Wins

Progressive state Sen. Aisha Wahab will replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell in Congress and finish his current term.

Wahab (D-Hayward) defeated Melissa Hernandez, the president of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board and the former mayor of Dublin who was seen as the more moderate candidate. The two faced off in a special runoff election on Tuesday, and the Associated Press declared Wahab the winner Thursday afternoon.

The two Democrats will face each other again in the Nov. 3 general election to determine who will represent a slightly redrawn district in the East Bay for a full term beginning in 2027.

Following a Thursday update from Alameda County elections officials, Wahab led with 53.1% of the vote to Hernandez’s 46.9%, according to the secretary of state’s website. The additional ballots widened the slim lead Wahab held on election night.

“This victory belongs to the voters who made clear that our district cannot be bought,” Wahab posted on Facebook Thursday after the race was called. “Through one of the ugliest, most expensive elections we’ve ever seen, we never took the bait or went negative. We stayed focused on the people, and I will fight for this district that raised me. From foster care to Congress, this journey shows the possibility of the American Dream. Today this district made history by electing the first Afghan American to Congress.”

In an email to supporters, Hernandez said the November election “will be in the new district lines, adding 26,000 Dublin voters who didn’t have the chance to vote for me in August. We’re looking forward to winning this on November 3rd with a more favorable district and a much larger electorate. Game on!”

Swalwell, a Dublin Democrat, resigned from the seat and dropped his bid for California governor in April after multiple women accused him of sexual assault and misconduct, which he denies.

Though Wahab was favored to win the seat and finished first in both the regular and special election primaries, the race became more competitive after the pro-Israel group American Israel Public Affairs Committee spent millions of dollars on ads attacking her. Though the war in Gaza was not a central campaign issue, Wahab has criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza and described it as a genocide. Hernandez has defended Israel’s right to defend itself.

Progressives celebrated Wahab’s victory despite the heavy spending against her.

Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of Our Revolution, a group founded by progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), said her campaign “should be studied by every progressive running for office in America.”

“The lesson from CA-14 is simple: Democrats do not have to surrender to the biggest checkbook in the race,” Geevarghese said. “Big money can buy television ads, mailboxes and endless attacks. It cannot buy the trust built through thousands of conversations between neighbors. That is the model: Unite the movement, organize everywhere, and make billionaire money fight us on our terrain.”

The U.S. Army has chosen Hanwha Defense USA to advance to the next phase of its Mobile Tactical Cannon (MTC) program. The company will now provide prototypes of its wheeled 155mm K9 Mobile Howitzer for further testing. This, in turn, could lead to its adoption as a replacement for the Army’s existing towed 155mm M777 howitzers.

“The U.S. Army announced today an agreement with Hanwha Defense USA, Arlington, Virginia, for the development of prototypes for the Mobile Tactical Cannon program, a critical priority in the Army’s ongoing continuous transformation and long-range fires modernization efforts,” according to a press release the service put out this evening. “Awarded competitively under an Other Transaction Authority (10 U.S.C. Section 4022), the firm-fixed-price agreement will provide the Army with up to 18 wheeled Self-Propelled Howitzer Systems for rapid prototyping, testing, and Soldier experimentation over an estimated four-year period of performance. The amount of this action is $100,302,961 with a total cumulative face value of $262,903,274.”

OTAs are a contracting mechanism that U.S. government agencies regularly use to help accelerate advanced research and development and prototype efforts.

The Army’s release does not explicitly mention the K9 Mobile Howitzer (K9MH), also known as the K9A2. However, Hanwha Defense USA has confirmed that this is the design it will be supplying in its own press release. The company had also announced this would be its entry for the MTC competition back in March. American Rheinmetall, BAE Systems, General Dynamics Land Systems, and Elbit Systems USA had also been in the running.

“The agreement provides for the accelerated delivery of six prototype MTC systems, with an option for an additional 12. Soldiers will use these platforms in a series of operational experiments to assess performance, reliability, and supportability in realistic combat conditions,” the release adds. “This Soldier-centric, experiment-driven approach reflects the Army’s continuous transformation initiative to rapidly deliver lethal capabilities, incorporate immediate Soldier feedback, and adapt the force to pace emerging threats in multi-domain operations.”

