Amusan Posts Season’s Best Time In Paris Diamond League

Tobi Amusan, the world record holder, put together a fantastic performance at the Paris 2025 Diamond League, finishing in second place in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a 12.24 second best time of the season.

She sets a new record for the fastest time ever, surpassing her 2022 world record of 12.12 seconds.

Amusan sprinted through the final meters before quickly slamming on Grace Stark of the United States, who had set a personal best and meeting record of 12.21 seconds, making her the fifth-fastest woman to cross the 100-meter barrier.

Ackera Nugent of Jamaica came in third in a quick 12.30 second.

This performance is the most recent example of the Nigerian’s consistent and impressive resurgence.

READ ALSO: Sabalenka defeats Rybakina 4-3 to reach the Berlin Semis.

Amusan’s campaign started off modestly with a fourth-place finish in China’s Xiamen, followed by another fourth-place finish in Shaoxing, which was also in China.

However, the 28-year-old resurrected in Rabat, Morocco, with a season-best and meet record time of 12.45 seconds to earn her first Diamond League title.

Paris’s fourth Diamond League appearance of the year ensures her continued improvement in form and consistency in the run-up to major championships.

In the French capital, the 2022 world champion was surrounded by world champion Keni Harrison, rising Jamaican star Nugent, Polish champion Pia Skrzyszowska, Dutch champion Nadine Visser, Bahamas-based Devynne Charlton, and current Diamond League leader Stark.

As the competition for the Diamond League finals in Zurich grows, Amusan’s upward trajectory, her top performance, and her experience at the top level helped her win the match.

Bayern Overcome Battling Boca To Reach Club World Cup Last 16

Harry Kane and Michael Olise scored goals in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors from Argentina in the knockout stages of the Club World Cup on Friday.

The German champions took the lead thanks to Kane’s strike, but Miguel Merentiel equalized before Olise came out with a late winner.

Bayern reversed the trend of European teams losing to South American foes with a convincing victory in the Group C matchup after losing to Paris Saint-Germain against Botofogo and Chelsea against Flamengo.

“The guys gave a strong performance,” he said. We were aware that entering a hostile environment with hot weather wouldn’t be easy. We should have been two or three up in the first half, but they added pressure in the second, Kane said.

The England forward continued, “They got the momentum, but once they scored, we shifted it back in our direction.”

Boca fans once more pumped up Hard Rock Stadium, home of the Miami Dolphins, with incredible passion and noise.

However, Bayern started to calm the 63, 587 crowd by putting in the most of the movement of Bayern’s frontline, which extended the Boca defense, and Joshua Kimmich and Leon Goretzka took over midfield.

In the eighth minute, the German side believed to have the lead when Olise’s corner was unaltered and sailed into the net.

The goalkeeper Agustin Marchesin and Serge Gnabry had a clear encounter with the referee at the monitor for a VAR review, but the effort was ruled out.

However, Bayern made a breakthrough ten minutes later when Kane pounced with a clinical left-foot shot into the bottom corner after Boca were unable to fully clear a ball into the box.

Bayern drew blood and forced for a second when Olise found Gnabry on the right, who was just inches away from the sliding Kingsley Coman.

Boca was trying to get a foot in the door when Manuel Neuer sent a thundering free kick.

Zenon once more put a fierce strike past Neuer, who punched it away moments later.

The decisive blow by Olise

Bayern, despite Boca’s best efforts, looked in charge of the game, and Kane was just too dangerous with a dangerous free-kick that dipped just in time and flew over the bar.

After the break, Bayern kept looking for more, and the busy Olise missed a good start from close range with an off-balance shot.

However, Boca never gave up on grafting and harrying, and they were finally paid in the 66th minute.

Miguel Merentiel was found by Alan Velasco in the middle of the field, and he rocketed goalwards, skipping around Josip Stanisic, and then fired a brilliant, confident finish past the helpless Neuer after being fouled.

