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Big Ben runner has bad time at end of London Marathon

LONDON (AP) — One runner in the 39th London Marathon had a bad time at the end. Lukas Bates, 30, of the Paddock Wood Athletic Club in Kent, was attempting to break the world record for a runner dressed as a landmark building — in this case the tower that houses Big Ben.

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But as he finished, his costume’s peaked roof, which stretched 1.5 meters (nearly five feet) above his head, ran into the overhead scoreboard. After several failed attempts to get under the barrier, a race steward helped him to cross the line Sunday. Bates’ quest for the record was also stymied. He finished in 3 hours, 54 minutes, 21 seconds, almost 20 minutes slower than the record set by Richard Mietz, who ran the 2018 Berlin Marathon dressed as the Holstentor.

A top official leaves FIFA, deepening the fallout from Infantino’s World Cup sell-off plan

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA's chief operating officer, Kevin Lamour, has reportedly left his role at soccer's governing body just weeks after saying its president, Gianni Infantino, had deceived staff with his World Cup sell-off plan. Lamour, who is based in Zurich, all but invited Infantino to fire him in a statement to The Associated Press on Aug. 1 that defended his colleagues amid intense fallout from the plan to sell stakes in future World Cup profits to private equity funds. Lamour wrote that staff were “deceived” by Infantino’s lack of openness in planning. He released the statement on the say day Infantino’s senior adviser, Carlos Cordeiro, decided to walk away and described the $20 billion commercial subsidiary plan as “a bad deal for football.” Britain's Press Association late Monday quoted a FIFA spokesperson as saying: “FIFA can confirm that the working relationship between FIFA and Kevin Lamour as FIFA’s Chief Operating Officer has ended.”
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