The 10-time global gold medallist will return to the iconic half-marathon in September

Mo Farah will bid to become the first athlete to win six consecutive Simplyhealth Great North Run titles when he returns to the iconic half-marathon on September 8.

Like last year, the 10-time global gold medallist will again use the event as part of his preparations for the Chicago Marathon, where he will defend his title on October 13.

READ MORE: Mo Farah speeds to Great North Run title No.5

At the 2018 edition of the Great North Run, Farah clocked 59:26 before breaking the European marathon record with his winning time of 2:05:11 in Chicago.

“I’m going to be giving it my best shot,” said Farah, on targeting a sixth victory. “Winning it once was special enough, to win it for the sixth time would be unbelievable.

“It was a massive part of my preparations for Chicago last year and it will be as important this year.

“The Simplyhealth Great North Run is one of my favourite races, it’s something that I always look forward to and I can’t wait to be back on that start line in Newcastle in September.”

READ MORE: Mo Farah to defend Chicago Marathon title

Farah has a winning record dating back to 2014 on the famous 13.1-mile course between Newcastle and South Shields.

Only Farah and Tanni Grey-Thompson have won five consecutive Great North Run races in the event’s 39-year history, with Grey-Thompson’s last victory in the wheelchair event claimed 20 years ago.

The full elite field for the 39th staging of the Simplyhealth Great North Run will be announced in due course. For more information on the event, visit greatrun.org/North

Charlie Da’Vall Grice, Morgan Lake and Richard Kilty among athletes selected for Bydgoszcz

A 54-strong Great Britain and Northern Ireland team has been named for the European Team Championships Super League in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from August 9-11.

Charlie Da’Vall Grice (pictured) makes his third appearance at the event, fresh from moving to fourth on the UK 1500m all-time list after running 3:30.62 at the Monaco Diamond League.

READ MORE: Charlie Grice on his magical metric mile in Monaco

Also having set a recent PB, at the Müller Anniversary Games, European indoor silver medallist Jamie Webb will run the 800m, as will European indoor champion Shelayna Oskan-Clarke.

Jessica Judd will race the 1500m after having won the World University Games 5000m title earlier this month.

READ MORE: Jess Judd wins World University Games gold

Interview with a delighted @jessjuddxx following her 5000m PB and @IAAFDoha2019 qualifying time of 15:16.47 in London, which came after a 5000m win at the World Uni Games. “I still can’t quite believe I got a time. I think my dad’s probably right that I can be a 5km runner!” pic.twitter.com/2T7MQM3t2m

— AW (@AthleticsWeekly) July 22, 2019

Grice, Webb, Oskan-Clarke and Judd are four of 20 athletes selected for the championships to have achieved a qualifying standard for the IAAF World Championships in Doha later this year, with that list also including Olympic finalist Morgan Lake (high jump), Rosie Clarke (3000m steeplechase), Meghan Beesley (400m hurdles), Sophie McKinna (shot put) and Greg Thompson (discus), who is one of 12 making a senior British debut.

This month has already seen international success in the British vest for a number of athletes selected, with Tom Gale and Cameron Fillery claiming high jump silver and 110m hurdles bronze respectively at the European U23 Championships. They also make their senior British debuts in Poland.

READ MORE: European U20 Championships

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Dwayne Cowan earn selection for the men’s 100m and 400m respectively, having both claimed victory at the championships two years ago in France. The event holds added significance for Aikines-Aryeetey as it was where he made his senior British debut, then known as the European Cup, in Malaga in 2006.

British Athletics performance director Neil Black said: “As ever, I am delighted to announce the 54 athletes chosen to represent Great Britain & Northern Ireland at the European Team Championships next month.

“The championships mark the start of a busy period leading up to the IAAF World Championships in Doha and once again we want to show ourselves as one of the leading nations in Europe.

“For some of the athletes selected the event presents them with an opportunity to test themselves in a team environment against high-quality international competition, while for others it offers an opportunity for them to put themselves in the mix for selection for the IAAF World Championships later this year.