With just six minutes left, Olise struck the decisive blow for South American clubs despite it appearing as though their unbeaten record in the competition was going to continue.

READ MORE: Flamengo Returns To Slash Chelsea At The World Cup

After a scramble on the edge of the box, Kane found the France international with a delicate lay-off, and Olise delivered a superb side-foot finish into the corner.

Konrad Laimer believed he had won the game with a third chance a moment later, but he was declared unfit for the position.

The Argentine giants needed to maintain the level, according to Boca keeper Marchesin.

We leave feeling deeply sad, depressed, and excited about what lies ahead. I believe that this is how we should approach matches, treating them with all respect, treating them with the care that Boca requires, and hoping to continue on this course.

Boca now has one point before their final group game as a result of their first defeat in the competition.

After defeating Auckland City 10-0 in their opening game, Bayern now have six points, with Portugal’s Benfica in second place with four points.

Olympic Balloon To Rise Again In Paris

The 2024 Olympics’ giant balloon will rise once more, according to organizers, who anticipate that it will once again draw crowds of tourists.

Every day at sunset, thousands of people flocked to the seven-meter (23 feet) wide ring of electric fire above the Tuileries garden. The Olympic cauldron, attached to a balloon, flew above the Tuileries garden.

The cauldron’s designer, Mathieu Lehanneur, claimed that the cauldron’s design “had been thought up for the duration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

All of the technical details needed to be looked at, he told AFP on Thursday after President Emmanuel Macron “decided to bring it back.”

Lehanneur expressed his relief at the return of the Olympic balloon in a statement.

On June 19, 2025, pedestrians in Paris pass by the Olympic Cauldron at the Tuileries Garden during a hot summer afternoon. (Photo by Thomas SAMSON/AFP)

He claimed that the worst scenario would have been when this memory turned into a sitting relic that couldn’t fly anymore.

The Fête de la Musique, France’s annual street music festival, will take place on Saturday evening in the skies of France.

The balloon will be in the air from September 14 through September 14, a custom that will continue until the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

Lehanneur remarked that in order to revive it, “we needed to make sure it changed as little as possible and that everything that did change was invisible.”

The upgraded balloon adheres to “the same technical principles” as its predecessor, according to EDF’s director of innovation, Julien Villeret. The balloon has a decarbonated fire that has been patented by French energy giant EDF.

According to Villeret, the improved attraction “will last ten times longer” and be able to operate for “300 days instead of 30”.

On June 12, 2025, the Olympic cauldron is visible at Paris’ Tuileries Garden. From June 21 through September 14 until the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, the cauldron will rise in the evening. (Photo by Yoan VALAT/POOL/AFP)

READ ALSO: Sabalenka defeats Rybakina 4-3 to reach the Berlin Semis.

He claimed that the balloon’s creators also strengthened the light-and-mist system, which “makes the flames dance.”

A machine room beneath the cauldron houses cables, a compressor, and a hydro-electric winch.

According to Jerome Giacomoni, president of the Aerophile organization that built the balloon, that system will “hold back the helium balloon when it rises and pull it down when it descends.”

The Olympic balloon, which is made up of 6,200 m3 of lighter than air helium, will be able to lift cauldron, cables, and other components, he said.

On June 12, 2025, the reinstallation of the 2024 Olympic cauldron is visible close to a temporary stage structure that was constructed to house the France Music Week closing concert on June 21, 2025. The reinstalled Olympic cauldron will perform at a concert in the Tuileries on June 21, 2025, and it will remain there nightly until September 14 if conditions permit. It will do so during a performance of France’s “Fete de la Musique.” (Photo: Christophe DELATTRE/AFP)

French inventor Jacques Charles flew in his first gas balloon on December 1, 1783, according to Giacomoni in the Tuileries Garden.

He made it possible for the renowned Montgolfier brothers to launch a similar balloon into the sky with humans aboard just nine days earlier.

The vasqueparis2024 website. The modern-day balloon’s rise times will be displayed in French and to indicate any potential cancellations as a result of weather conditions.

