Boston, MA

Lyles breaks 60m meeting record in Boston with 6.44 | REPORT | World Athletics

Published

2 years ago

February 4, 2024

Lyles breaks 60m meeting record in Boston with 6.44 | REPORT | World Athletics

On a day when nine meeting records fell at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix, perhaps the one with the biggest impact came from Noah Lyles as the US sprinter charged to a 6.44 victory over 60m at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting in Boston on Sunday (4).

Last year Lyles showed that he was more than just a 200m specialist by taking gold over 100m, 200m and 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23. After winning the 60m in Boston, the 26-year-old declared that he has his sights set on winning a world title over the shortest sprint discipline in Glasgow next month.

He won his heat in 6.54, finishing 0.05 ahead of 2018 world indoor bronze medallist Ronnie Baker. Domestic rival Fred Kerley, the 2022 world 100m champion, won the second heat in 6.57 – a PB by default, given it was his first ever indoor 60m race.

Kerley got off to a strong start in the final, but it was Jamaica’s Ackeem Blake who then powered into a lead and he looked to be on his way to victory. But, as he often does in his outdoor races, Lyles timed his finish to perfection with a late-race surge to get to the finish line first in 6.44.

Not only was it a PB by 0.07 and a world-leading mark, it also shaved 0.01 off the meeting record set 25 years ago by Maurice Greene. Blake was a close second in 6.45 and Baker took third in 6.54, just 0.01 ahead of Kerley.

“I knew that my first 10 metres are always going to be kind of sluggish, but so long as I’m next to everybody, I don’t care,” said Lyles. “All I was thinking about was winning. That’s all that matters.

“My confidence has now sky rocketed,” he added. “Let’s go get a world indoor medal!”

USA’s Tia Jones got the evening off to an explosive start, winning the 60m hurdles in a world-leading meeting record of 7.72.

In what was the first discipline on the main programme, Jones was up against world leader Devynne Charlton and outdoor world record-holder Tobi Amusan. Both of those women performed at or near their best, but it wasn’t enough to catch Jones, who powered through to win in 7.72, just 0.04 shy of the world indoor record.

Amusan was second in an African record of 7.75 while Charlton was close behind in third in 7.76, just 0.01 shy of her recent Bahamian record. For the first time in history, four women broke 7.85 in one race as Masai Russell took fourth in 7.84.

“The race was pretty clean, but we still have some work to do,” said Jones, the 2018 world U20 champion. “I’ve been having troubles with my start, but if I can get that first half right, then I can get closer to the world record.”

The meeting record also fell in the men’s 60m hurdles as two-time world champion Grant Holloway extended his unbeaten streak in the event to a 10th year.

The world indoor record-holder equalled his own meeting record of 7.37 to win his heat, while 2022 world silver medallist Trey Cunningham took the other heat in a season’s best of 7.44.

Holloway went on to dominate the final in 7.35, the fifth-fastest time of his career and equal to his best ever season opener. Cunningham took second place in 7.49, marginally ahead of world bronze medallist Daniel Roberts, who was given the same time for third place.

In other sprint action, world indoor silver medallist Mikiah Brisco was a convincing winner of the women’s 60m in a season’s best of 7.10.

Area records for Arop and Hull

World 800m champion Marco Arop wrapped up his brief but impressive indoor campaign by winning the 1000m in a North American indoor record of 2:14.74 – the second-fastest indoor clocking in history.

In what turned out to be a solo run, the Canadian went through 400m in 52.84 and 600m in 1:19.60, by which point he had a 1.3-second lead over USA’s Bryce Hoppel. Arop continued to extend his lead with each lap, going through 800m in 1:46.69 before powering through the last lap to win by more than two seconds in 2:14.74.

Hoppel took the runner-up spot in 2:16.91, just ahead of US compatriot Sam Ellis (2:17.10).

Australia’s Jess Hull produced an impressive final lap to sprint past world indoor silver medallist Elle St Pierre and win the 3000m in an Oceanian indoor record of 8:24.93.

The field was paced through the first 1000m in 2:47.87 and half way in 4:12.63, after which St Pierre took up the running, going through 2000m in 5:39.38. St Pierre, who is returning to action following a maternity break last year, kicked on the final lap and looked to be on her way to victory, but Hull responded and caught the US runner just before the line, winning in a meeting record of 8:24.93.

St Pierre was rewarded with a PB of 8:25.25, while Ethiopia’s indoor debutante Melknat Wudu took third place in 8:32.34, breaking the world U20 indoor record set 20 years ago by Tirunesh Dibaba.

Meeting records were also broken by Lamecha Girma in the men’s 3000m and Gudaf Tsegay in the women’s 1500m.

Girma was ahead of world indoor record pace at one point, but with no opponents to help push him, the steeplechaser’s pace faded over the final few laps. Nevertheless, he finished comfortably inside the meeting record to win by 10 seconds in 7:29.09. Kenya’s Edwin Kurgat was a distant runner-up in 7:39.38.