“We have seen some fantastic performances at the European under-20 and under-23 championships over the past two weeks and it is great to see athletes being given the opportunity to show what they can do at senior level. We want to finish as high in the team standings as possible in Bydgoszcz and we look forward to seeing what our athletes can deliver.”

British team selected for the European Team Championships

MEN
100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey
200m: Richard Kilty
400m: Dwayne Cowan
800m: Jamie Webb
1500m: Charlie Da’Vall Grice
3000m: James West
5000m: TBC
3000m steeplechase: Zak Seddon
110m hurdles: Cameron Fillery
400m hurdles: Chris McAlister
High jump: Tom Gale
Pole vault: Charlie Myers
Long jump: Jacob Fincham-Dukes
Triple jump: Ben Williams
Shot put: Scott Lincoln
Discus: Gregory Thompson
Hammer: Nick Miller
Javelin: Tom Hewson
4x100m: Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Shemar Boldizsar, Oliver Bromby, Richard Kilty, Andrew Robertson
4x400m: Ethan Brown, Cameron Chalmers, Alex Knibbs, Martyn Rooney, Lee Thompson, Rabah Yousif

WOMEN
100m: Daryll Neita
200m: Jodie Williams
400m: Amy Allcock
800m: Shelayna Oskan-Clarke
1500m: Jessica Judd
3000m: Emily Hosker-Thornhill
5000m: Sarah Inglis
3000m steeplechase: Rosie Clarke
100m hurdles: Cindy Ofili
400m hurdles: Meghan Beesley
High jump: Morgan Lake
Pole vault: Sophie Cook
Long jump: Abigail Irozuru
Triple jump: Naomi Ogbeta
Shot put: Sophie McKinna
Discus: Kirsty Law
Hammer: Sophie Hitchon
Javelin: Bekah Walton
4x100m: Kristal Awuah, Rachel Miller, Daryll Neita, Ashleigh Nelson, Asha Philip, Bianca Williams
4x400m: Zoey Clark, Emily Diamond, Beth Dobbin, Laviai Nielsen, Jessica Turner, Jodie Williams

SARVER, Pa. – Many times, sprint car drivers fear seeing slower traffic in the closing laps of a race, but David Gravel embraced the challenge of working through the crowd on Tuesday night at Lernerville Speedway.

Gravel drove to victory in the Don Martin Memorial Silver Cup and a $25,000 payday, running away from the competition by passing cars more efficiently than anyone else around the four-tenths-mile clay oval.

The No. 41 Jason Johnson Racing sprinter was on rails as it cruised past foe after foe, reaching the checkered flag first by more than four seconds over Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series star Kyle Larson.

Tuesday night’s race, the 92nd World of Outlaws stop at Lernerville, marked Gravel’s fifth win of the season, the 44th of his career and his third at the tricky Pennsylvania facility.

However, it took a concerted effort by his Jason Johnson Racing crew in order to get the handling of the car to his liking when it came down to crunch time.

“I don’t know what it was about this car, but man, she was fast,” Gravel said. “Phillip (Dietz, crew chief) worked on the thing all night, and I was really picky, because it wasn’t good enough entering the corner all night until it was time for the feature. We finally got it good in (turns) one and two, where I was able to pick up the middle and carry a lot of exit speed so I was in a good position going into three and four. I knew we could pass cars.

“These guys did a great job and it’s awesome to win another one of these (Outlaw races).”

Though Gravel was the fastest man in town when it counted, the early rabbit was James McFadden, who charged to the lead from the outside pole on the initial start and drove out to a sizable lead twice despite early caution flags on laps two and six.

The pair of slowdowns – for a stopped A.J. Flick in turn one and a spun Danny Dietrich in turn two, respectively – did nothing to slow McFadden’s momentum early on, but when the final 34 laps ran uninterrupted it was clear that Gravel’s mount was built for long-run speed, and he showed it.

Gravel kept hitting his marks, lap after lap, chased McFadden down in traffic and surged past on the inside of the backstretch at lap 15. Once the Connecticut Outlaw was out in front, it was over after that.

