RT brings you all the latest news as the best athletes from across the world compete at the first-ever South American Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil.
15 August 2016
Russian gymnast Denis Ablyazin has won his second medal of the day, this time landing silver in the men's vault with 15.516 points.
The gold medal went to North Korea’s Ri Se-gwang, who earned 15.691 points, while bronze went to Kenzo Shirai of Japan (15.449 points).
Earlier today Ablyazin earned the bronze in the men's rings.
- Two people were lightly injured when a television camera suspended by cables fell to the ground in the Olympic Park outside the basketball arena, Globonews reported.
Television images showed one woman who was treated by medics walk from the scene wearing a neck brace, while the other victim was carried off on a stretcher.
Russian gymnast Denis Ablyazin has won the bronze medal in the men's rings. Ablyzin now has silver and bronze medals at the Rio Games.
The gold medal was won by Eleftherios Petrounias of Greece. Brazilian Arthur Zanetti received the silver.
Russian kayakers Elena Anyushina and Kira Stepanova are through to the women’s kayak double 500m canoe sprint event.
Canoeist Ilia Shtokalov is through to the men’s canoe single 1000m.
Russian wrestler Davit Chakvetadze is through to the quarterfinal in the men’s Greco-Roman 85kg event.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the appeal of Russian long-jumper Darya Klishina against the International Athletics Federation (IAAF). The decision will allow her to compete in Rio. The women’s long-jump qualification is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
Russia’s women’s volleyball team suffered its first setback in Rio, losing to the Olympic hosts. The Brazilians beat the Russians with a sweep victory of three sets to zero.
However, the Russians managed to qualify for the quarterfinals, where they will play Serbia, due to their second place in the group.
On their road to the next stage, the Russian team proved stronger than Argentine, South Korea and Cameroon.
“Yes, it was our first late match at the tournament while Brazilian team always plays at this time, but it is not an excuse. We felt OK, we were simply struggling a lot, that’s why we lost,” Russian volleyball player Nataliya Goncharova told journalists.
Superstar sprinter Usain Bolt won gold in the men’s 100m with 9.81 seconds, leaving his American long-time nemesis Justin Gatlin in second place. The Jamaican remains undefeated at his favorite distance since the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Andre De Grasse from Canada reached the finish line third to claim bronze.
READ MORE: Jamaica celebrates: Bolt beats Gatlin in 100m sprint to win Rio gold & 7th Olympic title
British tennis player Andy Murray has clinched victory in a 4-hour epic battle with Argentinian Juan Martín del Potro. Murray, the world No. 2, became the first ever two-time individual Olympic champion in tennis history. Murray won his first Olympic gold at the 2012 London Olympics.
Kei Nishikori from Japan beat Rio Olympics men’s doubles champion Rafael Nadal to claim bronze.
14 August 2016
Two different DNAs were allegedly found in Russian long jumper Darya Klishina’s urine sample, ARD television journalist Hajo Seppelt tweeted. In addition, some of the bottles with Klishina’s samples had scratches on them, which prompted a last-minute suspension of the athlete, he claimed.
The final decision on Klishina, who appealed the ban to CAS, is expected to be made Monday morning.
“The issue is being considered. The decision is likely to be announced on Monday morning,” a CAS spokesman told R-Sport.
Russian wrestler Roman Vlasov became Olympic champion in the Greco-Roman wrestling 75kg division, bringing Russia its ninth gold in Rio. The reigning world and 2012 Olympics champion defeated Mark Overgaard Madsen from Denmark 3-1. South Korea’s Kim Hyeon-Woo and Iranian Saeid Abdevali beat their respective opponents from Croatia and Hungary in matches for bronze.
Russian track cyclist Denis Dmitriev won bronze in the men’s sprint. The 30-year old was faster than Australian Matthew Glaetzer in two races. Defending Olympic champion Jason Kenny from Britain claimed another gold at Rio, beating his compatriot Callum Skinner in an all-British final.
Russian sailor Stefania Elfutina brought Russia its 9th bronze medal. The 19-year old Olympic debutant and two-time junior world champion scored 69 points in women’s RS:X windsurfing race. Charline Picon from France became Olympic champion finishing ahead of Chinese Chen Peina.
All-around artistic gymnastics champion Simone Biles has won her third gold medal at the Rio Olympics as she triumphed in the vault final.
The American beat world champion Maria Paseka of Russia with a score of 15.966 from her two vaults, with the bronze going to Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland.
Uzbekistan's Oksana Chusovitina, bidding to become the oldest ever gymnast to win an Olympic medal at the age of 41, finished seventh out of the eight finalists.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday that the suspension of long jumper Darya Klishina at the Rio Games may not be the “last provocation” against Russian athletes, TASS reported.
Klishina was banned from competing at the Olympic Games just a day after she landed in Rio de Janeiro.
“I must say, this may be not the last provocation,” said Mutko.
“They [IAAF] have allowed her, insisted she is allowed, the International Olympic Committee confirmed she is allowed.”
“Those are certain provocations, which are made intentionally.”
“Their target is Russian sport now, and, besides, this is supported informationally,” added Mutko.
13 August 2016
The US national team has won its 1,000th gold medal in the history of the Summer Olympics with a victory in the women’s 4x100m medley relay. Kathleen Baker, Lilly King, Dana Vollmer and Simone Manuel touched down first at 3.53.13, almost two seconds ahead of Australian team with 3.55.00. Denmark took bronze, clocking in at 3.55.01. The Russian team finished sixth with 3.55.66.