The K9MH was developed from Hanwha’s earlier tracked K9 design, variants and derivatives of which are already in service in South Korea, as well as Australia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, India, Norway, Poland, and Turkey. Both the tracked and wheeled designs share the same 52-caliber 155mm cannon. Caliber here is a measurement of length in relation to the diameter of the barrel. A 52-caliber 155mm barrel is just under 26 and a half feet long. The M777’s barrel is 39 calibers long, or just around 16.7 feet.

K9 and K10 prove compatibility with US munitions during a live-fire demonstration at YPG

In general, longer barrels on howitzers translate to greater range. Hanwha says the maximum range of the K9MH is just over 37 miles (60 kilometers), though it is unclear if this is only when using rocket-assisted or other specialized ammunition. The stated maximum range of the M777, even when using specialized rounds, is just under 20 miles.

As a self-propelled howitzer, the 8×8 K9MH also offers the benefit of integrated mobility over the towed M777, which requires a separate vehicle to move it from point A to point B. “Its emplacement/displacement times of under 30 seconds enables ‘shoot and scoot’ tactics,” according to Hanwha’s website.

The K9MH can also carry 40 rounds of ammunition onboard, as well as be rapidly reloaded in the field via a companion K10 resupply vehicle.

“We’re focused on creating a U.S.-anchored K9 Mobile Howitzer manufacturing network – with Opelika, Alabama, as the current phase I launch point – that can deliver advanced Mobile Tactical Cannons at the speed and scale the U.S. Army needs,” Jason Pak, Hanwha Defense USA Head of Land Systems-Artillery, also said in a statement.

“Hanwha’s global supply chain and local production experience in Australia, Egypt, Poland and Romania demonstrate a proven commitment to local execution we’re excited to bring to the U.S.,” Michael Coulter, Hanwha Defense USA CEO, said in his own statement. “Localization is central to Hanwha’s global business model, leveraging our global leading industrial technology and process in Korea to create sovereign industrial strength in the U.S., whether it be in shipbuilding, munitions or combat vehicles.”

The Army has been actively exploring the idea of replacing the M777 with a new wheeled self-propelled howitzer since at least 2019, and has even conducted shoot-offs of various designs in the past. The service has also made clear that its selection of Hanwha Defense USA to advance in the MTC effort does not guarantee that it will field the K9MH.

“Data and insights gained from these experiments will directly inform senior leaders’ decisions on future fielding. If approved for fielding, MTC will replace M777 towed artillery systems in select formations, significantly increasing their lethality, mobility, reliability, and survivability on the modern, highly transparent battlefield,” per the Army’s release today. “By rapidly prototyping these systems, the Army is advancing a more mobile and adaptable fires formation aligned with the rigorous demands of large-scale combat operations.”

The release does not elaborate on what “select formations” might be in line to eventually receive K9MHs. However, a past MTC contracting notice says the initial focus is on replacing M777s within Brigade Combat Teams equipped with Stryker wheeled light armored vehicles. Airborne, airmobile, and ‘leg’ infantry brigades also have M777s that could be supplanted by new wheeled self-propelled howitzers.

The possibility of the Army replacing at least a portion of its existing M109-series tracked self-propelled 155mm howitzers has also been raised in the past. However, the service’s press release today makes clear that the focus of the MTC program right now is still on replacing towed M777s. There is a long-standing debate about the relative pros and cons of wheeled versus tracked self-propelled howitzers, with the U.S. Army long having favored the latter. Tracked designs typically offer greater off-road mobility and are often more heavily armored. They are also generally heavier overall, which can negatively impact mobility and transportability more broadly, and can be more costly to acquire and operate.

“If you look at the [fight] in Ukraine on either side, it’s really hard to move out and get fires ready to go. … The Paladin [the name applied to the latest A6 and A7 variants of the M109] is just incapable of it at speed,” Secretary of the Army Dan Driscoll told members of the House Appropriations Committee at a hearing earlier this year. “And so while we think the Paladin will be in our lives for a while, because we want to be good custodians of the assets the American taxpayer has given us, we think that new purchases to balance that platform out should be something different.”

At that time, Driscoll was defending his service’s omission of funding for any more M109A7s in its Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal.