“I just didn’t have to rely on the top (lane),” noted Gravel. “I think 90 percent of the guys had to rely on the top in the heat race and in the Dash, and even there in the beginning of the A … but I didn’t have to at all. I figured it would just get thinner and thinner as the night went on, so we just kept working below it and making our car better below (the top).

“We had a strong week at Eldora, but didn’t get a win,” he added. “To come here to Pennsylvania and check one off tonight feels pretty good, for both me and this team.”

Larson charged from sixth to second, closing a 2.5-second gap down to just under a second between laps 20 and 30, but had nothing for Gravel after the leader began to pull away inside of 10 to go and was forced to settle for the runner-up position in the end.

McFadden completed the podium after leading the first 14 laps, followed by series point leader Brad Sweet and 10-time and defending series champion Donny Schatz.

Tim Shaffer, Logan Schuchart, polesitter Shane Stewart, Daryn Pittman and Sheldon Haudenschild were the remainder of the top 10.

To view complete race results, advance to the next page.

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights signed defenseman Deryk Engelland on Tuesday to a one-year deal for the upcoming season.

The contract includes a $700,000 base salary and incentives that could bring the total value of the deal to $1.5 million.

The 37-year-old Engelland played in 74 games last season and finished with 12 points and 18 penalty minutes. He set career-marks with 152 blocked shots and 165 hits.

The Knights took Engelland during the 2017 expansion draft.

The team also acquired goaltender Garret Sparks from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forward David Clarkson and a fourth-round selection in the 2020 NHL entry draft.

Newcastle United have signed Brazilian forward Joelinton from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim on a six-year deal for a club record fee, the Premier League team announced on Tuesday.

No financial details were disclosed but British media put the fee in the region of £40 million ($49.76 million).

The 22-year-old Joelinton is the club's first signing of the transfer window and the first under new manager Steve Bruce, who replaced the departed Rafa Benitez this month.

- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- Who has qualified for Europe from the Premier League?
- When does the transfer window close?

Spaniard Benitez left when his contract expired at the end of June, saying those at the top of the north-east club did not share his vision.

"I know it's a large investment that the club has made in me, and that comes with a huge responsibility," Joelinton was quoted as saying on the club website. "I'm highly motivated and hope to give back on the pitch."

We are delighted to welcome our new club record signing - Joelinton!

Full story: https://t.co/t7Qe83xUnX #JoelinToon #NUFC pic.twitter.com/wmzjHbkJxE

— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) July 23, 2019

Newcastle's previous record transfer fee was the £20 million they spent on Paraguay playmaker Miguel Almiron from MLS side Atlanta United in January.

Joelinton will have the No. 9 shirt, which has been worn by some of the club's top strikers including all-time top scorer Alan Shearer and which was recently vacated by departed Venezuelan Salomon Rondon.

Joelinton moved to the Bundesliga from Recife in June 2015 and then joined Rapid Vienna on loan for two years, scoring 21 goals in 79 appearances.

He returned to help Hoffenheim finish ninth in the Bundesliga last season, scoring 11 goals in 35 games.

"The kid's got an exciting time ahead of him," said Bruce. "He's a smashing young player and we're obviously delighted to get him. It's been going on for a little bit now, so to get him is great for everybody.

"He's got everything that a modern-day player wants. He's big, strong and athletic, and of course he's got age on his side too which is vitally important.

"I'm sure he will be a big, big favourite of the supporters. He's got an incredible work-rate about him, he's got a really good humility about him, and all the attributes a top striker needs."

Newcastle, who finished 13th last season, begin the Premier League campaign with a home game against Arsenal on Aug. 11.

Real Madrid beat Arsenal in a penalty shootout after Gareth Bale had made a goalscoring return to the Spanish side in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the International Champions Cup on Tuesday.

Arsenal named a strong side captained by Mesut Ozil while Real had Bale on the bench and Eden Hazard, wearing the No. 50 shirt, starting alongside fellow new signing Luka Jovic in attack.

The Spanish club suffered an injury scare as Marco Asensio had to been stretchered off the field in the second half after a knee injury.

The match looked to be over as a contest after Real defender Nacho was sent off for two yellow cards in a frantic early spell at FedEx Field outside of Washington, D.C.