Tsegay was pushed by younger compatriot Birke Haylom throughout the women’s 1500m, but held on to win in a US indoor all-comers’ record of 3:58.11. Haylom was second in a world U20 indoor record of 3:58.43.

In a clash of global middle-distance gold medallists, world road mile champion Hobbs Kessler got the better of 2022 world champion Jake Wightman in the 1500m. Kessler kicked ahead on the final two laps to win in a PB of 3:33.66, while Wightman – returning from an injury-hit 2023 – finished second in 3:34.06, also a PB.

Meeting records were broken in the first rounds of both long jump contests. Jamaica’s Carey McLeod sailed out to 8.20m with his first leap in the men’s event, which was ultimately enough to win by 18cm from Britain’s Jacob Fincham-Dukes.

World silver medallist Tara Davis-Woodhall opened with a world-leading 6.86m in the women’s event and backed it up with leaps of 6.83m in rounds three and six.

Elsewhere, world 200m silver medallist Gabby Thomas won the women’s 300m in a world-leading 35.75, just 0.02 shy of her own meeting record. 2016 world U20 champion Sammy Watson won the women’s 800m in 2:01.20 and world 4x400m champion Vernon Norwood took the men’s 400m in 45.76.

Jon Mulkeen for World Athletics

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Boston, MA

First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather

Published

11 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

First Alert: Mix of snow and rain today, then looking ahead to warmer weather

Today is a First Alert weather day. A system to our south is pushing mix of snow and rain into southern New England through this evening and tonight.

For us here in Greater Boston, expect snow to continue spreading over our area through the afternoon/evening commute. In fact, parts our area could see up to 1 to 2 inches of snow accumulation before the sleet and rain move in.

Much of Greater Boston will likely see snow amounts on the lower end. Higher snow amounts are expected toward southern New Hampshire and along and north of outer Route 2. Also, some ice accumulations are possible, up to a tenth of an inch, creating a thin glaze here and there.

Dozens of schools in Connecticut and Massachusetts have already announced early dismissals as a result of the storm.

While this system won’t cripple our area, conditions could still create a mess on the roads during the evening commute through tonight. Be careful while driving. A Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect for parts of our area through early Wednesday morning. High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 30s today. Overnight lows will drop into the low 30s.

We’ll wake up to patchy fog Wednesday morning before the sun returns. High temperatures will be in the upper 40s. We’ll stay in the 40s on Thursday with increasing clouds. But by late Thursday night into Friday, wet weather returns. Some snow could mix with the rain into Friday morning. Highs will be in the upper 30s Friday.

Warmer weather is expected this weekend. Highs will be in the 50s Saturday and possibly near 60 on Sunday.

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Boston, MA

Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe

Published

23 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Boston police officials dominate the list of highest-paid city workers in 2025 – The Boston Globe

That was more than what every other city department spent on overtime combined, though it was a slight drop from the $103 million the police department spent on overtime in 2024.

High overtime spending inside the police department has long been controversial and a source of frustration for police-reform advocates. Last year’s nine-figure total comes as Mayor Michelle Wu warns of a challenging budget season to come for the city, which is grappling with inflation and the possibility of more federal funding cuts.

In a December letter, Wu told the city council that she instructed city department heads to find ways to cut 2 percent of their budgets in the next fiscal year. She also imposed a delay on new hires. Boston Public Schools Superintendent Mary Skipper has also proposed cutting somewhere between 300 and 400 positions next fiscal year due to budget constraints.

Overall, the city spent about $2.5 billion on employee salaries in 2025, up around 1.5 percent from $2.4 billion in 2024. The city employs roughly 21,000 workers, according to a public dashboard.

In a statement, Emma Pettit, a spokesperson for Wu’s office, attributed the payroll increase to raises, and in some cases, employees receiving retroactive pay, that were part of contracts the city negotiated with its various labor unions.

“We’re grateful to our city employees for their hard work to hold Boston to the highest standard for delivering city services,” Pettit said.

When Wu won her first mayoral race in November 2021, all of the city’s 44 union contracts had expired. Since then, Wu’s office has negotiated new agreements with all of them, and last year, agreed to a one-year contract extension with the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, the city’s largest police union.

But as the city heads back to the bargaining table to negotiate extensions or new contracts with others, city leaders should keep cost at the forefront of those conversations, said Steve Poftak, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-backed budget watchdog group.

“As budgets tighten, I’m hopeful that it increases the scrutiny on these collective bargaining agreements,” Poftak said.

The top earner on the city’s payroll last year was Boston Police Captain Timothy Connolly. In addition to his $194,000 base salary, Connolly took home nearly $230,000 in overtime, about $26,000 in undefined “other pay,” and roughly $49,000 as part of a higher-education bonus, for a total of $498,145 in compensation.