It is worth noting here that both sides in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine have and continue to employ tracked and wheeled self-propelled howitzers, as well as towed types. The war has underscored the continued importance of artillery, in general. At the same time, mobility, and greater speed while on the move, are ever more important considerations in an era of drone warfare and expanded kill chains that put anything that stays in one place too long at higher risk

MTC is part of a larger Self-Propelled Howitzer-Modernization (SPH-M) effort that could also include the separate acquisition of a new tracked self-propelled howitzer. There have been several abortive Army attempts to replace the venerable M109 family since the 1990s. This includes the advanced XM2001 Crusader, which was canceled in 2002 ostensibly due to growing costs. The service axed the more recent XM1299, developed under its Extended Range Cannon Artillery (ECRA) program in 2024. The XM1299 featured a 58-caliber cannon and had a demonstrated range of 40 miles (just over 60 kilometers). The Army has previously said that the length of the barrel presented technical challenges that contributed to the program’s cancellation.

XM2001 Crusader Howitzer Prototype

Since the XM1299’s cancellation, the Army has also been investing heavily in new long-range artillery shells, including ramjet-powered types.

Today’s announcement is also another important win for South Korea’s defense industry, which has made major export gains globally in recent years. Poland, in particular, has become a huge customer for South Korean arms exports, including versions of the K9. Further progress in the U.S. Army’s MTC program could offer a major inroad into the American market for Hanwha.

With today’s announcement, the Army has taken an important new step toward adding a new wheeled 155mm self-propelled howitzer to its arsenal.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Scheffler’s 21st career PGA Tour title earns the American $3.6m for his resounding victory at TPC Southwind.

Scottie Scheffler has had a fair share of close calls this year ‌but not in the St Jude Championship.

He shot a final-round 4-under-par 66 on Sunday in Memphis, Tennessee, and pulled away to win the tournament by eight strokes ⁠and extend his lead in ⁠the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“I felt like a week like this was coming,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I was on repeat all year just being like, ‘Hey, I’m playing solid. I’m close.’ It feels good to be answering some different questions ⁠at the end of this week.”

Scheffler is the world number one, but this marked his first victory since January.

“I have had some close calls this year,” Scheffler said. “I feel like I kept saying at the end of each tournament that I feel like I am playing pretty good – it’s just little things ⁠that aren’t going my way.”

He finished at a 17-under 263 for an eight-stroke advantage on runner-up Si Woo Kim of South Korea at TPC Southwind, where the opening event of three tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs took place. Kim shot 68 on Sunday.

It was the tournament’s second-largest margin of victory in the past 30 years and the largest winning gap at TPC Southwind.

“I felt like I’ve been in a good rhythm,” Scheffler said. “I didn’t hit maybe as many fairways this week, but I was ‌really sharp with the irons, and I rolled it really good on the greens. That’s a good compensation if you’re going to try to have success out here.”

None of the other contenders made much of a push on Sunday as Scheffler’s lead expanded from two strokes to five by midway through the round.

Scheffler, who secured his 21st all-time victory on the tour, poured it on with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 16th holes.

“I played solid golf all day, really all week,” Scheffler said.

The next stop in the playoffs is in St Louis, Missouri, for this coming week’s BMW Championship, which Scheffler won last year.

St Jude Championship – round four leaderboard

-17 S Scheffler (US); -9 Kim (Kor); -8 A Noren (Swe), S Burns (US); -7 W Clark (US), Im (Kor)

Selected others: -6 L Aberg (Swe), T Fleetwood (Eng); -5 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); -4 V Hovland (Nor), J Spieth (US); -3 H Hall (Eng); E J Rose; +3 S Lowry; +8 R McIlroy (NI)

Full leaderboard

Rory McIlroy says “he felt lost” as he toiled to a 66th-place finish – 25 strokes behind champion Scottie Scheffler – at the St Jude Championship.

While world number one Scheffler was a cut above the rest at 17 under overall as he claimed his first victory since January, more concerning for McIlory was that his eight-over total left him ahead of just two players in the first of the three FedEx Cup play-off events.

The Northern Irishman, who won his second Masters title earlier this season had not played competitively since the Open Championship in July.

And it told at TPC Southwind, where he failed to record a single round under par across the four days and struggled to find the sort of rhythm that will be needed if he is to claim an unprecedented fourth FedEx Cup later this month.

