SNOOKER

 

Mark Williams intends to build on his latest tournament triumph and has no plans to take it easy.

Williams admitted he thought his trophy-winning days were behind him before he lifted the British Open title on Sunday.

The Welsh legend rolled back the years to finally see off Mark Selby’s spirited fightback and take the trophy with a 10-7 victory in Cheltenham.

At 48, Williams, a three-time world champion, is the second oldest winner of a ranking title – his first having come in 1996.

“I’m going to keep going until I can’t play anymore,” said Williams. “How long I can keep going at this level, I don’t know. I’ve always wanted to see where I am going to be at 50. I’m only 49 in six months’ time, so I’m not far away and I’ve just won a tournament. So, who knows. Let’s just enjoy the ride while I’m still going.”

Williams’ win means he is second only to Ray Reardon when it comes to winning titles in the later part of his career. Reardon is the oldest, winning the Professional Players Tournament at the age of 50 in 1982.

“It was unbelievable towards the end, and both of us were feeling the nerves a bit – how I managed to win that last frame, I don’t know,” added Williams.

“I never expected I could still get to finals at 48 and to win, playing someone like Mark Selby, what can I say? These things don’t come along too often at my age, so I am just going to enjoy this one.”

Selby paid tribute to Williams’ efforts.

“He played amazing. I can’t remember him missing too many long balls – when he was at his peak, he was doing that all the time and he sort of rolled back the years today,” Selby said.

“It wasn’t to be for me, I felt like I was fighting against it all day… but (in general) I feel good about my game. I dug in and gave it my all like always.”

 

ATHLETICS

Vincent Mutai and Mestawut Fikir clinched Principality Cardiff Half Marathon glory at the race’s 20th-anniversary celebration event.

Kenyan Mutai overcame course record holder and countryman Shadrack Kimining in humid conditions to take the title in 01:00:35 after a sprint finish down King Edward VII Avenue.

The 28-year-old was part of a lead group alongside Kimining, Bernard Biwott and last year’s champion Geoffrey Koech who powered through the city to register a time of 28 minutes and 29 seconds after the first 10K.

 

A single second split the top three in the women’s event as Ethiopia’s Fikir came out on top after a sprint finish to clinch the gold medal.

It was her second victory in two months as she added the Cardiff Half to her win at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon, but she had to fight until the last metre to overcome compatriot Aminet Ahmed and last year’s runner-up Viola Chepngeno.

 

RALLYING

Elfyn Evans is still in the hunt for the World Rally Championship after finishing third at Rally Chile at the weekend.

The Dolgellau driver finished a place ahead of championship leader Kalle Rovanpera to keep the pressure on the Finnish ace.

Evans and Rovanpera secured the 2023 manufacturers’ title for Toyota.

Evans trails team-mate Rovanpera by 31 points with two rounds of the championship remaining.

“Overall the weekend was perhaps not what we hoped for and I think there was potential for more,” said Evans. “We didn’t quite get it all right this time around even though we had some good speed at times. But I think we can be relatively happy with our end result of a podium. The best news is that the team has clinched the manufacturers’ title.

“It’s an honour to be a part of the team and it’s great to reward everybody for all their hard work. In the drivers’ championship we probably needed to close a bit more on Kalle this weekend than we did, but at least the fight is still alive.”