Reuters Sports News Summary

07/28/2016 12:55

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Bolt arrives in Rio for shot at immortality

Jamaica's Usain Bolt has landed in Rio de Janeiro more than a week before the Olympics opening ceremony to fine tune his preparations for his attempt at an unprecedented triple-triple of gold medals in the men's sprints. The wold record holder, who required a medical exemption after he pulled out of the Jamaican trials with a hamstring strain, proved his fitness last Friday by running 19.89 seconds to win the 200 meters at the London Diamond League meeting.

Wrestling governing body clears most Russian wrestlers for Rio

United World Wrestling, the governing body for Olympic forms of wrestling, said on Thursday a special commission it set up had recommended that 16 of the 17 Russian wrestlers who qualified for the Rio Olympics should be allowed to take part. It said in a statement the 16 had been tested in accredited laboratories outside Russia, and were not mentioned in a report that alleged Russia ran a state-sponsored doping program.

'Best U.S. team' set for high profile in Brazil

Looking to fill a rare gap on its medal shelf, Team USA is sending the strongest fencing squad in memory to Rio, helped along by a generation of Olympic elders that has expanded the sport's frontiers. Of the five sports contested in every summer Olympics, fencing is the only one where U.S. men have not won gold.

IOC passed buck by not issuing blanket ban: Redmond

Olympic chiefs were guilty of "passing the buck" when they elected not to impose a blanket ban on Russian athletes for next month's Rio Games, says former world 4x400 meters relay champion Derek Redmond. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided on Sunday against issuing a blanket ban despite evidence of systematic doping across the majority of Games sports, meaning global sporting federations must now choose which Russians can compete in Brazil.

Nadal's injury situation 'delicate', says Ferrer

Rafa Nadal's injury situation is "delicate" ahead of the Rio Olympics, according to Spanish team mate David Ferrer. Nadal, a 14-time grand slam champion, has not played a competitive match since May 27 when a left wrist injury forced him to pull out of the French Open after the second round and miss Wimbledon.

Weightlifting: Valentin eyes London gold after rivals fail retests

Spanish weightlifter Lidia Valentin hopes to be awarded an Olympic gold medal from London 2012 after the athletes that finished above her all failed drug tests when their samples were reanalyzed. Valentin, who will compete at next month's Games in Rio, finished fourth in 2012 in the Women's -75kg category.

Patriots shoot down possibility of quarterback controversy

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick ended a quarterback controversy before one could even begin as he said on Wednesday that Tom Brady will be the team's starter when he returns from a suspension. Belichick said the Patriots are focused on getting backup Jimmy Garoppolo ready for the team's Sept. 11 season opener but that Brady, banned four games as a result of the "Deflategate" scandal, will not lose his starting role.

Olympic ban on Russian athletes result of political campaign: Putin

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the exclusion of Russian track-and-field athletes from the Rio Olympics over doping allegations was discrimination and that a political campaign had been waged against Russian sportspeople. Putin, who was addressing members of Russia's Olympic team in the Kremlin, said that the absence of some Russian sportspeople from the Olympics would damage international sport as well as the Olympics.

Team USA look to sweep golds in Rio

Team USA will be without many star players in Rio due mainly to concerns over Zika and injuries, but such is the depth of the country's basketball talent that they are expected to cruise to a third consecutive gold medal. The lengthy list of American players opting to skip the Aug. 5-21 Rio Summer Games for one reason or another is a who's who of the basketball world and includes such titans like LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Russell Westbrook.

Volleyballer Tetyukhin named Russia's flag bearer in Rio

Sergei Tetyukhin, the captain of the Russian men's volleyball team, will carry the country's flag during the opening ceremony of the Rio Games, twice Olympic pole vault champion Elena Isinbayeva said on Thursday. Isinbayeva is one of the athletes unable to attend the Rio Games because of the decision by the governing body International Association of Athletics Federation to ban Russian track and field athletes from Rio in response to systematic state-sponsored doping by the country.

07/28/2016 12:55