“I’m so far away from where I need to be to even feel like I have a chance. I’ve just got to keep working and hope it turns around a little bit,” said McIlroy, who is 13th in the season-long standings.

“Obviously didn’t come in here with a ton of reps, (it) almost felt like the more the week went on the more I felt lost with my golf swing a little bit.

“I guess [it was] nice to shake the rust off a little bit but I’m going to have to work pretty hard between now and next Thursday to feel like I have any sort of golf game to compete next week.

“To me it’s more about the execution of what I’m doing right now, and the execution wasn’t there this week.”

McIlroy’s struggles were obvious particularly in from tee to green where he ranked 62nd out of 68 players for strokes gained.

However, he would at least have been able to take some comfort from a seven-hole stretch on the back nine where he knocked in four birdies, albeit he finished with successive bogeys to bookend a round which began with a six on the par-four opening hole.

Jack Whaley became only the second Englishman to win the US Amateur Championship since 1911 as he beat American Jay Leng Jr 4&3 at Merion.

Victory will give the 22-year-old a place in the field for the Masters, US Open and The Open at St Andrews in 2027.

Whaley, who attends Florida State University, came into the contest as a major underdog against Leng Jr, who is 23rd in the world amateur golf rankings, some 67 places higher than the 22-year-old from Doncaster.

The on-course form looked to be following the rankings as Whaley slipped two down after the opening 18 holes in Sunday’s 36-hole encounter.

However, Whaley fought back superbly, making back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes of his second round on his way to winning four holes consecutively.

With rain lashing down in Pennsylvania, both players took two of the next six holes before Leng Jr misread a putt on the 12th to hand his opponent a three-hole lead.

Whaley rounded off his win with a superb left-to-right putt for birdie at 15 to become the first English amateur to triumph in the US Amateur since Matt Fitzpatrick in 2013.

Prior to Fitzpatrick, Harold Hilton had been the last Englishman to won the title in 1911, with Scotland’s Richie Ramsay (2006) the only other British winner since 1898.

Fitzpatrick went on to follow up his success at The Country Club in Brookline by winning the US Open on the same course in 2022.

Former US Amateur winners include Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Bryson DeChambeau and Viktor Hovland.

Mark English wins gold in the 800m to earn Ireland’s first men’s gold at a European Athletics Championships, capitalising after Great Britain’s Max Burgin was forced to withdraw from the final through injury.

READ MORE: English makes history with European 800m gold

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Hunt could have as many as three opportunities to add to her tally this week, as se competes in the 200m and both the women’s and mixed 4x100m relay events.

Typically not the quickest off the blocks at almost six-foot tall, Hunt was seventh in the eight-athlete final after the first 10m.

But she held her form superbly to overhaul her rivals and end her wait for gold, just two years after finishing seventh in the previous European final in Rome.

“I just had such a magical feeling,” Hunt said.

“I’ve won English Schools here, raced here as a 13, 14-year-old. I just had a feeling that this was going to be my night.

“My first gold. I think it was definitely time for an upgrade, and I’m now kind of fully established.”

British record holder Asher-Smith lined up in Birmingham as the defending champion – but the 30-year-old could not force her way into medal contention.

Asher-Smith, bidding to win a historic seventh gold and become the joint-most successful athlete in the history of the championships, finished fifth in 11.10, as Poland’s Ewa Swoboda (11.02) and Belgian Delphine Nkansa (11.06) completed the podium.

Like Hunt, Asher-Smith will have further opportunities to draw level with Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic and Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, who earlier won a superb 5,000m gold on his comeback from injury.

Both will return to action on Wednesday, when attention turns to the women’s 200m medals before the weekend’s relays.

LIV Golf New York final leaderboard

-16 J Niemann (Chi); -13 H Varner III (US); -9 L Westwood (Eng), S Vincent (Zim)

Selected others: -6 P Casey (Eng), T McKibbin (NI); -3 L Canter (Eng); +1 R Bland (Eng)

Full leaderboard

Joaquin Niemann led throughout to win the LIV Golf New York event on Sunday, while Jon Rahm secured his third straight season title.

Niemann fired a two-under 69 to finish on 16-under after 72 holes at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey.

That meant the Chilean won by three strokes from American Harold Varner III and the 27-year-old met US President Donald Trump after extending his record for LIV wins to nine.