A 22-year old Puerto Rican tennis player, Mónica Puig, won the first ever gold medal for the Latin American territory. She also became the first female athlete from Puerto Rico to win a medal at the Olympics.
The World No. 34 beat Germany’s Angelique Kerber in the women’s singles final by two sets to one (6-4,4-6,6-1).
Russian saber fencers stunned Ukraine in the women’s team final 45-30 earning Russia its sixth gold at the Rio Olympics. The Rio Olympic champion in individual saber Yana Egorian, silver medalist Sofya Velikaya and Yulia Gavrilova beat a Ukrainian team led by 2008 Beijing Olympics team champion and Rio bronze medalist Olga Kharlan in an epic final battle.
READ MORE: Russian women’s fencing team beats Ukraine to win gold in Rio saber final
Czech tennis player Petra Kvitova has won bronze in the women’s singles event.
Kvitova beat American Madison Keys 7:5, 2:6, 6:2 in the third-place playoff match.
Six-time Olympic champion Usain Bolt has unsurprisingly made it through to the semifinal of the men’s 100-meter sprint, winning his heat with a time of 10.07 seconds.
The Jamaican, who is the world’s fastest man, has qualified in fourth place.
Russia advances to the final of the women’s team sabre event.
Fencers Sofya Velikaya, Yana Egorian, and Yekaterina Dyachenko beat their Team US counterparts 45:42 in their semifinal match to secure a guaranteed medal for Team Russia.
British cyclists Katie Archibald, Laura Trott, Elinor Barker, and Joanna Rowsell have set a new world record in the women’s team pursuit event.
The four-piece covered the 4-kilometer race distance in 4 minutes 12.15 seconds to advance to the final, where they will face Team USA.
Team Russia women’s water polo has lost to Italy in their Olympic Games Group A match by a score of 5:10.
Russian track cyclist Denis Dmitriev is through to the quarterfinal of the men’s individual sprint.
Russia has advanced to the semifinals of the women’s team sabre event.
Fencers Sofya Velikaya, Yana Egorian, and Yekaterina Dyachenko beat their Mexican counterparts 45:31 in their quarterfinal match to become the first team to qualify for the final four stage.
A police agent shot by drug dealers in Rio de Janeiro while on patrol Wednesday has died in the hospital. Helio Vieira, 35, was sent to Rio from northern Brazil as part of heightened security measures for the Games.
He was along with two other officers in a vehicle that took a wrong turn, mistakenly entering one of Rio’s slums, also known as favelas, where a drug gang thought they had arrived as part of a police raid. All three were shot at.
The Russia’s women’s volleyball team qualified for the quarterfinals after beating Japan in straight sets. The Russian team has not lost a single match at the tournament so far, having defeated Argentina, South Korea and Cameroon in the group stage.
Twenty-two-time Olympic swimming champion Michael Phelps finished second in the men’s 100m butterfly, suffering an upsetting loss to Singaporean champion Joseph Schooling, who set an Olympic record of 50.39. Phelps tied for silver with South African Chad le Clos and Laszlo Cseh of Hungary. All three swimmers touched the bar at 51.14.
Spanish tennis players Rafael Nadal and Marc López beat Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecău two sets to one (6:2, 3:6, 6:4) to claim victory in the men’s doubles. For Nadal, it was his second Olympic gold. At 2008 at the Beijing Olympics, he won the individual men’s event.
Iranian weightlifter in the men’s 85 kg class, Kianoush Rostami, won gold, rewriting his own world record. He lifted a total of 396 kilograms, 179kg in snatch and 217kg in the clean and jerk lift.
Tian Tao from China took silver with a total weight of one kilogram less. Romania’s Gabriel Sîncrăian was third with 390 kg.
The Russian silver medalists in the women’s team sprint cycling, Darya Shmeleva and Anastasiya Voinova, said they were “shocked” by the proposal to ban the entire Russian national team from the Olympics.
"This medal of ours is an eyesore for our enemies and a source of joy for us," the cyclists told journalists after the race, adding that they are still not 100 percent satisfied with second place, as they were going for gold.
“I personally wish to set a world record and to win the Olympic gold. To make everybody line up after us, not China," Shmeleva added.
12 August 2016
The Russian men’s foil fencing team – Timur Safin, Aleksey Cherimisov and Artur Akhmatkhuzin – beat their French rivals 45:41, securing the fifth Olympic gold for Russia.
READ MORE: Russian men’s foil fencing team beats France to win Rio gold
British track cyclists have broken the world record, winning gold in the men’s team pursuit with 3.50.26. The Australian quartet recorded a time of 3.51.00 to claim the silver medals. And in a tussle for the bronze medals, Denmark with 3.53.78 were 3 seconds faster than New Zealand.
Russian cyclists Anastasiya Voinova and Daria Shmeleva won the silver in women’s team sprint with a time of 32.401. The Chinese team was victorious, getting gold with 32.107, while Germany got the bronze.
Russian fencers Timur Safin, Aleksey Cheremisinov and Artur Akhmatkhuzin have made it to the final of the men’s team foil event by beating the USA.
The trio will face France in the gold medal match on Saturday August 13.
With the result, Safin secured his second medal of the Games, having won the bronze in the men’s foil, and will be bidding to win Russia’s fifth gold medal at Rio 2016.
Russian shooter Kirill Grigoryan has won the bronze medal in the men’s 50m rifle prone with a points total of 187.3.
