did try to finish the match early by having a talk with Jadeja and Sundar, but the Indians chose not to with an eye on individual hundreds. Both the batters were on eighties at that moment.

However, it didn’t take much long for them to complete three figure scores. While Jadeja sent Harry Brook over the wires to bring up his 11th Test ton, Sundar got his maiden international hundred with a single off Joe Root.

What’s next for India & England?

India will aim to square off the series with a win at The Oval, starting in a few day’s time. India are likely to have a few changes in their playing XI with Rishabh Pant being obvious. Dhruv Jurel is expected to replace Pant while Anshul Kamboj is likely to be rested. However, it is unknown whether Jasprit Bumrah will play in the fifth Test considering his workload.

Piastri sealed his win with a trademark committed, decisive move on Norris when the conditions were at their most treacherous when the race finally started.

The original start was abandoned because of heavy rain and poor visibility after the formation lap behind the safety car.

The drivers then sat in the pit lane for an hour and 20 minutes, followed by four laps behind the safety car before the race was finally allowed to start 90 minutes later than scheduled.

Piastri tracked Norris closely through the first corner and through the high-speed swerves at Eau Rouge before diving around the outside into the Les Combes chicane at the end of the long Kemmel straight.

Norris complained over the radio that he was down on battery power, but was told he had used it up at the start behind the safety car.

And after the race he said that Piastri had simply done a better first lap by pushing harder through Eau Rouge, where in the wet drivers have to choose how much to lift off, when it is flat in the dry.

“Oscar did a good job, nothing more to say,” Norris said. “Committed a bit more through Eau Rouge and had the slipstream and got the run and that was it. Love to be up top but Oscar deserved it today.”

Piastri said: “I knew that lap one was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race.

“I got a good exit out of Turn One and then lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge and it worked out pretty well. We had it mostly under control after that.

“I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start because I thought that would take away some opportunity but when I was that close I knew I was going to lift a little bit less than Lando did. A bit lively over the hill but then the slipstream helped me out.”

Once in front, Piastri inched away in the lead until he was just under two seconds in front when he chose to stop for slick tyres on lap 12, his position in front giving him priority on stop timing and forcing Norris into a difficult position.

Piastri fitted the medium tyres while Norris had to do an extra lap on a drying track on highly worn intermediate tyres.

His engineer asked him if he would like hard tyres and try to run to the end, a decision Norris agreed with, and he rejoined 9.1 seconds back from Piastri after his stop.

By around lap 20, Piastri told his engineer that he thought it would be “tough” to get his intermediates to the end but for a long time he held the lead at about eight seconds, and it slowly became apparent he had decided not to stop again.

In the final few laps, Norris began to make significant inroads into Piastri’s lead, and was within four seconds of the leader with three laps to go.

Norris, who said he drove the entire stint as if he was on qualifying laps, cost himself about four seconds in his chase, with three errors – running wide at the fast Pouhon left-hander at one point, and a couple of lock-ups at La Source. He also had a slower pit stop than Piastri when the mechanics struggled to fit his left-front wheel.

But Piastri managed the gap expertly to win by 3.4 seconds.

Behind the leaders, the drivers were stuck in their positions after the pit stops, even if there was some tension for Leclerc as Verstappen pushed him hard in the closing laps.

Much of the excitement in the race was provided by Hamilton. The seven-time champion started from the pit lane after Ferrari decided to change his set-up after his error in exceeding track limits in qualifying left him down in 16th on the grid.

And Hamilton justified the decision with a series of excellent, improvisational overtaking moves to rise to 13th place before becoming the first driver to stop for slicks on lap 11, one before Piastri.

That won him a chunk more places, and Hamilton was promoted to seventh by the pit-stop period, which he held to the end of the race.

He closed to within a second of Albon on the final lap but was unable to pass.

The arrival of Viktor Gyökeres dominated the talk in the post-match press conference after our win over Newcastle United on Sunday.

The striker signed late on Saturday, and was paraded before kick-off on the Singapore National Stadium pitch. After the game, Mikel Arteta was asked about the Swede’s arrival, as well as the win over Newcastle, Max Dowman’s contribution and more.

Here’s a full transcript from the press conference…

On our attacking options following the signing of Viktor Gyökeres…
Yeah, we do have plans, we do have a lot of options and we are increasing the quality of the squad and the depth of the squad with all the signings that we’ve done. We are super happy to have Viktor with us, it’s been a long journey to get him over here. He’s been incredible, he was very clear from the beginning where he wanted to play and how passionate I felt from him from day one when we first spoke. You can see the boys, you can see the environment as well, very excited with his arrival.

On the interest from the club on Viktor…
Yeah, well we can’t talk about how the processes work but it’s a decision that we take between all of us, especially with ownership, then the board, then Andrea and the scouting department, and also myself and we were very clear on the talent that we identified in the window. But actually to deliver it is something very, very different and I think the club has done incredibly well, Andrea and his team, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. So I mean so early in the window, we already have the reinforcements that we wanted.

On whether he’ll be training tomorrow and playing against Tottenham Hotspur…
Well I think he hasn’t had a single training session with the team since the last game with Sporting when they became champions. So we will assess him tomorrow, he’s done all the medicals, everything is looking good but to get him up to speed with the right levels of fitness I think is very important. So we’re not going to stop him, we want him with us as quick as possible but we’ll have to assess and the medical team will do that.

On Gyökeres having an impact at the club…
Well, I hope so. We have a few of them as well in this window and that’s what we want to create as well. You know that excitement internally, that competition and those resources internally and externally. We want our supporters as excited as possible, really believing in what the team can deliver, creating at the Emirates that special atmosphere and all that is going to be super important for us to be successful.

On whether Mikel is still looking to add more depth to the squad…
Let’s see, the market is still going on and we’ll have to balance that out with the squad as well. I think we’ll be open to see what happens.

On Max Dowman’s performance…
Yeah, it is special. Obviously what he’s done today against this team in the time that he had on the pitch is something certainly not common to witness for a 15-year-old. We are extremely happy to have him. I think again the environment that he’s around in, his family, the people at the club and around the academy as well. Super helpful because they put him into this position so early in his journey having a real chance and a real presence when he plays for the first team.

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Gyokeres: I can’t wait to score in Arsenal colours

On why Mosquera wasn’t in the matchday squad against Newcastle…
Because he needs to start to pick up the feelings again. He played the under 21 Euros, then he didn’t really train with Valencia then that signing period was extended a little bit and the conditions here are really tough and there’s a lot of information for him, a lot of physical demands that we put in so we’re going to have to manage him slowly.

On Calafiori coming off through injury…
Yeah, he said that he felt a little tweak, so I don’t know how big it is but hopefully not.

On Zubimendi’s performance…
Very good. I think the demand that Newcastle put on you, especially in midfield, with the kind of plays and profiles that he had, I think he coped with it with intensity, with the physicality. He’s so smart, he’s one step ahead constantly, he can read situations, he can execute at higher speed, whether he has space or not, and that’s not a common thing to have in a player, especially when you’re a midfield player.

On the physicality of the game…
I think it’s not a friendly, I think they are a test and I think you have to take this as an opportunity as well to raise the competitive level and there are things that physically obviously we want to achieve but there are things in terms of how we compete, how we understand the position and that willingness to win regardless of what we are playing for and I love the mentality of the team in that sense.

On Gyökeres’ strong ability from the penalty spot…
Well, I’m sure that he will step in if they allow him to do so, because as you say he’s been very consistent and he’s scored many goals, but we have some other penalty takers, really good ones as well. So they will resolve it themselves and if not I will intervene in the right moment!