We Speak Sports

Petros Eyes European Record in Frankfurt’s Fastest-Ever Field

Amanal Petros chases the European and course records in Frankfurt on Oct. 25, in a field featuring Germany’s three fastest marathoners for the first time.

Published

9 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Amanal Petros racing at the front of a marathon

Amanal Petros has two records in his sights when the Mainova Frankfurt Marathon runs on Sunday, Oct. 25 — and he will have the fastest field in the race’s history pushing him toward them.

Petros holds the German record at 2:04:03, set in Valencia last year. That leaves him just 27 seconds outside Bashir Abdi’s European record of 2:03:36 — and Wilson Kipsang’s Frankfurt course record of 2:03:42, untouched since 2011, is also within reach. The 30-year-old arrives in form: he took silver at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo in the closest marathon finish in Worlds history, then won the European title in Birmingham this August in a championship-record 2:09:11.

He will not lack for company. Andualem Belay (2:04:44), Samuel Fitwi (2:04:45) and Richard Ringer (2:04:47) make this the first time Germany’s three fastest marathoners have ever raced the same city marathon, with four more men in the field under 2:07. Kenya’s Benard Biwott returns after winning on his debut here in 2024 and winning Paris in 2025.

The women’s field is led by Zeineba Yimer (2:18:47), with 2023 winner Buzunesh Getachew, American Betsy Saina and Hamburg runner-up Marion Kibor also lining up. “Overall this is surely the fastest elite field we have ever assembled,” said race director Jo Schindler, in charge for the 25th year.

Photo: Marathon Handbook

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Royal Jones

We Speak College Football

Saturday of Chaos: Five of the AP Top Seven Fall for the First Time Since 1936

Published

32 minutes ago

October 22, 2026

Royal Jones

Tennessee celebrates its 26-10 win over Alabama — the signature result on a Saturday when five of the AP top seven lost.

College football has been playing with an AP poll since 1936. It had never seen a Saturday like this one: five of the top seven teams in the country — No. 1 Georgia, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 5 Indiana, No. 6 Alabama and No. 7 Texas — all lost on the same regular-season day, and the top two teams lost on the same day for the first time since Nov. 17, 2012. For the second straight week, the nation’s No. 1 team fell to an unranked opponent, something that hadn’t happened since 1990.

The carnage: Auburn beat No. 1 Georgia 27-24 in Athens on a field goal as time expired, the Tigers’ first win there in 31 years. BYU toppled No. 2 Notre Dame 28-24 in Provo behind four total touchdowns from Bear Bachmeier, ending the Irish’s 16-game winning streak. Ohio State survived Indiana 19-15 in Bloomington, snapping the Hoosiers’ 22-game winning streak — but lost quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury. Tennessee’s defense strangled No. 6 Alabama 26-10 in Knoxville, holding the Crimson Tide to 201 yards. And Florida went into Austin and beat No. 7 Texas 27-24 behind first-time starter Tramell Jones Jr.

The survivors: No. 3 Miami needed two overtimes to escape Florida State 43-35 in a rivalry classic. No. 9 Ole Miss routed No. 13 Missouri 31-3, LSU blanked No. 16 Mississippi State 31-0, No. 10 Texas Tech hung 53 on Arizona State, and No. 15 Kentucky rallied to win 21-13 at Oklahoma. Michigan benched Bryce Underwood and still beat Penn State 21-18. Elsewhere, Utah edged Colorado 27-24, UCLA beat Wisconsin 17-7, Houston outlasted Oklahoma State 35-32, SMU topped Virginia 23-13, Wake Forest routed Cal 41-7, Oregon held off Nebraska 17-14, and Washington beat Purdue 38-26 on Friday night.

The new AP Top 25 tells the story of the shakeup: Miami is No. 1 with 40 first-place votes, BYU is No. 2 (20 first-place votes) and Ohio State No. 3 (9). Notre Dame sits fourth, Georgia fifth, Indiana sixth, followed by Ole Miss, Texas Tech, UCLA and Utah. Tennessee climbs to No. 11 and Kentucky to No. 12, while Alabama tumbles to No. 13, LSU rises to No. 18, Texas falls to No. 19 and Florida cracks the poll at No. 20. Missouri (No. 22), SMU (No. 23), Northwestern (No. 24) and Arizona (No. 25) round out the rankings.

Week 8 has a lot to live up to.