Michael Phelps added another Olympic gold medal to his already impressive collection of 21. The most decorated Olympian of all time won the men’s 200m individual medley, touching the finishing bar at 1.54.66 with a solid two-second edge over Kosuke Hagino from Japan, who clocked in 1.56.61. China’s Wang Shun took the bronze.
Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova has won silver at women’s 200-meter breaststroke with 2.21.97 time, finishing half a second behind Rie Kaneto from Japan, who touched down at 2.20.30. Chinese Shi Jinglin came in third with 2.22.28.
For Efimova, it is her second medal at the Rio Olympics. Earlier, she brought Russia silver in the 100 meters breaststroke.
Russian swimmer Evgeny Rylov 200m won bronze at men`s 200m backstroke with 1.53.97. American Ryan Murphy took gold with, stopping the clock at 1.53.62 ahead of Mitch Larkin from Australia with 1.53.96.
Fiji has won its first Olympic gold medal after its rugby sevens men’s team crushed Britain 43 to 7. Fiji first took part in the Olympic games back in 1956 and has never won a medal at the games before this day. South Africa took bronze with 54-14 victory over Japan. Rugby sevens was made an Olympic sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2009. The Rio Games marked the competition’s debut at the Olympics.
11 August 2016
Russian artistic gymnast Aliya Mustafina has won bronze in the women’s individual all-around competition with a combined score of 58.665.
The first two places were occupied by American athletes, with Simone Biles winning gold with 62.198 and Aly Raisman finishing second on 60.098. For the Russian gymnast, it was her second medal at the Rio Olympics. Earlier, the leader of the Russian team and 2012 Olympics champion claimed silver in the women’s team all-around competition together with her teammates.
Russian athletes have given more than 300 doping samples during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, according to Russian handball team head coach Evgeny Trefilov.
“[Russian Olympic Committee President] Alexander Zhukov arrived today and told us this. This means they have checked everyone, and after every match they check two or three athletes,” Trefilov said, TASS reported.
Russia has lost its women’s team epee fencing semifinal 31:45 to Romania.
But there is still a chance of a medal – the team face Estonia for the bronze later today.
Romania and China will contest the final.
Swimmer Vladimir Morozov has made it through to the semifinals of the 50m freestyle crawl.
Morozov is the current Russian record holder and won bronze at the London 2012 Games.
Russian duo Dmitry Larionov and Mikhail Kuznetsov have made it through to the men’s canoe slalom double final later today.
They qualified in eighth place with a time of 1:52.39.
Russia has beaten Egypt 3:0 in their men’s volleyball Pool B match with scores of 25:11; 25:17; 25:9.
Russia has beaten France in their quarterfinal meeting in the women’s team epee fencing by a score of 44:41 to advance to the semifinal against Romania later today.
Croatian brothers Martin and Valent Sinkoviс have won gold in the men’s double sculls rowing event. The duo recorded a time of 6 minutes 50.28 seconds.
The silver medal was won by Lithuanian pair Mindaugas Griskonis and Saulius Ritter, and bronze by Norwegians Olaf Tufte and Kjetil Borch.
Nineteen-year-old Russian swimmer Anton Chupkov won a bronze medal in the men’s 200m breaststroke, stopping the clock at 2.07.70. Dmitriy Balandin from Kazakhstan claimed gold with 2.07.46, finishing ahead of American Josh Prenot, who took silver with 2.07.53.
Russian foil fencer Inna Deriglazova won a gold medal in the women’s individual competition, defeating London Olympic champion Elisa Di Francisca 12 to 11. Ines Boubakri from Tunisia stunned another Russian, Aida Shanayeva, in the fight for third place to take the bronze. Deriglazova’s victory brings Russia its forth gold overall and second in fencing.
10 August 2016
Renowned Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva announced she is going run for the post of president of the Russian Athletic Federation (RusAF).
“I want to try, I think I will be able to do it, because my reputation allows me to head the federation,” the two-time Olympic champion said in an interview published on RusAf`s official website.
Isinbayeva stressed that her own inability to compete at the games due to the blanket ban imposed on all Russian track-and-filed team serves as an incentive for her to return the RusAf under International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) umbrella.
“I want our athletes to compete at international competitions again. For me, the return of Russian sportsmen to the elite will become a huge motivation and a kind of compensation for inability to perform in Rio myself.”
Russia`s women volleyball team beat Cameroon in a group-stage match, automatically qualifying for the playoffs. The Russian team, competing in Group A, managed to secure a straight-sets win (25:19,25:22,25:23).
A Rio Olympics media bus was attacked with stones on Tuesday, breaking windows and injuring slightly two people, the Games security chief Luiz Fernando Correa said on Wednesday.
There were 12 passengers on the bus on Tuesday evening returning from the Deodoro Olympic park when stones crashed through the windows, slightly injuring two people. Witnesses on the bus told Reuters after the incident that they had heard the sound of gunfire.
Russian cyclist Olga Zabelinskaya has won a silver medal in the women’s time trial event, which is Russia’s 13th medal overall at the Rio games. Zabelinskaya, who claimed a bronze at the London games four years ago, was beaten by American veteran Kristin Armstrong, who won her third consecutive Olympic road time trial gold medal a day before her 43rd birthday. Anna van der Breggen continued what has been a fantastic Olympics for her by claiming bronze. The Dutch cyclist had already won gold in the women’s road race in Rio.
Visitors from across the world have flocked to Rio de Janeiro to cheer on their home teams. RT's Ilya Petrenko quizzed a few of them, testing their knowledge on Brazilian politics.
