World-record holder Sabastian Sawe has pulled out of next month’s Berlin Marathon with an injury, event organisers have confirmed.

The Kenyan ran 1:59:30s in London this April to set a historic marker in the distance and had been set to take to the roads again in Germany to defend his title.

Neither the type of injury, nor the status of Sawe’s fitness, have been made public. “We would have very much liked to see back in Berlin,” race director Mark Milde said in a press release on Thursday. “All the more, we regret that he will not be able to compete this year. We wish him all the best for his recovery and hope to welcome him back to Berlin soon.”

Sawe’s world record in London was the first sub-two hour performance in legal conditions, seven years after his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge became the first to break that barrier at a curated event between INEOS and Nike.

“Anything is possible, it’s a matter of time,” he told The Athletic in an interview the day after his success in the British capital, when asked about the potential of improving on that time this autumn.

“My plan is to keep training. I kept to my (training) programme well.” the Kenyan said of the key factor behind running 1:59, noting that his training group contains many “strong guys”: major marathon winner Benson Kipruto, plus Amos Kipruto, who ran 2:01:39s for fourth in London.

The withdrawal means that Sawe will not repeat his 2025 season, when he recorded victories in London and Berlin, and he holds a perfect record of four wins from as many major marathons.

The 31-year-old’s win here last year was a sign of his world-record potential, as he clocked 2:02:16 in hot conditions to finish four minutes clear of the rest of the field. Berlin is considered a faster course of London because of a flatter profile and, typically, more reliable conditions.

His withdrawal, exactly a month out from the 2026 edition, means he will not defend his title. Sawe was vying to become the third Kenyan man since 2006 to win in consecutive years in the German capital, following Patrick Musyoki (2010 and 2011) and former world-record holder Kipchoge (four wins between 2017 and 2023).

Tigst Assefa, who took nine seconds off her own women’s-only world record in London, headlines the women’s field.

The Ethiopian ran 2:11:53 in Berlin with male pacemakers to set a world record in 2023 — a performance which now is third all-time — and is a three-time major marathon winner.

Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Bradley Barcola from Paris St-Germain for a fee that is expected to be in excess of £100m.

Sources have indicated to BBC Sport that talks have progressed in the last 48 hours and a full agreement is now close.

PSG had valued the France forward at £140m but the total package is expected to be below that figure.

Manchester United have reached an out-of-court settlement with one of the people who alleges he was sexually assaulted by a club employee in the 1980s.

Billy Watts was a caretaker at United’s old training ground, the Cliff, where he held a number of other roles, predominantly as a kit man and groundsman. He left the club in 1989, shortly after an internal disciplinary hearing.

Watts, who died in October 2009, was subsequently named in the official inquiry into football’s sexual abuse scandal, published in 2021, after United reported a number of complaints to the investigation team.

In November last year, one of Watts’ alleged victims launched a civil case through the High Court for damages, alleging that he was the victim of a sexual assault, aged 14, at the Cliff in November 1986, shortly after Alex Ferguson’s appointment as manager. Unreported until now, the case was settled in March, without the club admitting any liability, and an undisclosed payout was made. Other clubs have typically paid low five-figure sums, from £10,000 to £20,000, in similar cases.

Watts was the subject of a disciplinary hearing in 1989 that led to him being “redeployed” from the Cliff to work at Old Trafford, United’s home stadium. 

United have stated in the past that Watts, then in his 50s, left the club a few months later, apparently to take a job as a cleaner at a police station. The club have no official records relating to the disciplinary hearing, but felt sufficiently concerned to report Watts to the abuse inquiry, led by Clive Sheldon KC, that was commissioned by the English Football Association to deal with the “tidal wave” of complaints that rocked the sport after Woodward’s revelations.

“The club (United) was made aware in 2016 of allegations that in the 1980s the caretaker had made inappropriate comments of a sexual nature, physically pulled an individual into an office against his will, followed an individual into a sauna at the training ground and wrestled with him,” Sheldon’s report states.

“There was also an allegation that the caretaker had tried to touch another individual inappropriately in the showers; that the caretaker was referred to by youth team players as a ‘pervert’. There was a further allegation that the caretaker had tried to touch another boy and, when confronted, had said that ‘I’m only messing, shut up.’ The club referred the matter to the FA in 2016.”

A United spokesperson told The Athletic: “As we said at the time, we cooperated fully with the Sheldon review in an effort to make sure we were as comprehensive on this important matter as we could be. While it would not be appropriate to comment on individuals, we take any allegations of this nature extremely seriously and have met and listened to anyone who has come forward with dignity and respect.”