Sabalenka Saves Four Match Points Against Rybakina To Reach Berlin Semis

Elena Rybakina, the former champion of Wimbledon, defeated world number one Aryna Sabalenka to earn her place in the semifinals of the grass in Berlin on Friday, saving four match points.

Sabalenka resurrected to reach her eighth semi-final of the season after falling behind to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-2 in the final-set tie-break, earning six straight points.

Next, she travels to Marketa Vondrousova, the 2023 champion tennis player, who defeated Ons Jabeur from Tunisia 6-4, 6-1 earlier on Friday.

“Elena, she’s a great player, and we’ve had a lot of difficult battles,” said one participant. “I have no idea how I was able to get those final points.” In all fairness, Sabalenka, who currently leads 7-4 in meetings with the Kazakh, believes she has been lucky.

“I’ve been playing games a long time ago when I was just starting, and I remember when I won a lot of matches with match points down,” I recall. Not long ago, I thought it had been a while since I’ve made a crazy comeback, and here I am.

“It’s amazing to win games like that,” he said, “and I’m proud of how I stayed.” I was trying until the very end, fighting.

Read more about the move to Qatar for the Asian Cup qualifiers after the Israeli-Iran War.

The three-time Grand Slam champion gave up the momentum and gave way to Rybakina in the third set after winning in a tiebreak.

In the final set, Sabalenka had a 5-4 lead with serve, but the Kazakh, the world number 11, was forced to come back and force the tie-break.

Sabalenka scored her first match point with a powerful assist, sealing the deal five points later (8-6).

She will square off against Vondrousova, who returned from a break in Wimbledon on Saturday and placed her in the 164th place world.

Vondrousova’s first last-four appearance since Stuttgart in April 2024 will be here.

In a repeat of their 2023 Wimbledon final, which the Czechs won, Vondrusova won.

Both players have experienced injuries and have fallen significantly in rankings since finishing in the top 10 last year.

After losing 6-1 in the first set to Spanish opponent Paula Badosa, China’s Wang Xinyu, who had previously defeated French Open champion Coco Gauff on Thursday, retired to reach the semi-finals.

Wang will face Liudmila Samsono in the semi-finals after the Russian, who is 20th in the world, continued to excel on the grass.

She defeated American Amanda Anisimova of the United States 6-1, 6-1 in just 57 minutes after already defeating defending champions Jessica Pegula and Naomi Osaka this week.

Liverpool Seal Record Swoop For Wirtz From Leverkusen

Florian Wirtz’s sensational move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool on Friday was the subject of a potential Premier League record fee.

The Premier League champions will pay an initial $ 100 million ($134 million), comfortably surpassing their own record, according to reports in England.

It would become a record-breaking British company with additional £16 million in performance-related add-ons.

However, reports in Germany suggested that the fee might go as high as 130 million euros (£111 million, $149 million), with additions making it 150 million euros.

Former Leverkusen coach and ex-Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso, who is now Real Madrid’s new boss, have hailed Wirtz as one of the “best in the world.”

“I’m really looking forward to a brand-new adventure ahead of me.” According to Wirtz, “I want to have something completely new, to leave the Bundesliga, and to join the Premier League,” he said on the club’s website.

We ultimately want to be successful. Since they won the Premier League last year, my goal is to win it once more and advance to the Champions League. I have a lot of ambition.”

The 22-year-old helped Leverkusen win their first-ever Bundesliga title and the German Cup in 2023/24 without losing a single game while at the club.

In the Europa League final defeat to Atalanta, Leverkusen were denied a memorable treble, which was Wirtz’ only other defeat that year, when he was named the year’s MVP.

Read more about Salah, Palmer, Rice, and other PFA Player of the Year nominees.

Last season, Leverkusen came in second place, and Bayern Munich regained control of the German game, and Wirtz is joining a frenzied departure from the BayArena.