The US swim team have become Olympic champions in the men’s 4x200 meters freestyle relay. The Americans completed the distance in 7.00.66. For swimming icon Michael Phelps, the gold medal was the second of the night and his 21st overall.
The British team touched down second with 7.03.13. Japan came third, stopping the clock at 7.03.50.
Phelps won his 20th Olympic gold overall, coming to the finish line first with a strong 1.53.36 performance. Masato Sakai from Japan came in the second place with 1.53.40. Hungarian Tamas Kenderesi got bronze showing 1.53.62. Only the three medalists managed to swim out of 1.53.00.
In women`s 200m freestyle 19-year-old American Katie Ledecky won her second gold and third medal at the Rio Olympics with a time of 1.53.73. Swedish swimmer Sarah Sjöström claimed silver with 1.54.08, while Australian Emma McKeon (1.54.92) came in third.
Three journalists have suffered minor injuries after the bus that was taking them from the Olympic Games Deodoro cluster to the main press center was reportedly attacked by gunmen. The bus carrying 12 reporters, four of them foreigners, was driving on the highway, when it was apparently hit with bullets that shattered its windows, Brazilian Estadão newspaper reported. Despite several witnesses saying they heard the shots fired, local police claim the vehicle most likely was stoned. The Rio organizers have launched an investigation into the incident.
“We don’t know yet if it was stones or bullets. The police are investigating,” said Mario Andrade, the Rio2016 spokesman, as cited by the Guardian.
09 August 2016
Defending Olympic champion and world No. 1 Serena Williams suffered a shocking loss to Ukraine’s 21-year-old rising star and No. 15 seed, Elina Svitolina, in the third round of the Olympic women’s singles. Svitolina beat the US tennis legend in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, with Williams aiding her rival with 37 unforced errors. With the latest loss, Serena is out of the Olympics. Earlier she and her sister Venus lost their first-round doubles match to the Czech Republic team, also in straight sets.
A Brazilian federal judge has ordered Rio Olympics organizers to allow peaceful protests inside the sporting venues. The decision comes after several people were forced to leave events for holding up anti-government signs.
Meanwhile, the Rio organizing committee is planning to ask the judge to reconsider the ruling.
“This is a global event, and we think and we hope that the stadiums would not become a platform for political debate,” IOC spokesman Mark Adams said Tuesday.
Adams added that despite the committee’s disapproval, it will “absolutely” respect Brazilian law.
Hacking collective Anonymous said it attacked and stole data from six Brazilian government websites on Tuesday to protest the Rio Olympics. The websites hacked reportedly included the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (gestaorecursos.cpb.org.br/), the Police Ombudsman's Office of the State Government of Rio de Janeiro (ouvidoriadapolicia.rj.gov.br), and the Public Security Institute (isp.rj.gov.br).
Anonymous said in a statement that Olympics are often harmful to the cities that host them, adding ominously: ”We will continue our operations.”
The participants and spectators at the women’s synchronized 10-meter diving final Tuesday were puzzled by murky green water in the pool. The non-typical color was in striking contrast with the nearby pool’s clear blue, as seen on the photo captured by Rio’s synchronized diving bronze medalist British diver Tom Daley.
While organizers insisted that the water quality meets all applicable standards, they have not provided an explanation of the overnight color change yet. The water appeared normal Monday.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) stripped Ukrainian javelin thrower Oleksandr Pyatnytsya of the silver medal he won at the London 2012 Olympic Games after reanalyzing his sample from the competition. The athlete was found in violation of anti-doping guidelines since he tested positive for an anabolic steroid called turinabol (dehydrochlormethyltestosterone). Finland’s Antti Rususkanen, who took bronze in London, is to be awarded silver, while the Czech Republic’s Vitezslav Vesely, who was in fourth place, will get bronze.
Russia’s women’s artistic gymnastics team, comprising Aliya Mustafina, Daria Spiridonova, Angelina Melnikova, Seda Tutkhalyan and Maria Paseka, took silver at the team competition final Tuesday with a combined score of 176, 688. Russia’s gymnasts finished ahead of China, with 176,003, but landed far behind the US team, which sealed its victory with an impressive score of 184,897.
Russian judoka, Khalmurzaev Khasan, has won gold in the men’s 81kg category at the Rio Olympics, beating Travis Stevens of the US in the final.
The Russian martial artist won with an uchi-mata, which he performed three minutes into the deciding match.
The bronze in the event went to Takanori Nagase of Japan and Sergiu Toma of the UAE.
Anna Korakaki of Greece made her way to gold in the woman’s 25m Pistol, defeating Germany’s Monika Karsc in the final. Swiss athlete, Heidi Diethelm Gerber, took bronze in the event.
China's Deng Wei has won the gold medal in the women's 63kg weightlifting, producing a world record lift of 262kg.
North Korea’s Hyo Sim Choe took silver in the event, with bronze going to Karina Goricheva of Kazakhstan.
French canoeist Denis Gargaud Chanut has won gold in the men's canoe slalom single event. Slovakia's Matej Benus was second, with Japan's Takuya Haneda claiming bronze.
Russian judoka Khalmurzaev Khasan has made it to the final in the men’s 81kg kilos category in Rio. His rival in the match for gold will be Travis Stevens of the US.
The Rio Games will be the last Olympics of Usain Bolt’s career, the Jamaican sprinter told reporters at a press conference in Brazil.
“Yes, this is the last Olympics for sure. I have proven myself over and over again,” the six-time Olympic champion and 100 meters world record holder said.
Bolt said he had made this decision, knowing that “a lot of people aren’t happy” about it.
