Friday, 11 September 2026
FIA CONFIMS SPANISH GRAND PRIX PUNISHMENT AFTER INVESTIGATION
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| The Madring, home of the Spanish Grand Prix |
Williams driver Alex Albon has been handed a warning by the FIA stewards’ following an incident with Arvid Lindblad in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix.
Albon and Lindblad were summoned to the stewards following opening practice in Madrid after the Williams driver left the track and rejoined unsafely at Turn 6.
FIA issues warning to Alex Albon after Spanish GP FP1 incident
Albon was informed over team radio that Lindblad was closing on him, with the Williams driver crossing the track in his attempts to avoid blocking his rival.
Following a hearing with Albon and Lindblad, and representatives of the Williams and Racing Bulls teams, the stewards have confirmed that Albon has been handed a warning.
The stewards’ verdict read: “The Stewards heard from the driver of Car 23 (Alexander Albon), the driver of Car 41 (Arvid Lindblad), team representatives and reviewed video and in-car video evidence.
“The driver of Car 23 stated in the hearing that he was informed about Car 41 closing in and therefore continuously checked his mirrors.
“But doing so he missed out on taking an appropriate line to stay to the right of the yellow line in the runoff area.
“When approaching the track edge, he made the decision to accelerate and cross the track as quickly as possible to not interfere with Car 41.
“The Stewards determine that, although he took reasonable action not to impede Car 41, the driver of Car 23 could have been more
cautious and alert on his way through the runoff area and when re-joining the track.”
As reported by PlanetF1.com, Lindblad was frustrated by a blocking incident with Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli in FP1 after encountering the pair moving slowly on the exit of La Monumental, the banked right-hander.
Lindblad was heard saying over team radio: “These same two guys, man! I don’t know what they’re doing. They’re just stupid, right in the fast corner!
He added: “It’s actually very dangerous. It’s been twice now.”
Lindblad and Albon were classified seventh and 20th respectively in FP1 as the Madring hosted a competitive session for the first time.
Lindblad improved to fourth in FP2, but the Racing Bulls driver caused the first red flag of the weekend with an accident at Turn 13, the left-hander immediately after La Monumental.
Albon was classified 18th in the second practice session as Mercedes driver and F1 2026 championship leader Kimi Antonelli topped the times.
FP3 will be held at 12:30 local time on Saturday in Madrid before qualifying takes place at 16:00.
The Spanish Grand Prix is scheduled to begin at 15:00 on Sunday.
- Oliver Harden
FORMER SIMBA SPORTS CLUB PLAYER BAKARI IDDI HAS PASSED AWAY
The management of Simba Club has received with great sorrow the news of the death of former player Bakari Iddi, which occurred this evening at his home in Kigogo, Dar es Salaam.
During his lifetime, Bakari Iddi served Simba from 1989 to 1992, playing in the number eight midfielder position and being among the players who represented the club during that period.
In 1991, Bakari was part of the Simba squad that played in the final of the East and Central Africa Champions Club (CECAFA) against Sports Club Villa of Uganda, where Simba won the championship after securing a 3-0 victory in the match played at Uhuru Stadium, Dar es Salaam.
Simba has joined the family, relatives, and friends in mourning the death of Bakari Iddi, while praying to God to rest his soul in eternal peace.
#SimbaSC #SimbaSportsClub #bakariiddi #
AN ELITE TRAIL RUNNER VANISHES DURING A TRAINING RUN ON THE MATTERHORN. 8 DAYS LATER, SHE'S STILL MISSING
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| Iris Kurschner//Getty Images |
Kalie McCrystal disappeared while training for a Matterhorn FKT attempt in Italy.
Rescue teams in Italy’s Aosta Valley have suspended the search for Kalie McCrystal, a 38-year-old elite Canadian trail runner and mountaineer who disappeared while training on the Matterhorn on September 1, but those close to her say they remain hopeful that she’s still alive.
McCrystal had traveled to the Italian resort town of Cervinia in early August to run a challenging skyrace and prepare for an ambitious project: climbing and descending the Matterhorn via the Lion’s Ridge route in under five hours in an attempt to break the fastest known time (FKT) set by American runner and climber Kraina Andersen on August 9. That ridge runs between the South Face of the mountain in Italy and the West Face of the mountain in Switzerland.
McCrystal lives in Squamish, British Columbia, where she works as a lawyer and also teaches at Capilano University. She shared details of her training plans on social media in early August, describing the sub-five-hour round trip on the Matterhorn as her major athletic goal for the season.