“I feel like the more they push me, the better golfer I’m going to become from every experience,” said Niemann.

England’s Lee Westwood and Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe were both seven off the pace in a share for third place.

Rahm finished tied for 41st after closing with a round of 76 but the Spaniard has clinched the season title.

The world number 13 has an unassailable 219-point lead over American Bryson DeChambeau heading into the final individual event of the season at Indianapolis in two weeks.

The 31-year-old won last year’s season title despite not winning a single event, but this year has two wins from 12 so far – in Hong Kong and Mexico – and has also had four runner-up finishes.

“It has been a great year,” he said. “A little sour taste in my mouth because of how badly I played this week but it has been something to be proud of.

“After last year, not getting a win and possibly having a question mark over the season-long race, to win twice and win it again definitely feels good.”

The LIV season concludes with the team championship in Michigan from 27-30 August.

NICE, France — Dutch rider Demi Vollering won the Women’s Tour de France for the second time and in style by winning Sunday’s ninth and final stage to extend her overall margin of victory.

The 2023 champion raised her bike in the air moments after crossing the finish line in Nice comfortably ahead of Polish rider Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, the 2024 champion. Niewiadoma-Phinney started Sunday’s stage eight seconds behind Vollering, who got a time bonus for winning the stage.

Knowing that she was well clear of her rival, Vollering began to celebrate as the line approached, raising her arm in triumph and then tapping her head with her finger to show her mental strength.

She finished the stage 1 minute, 4 seconds ahead of Spaniard Paula Blasi Cairol and Niewiadoma-Phinney and, after collecting the time bonus, ended up 1:18 clear of Niewiadoma-Phinney overall.

Former Giro d’Italia champion Elisa Longo Borghini of Italy was third overall in the Tour — 4:29 behind — after Marlen Reusser lost valuable time after crashing going downhill after the second of the day’s four climbs.

Niewiadoma-Phinney had it all to do on the final climb, especially with her rival sitting on her wheel, and was unable to pressure Vollering.

Vollering attacked about 800 meters from the top and dropped Niewiadoma-Phinney — as she did when winning Saturday’s eighth stage to take the overall lead from her rival.

Two years ago, Vollering missed out on Tour victory after finishing an agonizing four seconds behind Niewiadoma-Phinney on the last stage.

She made full amends this time.

The 29-year-old Vollering has now won five Grand Tours, including two Spanish Vuelta titles and the Giro d’Italia secured in June to join countrywoman Annemiek van Vleuten as the only other female cyclist to have won all three Grand Tours.

Four climbs

Each of the first three climbs on Sunday was 7.7 kilometers long with a 5.9% average gradient. But the final ascent branched off onto a slightly different route which, even though it was shorter at 6 kilometers, had a steeper average gradient of 7.6% with one portion stretching to a grueling 12%.

It made little difference.

After winning Friday’s seventh stage with an impressive solo attack of her own up the iconic Mont Ventoux, Niewiadoma-Phinney seemed short of energy and Vollering’s lead was never under threat.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

Progressive advocate overcomes more than $60m in spending to defeat pro-Israel Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive public health advocate, has won the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate, overcoming more than $60m in campaign spending, mostly from pro-Israel groups, NBC has projected.

The result on Tuesday represents an enormous blow to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), which led the way in the effort to defeat the pro-Palestinian El-Sayed, backing his opponent, US Congresswoman Haley Stevens, with more than $30m.

El-Sayed will face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in November. The race is considered one of a handful of competitive Senate contests in the November midterms and could determine which party controls the chamber for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term.

If El-Sayed – who is of Egyptian descent – wins in November, he would become the first Muslim senator in US history.

Tuesday’s result in Michigan – a swing state that voted for Trump in 2024 – will have major implications for the Democrats’ policies on conflicts in the Middle East.

El-Sayed recognises Israel’s atrocities in Gaza as a genocide and argues that money spent on conflicts that benefit Israel should be invested in local communities in the US to address healthcare, housing and infrastructure problems.

More to come…

Alex Eala rallies past top seed Jessica Pegula in a two-day, rain-hit final, while Taylor Fritz beats teen Rafael Jodar.

Alexandra Eala made history as the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level singles title, defeating top seed Jessica Pegula at the Mubadala DC Open before Taylor Fritz claimed the men’s crown.