US archer, Brady Ellison, has made headlines in Rio not for winning a silver medal, but also for being a Leonardo DiCaprio lookalike.
If looks could kill, American swimmer Michael Phelps would have an Olympic gold medal in that sport too. And his South African rival Chad Le Clos would be belly up in the pool, rather than preparing to swim in the men’s 200-meter butterfly finals.
Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, a silver medalist in Rio, has said “athletes should be above politics” after facing hostility from fellow competitors and the mainstream media over her participation at the Olympics following a doping scandal.
After a last-ditch attempt to appeal the CAS’s decision to ban her from the Olympics for unspecified reasons failed, two-time Russian Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva said she is going to Rio to compete for a post on the IOC’s athletes’.
READ MORE: Barred from competing, Isinbayeva heading to Rio to take part in IOC panel elections
The Rio 2016 organising committee is making new flags for China after Chinese citizens watching the ceremony on television complained that the stars were incorrectly positioned. "The flags produced had been approved by the Chinese prior to production. You have to be very familiar with the Chinese flag to notice it (the mistake)," Games spokesman Mario Andrada said. "Yesterday we managed to go back to (the) company. They are producing a bunch of correct flags to be delivered here shortly. It is a Brazilian company," he said. The complaints arose after China won medals in shooting and swimming events and its flag was raised as part of the medal ceremonies. Some Chinese internet users pointed out that the stars on the flags raised were parallel with each other. The correct Chinese flag features one large star, with four smaller stars in a semicircle tilted to point toward the larger one. (Reuters)
World champion Yulia Efimova has won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke with a time of 1:05.50. American Lilli King, who was also the fastest in the semi-final, came first with a new Olympic record time of 1:04.93. Efimova was cleared to compete only a few hours prior to the opening ceremony by the decision of the IOC`s special commission.
Russian men’s gymnastics team took silver in the team final with a combined score of 271,453, 2 points short of the gold claimed by Japan. Although the Russian gymnasts finished third in the qualification, it did not prevent them from coming just ahead of the reigning Olympic champions from China. The Russian team comprising Nikita Nagornyy, Denis Ablyazin, David Belyavskiy, Ivan Stretovich and Nikolay Kusenkov has won Russia its first Olympic medal in men`s artistic gymnastics team competition since 2000.
08 August 2016
Russia takes gold & silver in women’s individual saber at Rio Olympics.
It was an all-Russian final in the women's individual saber fencing that saw Yana Egorian winning gold and leaving her compatriot Sofiya Velikaya with silver.
Team Russia now has 2 gold, 3 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Russian boxer Evgeny Tishchenko has won his opening bout of the Rio 2016 Olympics, beating Brazilian Juan Goncalves Nogueira 3-0 in the men’s heavyweight (91kg) category.
Russian shooter Vladimir Maslennikov has won the bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event.
Gold was won by Italian Niccolo Campriani with an Olympic record points total of 206.1. Ukraine’s Serhiy Kulish won silver.
The Swiss Federal Supreme Court in Lausanne has ruled against the appeal from two-time Olympic pole vault champion Yelena Isinbayeva and 2015 world 110m hurdles champion Sergey Shubenkov.
The complaint from the athletes related to the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) which prohibited them from competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
“We asked that they suspend the CAS ruling before they put up any rationale, but they refused,” Shubenkov said, RIA Novosti reported.
Criminals have stolen a camera and a laptop worth US$7,000 from Stratos Safioleas, a member of the Greek delegation for the Rio Games.
The incident occurred while Safioleas was having lunch at his hotel near the Olympic Park.
Hotel management refused to provide a copy of the CCTV footage, which prompted Safioleas to call the police.
Eight sports will be awarding 14 gold medals Monday at the Rio Olympics in events ranging from artistic gymnastics to diving, fencing, judo, rugby sevens, shooting, swimming and weightlifting. Swimming alone will hand out four gold medals - in the men's 200 meter freestyle and the 100 meter backstroke, and in the women's 100 meter breaststroke and 100 meter backstroke. In the men's 200 meter freestyle finals, watch for Germany's Paul Biedermann, who holds the world record. Medals in rugby will be awarded for the first time in 92 years as the top four women's sevens teams in the world - Australia, Canada, Britain and New Zealand - compete. (AP)
Michael Phelps won the 19th gold medal of his Olympic swimming career after helping the US men's team to victory in the 4x100 meters freestyle relay. The 31-year-old, making his first competitive appearance in the pool at his fifth Games after sitting out the heats, now has an unprecedented 23 medals with two silvers and two bronzes filling out his tally. (REUTERS)
US swimmer Katie Ledecky broke her own world record on the way to winning the women's 400 meters freestyle gold medal at the Rio Olympics. Ledecky led from start to finish to set a new mark of three minutes, 56.46 seconds, bettering the 3:58.37 she set in Australia two years ago. Britain's Jazz Carlin took the silver medal, and Leah Smith of the US won bronze.