- International Champions Cup: All you need to know
- Full International Champions Cup daily fixture schedule
- ICC: News and coverage

The Spain international was shown one yellow card for a foul on Sead Kolasinac and another after blocking Alexandre Lacazette's shot with his hand on the goal line.

Lacazette stepped up to sneak the 10th minute penalty home, before the Frenchman delightfully flicked the ball through for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to double the lead 14 minutes later.

The referee evened things up, however, when he again brandished two yellow cards in quick succession to send Arsenal's Sokratis Papastathopoulos from the field in the 40th minute.

Welshman Bale and Asensio scored inside three second-half minutes to level up the score and take the game to penalties.

"We are a bit worried, it is the knee," Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane said of Asensio's injury after the game."He went directly to the hospital for tests. It didn't look good. It's the bad part of the day for us because we lost a player and we are a bit affected."

Arsenal edged in front in the shootout when Reiss Nelson scored his spot kick and Bale missed his, but misses from Granit Xhaka, Nacho Monreal and Robbie Burton proved costly and Real ran out 3-2 winners.

Arsenal return to England having narrowly missed the chance to finish their U.S. tour with a 100% record, but can take plenty of positives from their four matches.

"We finished today, the last match, with the same spirit we played before," Arsenal manager Unai Emery said. "We used different players and took minutes and confidence.

"The result isn't important but we showed a good level and when we needed young players their performance was perfect.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi has received a one-game suspension from World Cup qualifying after a controversial red card at this summer's Copa America in Brazil.

The Barcelona star was also handed a $1,500 fine for criticising the tournament's refereeing and the quality of the pitches. Argentina was eliminated 2-0 by the hosts and eventual champions in the semifinals.

Messi was given the red card in the third-place match after bumping chests with Chile's Gary Medel, which triggered the automatic one-match ban.

Messi later apologised for his statements, but South American football body CONMEBOL upheld the ban on Tuesday and added the fine.

South American qualifying starts in March.

In addition to Messi's punishment, CONMEBOL removed Argentina football association head Claudio Tapia from his seat on the decision-making FIFA council. Tapia criticized CONMEBOL in an open letter published July 3, echoing many of Messi's sentiments.

Tapia became an interim replacement on the 37-member FIFA council in October 2018. CONMEBOL added that there will be an election to fill the Argentine's position.

Informaiton from the Associated Press was used in this report.

Darren Stevens will leave Kent at the end of the current season after 15 years with the club but has no intention of retiring from the professional game.

Stevens, 43, joined Kent from Leicestershire in 2005 and has enjoyed an outstanding career with bat and ball, scoring 11,718 first-class runs and claiming 487 wickets for his second county.

He is currently on loan to Derbyshire for the T20 Blast, but had continued to be impressive with the ball in the County Championship with 28 wickets at 24.21 in eight matches although runs had been harder to come by with an average of 20.36.

"It's been an amazing 15 years," Stevens said. "So many wonderful memories both on and off the pitch and many strong friendships made along the way. This is not retirement for me as I think I still have a lot to offer on the pitch, both as a player and a coach and am excited by the next stage in my career.

"I believe I can still do it at the top level, as my recent form shows, and I am looking forward to the remainder of the T20 season with Derbyshire and finishing the season successfully with Kent. I will look back at my time with Kent with nothing but happiness and pride but must now look forward to the next challenge."

Kent have an eye on the future and want to invest in their younger players while also hoping to bring in an overseas fast bowler next season.

"When you look at his record, it is a travesty that Darren Stevens did not receive the international call-up he so richly deserved whilst in his prime," Paul Downton, Kent's director of cricket, said. "It's now time for a new chapter at Kent with a number of young bowlers, and hopefully an overseas fast bowler next year, all demanding the new ball as the club seeks to keep raising standards and compete for the Division One Championship title."

NEW YORK -- Robinson Cano certainly could hear the whispers around Citi Field. Everyone else could: At 36, stuck in a season-long slump, was this eight-time All-Star all done?

He didn't think so.

"One day it's going to turn around," Cano kept telling himself.