The 21-year-old Eala rallied to beat world number three Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a weather-disrupted women’s final that spanned two days, ending on Monday.

Rain had suspended play on Sunday with Pegula leading by a set but trailing 2-1 in the second. Upon Monday’s resumption, Eala dominated, winning 10 of the final 13 games with aggressive baseline play and a formidable serve to seal her breakthrough victory.

“I feel so much love. My first chance at a title, knowing it won’t be the last, and already having achieved this milestone for my career,” Eala said on the court after lifting the trophy in front of a vocal contingent of supporters. “I knew whatever happened after this match would have already been a win for me.”

Pegula, who previously won the DC Open in 2019, praised the young Filipina’s remarkable campaign.

“To see how far you’ve come over the last couple of years… to see the amazing fans that follow you every place you go, it’s not fun to play against, but I think it’s amazing,” Pegula told Eala during the trophy presentation.

In the men’s final, American Taylor Fritz earned his 11th career ATP title by defeating 19-year-old Spanish rising star Rafael Jodar 7-6(2), 6-4.

Fritz, returning to peak form following a knee injury that sidelined him earlier this season, produced a steady performance behind his serve, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points.

The 28-year-old American edged a tight opening-set tiebreak before securing the decisive break in the second set to seal his first title of 2026.

The double bill concluded a rain-plagued week in the US capital as players now head into the North American hardcourt swing ahead of the US Open.

After he took his first win in Estonia, Pajari made it back-to-back WRC victories to move into second in the standings behind Evans.

Pajari was the beneficiary when nine-time champion Sebastien Ogier crashed out of the lead on Saturday’s penultimate stage on a high-speed right-hand corner on the fast gravel roads.

Both Ogier and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were taken to hospital after the accident but the French driver posted on social media on Saturday night that the pair would remain in hospital overnight as a precaution but “we both feel okay, which is the most important”.

Oliver Solberg, who was battling back pain on the fast jumps on the stages, and co-driver Elliott Edmondson finished in second place to complete a Toyota lock-out of the podium places.

The Hyundai duo of Adrien Fourmaux and Thierry Neuville were fourth and fifth, while Takamoto Katsuta and Northern Ireland co-driver Aaron Johnston crashed into trees on the final stage but recovered to finish in sixth place.

After the issues for Katsuta and Ogier, Pajari is now second in the standings behind Evans ahead 11th round of the season in Paraguay from 27-30 August.

Motorsport Ireland driver Josh McErlean finished the rally in seventh position as the best of the M-Sport Ford drivers.

Team-mate Martins Sesks crashed heavily on Saturday to drop out of fifth place, while Jon Armstrong’s chances of a strong result came to an end on Friday after he spun and got stuck in a ditch.

“It’s been a crazy weekend in terms of all the crews,” McErlean said.

“A lot of new stages, a lot of new pace notes and whenever you come to a rally this fast it is super-difficult to get right.

“So we have to be pleased to get through cleanly”.

Rally Finland results

1. Sami Pajari FIN/Marko Salminen FIN (Toyota) 2:27.358.0

2. Oliver Solberg SWE/Elliott Edmundson GB (Toyota) +26.7 seconds

3. Elfyn Evans GB/Scott Martin GB (Toyota) +1:19.5

4. Adrien Fourmaux FRA/Alex Coria FRA (Hyundai) +1:35.4

5. Thierry Neuville BEL/Martijn Wydaeghe BEL (Hyundai) +3:52.5

6. Takamoto Katsuta JPN/Aaron Johnston IRL (Toyota) +4:18.2

7. Josh McErlean IRL/Eoin Treacy IRL (M-Sport Ford) +4:32.7

….

43. Martins Sesks LAT/Francis Renars LAT (M-Sport Ford) +51:52.4

47. Jon Armstrong IRL/Shane Byrne IRL (M-Sport Ford) +1:21.39.6

DNF. Sebastien Ogier FRA/Julian Ingrassia FRA (Toyota)

DNF. Esapekka Lappi FIN/Enni Malkonen FIN (Hyundai)

World Rally Championship standings (after round 10/14)

1. Elfyn Evans GB (Toyota) 201 points

2. Sami Pajari FIN (Toyota) 171

3. Takamoto Katsuta JPN (Toyota) 160

4. Oliver Solberg SWE (Toyota) 156

5. Sebastien Ogier FRA (Toyota) 139

6. Adrien Fourmaux FRA (Hyundai) 129

7. Thierry Neuville BEL (Hyundai) 125

8. Esapekka Lappi FIN (Hyundai) 25

9. Hayden Paddon NZL (Hyundai) 21

10. Josh McErlean IRL (M-Sport Ford) 21

At the time, Kerr gave his answer as the bell tolled. In a flash, he made his move, bursting to the outside in pursuit of Myers and Cheruiyot, who made theirs momentarily first.