She had reportedly summited the mountain a few times this summer (and posted a photo on social media on August 7), so she was likely familiar with its current conditions. She also set an FKT of the Hornli Ridge route on the Swiss side of the mountain on August 14, completing the return trip from Zermatt in 6 hours, 47 minutes, and 33 seconds.
“I intended this to be a recon run, but it ended up faster than I thought,” McCrystal reported to the FKT website.
Several athletes close to McCrystal have noted that the Lion’s Ridge route was well within her ability.
“She knew what she was doing,” says McCrystal’s friend Hilary Gerardi, an American skyrunner and mountaineer who lives in Chamonix, France, and has known McCrystal since 2023. “This isn’t one of these stories of a trail runner getting in over their head. She summited the mountain many times, but she also spent time over there not necessarily summiting, but just going up there and checking the route.”
Gerardi was in Cervinia over the weekend helping coordinate search efforts and talked with an Italian mountain guide who had met up with McCrystal while he was descending the mountain with a client last Tuesday. That guide confirmed that McCrystal was actively talking to all of the guides and local climbers to get as much information about conditions as possible.
“He told me that ‘she was moving super well, competently, skillfully and that she was calm, relaxed,’” Gerardi said. “He said that he did not feel at all that she was being reckless, that she was in her element. He wasn’t worried about her at all.”
McCrystal is well known within international skyrunning circles as a highly capable and experienced high-altitude athlete, with a long track record in technical alpine terrain. She has competed in numerous races this year, including a victory at Cuatro Refugios race on February 22 in Argentina. That’s a 24.8-mile point-to-point race with 10,800 feet of vertical gain and loss.
She also recorded a fifth-place finish in the Beast of Big Creek 22K skyrace on August 1 near Hoodsport, Washington, and a fourth-place finish in the Trofeo Kima race, a 52K race with more than 13,000 feet of elevation gain in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. In 2022, she won the Whistler Alpine Meadows 50K in a course-record 5:59:32.
McCrystal was slated to compete in the 2026 Skyrunning World Championships on September 18 to 20 in the Canary Islands. Last September, she placed 12th in the 45K race at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain.
While back home in Canada this summer, McCrystal set a new women’s unsupported FKT on a route known as the Tantalus Traverse, a 26.3-mile point-to-point route with 12,000 feet of vertical gain and loss as it goes up and over Mount Tantalus in Squamish. She covered that distance in 9 hours, 40 minutes, and 32 seconds, taking nearly three hours off the previous women’s mark.
McCrystal was last confirmed seen on the afternoon of September 1, spotted by a group of Polish climbers making their way down the mountain near Pic Tyndall, a shoulder of the peak sitting above 13,800 feet and just short of the 14,692-foot summit, not far from the Jean-Antoine Carrel hut. On the same day, she was spotted near the summit through the long-range telescope of a search and rescue group near Cervinia as part of standard observations of the mountain.
“She saw her still going up, going quite quickly and she told the guide that she was training because she wanted to try the records. That’s the only information we have,” says Valerio Segor of Valle d’Aosta Mountain Rescue in Italy.
No one has reported seeing McCrystal since, despite an extensive search.
Search and rescue crews from Italy and Switzerland responded with an extensive aerial and ground operation, combing steep gullies, cliff bands, and stretches of the route on all flanks of the mountain. Helicopters equipped with RECCO technology—a system designed to detect reflective tags built into some outdoor gear—were brought in after McCrystal’s friends indicated her backpack likely contained one of the devices. The equipment failed to pick up any signal.
By last Thursday, after a full day of extensive helicopter sweeps produced no results, authorities made the decision to pause the aerial search. Ground efforts and investigative work have continued, although it’s near impossible for search crews on foot to access anything but the deep gullies near the base because of the steep faces of the mountain.
“There are very few routes on the Matternhorn because there are only a few safe ways to go up it,” Gerardi said. “Because it’s so steep and so dangerous with rock fall and, you know, glaciers at the bottom and crevasses. And it’s really sort of complex, very steep terrain.”
Italian investigators have reportedly turned their attention to a second SIM card McCrystal was known to be carrying, hoping that records of its last connection to a cellular network might help narrow down her location. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is also reportedly working to gain access to digital devices that might provide clues as to where on the mountain she was last active.
As the days pass without any sign of her, hope for a positive outcome has reportedly begun to fade among those close to the case, though her family, friends, and the broader mountain-running community continue to hold out for her safe return. Her mother traveled to Italy from her home on Vancouver Island late last week, while her sister arrived from London.