It happened Tuesday night, when Cano hit three home runs in a game for the first time in his 15-year career, powering Jason Vargas and the New York Mets over the San Diego Padres 5-2.

Cano drove in all five runs and went 4-for-4, punctuating his performance with a pair of second-deck shots.

The second baseman began the day batting just .243 with six homers in his first season with the Mets. Yet before the game, manager Mickey Callaway expressed confidence that Cano would produce, putting him in the category of "Hall of Fame hitters."

Cano's performance Tuesday was just the third three-homer game by a Mets player at home. Lucas Duda and Kirk Nieuwenhuis both did it in July 2015.

"You'd like to do it, to see how it feels," Cano said, pausing and smiling before adding, "It feels good."

After singling in the first, Cano hit a solo homer in the fourth. He lined a two-run homer off Chris Paddack (6-5) in the sixth and a two-run shot in the seventh off Logan Allen.

Of Cano's nine homers this year, five have come since the All-Star break. This was his 23rd career multihomer game and first since 2017 with Seattle.

"You don't hit three homers if you're declining," Callaway said.

Acquired with closer Edwin Diaz from the Mariners in the offseason, Cano came with five years and $120 million left on his contract. Despite his struggles, Callaway said the Mets saw good things coming.

"He went through a tough stretch. Robinson Cano probably hasn't been through many," Callaway said. "It stands out a little more when it happens to a player like Robbie."

Yoenis Cespedes was the previous Mets player to hit three homers, doing so in 2017. The feat has been accomplished by 13 Mets players, with Cespedes doing it twice.

Vargas (5-5) pitched one-hit ball for six shutout innings, possibly enhancing his trade value. He put on a pitching clinic, getting the San Diego hitters to consistently flail at his changeup.

The 36-year-old lefty permitted only a single by Eric Hosmer in the fifth, struck out eight and walked three. Rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. struck out three times, and Manny Machado swung at a strike three that bounced in the dirt.

Several scouts were at Citi Field, and no doubt the performance by Vargas piqued their interest as the July 31 trade deadline approaches.

Vargas' hardest fastball was clocked at 84.6 mph. Paddack's slowest changeup came in a tick faster at 84.7.

"I guess throwing really hard isn't as unique as it used to be. I'm on the other end of the spectrum," he said. "I'm the only one who throws it that slow."

The anticipated showdown between rookie stars Pete Alonso and Paddack didn't amount to much. The slugging Alonso walked twice and grounded out against the young fireballer.

"Going into it, it was obviously going to be a fun little matchup. We've been wanting this ever since our last 1-v-1, whatever you want to call it," Paddack said.

"It was just kind of frustrating, especially Alonso. You don't want to walk a guy that you're trying to have a little competition with, but at the end of the day, I thought I could have done a better job of executing my game plan."

Diaz relieved with two on in the ninth and got his 22nd save in 26 chances, allowing an RBI double to Tatis before retiring Manuel Margot on a game-ending lineout with two on.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Padres: LHP Adrian Morejon "should be available" to pitch in relief during this three-game series, manager Andy Green said. The 20-year-old Cuban made his major league debut on Sunday at Wrigley Field, allowing one run and three hits in 2 1/3 innings. Green said the Padres will consider using him as an opener over the weekend at home against the Giants.

Mets: Major league batting leader Jeff McNeil was hit in the right elbow by a Paddack pitch in the fifth. McNeil was checked by a trainer and stayed in. ... RHP Zack Wheeler (shoulder impingement) threw batting practice on the field and could be activated Friday to pitch against the Pirates. "I'm 100 percent. Ready to go," he said. Callaway said Wheeler, who last started on July 7, will be on a pitch count of 75-85. Wheeler (6-6, 4.69 ERA) has been the subject of trade rumors leading up to the July 31 deadline. "Last year was the same way," he said.

UP NEXT

Padres: RHP Dinelson Lamet (0-2, 5.14 ERA) makes his fourth start of the season. He won his major league debut in 2017 at Citi Field and went 7-8 overall, then missed last year after Tommy John surgery.

Mets: RHP Noah Syndergaard (7-4, 4.36) is 4-0 in his past nine starts.