07 August 2016
Serena and Venus Williams, three-time women's doubles Olympic champions, crashed out in the first round of the women's doubles tournament at the Rio Games. The Williams sisters were dumped out of the doubles tournament by Czech pair Barbora Strycova and Lucie Safarova who defeated them 6-3, 6-4. (REUTERS)
Majlinda Kelmendi made history at the Rio Games as she took gold in judo to become the first athlete from Kosovo to win an Olympic medal, a feeling she said she would not trade for any amount of money in the world. Rio marks the first Olympics at which athletes are competing under the flag of Kosovo, which proclaimed independence from Serbia in 2008. (REUTERS)
China’s Wu Minxia became the Olympics’ most decorated female diver with her gold medal in the women’s 3 meters synchronised springboard. The 30-year-old and partner Shi Tingmao beat their competition in all five dives for a score of 345.6, way ahead of Italy’s Tania Cagnotto and Francesca Dallape on 313.83 points. Australia took the bronze with 299.19 points. (REUTERS)
Russian fencer Timur Safin won the bronze medal in the men’s individual foil, defeating Richard Kruse of Great Britain 15-10. Safin, 23, who was born in Tashkent and moved to Russia later, has been fencing since 2001 and has been a member of the Russian national team since 2012.
Russian Judo athlete Natalia Kuziutina beats Chinese Ma Yingnan to bronze medal.
Russia has its second medal in Judo following yesterday’s success, when Beslan Mudranov brought his country its first gold medal in the Games.
Women's archery team brings Russia silver medal.
Ksenia Perova, Tuyana Dashidorzhiyeva and Inna Stepanova lost to South Korea in the women’s archery finals, but brought Russia its second silver medal.
The Russian women’s archery team is proceeding to the final. Therefore Ksenia Perova, Tuyana Dashidorzhiyeva and Irina Stepanova are set to gain another medal for Russia.
In the semifinal they beat the Italian team (5:3), and now will face South Korea in the final.
Russian women’s gymnastic team through to final of team event.
The competition is ongoing with Russia in second place behind the Chinese team. Five teams are yet to start, but even if they overtake the Russian team, they can only advance to the final as long as they don’t finish lower than seventh place, with the first eight teams progressing.
The team consists of Aliya Mustafina, Daria Spiridonova, Maria Paseka, Seda Tutkhalyan and Angelina Melnikova.
Russian weightlifters that have been banned from participating in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games competed at the Grand Prix 'Heraclion' in Moscow on Sunday.
The tournament saw notable weightlifting athletes compete, such as four times weightlifting champion of the world Tatiana Kashirina, gold medallists Tima Turieva and Artem Okulov, as well as Aleksey Yufkin.
Russian swimmers qualify in first place for men’s front crawl 4x100m relay final.
Andrei Grechin, Danila Izotov, Alexander Popkov and Alexander Sukhorukov recorded a winning time of three minutes and 12.04 seconds to advance to the final on August 8.
Yulia Efimova has won her first Olympic qualifying heat in the women’s 100m breaststroke.
She recorded a time of 1 minute and 5.79 seconds to advance to second place, beaten by US swimmer Lilly King, by 0.01 seconds.
On Thursday The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld Efimova’s appeal against the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decision to exclude her from competing in at Rio due to her anti-doping violations in 2013, for which she had already served a sanction.
Russian boxers Petr Khamukov and Andrey Zamkovoy have lost in their Round of 32 Olympic bouts.
Khamukov was beaten on points by his Venezuelan opponent in the men’s 81kg and Zamkovoy was beaten by a Kenyan foe in the 69kg category.
Portugal’s Education and Sports Minister Tiago Rodrigues Brandao and his assistant have been robbed by two young men in Rio de Janeiro. The minister was threatened with a knife and robbed on his way to a hotel located near the iconic Ipanema beach on Saturday evening, the minister’s office told the Portuguese media. No one was injured in the incident. One of the robbers was later arrested by police shortly after the incident, the minister’s office added.
Silver Shooter - Batsarashkina medals.
Russian shooter Vitalina Batsarashkina has won a silver medal in the women’s 10m air pistol.
The Chinese competitor Zhang Mengxue won the gold medal and the bronze went to 20-year-old Anna Korakaki of Greece.
Australia's women, powered by sisters Cate and Bronte Campbell, beat the United States and Canada to win the Olympic 4x100 meters freestyle relay in world record time, retaining the title they won in London four years ago. The Australians, leading off with Emma McKeon and Brittany Elmslie swimming the second leg, clocked three minutes, 30.65 seconds, beating the previous mark of 3:30.98 they set in Glasgow in 2014. (REUTERS)
Hungary's 'Iron Lady' Katinka Hosszu smashed the world record on her way to winning the women's 400 meters individual medley and claiming her first Olympic medal at her fourth Games. The Hungarian's winning time of four minutes 26.36 seconds in the final shattered the previous record of 4:28.43 set by China's Ye Shiwen at the 2012 London Olympics.
Maya DiRado of the United States took the silver medal and Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain the bronze. (REUTERS)
Kosuke Hagino won the men's Olympic 400 meters individual medley to give Japan the first swimming gold medal of the Rio Games. Hagino, the bronze medallist in 2012, won with a time of four minutes 6.05 seconds to end a US stranglehold on the event dating back to 1996. Chase Kalisz of the United States, who was fastest in the heats, finished second and Japan's Daiya Seto took the bronze. (REUTERS)
06 August 2016
Russian swimmer Daria Ustinova has been fully cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and allowed to take part in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil, the Russian Swimming Federation said.
Russia’s first gold at the Rio Games was from won in judo: Beslan Mudranov topped the Olympic podium in the men’s under 60kg category on the first day of the competition.
Russia’s Beslan Mudranov proceeds to men’s 60kg judo final.
Mudranov is set to gain the first medal for team Russia.
Mudranov beat Georgia’s Amiran Papinashvili in the semifinal today and will meet Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov in the quest for Olympic gold.
Another set of medals was played for in the men's 10m air pistol shooting.
Vietnam’s Hoang Xuan Vinh won the gold medal with 202.5 points.