Capilano University and the Skyrunner World Series issued statements expressing support for McCrystal and her loved ones during the search. Athletics Canada, meanwhile, asked the media to help raise awareness of the search, describing McCrystal as a deeply respected figure both within Canadian athletics and the global skyrunning community, and expressing hope, on behalf of her family and everyone close to her, for her safe return.
“I think it’s a shock for me and for all of us because it’s so hard to lose track of somebody that we love so much,” Gerardi says. “And also, for so many of us, we can see ourselves in Kalie.”
- Brian Metzler
TANZANIA’S TOP PREMIER CLUB YOUNG AFRICANS (YANGA) LAUNCHES $2 MILLION TOWER PROJECT
DAR ES SALAAM: YOUNG Africans has launched construction of a 12-storey commercial building in Kariakoo, Dar es Salaam, in a move aimed at creating a new source of income for the club.
Yanga president Hersi Said announced the project yesterday during a contractsigning ceremony in Dar es Salaam.
The building, to be known as Yanga Tower, will be constructed at the junction of Mafia and Nyamwezi streets, where a large tent currently stands.
The construction contract has been awarded to Group Six International at a cost of 5.5bn/-, with Azania Bank providing financing for the project.
Hersi said the investment was part of the club’s plan to strengthen its financial position and reduce reliance on income from football.
“It has taken a long time to plan, but today we are laying the foundation for a legacy for future generations,” he said.
The tower will include shops and offices and is expected to provide Yanga with a sustainable source of revenue once completed.
- Christopher Mayaka
NIKE ALMOST DIDN'T SEE IT COMING | MICHAEL JORDAN | AIR JORDAN 1
Michael Jordan signed with Nike in October 1984 for $500,000 a year, about five times what any other player was earning on a shoe deal.
The Air Jordan 1 launched in April 1985. Nike's internal sales goal was $3 million. Per CBS News, the line did $126 million in its first year alone.
When the Air Jordan 1 launched in April 1985, Nike's plan was to move 100,000 pairs in the first year.
They sold roughly 450,000 pairs in the first month, and about 1.5 million units by the end of year one.
The shoe outran the forecast so badly that Nike had to rebuild the whole business around one rookie.
What sneaker release do you remember lining up for?
#8AtTheTable #Sports #MJ #MichaelJordan #AirJordan1 #AirJirdan #
Forty years later, Jordan Brand is still the standard.
What is the best endorsement deal in sports history?
- 8atthetable
SIR LEWIS HAMILTON VS. MICHAEL SCHUMACHER | STATS | FORMULA 1
Two different eras, but the same incredible number at the top: 7 world titles each. 🏆🏆
Michael Schumacher set the standard for dominance in the 1990s and 2000s, winning 91 races and setting records that stood for years.
Lewis Hamilton spent the following two decades chasing those numbers and eventually matching Schumacher’s seven championships, while going on to surpass him in wins, poles and podiums.
Their careers even briefly crossed in 2007, when rookie Hamilton raced against Schumacher during his comeback. What looked like a simple meeting of two generations would eventually become one of F1’s greatest statistical battles.
Different eras, different rules, different points systems. But the same level of greatness. 👑
#F1 #Formula1 #HamiltonVsSchumacher #Ferrari
- Tiara Pane
Thursday, 10 September 2026
FRENCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION WITHDRAWS SUPPORT FOR FIFA CHIEF INFANTINO
France joins Sweden, Scotland, Italy, Belgium in withdrawing backing for Infantino's bid for another term
İSTANBUL
The French Football Federation (FFF) has withdrawn its support for FIFA President Gianni Infantino's bid for another term, French broadcaster Franceinfo reported Thursday.
The decision was announced following an FFF executive committee meeting on Thursday.
Infantino is currently the only declared candidate for the FIFA presidency ahead of the election scheduled for March 18 in Rabat, Morocco.
Potential challengers have until Nov. 18 to enter the race.
France's decision follows similar moves by several other national football federations, including those of Sweden, Scotland, Italy and Belgium, which have also withdrawn their support for Infantino.
Infantino has faced growing criticism since the 2026 World Cup, with disputes over his leadership contributing to divisions within world football.
One of the most controversial issues was a FIFA proposal to create a commercial company that would allow private investors to acquire a 20% stake in the management of World Cup commercial rights.
The proposal was developed without consultation with FIFA's member associations and drew strong opposition before Infantino abandoned it several days later.
Despite the withdrawals, Infantino remains the only declared candidate for the March election.
- Şeyma Erkul Dayanç
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