With 250m to go, Kerr left them behind. Wightman gamely tried to follow but how do you chase down a man this fast? His brave gamble failed and the bronze medallist from the last two Games trailed home in sixth.

By then, Kerr was already celebrating gold, with Myers coming through for silver and Cheruiyot bronze.

“I peeked up at the screen, saw I had a bit of a gap, and I felt great,” added the Edinburgh athlete, who has been racing at Scotstoun since he was a child.

“I was just trying to stay present and enjoy it. I learned how to race on that track – and I’ve had some pretty bad ones out there – so to really enjoy that last 100m was a really important moment.”

It was the moment Glasgow 2026 has been building to. The historic, reinstated, Blue Riband event of these Games got a fittingly elite winner. As a student of the sport’s history, Kerr will appreciate that.

And as a kid who was at the athletics event at Hampden in 2014, he knew how much joy every man, women and child inside this place would derive from every picture he had taken, every word he shared with them, and every scrawl of his name.

“I have to take my time out there because they’ve waited and put their hard-earned money to come out and watch me perform,” he said.

“You’ve got to stay in your lane and realise I’m lucky coming into this championship healthy, ready to go and I’m in the best shape of my life. And to do that in front of a home crowd is very special.”

Jaden Soong, a rising junior golfer at St. Francis High, charged from behind on the leaderboard to win the prestigious Junior PGA Championships in Frisco, Texas, on Friday.

He entered the final round with a two-stroke lead but was down by four strokes with nine holes to play. He regained the lead with a birdie putt at No. 17 and finished the four rounds at seven-under par.

Soong won the CIF state individual championship as a freshman. He did not compete in the CIF event this past season, focusing on traveling around the country to compete in junior tournaments.

By winning the Junior PGA, he earns an exemption to compete at the 2027 Tulum Championship on the PGA Korn Ferry Tour. The same course Soong won on will be used next year for the PGA Championship.

Scotland’s Melanie Woods has won the Commonwealth Games women’s 1500m T54 for the second time in under 40 hours after streaking to victory in the restaged final – however England’s Ellis Kottas could not replicate her silver medal.

Woods set a new Games record to triumph in Glasgow on Wednesday evening, but it emerged on Thursday morning that Para-athletics authorities had decided the race should be held again following appeals surrounding a first-lap crash.

However, the Scot kept her composure in her home city to replicate her initial success, break the record again, and reclaim the gold that was already hers – in mind if not around her neck.

Kottas, though, finished fourth, having said she was “low-key traumatised” when the race result was overturned.

Woods led from the start in her home city, although Noemi Alphonse of Mauritius and Australia’s Eliza Ault-Connell kept her honest over the first couple of laps.

The latter had fallen away by the final 200m, though, and the Scot held off the Mauritian as she was roared by down the home straight by the crowd.

“It was in my mind ‘what have I got left?’ and you do question what you’ve got in your arms,” Woods said.

“But I just needed to be confident I could stay out in front and it was nice coming down the home straight and not seeing her wheel moving in front of me.”

Woods – who has used a wheelchair since being hit by a car while riding her bike in 2018 – will also compete in the 400m later on Friday morning.

The heats of that will start a little more than 90 minutes after the replayed final.

Palestine Action’s co-founder Huda Ammori has been granted permission to challenge the UK government’s decision to designate the group a terrorist organisation at the Supreme Court.

July 29 (Asia Today) — Hanwha Aerospace said Wednesday it was formally selected to supply its Arion-SMET multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle to the South Korean military.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration notified Hanwha of its selection for the 49.6 billion won ($33.6 million) program, the company said.

Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem reportedly competed for the contract.

The Arion-SMET can carry a payload of about 990 pounds and is equipped with day-and-night surveillance systems that help distinguish friendly forces from potential threats. It is also designed for extended continuous operations.