Brazilian Felipe Almeida Wu received silver (202.1 points), while Chinese Pang Wei scored 180,4 points to receive bronze.
Belgian cyclist Greg Van Avermaet claimed the gold in the men’s road race.
It took him six hours, 10 minutes, and five seconds to race 237,5km distance.
Danish Jakob Fuglsang achieved silver, Poland’s Rafal Majka got Bronze.
British swimmer Adam Peaty set a new world record of 57,55 seconds in the men’s 100m breaststroke.
The previous world record (57,92) was also set by Peaty, in 2015.
Russian pole-vaulter Isinbayeva might visit Rio on working visit.
The international Olympic Committee (IOC) says it has nothing against a Rio working visit from Russian two-time Olympic pole-vaulter champion Yelena Isinbayeva.
“I don't know whether she will come or not, but she was never banned from visiting the Olympics for work,” said IOC president Mark Adams.
“She never received an individual ban, she has no doping history.”
Earlier it was reported that Isinbayeva might be nominated for the post of the president of the All-Russia Athletics Federation (ARAF).
Although, Isinbayeva says “it is certainly too early to speak about [it]”.
"However, I have been thinking about running for the post of the ARAF president."
Russia’s Beslan Mudranov is through to the semifinal of the men’s 60kg judo.
Mudranov beat South Korea’s Kim Won Jin in the quarter final today and will meet Georgia’s Amiran Papinashvili in the semi.
Wrestler Lebedev Cleared by IOC to compete, flies to Rio August 14
Russian wrestler Viktor Lebedev has been cleared by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to complete in the Olympics.
“Lebedev has been cleared by the IOC. He will fly to Rio on 14 August, or maybe a day later,” Team Russia head Igor Kazikov said, according to TASS.
Lebedev had earlier been unable to compete in Brazil as he had given a positive doping test in 2006 during the junior wrestling world championships, which contradicted the criteria for allowing Russian athletes to compete in Rio.
Russian shooter Daria Vdovina has missed out on a medal in the women’s 10m air rifle competition after finishing fifth in the final.
Golden Girl!
Team USA shooter Virginia Thrasher has won the first gold medal of the Rio 2016 games.
The 19-year-old grabbed gold in the women’s 10m air rifle competition.
Sharp Shooter! Du Li sets Olympic record!
Chinese shooter Du Li has set a new Olympic record in the women’s 10m air rifle event.
Li fired a score of 420.7 to qualify in first place for the final, which takes place later today.
Darya Vdovina has advanced through to the women’s 10m air rifle shooting final.
The Russian marksman finished fourth in qualifying.
The women’s 10m air rifle final comprises of the eight top-placed qualifiers.
Brazilian long-distance runner Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima lit the Olympic cauldron in the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Games. A marathon bronze medal winner in Athens in 2004, he has been held up as a model sportsman after refusing to give up when a protestor attacked him in that race, slowing him from first to third.
Interim Brazilian President Michel Temer declared the first Olympics in South America open on Friday, kicking off the Rio de Janeiro Games after a more than three-hour opening ceremony. Some in the crowd met Temer's remarks with jeers, underscoring the deep political divisions as suspended President Dilma Rousseff faces an impeachment trial and the Brazilian economy struggles through a grinding recession.
A suspicious bag left near the Beach Volleyball Arena in Copacabana has forced the partial evacuation of the area. Authorities deployed explosives experts and a robotic bomb detection unit to assess the threat, which was deemed a false alarm.
05 August 2016
A member of the Greek team has been expelled from the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after testing positive for drugs, the country's Olympic Committee said on Friday.
The unnamed athlete's A sample tested positive for banned substances in a pre-Games test conducted in July in Athens and the athlete has left the Olympic village. The Games officially start later on Friday. (Reuters)
The Russian women’s archery team has finished second after qualifying on the first day of the Olympic Games. Team members Ksenia Perova, Tuyana Dashidorzhiyeva and Inna Stepanova gained 1,938 points.
The South Korean team is in first place with 1,998 points, while the Chinese team is third with 1,933 points. Russian archers will begin the playoffs in the quarterfinal, where they will meet the winning team after the Indian team plays Colombia in the current set of heats.
Brazil football legend Pele will not light Olympic flame at Rio opening ceremony
It had been reported that Pele's doctors had given him permission to take part in the ceremony, but it’s now known that the 75-year-old Brazilian football legend is not feeling well enough to participate.
"I'm not in physical condition to take part in the opening ceremony," said Pele, as reported by the BBC.
The three-time World Cup winner, who has been suffering from muscle pains, also said it was his "own decision."
700! Korean archer sets first world record of Rio Olympics
South Korean archer Kim Woo-jin has set the first world record of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Kim set a 72-arrow world record and scored 700 points, to beat the previous 699-point record set at London 2012.
He has not let success go to his head, however.
“Getting the world record is very important but tomorrow’s matches are more important,” the 24-year-old told reporters. “Today's not really big happy.”
IOC 3-member commission to decide on Russian swimmer Efimova’s Olympic participation.
Following the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision to uphold an appeal by Efimova against her Games ban, a special three-member IOC panel will make a final ruling, says lawyer of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) Aleksandra Brilliantova, TASS reports.
"So far, no obstacles are foreseen. Everything depends on the IOC’s three-member panel," said Brilliantova.
Nine kit bags of the Great Britain Olympic team, some containing swimmers’ competition kit, have gone missing on arrival in Rio.
It is unclear whether the bags have been stolen or simply lost in the transfer from the holding camp in Belo Horizonte. The British Olympic Association (BOA) is now trying to track them down.
