Reuters Sports News Summary

07/28/2016 19:52

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

IOC warned Rio on construction contracts 5 years ago: documents

The International Olympic Committee warned organizers of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro five years ago that construction contracts they drew up could give developers incentives to cut corners, presaging problems with athletes' housing that drew complaints from several countries this week, documents showed. Rio's city government, responsible for the vast majority of infrastructure projects for the Games, has used public-private partnerships, or PPPs, to get private firms to cover the cost of building venues in return for permission to build real estate on the sites.

London to host Nuggets and Pacers NBA clash

London is to host a regular-season NBA game for the seventh time when Denver Nuggets play Indiana Pacers in January, the National Basketball Association said on Thursday. The Pacers lost in the first round of last season's playoffs, while the Nuggets failed to make it that far. Neither team has played in Britain before.

'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.

Cycling: Three Russians withdrawn, three probed, 11 eligible for Rio

Three Russian cyclists have been withdrawn from the Rio Games by the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), three riders are under investigation by the sport's world governing body and 11 are eligible to compete, the UCI said on Thursday. "The UCI, through the Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation (CADF), is in the process of identifying relevant rider samples and is in close dialog with WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) to move forward with these cases immediately," the governing body said in a statement, referring to the riders under investigation.

Games organizers say Rio's Village is ready after repairs

The Olympic Village is ready and organizers are turning in the last three buildings Thursday afternoon, the operations director of the Rio 2016 organizing committee Rodrigo Tostes said. Tostes told reporters the buildings are "absolutely ready" for the delegations and minor problems in various apartments had been resolved. Complaints over shoddy electricity and water installation at the site had prompted some national teams to boycott the park earlier this week.

Wawrinka advances to Toronto quarter-finals

Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka won a hard-hitting battle with American Jack Sock on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the Rogers Cup with a 7-6(3) 6-2 triumph. Wawrinka and Sock held serve throughout the first set to force a tiebreak that was won easily by Wawrinka who went on to dominate the second set where he charged out to a 4-0 lead and dropped just five points on serve to take the match.

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.

Brazil raises infrastructure financing for Olympics

Brazil's National Monetary Council, known as CMN, said on Thursday it changed regulation to raise the limits of financing to infrastructure projects linked to the Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. In a statement, the CMN, the country's highest economic policy body, said it authorized up to 5.4 billion reais in credit for projects related to the Olympics through the state development bank BNDES. The statement did not say what the previous limit was.

Korean Lee on top after sizzling 62 at Women's British Open

South Korean Lee Mi-rim has developed a penchant for low scoring and she continued the trend with a sizzling 10-under-par 62 in the opening round of the Ricoh Women's British Open on Thursday. The 25-year-old came charging out of the blocks in the fourth and penultimate women's major of the season, birdying three of the first four holes.

Patient Day proves practice overrated

Jason Day, playing after just one day of practice at Baltusrol, kept it simple in Thursday's first round of the PGA Championship, hitting fairways and greens and sinking enough putts to join the hunt. World number one and defending champion Day, who found 17 greens in regulation, shot a two-under-par 68 and said the time away from the course might have been a blessing.

07/28/2016 19:52