Skipper, as BPS superintendent, was the 55th-highest earner among city workers, coming behind 54 members of the police department. She made a total of $378,000 in 2025.

Nearly 300 city employees made more than $300,000 last year. In contrast, Wu made $207,000, though her salary increased to $250,000 this year. More than 1,700 city employees made more than the mayor in 2025.

Larry Calderone, president of the Boston Police Patrolmen’s Association, argued that the high overtime costs in the police department are, in part, a result of understaffing.

The department is short roughly 400 rank-and-file police officers, Calderone said, meaning the department has to pay its staff to work overtime and fill vacant shifts. The average salary for an officer in the BPPA is roughly $195,000, Calderone said.

With several large events approaching, including a Boston-based fan fest around this summer’s World Cup matches and the return of a fleet of tall ships to Boston Harbor, Calderone said most of the members of his union are likely to be working the maximum allowable 90 hours a week.

“We just don’t have the bodies on the street,” he said.

The Boston Police Department and the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation — the union that represents the department’s sergeants, captains, and lieutenants — did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.

Jamarhl Crawford, an activist and former member of the Boston Police Reform Task Force, said while high spending on overtime is not new for the police department, it’s a pressing problem the city should tackle.

The police and fire departments are “essential components of the city and society in general … [and] folks should be getting a fair wage. But it also has to be within fiscal responsibility,” Crawford said.

“In another 10 years,” he continued, “with pensions and everything else, this type of thing can bankrupt the city.”

Niki Griswold can be reached at niki.griswold@globe.com. Follow her @nikigriswold. Yoohyun Jung can be reached at y.jung@globe.com.

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Boston, MA

Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Red Sox rotation contender strikes out four in dominant outing

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Johan Oviedo’s first outing of the spring last week didn’t go great, as the right-hander walked three over 1 2/3 innings in a performance manager Alex Cora described as “erratic.”

His second outing on Monday went much better.

Oviedo was dominant in Monday’s 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, striking out four over three scoreless innings while holding Toronto to two hits and no walks. He was also highly efficient, throwing 25 of his 31 pitches for strikes while drawing five whiffs.

After allowing a leadoff single to George Springer out of the gate, Oviedo got a strikeout and a double play to quickly get out of the first. He followed that by pitching around a harmless one-out single in the second before sending the Blue Jays down 1-2-3 to finish his outing in the third.

Viewed as the likely top candidate to earn Boston’s No. 5 rotation spot heading into camp, Oviedo clearly helped out his cause with the brilliant showing. He will be in line to make his next start on Saturday.

Gonzales smokes one

Justin Gonzales, a hulking 6-foot-7 outfielder and Boston’s No. 6 prospect according to MLB Pipeline’s latest rankings, made the trip up to Dunedin with the big league club and showed off his power in breathtaking fashion.

In the top of the ninth inning the 19-year-old scorched a single that was measured at 117.3 mph off the bat. According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs’ Daily Statcast leaders, that is the second hardest exit velocity recorded by any player so far this spring. The only ball hit harder was Kansas City Royals’ slugger Jac Caglianone’s 120.2 mph double on Feb. 26.

Franklin Arias, a 20-year-old infielder and Boston’s consensus No. 2 prospect, also made the trip and got the start at shortstop. He went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts at the plate but helped turn a double play to end the bottom of the first.

Big day for Gasper

Monday’s lineup consisted largely of players who are likely to start the season in the minor leagues, but even with that being the case, Mickey Gasper made a strong impression.

The Red Sox catcher and utility player led the offense by going 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBI. Gasper had an RBI single in the top of the third and followed that by crushing a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth.

Nathan Hickey (1 for 2) also had a two-run home run to put the Red Sox ahead for good in the top of the eighth, Allan Castro (2 for 3, stolen base) hit a game-tying solo shot in the sixth, Max Ferguson (1 for 2, walk) had an RBI double and Braiden Ward went 2 for 3 with a stolen base.

Watson struggles

Ryan Watson, a Rule 5 pick looking to make the Red Sox roster as a rookie, had a tough outing on Monday. The right-hander allowed four runs over 2/3 of an inning on one hit, two walks and a hit by pitch.

Watson led off the inning with a lineout before allowing a single, hit by pitch and a walk to load the bases. He then drew a run-scoring groundout before walking another batter to reload the bases. At that point manager Alex Cora lifted the rookie and all three inherited runners came around to score when minor leaguer Patrick Halligan allowed a grand slam to Blue Jays third baseman Addison Barger.

Coming up next

The Red Sox will host Team Puerto Rico in an exhibition at JetBlue Park on Tuesday night ahead of the World Baseball Classic. Left-hander Jake Bennett will get the start for the Red Sox, and Zack Kelly, Tyler Uberstine, Tyler Samaniego and Vinny Nittoli are all scheduled to pitch for Boston too. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN+, NESN 360 and WEEI 93.7 FM.

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