The BOA said in a statement: “A small number of bags – nine from a total of nearly 3,000 pieces of luggage – are currently unaccounted for following their transfer from Belo Horizonte to the Olympic Village in Rio,” as reported by the Guardian.
The swimming competition begins on Saturday’s opening day of the Games.
IOC accepts CAS ruling to scrap ‘double-punishment’ of Russian former drug cheats
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has accepted the decision of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) to scrap sanctions that would have seen Russian athletes found guilty of doping punished twice, it has been reported.
The IOC had previously ruled that Russian athletes guilty of doping violations would be banned from competing at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games even if they had served their suspension.
However, lawyer Mikhail Prokopets said that in their review of the case of Russian rowers Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov, CAS had reversed the ruling.
“We are extremely disappointed that CAS views the measures taken by us in relation to the athletes who have violated anti-doping laws as too harsh. However, we will naturally comply with this decision,” an IOC statement read, as reported by TASS.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld an appeal by Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova against her Games ban.
Four-time Olympic breaststroke champion Efimova had been disqualified by governing body FINA between October 2013 and February 2015 after testing positive for traces of the anabolic steroid DHEA.
The IOC had previously ruled that Russian athletes guilty of doping would be banned from competing even if they had served their suspensions.
However, the CAS called the ban “unenforceable” and ruled that an athlete cannot be sanctioned twice for the same doping offence.
FINA will now decide on Efimova's eligibility to compete in Rio.
The swimmer's agent, Andrey Mitkov, has posted a photo on Facebook with Efimova's reaction to the decision, apparently showing her crying.
"These are the first seconds... Some people are going to pay price for these tears..." says the caption.
Anastasia Karabelshikova and Ivan Podshivalov, two Russian rowers from the Olympic team, won their appeal against an IOC ban from the Rio Olympics on the grounds that they had already served suspensions over past doping accusations. A similar ruling has been rendered in the case of Russian swimmer Yulia Efimova, whose appeal has also been partially upheld.
The international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne ruled that some of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s criteria for Russian athletes to participate at the Rio games are "unenforceable" as they do not respect the right of natural justice.
Referring to paragraph three of the IOC Executive Board decision of July 24, 2016, the CAS ruled that the clause “contains a simple, unqualified and absolute criterion” which is difficult to reconcile with the “stated aim to provide the athletes with an opportunity to rebut the presumption of guilt and to recognise the right to natural justice.”
“The IOC Decision deprives the Russian athletes of the presumption of innocence and rather establishes a presumption of guilt, but one that is rebuttable by the athletes on an individual basis,” the court ruling said.
04 August 2016
The IOC announced that 271 Russian athletes will participate at the Rio Games following a final review by a three-member executive board, confirming an earlier announcement by the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Aleksandr Zhukov.
The IOC accepted only the athletes who met the entire set of “very strict criteria” outlined in the July 24, 2016 Executive Board decision, including the controversial “presumption of guilt” clause dismissed by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The IOC announced that 271 Russian athletes will participate at the Rio Games following a final review by a three-member executive board, confirming an earlier announcement by the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Aleksandr Zhukov.
The IOC accepted only the athletes who met the entire set of “very strict criteria” outlined in the July 24, 2016 Executive Board decision, including the controversial “presumption of guilt” clause dismissed by the international Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
The Independent Panel of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has allowed the entire Russian rhythmic gymnastics team to participate in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, a source in the Russian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation (RRGF) told TASS.
Two Russian swimmers, Vladimir Morozov and Nikita Lobintsev have been given the all-clear to compete in Rio after initially being barred from the Olympics, FINA the international governing swimming federation told AFP on Thursday. They were named among 31 swimmers allowed to compete in Rio, FINA said. Russia's water-polo players, synchronized swimmers and divers have been cleared to compete. Another five Russian swimmers remain banned.
Speaking to RT, the head of Russia’s Olympic Committee said that the international community and Russia should both draw “serious conclusions” from the doping scandals that arise world-wide. The official added that the “whole international anti-doping system” should be “restructured” as agreed at the latest IOC session.
At the press conference on Tuesday Russia’s Olympic Committee chief Zhukov expressed his frustration with the blanket ban of the Russian track and field team.
We “did not include any athletes who at some point were punished for doping use. Unfortunately the International Athletics Federation decided to exclude our athletes from competitions, including the Olympics,” Zhukov said.
Russian Olympics chief Alexandr Zhukov says there is not one team at the Rio Olympics which has undergone as much scrutiny as Russia.
The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Aleksandr Zhukov told reporters on Thursday that 271 Russian athletes have been cleared to compete at the summer Olympics in Rio.
The IOC announced on Thursday that six Russian rowers are allowed to take part in the games in Rio, according to TASS.
Five more sports were approved for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at an official meeting of the International Olympic Committee in Rio de Janeiro. Surfing, skateboarding, sport climbing and karate will be added as new Olympic sports, while baseball and softball have been returned to the Games.
All members of the Russian Olympic tennis team have been granted permission to compete at the Olympic Games in Rio by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), ITF ‘R-Sport’ reports.
The Olympic Flame arrived in Rio de Janeiro and will spend the day travelling through the city.
Although the Rio Olympics starts Friday, one record has already been set. The captain of the Canadian women’s football team scored the fastest goal in the history of Olympic women’s football. It took Christine Sinclair only 21 seconds from the start of the game to score against Australia.
USA beats New Zealand 2-0 in women’s football first round in Group G.