The arms procurement agency’s defense project management committee previously reviewed and approved the Arion-SMET as the vehicle for the military’s multipurpose unmanned ground vehicle program.

The vehicle is considered a key component of Army TIGER 4.0, South Korea’s program to modernize Army units through artificial intelligence, unmanned systems and networked combat capabilities.

Hanwha Aerospace is also involved in projects to develop and deploy unmanned reconnaissance vehicles, explosive ordnance detection and disposal robots and manned-unmanned chemical, biological and radiological reconnaissance vehicles.

The company plans to sign a mass-production contract with the procurement agency as early as August.

“As South Korea’s leading UGV platform company, we will continue building a comprehensive manned-unmanned teaming portfolio that combines unmanned systems with existing platforms such as the K9 self-propelled howitzer and infantry fighting vehicles,” a Hanwha Aerospace official said.

The official said the company would rapidly begin mass-production procedures to minimize any gap in military capabilities.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260729010010793

Kate O’Connor has won Northern Ireland’s first gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in the heptathlon at Scotstoun Stadium.

O’Connor, a World indoor and outdoor silver medal, finished top of the standings with 6569points and is the first new heptathlon champion at the Games in eight years.

England’s Jade O’Dowda claimed silver while Australia’s Tori West won the battle for bronze.

It is O’Connor’s first senior outdoor gold and her first gold at her third Games after she finished eighth in 2018 and claimed silver in 2022.

The 25-year-old becomes NI’s 12th medal winner in Glasgow, claiming the country’s first gold at the Games in athletics since 1986.

O’Connor was favourite heading into the event after the late withdrawal of England’s Katrina Johnson-Thompson, who beat her to gold in 2022 and she certainly lived up to the billing.

The Newry-born athlete led after the first two events on Tuesday. She ran the 100m hurdles in 13.54 seconds and produced a season’s best 1.82m in the high jump.

In a rain-soaked evening session, she dipped in the shot put, throwing just 12.85 in difficult conditions.

While she said she was “gutted” with that performance, she rallied and she bounced back well to run the 200m in a season’s best time of 24.14, which was just 0.07 off her personal best as she strolled to victory in her heat.

She earned 3731 points across the four events to top the standings heading into Wednesday’s second day of the competition and, with a 49-point advantage over O’Dowda, looked to be in pole position for gold.

O’Connor further increased that lead on Wednesday morning as she recorded a leap of 1.82m in the long jump and a season’s best 52.85m in the javelin to move 258 points ahead.

In the 800m, she finished first as she ran 2:10.45 to take home NI’s first multi-class gold medal since Dame Mary Peters won the pentathlon in 1974.

NI team-mate Anna McCauley finished eighth in the standings despite being second-fastest in the 800m behind O’Connor.

O’Connor will receive her gold medal on Thursday evening at 18:30 BST.

Brock Whiston was already Paralympic champion, world champion and world record holder before these Commonwealth Games.

There were two things missing, however.

First, a Commonwealth gold medal. Second, it had been 17 years since her father Gel was poolside to watch her race.

“He doesn’t like swimming,” England’s Whiston, 29, told the BBC.

“He finds it too hot – doesn’t like the smell of chlorine.”

The last time Gel came to watch was when Whiston’s mother had cancer. She has since recovered.

Since then he has been a big “sideline supporter” from home – Whiston says he worked “so hard to get me to where I am today” – but has recently received a Parkinson’s diagnosis.

This time he was keen to make the trip.

“I just wanted to make him proud,” Whiston told TNT Sports.

“I just wanted to win this race for him. I didn’t care about the time.”

And win the race Whiston did – in a new Games record for the women’s 100m breaststroke SB8.

This month Whiston, who works in a primary school, spoke about wanting to keep her emotions in check, having missed out on gold in the same event at the Paris Paralympics after being overawed by the crowd.

“I didn’t spot him until I was doing my lap with my medal,” Whiston said.

“He gave me a kiss on the head and said ‘love you’. I think he was shellshocked.”

So will he be back? Whiston’s Games in Glasgow are finished but there are more meets to come.

“He said he’s done it now. He’s not coming back,” she said.

“He is very happy to support from home.

“Just to have him there that once was a special moment.”