Jeremie Frimpong, a Netherlands defender, recently made a move to Liverpool from Leverkusen.

The Reds are making a splash to help a team that won the 20th English top flight title, which was largely kept dry in Arne Slot’s first season in charge.

Milos Kerkez, a left-back from Bournemouth, is reportedly moving to Anfield in a £40 million deal.

Alexander Isak, a Newcastle striker, and Marc Guehi, a Crystal Palace defender, have also been linked with Liverpool.

It’s still to be seen how Slot’s plans integrate Wirtz’s.

He primarily played for Germany’s central striker at Leverkusen and has since expanded to include other players.

Leverkusen’s 57 goals and 65 assists in 197 games demonstrate that he poses a threat both as a creator and a goalscorer.

Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz, and Cody Gakpo, all of whom offer a goal threat, are already a part of Liverpool’s abundance of forward options.

However, Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez, and Federico Chiesa are now facing even more difficult competition to start in Slot’s starting lineup, which raises the possibility that Liverpool will sell some of that trio to free up additional transfer resources.

Flamengo Fight Back To Thrash Chelsea At World Cup

At the Club World Cup on Friday, substitute Bruno Henrique led Flamengo to a dazzling second half victory over Chelsea 3-1, keeping an impressive record for South American teams so far in the competition.

Chelsea took the lead in the first half thanks to Pedro Neto, but Flamengo, who made up the majority of the 54, 019 crowd, did not deserve to be left behind, and led a stunning comeback after the break.

In the 56th minute, Bruno Henrique scored the equalizer for the Brazilian giants before setting up Danilo to make it 2-1.

When substitute Nicolas Jackson was sent off in the 68th minute, Chelsea were stunned, and their chances of regaining possession were effectively squandered.

The Rio de Janeiro club, the leaders of the Brazilian league, won when Wallace Yan made it 3-1 late on, who came on as a substitute.

Flamengo are now in danger of making it to Group D’s last 16 with two wins out of two at the tournament.

Chelsea, however, will be hoping to reach the knockout stages of their final group match against Tunisian Esperance despite not being able to repeat the result of their opening encounter against Los Angeles FC.

The result extends Botafogo’s unbeaten run to nine matches against South American clubs in the competition after Botafogo’s stunning victory against &nbsp, European champions Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday.

Following Chelsea’s victory over LAFC in Atlanta, Enzo Maresca made four changes to his starting lineup, with Liam Delap making his first start up front.

Delap had a first-half goal tipped over, but Neto equaled with the lead in the 13th minute when he seized on Wesley’s error to run through and score the second goal in FIFA’s new competition.

In response to the Israeli-Iran War, Qatar now hosts the Asian Cup qualifiers.

Red card for Jackson

Brazilian forward #27 Bruno Henrique (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring the team’s first goal in the 2025 Group D game between Brazil’s CR Flamengo and England’s Chelsea at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on June 20, 2025. (FRANCK FIFE/AFP photo)

In the first half, Flamengo put a lot of pressure on, but it didn’t really score.

When Reece James made a mistake and tried to get his spot in the corner, they nearly equaled the score on 54 minutes. The arriving Gonzalo Plata couldn’t turn the ball in at the back post, which caused his poor connection.

The 34-year-old Brazilian started as the pendulum swung even further in the direction of Flamengo, who was previously capped twice by Brazil earlier in his career.

Just before the 62nd minute equaliser, Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez tipped over a shot over Plata.

Bruno Henrique turned in a Gerson cross that was headed across Plata’s goal, causing wild cheers from the red and black Brazilian fans at Lincoln Financial Field.

When Bruno Henrique headed home a corner and former Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Juventus defender Danilo converted, Flamengo were in front three minutes later.

After finishing the game a man short, Jackson was red for raking his studs into Ayrton Lucas’ shin.

When Wallace Yan was about to receive a penalty from Enzo Fernandez, Flamengo sealed the victory seven minutes from time with a Plata shot that fell favorably for the substitute to fire in.