Moses Mosop sets Chicago Marathon record

As he finished off the fastest Chicago Marathon in history, Moses Mosop of Kenya raised his arms and pointed toward the cheering crowd.

For a guy who wasn’t in peak condition, he sure looked good.

Mosop set a course record Sunday and Russia’s Liliya Shobukhova claimed the women’s title and became the race’s first three-peat champion.

Both runners had no trouble pulling away from the pack on a warm morning in claiming their $100,000 prizes. Mosop earned an extra $50,000 for breaking the late Sammy Wanjiru’s course record by four seconds, finishing in 2 hours 5 minutes 37 seconds.

But there also was another death only four years after a Michigan man with a heart condition died. Authorities say a 35-year-old North Carolina firefighter collapsed about 500 yards from the finish line Sunday morning and was pronounced dead at a hospital.

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Edwin Romero of Bogota, Colombia, won the Long Beach International City Bank Marathon in 2:19:08, and Abigail Swift of Huntington Beach won the women’s race in 2:43:20. More than 20,000 runners competed in this year’s event.

ETC.

Vettel clinches another F1 title

Sebastian Vettel added his name to a select list Sunday, finishing third in the Japanese Grand Prix and becoming the youngest of the nine drivers who have won consecutive Formula One titles.

Jenson Button won the race on the Suzuka circuit for his third victory of the season, finishing 1.160 seconds ahead of Fernando Alonso after starting on the front row alongside pole-sitter Vettel.

Vettel needed only one point to wrap up the title or for Button to not win the race. The 15 points the German earned for third were more than enough to make him the sport’s youngest two-title winner at age 24.

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Japan took the early lead in qualifying in the world gymnastics championships at Tokyo with 364.291 points, finishing about 2.7 points ahead of the U.S. men. Germany was third with 354.132 points. Though qualifying is only halfway over, that should be good enough to earn all three teams spots at next summer’s London Olympics.

China, the Olympic champion and winner of the last four world titles, Russia, South Korea and Britain compete Monday. The top eight teams qualify for the Olympics and make Wednesday night’s team finals.

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Top-ranked Yani Tseng won the LPGA Hana Bank Championship at Incheon, South Korea, for her sixth LPGA Tour victory of the season and ninth overall title of the year, shooting a five-under 67 to edge Na Yeon Choi by a stroke.

The 22-year-old Taiwanese star, the LPGA Championship and Women’s British Open winner, finished at 14-under 202 on Sky 72 Golf Club’s Ocean Course. Choi, the 2009 and 2010 winner, shot a 68.

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Rickie Fowler won the OneAsia Tour’s Korea Open for his first professional title, closing with a three-under 68 for a six-stroke victory over U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy at Cheonan, South Korea.

The 22-year-old Fowler, the 2010 PGA Tour rookie of the year, finished at 16 under at Woo Jeong Hills. He opened with rounds of 67 and 70 and shot a 63 on Saturday.

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Brad Faxon won the Insperity Championship for his first Champions Tour title when heavy rain washed out the final round at the Woodlands, Texas.

Faxon, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour who turned 50 on Aug. 1, shot a seven-under 65 in windy conditions Saturday to take a one-stroke lead at 10 under at the Woodlands Country Club.

Tommy Armour III was second, and Eduardo Romero finished two strokes back.

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Tomas Berdych fought back to defeat Marin Cilic, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, and win the men’s China Open title at Beijing, and Agnieszka Radwanska beat Andrea Petkovic, 7-5, 0-6, 6-4, to claim her second title in two weeks.